Oregon State Baseball Newcomer Talks Preparation For 2026
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Oregon State baseball begin the 2026 season in less than two months with several new faces expected to be major contributors for Mitch Canham's Beavers.
One of those will be senior infielder Cooper Vance, who joined the Beavers via the transfer portal after three seasons at Eastern Michigan University.
During his three years at EMU, Vance appeared in 116 games. At the plate, he hit .272 with 25 doubles, two triples, 10 home runs and 63 RBI. Canham recently spoked with Vazquez about his first few months with the program as part of Oregon State's offseason content series. Watch the full conversation below.
Oregon State opens the 2026 season on February 13 against the Michigan Wolverines in Surprise, Arizona, the first of four games the Beavers will play in Surprise this winter.
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On changes he has made to his game since arriving in Corvallis:
"I would say it's just continuing my opposite field ball flight potential. Like to translate it to more power that way, and then just really dialing in my pitch selection and not giving away at bats...One thing I've learned so far is the arm talent here is so good, like you got to be locked in every at bat and you can't help them out and they can't help you out. So as I continue to work through at-bats and stuff like that, just really finding one pitch to drive and and do damage with it."
On his positive nature and the depth of the team at the moment:
"I am always pretty happy to show up. I'm pretty blessed just to have the opportunity and be here. And all the guys are great...I think we have a absolutely incredible freshman class, guys like [Josh Proctor] and [Mason] Pike and [Ethan] Porter and you know, even Calvin [Gregory] and guys like that. But the older guys too, [AJ Singer], [Jacob Krieg] and just guys that I'm around more than others. Inge is a great kid. Glassco. I mean, the list goes on and on with those guys. So, it's it's always it's always fun to get in here."
MORE: Oregon State Infielder Paul Vazquez: "There's No Better Place Than Beaver Nation"
On what he is looking forward to most about the season:
"From a non- baseball perspective, I'd say just, you know, going and seeing new places that I haven't been before. Like I said, being out here on the West Coast is definitely a cool experience. And then in terms of baseball, just I mean being a part of the team that I'm on right now and just going out there and expecting to win every single game that we play. I think that's going to be the best thing about it. And then obviously the end goal is to not get to Omaha, but to win it. So I mean that's obviously at the forefront of everybody's mind right now."
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Joe Londergan joined the SI brand in 2023 with G5 Football Daily. With over 15 years of experience in covering and working directly in college and pro sports, Joe's expertise has been featured in Front Office Sports, SB Nation, and XRAY.FM. He is a member of both the Football Writers' Association of America and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association. Joe holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Louisville and a master's degree in sports administration from Seattle University. Outside of his writing career, Joe enjoys golfing, although he admits that while he hits driver decently, his short game is a liability.
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