Gophers Baseball Running Out of Time in Familiar Late-Season Spot

Year two of the Ty McDevitt era got off to a red-hot start for Gophers baseball with a 14-3 record in non-conference play. Heading into the final month of the season, they are tied for 14th in the Big Ten with a 5-13 record in conference play and a 23-17 record overall. How did we get here?

Nonconference schedule

Minnesota split a four-game series against Kansas in late February, and the Jayhawks are in first place in the Big 12. They also had two wins against Gonzaga at U.S. Bank Stadium, and the Bulldogs are favorites to represent the West Coast Conference (WCC) in the NCAA Tournament. Their non-conference schedule certainly wasn't among the toughest in the country, but it wasn't as weak as some people might think.

Big Ten struggles

There was plenty of reason to think the Gophers could finish near the top half of the Big Ten standings this spring after such a hot start, but that is probably not going to happen. Their .269 team batting average ranks fourth-worst in the conference, but their pitching has made significant improvements from last season.

Minnesota finished 2025 with a 10-20 Big Ten record, and a 5.75 team ERA was a big reason why. That number ranked 12th-best in the conference, and they've improved to a 4.40 ERA this season, which ranks fourth-best in the conference.

Playing spring baseball in Minnesota comes with its fair share of challenges, and the Gophers have felt that with a 2-4 conference record at Siebert Field, which is the fewest amount of true home games in the conference and the worst record.

Rest of 2026 outlook

Three of Minnesota's final four Big Ten series will be played at Siebert Field over the next month. They will host Northwestern (5-13 conference record), Michigan (10-8 conference record) and Nebraska (15-3 conference record). Their lone road series will be at Penn State, which has a 5-13 Big Ten record.

The top 12 teams in the conference standings qualify for the Big Ten baseball tournament, which is an event the Gophers haven't played in since 2019. With a four-way tie in last place, and two of their final series against two of the other teams, it's not impossible to make a run into the top 12. They will need some late-season magic.

The Gophers finished last season with a 24-28 record in year one under McDevitt. It felt like the Big Ten tournament was a reasonable bar to set for expectations in year two. That goal seems to slipping away as we enter the home stretch of the season.

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