Big 12 Baseball Roundup as UCF Steals the Spotlight and TCU Battles in Tempe

While early-season tournaments and non-conference matchups are fun in their own right, the college baseball season has reached its most exciting period of the year: conference play.

While the SEC and ACC certainly include some of the premier Omaha contenders in the sport, the Big 12 has recently been known for its parity. Other conferences contain baseball programs that, quite frankly, aren't competitive on a weekly basis. The Big 12 is completely different.

There are no "bye weeks" in the Big 12, and that's what makes this conference so exciting. From marquee matchups to stunning upsets, the "truck stop" conference consistently delivers high-level baseball every weekend.

Here's a quick look at what the Big 12 had to offer this weekend. We'll start from the top of the conference standing and work our way down.

Around the Big 12 This Weekend

FSU Baseball beats UCF 12-4 in the Tallahassee Regional Championship on Sunday, June 2, 2024 at Dick Howser Stadium | Liam Rooney/Tallahassee Democrat / USA TODAY NETWORK

After dropping their midweek game to Miami earlier in the week, the UCF Knights took their anger out on the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the first weekend of conference play. The Knights swept the Cowboys in dramatic fashion with a walk-off 6-5 win on Sunday, and were the only team in the Big 12 to sweep their conference opponent over the weekend.

James Hankerson Jr. Walk-Off Winner!! ⚡️@kia Electric Moment of the Game pic.twitter.com/Jz2rGFOLK1
— UCF Baseball (@UCF_Baseball) March 15, 2026

The West Virginia Mountaineers found a series win in Waco, even after the Baylor Bears opened the weekend with a gritty 7-6 win on Friday. While the Bears have shown they're much more capable than in past seasons, the Mountaineers' lineup remains one of the most explosive in the country.

After experiencing some opposition early in the weekend, head coach Steve Sabins' squad responded by outscoring Baylor 21-2 in the next two games to win the weekend.

Kansas State remains one of the scariest teams in the Big 12. Led by Dee Kennedy, the Wildcats' lineup currently has eight players batting over .300 through their first 20 games. Kansas State run-ruled the Houston Cougars in their first two conference games of the season, outscoring their opponent 36-9.

We are still thinking about @Shintaro0618_11's 3-run moonshot last night 🚀@TurtleboxAudio 🤝 @d1baseball pic.twitter.com/NL8FYscPFQ
— Big 12 on D1Baseball (@Big12D1Baseball) March 14, 2026

Despite losing their first conference series of the season, the Cougars responded nicely by salvaging the series with a 16-6 run-rule of their own.

Arizona State and No. 17 TCU, two of the more exciting teams in the conference, squared off in Tempe, Arizona to open conference play. A strong start from Mason Brassfield and some late-game heroics from Colton Griffin led the Horned Frogs to an exciting 5-4 win to open the series.

While TCU impressed on Friday, the Sun Devils wouldn't stay down for long as they went on to dominate the next two games for a series win. An explosive offensive performance from Arizona State on Saturday and a pitching gem from TCU transfer Kole Klecker left the Frogs looking for answers in the series-decider.

Willie Bloomquist said Kole Klecker was one of the first players he recruited as ASU's manager.

Today, Klecker pitched 7 shutout innings for his hometown team against No. 17 TCU, where he spent his first 3 years.

Bloomquist: "The performance of a lifetime." @SunDevilSource pic.twitter.com/7bNbrXcF78
— Gabriella Chernoff (@GabbyJChernoff) March 15, 2026

Texas Tech remains in the top half of the conference standings after a series win over Kansas. The Red Raiders had a questionable 0-3 start to the year, but seem to have figured things out at the plate. They scored double-digits in the first two games of the weekend, forcing the Jayhawks into a salvage-Sunday scenario.

Kansas avoided the sweep with an 18-7 win over the Red Raiders on Sunday, but questions certainly remain with the Jayhawks' pitching.

The series between Arizona and Utah provided one of the more stunning results of the weekend. In their first conference series inside America First ballpark, the Utes earned a series win over the Wildcats with some gritty performances on Saturday and Sunday. After dropping the series opener by a score of 8-6, Utah bounced back in a major way with two 1-run wins to take the series.

Last, but certainly not least, the Cincinnati Bearcats and the BYU Cougars squared off in Provo, Utah, beginning on Thursday. The Cougars' pitching staff stunned the Bearcats in the series-opener, holding on for a 5-2 win, while the Bearcats evened the series a day later with a narrow 9-7 win.

AJ SLAMS THE DOOR SHUT😤 pic.twitter.com/0XFQH5iBSZ
— BYU Baseball (@BYUBaseball) March 14, 2026

The series decider featured some significant momentum changes, but the ninth inning was filled with drama. The Bearcats were threatening to tie, or even score the go-ahead run to win the game, with runners in scoring position, but BYU's Ashton Johnson ended the game with a called strike three for the series-win.

Big 12 Conference Standings

Big 12 School	Conference Record	Overall Record
UCF	3-0	12-6
West Virginia	2-1	13-4
Kansas State	2-1	15-5
Arizona State	2-1	14-5
Texas Tech	2-1	13-6
Utah	2-1	11-6
BYU	2-1	9-9
Cincinnati	1-2	15-6
Houston	1-2	12-7
Baylor	1-2	11-8
Kansas	1-2	11-8
TCU	1-2	11-8
Arizona	1-2	7-12
Oklahoma State	0-3	12-7

With the first weekend of conference play in the books, the Big 12 standings already reflect a "meatgrinder" reputation. While UCF sits alone at the top with a perfect 3-0 mark, the Horned Frogs find themselves in a logjam of seven teams that split their opening series or took a series loss. It's early, but the lopsided loss on Saturday in Tempe served as a reminder that the Frogs' pitching depth will be tested every Friday through Sunday from here on out.

As the team returns to Fort Worth to regroup and play at home at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, the debate is just heating up. Head over to KillerFrogs.com forum to share your take on the weekend in Tempe and discuss whether the Frogs can find their rhythm before next weekend's home stand against UCF.