3 Things Wake Forest Fans Need to Know About California

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons have hit a bit of a rough stretch here as of late. After beginning the season at 15-1, the Deacs have fallen in six of their last nine games, including several debilitating defeats at the hands of conference foes like Florida State and Virginia. It hasn’t been an ideal stretch, to say the least, but the world is not ending — at least not just yet.

Still, it’s important that the Demon Deacons get up and figure out a way to take down their next ACC opponent this weekend: the California Golden Bears. It’ll be the second conference series the team has played against a team from the Bay Area, and just like last time — when Wake Forest swept an overmatched Stanford squad — the Demon Deacons are hoping to wipe the floor with their opponent en route to a dominating weekend.

But is that even possible against this Cal team? What’s its story? How is it doing so far this season? Those are all valid questions, ones that we will answer in the coming paragraphs. Here are three things every Wake Forest fan should know about the California Golden Bears.

The ACC Has Not Been Kind

The Bay Area can get cold at night. There’s a reason that everybody says that the coldest winter of their lives was a summer in San Francisco. But as Cal has ventured far and wide to play its conference schedule so far this season, it’s continued to feel that chill wherever it goes. No stadium it plays in seems to give the Golden Bears the warm and fuzzies it so desires.

Cal is 13-11 overall and 0-6 in conference competition. It was swept by North Carolina in Berkeley from March 13-15 and then lost all three games to Boston College in Chestnut Hill from March 20-22. Now it has to make the trek down to Winston-Salem to try and figure out a way to quell the losing woes — Cal currently finds itself on an eight-game losing streak — that have permeated the entire month of March.

A New Hope

“Save me, Jett Kenady and Hideki Prather, you’re our only hope!”

If Cal baseball fans entered Star Wars, that’s surely what they would be saying. Both those players have been exceptional to start the 2026 college baseball campaign, so it makes sense that the Berkeley faithful are counting on them to uplift this program from the ashes and into the stars.

The ACC Freshman of the Weekend is @CalBaseball shortstop Jett Kenady, who is well on his way to super stardom.

He was the Golden Bears most dangerous hitter and notched four extra base hits against a very good BC pitching staff. pic.twitter.com/eSOoGeYvw8
— Monty Taylor (@Monty2740) March 23, 2026

Through 24 games, Kenady has a 1.079 OPS with five home runs and 15 RBIs. Meanwhile, Prather has a 1.134 OPS, just barely one-upping his teammate, as well as six home runs and 19 RBIs. Both players, especially Prather, enjoy taking free passes, too, making them versatile threats at the plate.

If Wake Forest is to take down the Golden Bears, limiting these two players’ offensive production will be key.

Pitching Duo Leads the Way for Cal

Two starting pitchers, Gavin Eddy and Oliver de la Torre, have been the leaders of the rotation for Cal so far this season. Both have a 2.70 ERA, Eddy through 33 1/3 innings and de la Torre in 30.

De la Torre will start on Friday opposite Wake Forest right-handed hurler Cameron Bagwell, with Eddy going on Sunday against Troy Dressler. Both matchups should be enticing and competitive.