Reloaded and Ready: 2026 Maryland Baseball Preview

The college baseball season is ready to get started, and the goal of the 2026 Maryland Terrapins is as simple as it gets. 

“The biggest thing is that our flat-out, main goal is to get more secure pitching and defense,” head coach Matt Swope said. “The stats and seasons of our offense have mostly been solid, but improving the pitching and defense will be the main focus points for us.”

A perfect blend of new faces and key returns makes up a roster with a level of depth that has Swope and company optimistic about another season of Big Ten baseball. 

“It’s a different group this season,” Swope said. “We’ve gone back to the basics. We’re in a new era of college sports where there’s a lot of turnover and change, so you have to view things on more of a year-to-year basis. We’ve been getting back to the grind and getting back to the fundamentals. As boring as that sounds, it’s what’s important.”

Swope said with the amount of impactful players on the roster, the Terps will utilize a number of different starting lineups over the first month of the season as the roster sorts itself out. It’s not a bad problem to run into, having so many guys who can contribute offensively. 

“On the pitching side, we’ll have more options and depth,” Swope said. “We won’t have to run certain guys into the ground all season. In the past, it seems like we’ve only had six or seven arms that were just holding on for dear life. We’ve worked really hard to make sure that’s not the case this year.”

But the biggest new acquisition on the mound is right-handed pitcher Lance Williams, a sophomore transfer from East Carolina who’s expected to be the Terps’ Friday arm in 2026.

“The tradition and environment here is great,” Williams said. “This is a place that really values your individual development as a player, and it’s a really friendly and exciting environment to be a part of.”

Sophomore catcher Rylen Stockton comes to Maryland via UNC Ashville, and is ready to work with the new staff while Brayden Ryan and Ryan Bailey return for another year on the bump in College Park. Maryland’s freshman class also features six fresh pitchers, including righty Nic Morlang, who are ready to make instant impacts in the wide-open Big Ten. 

“We’ve been preaching that everybody’s got to be ready to play,” Swope said. “We have a lot of talent, and we’re excited about the options that we have.”

Swope expects Evan Smith to get the Saturday starts, and is excited to see sophomores Jake Yeager, Logan Hastings, and Cristofer Cespedes back with a “year of trials and tribulations under their belt.” 

Injuries, especially on the pitching staff, hurt Maryland’s 2025 campaign, but the Terps get a handful of arms — including Smith — back for 2026. 

“I think we’ll have a stacked rotation this year, especially when we get all of our arms healthy,” Williams said. “We’re going to come out in the Big Ten and just dominate. We have a lot of good talent getting ready in the training room, and once they’re ready, we’ll be really good.”

Swope’s not too worried about his offense. The Terps scored the fourth-most runs in the Big Ten last year, smacked the second-most homers, drew the most walks, and drove in the third-most RBIs. Over the past five seasons, the Terps rank in the top 10 in Power Four conferences in homers, on-base percentage, slugging, runs, RBIs, walks, and grand slams. 

“Last year, they hit a ton, but they just didn’t have the pitching to back it up,” Williams said. “But we brought in a ton of pitching, and we’re going to be dominant. I’m really excited about our weekend rotation.”

Brayden Martin — who was third on the team in both hits and runs a season ago — returns for his junior season, ready to continue to build the Maryland brand and reputation. 

“I’m excited to see our group come together,” Martin said. “We have a really good group. We have a lot of talent around everybody in everything that they do, and I’m just excited to see us all mesh together.”

Ty Kaunas, a true-freshman shortstop, sits on many preseason watch lists ahead of his debut season in college baseball. He’s one of several new faces that’ll bolster the Maryland defensive efforts while bringing big bats to the starting lineup. 

The Terps have been highly-anticipating the arrival of their 2026 freshman class that’s named in Baseball America’s Top 25 class list. Kaunas highlights the wave of fresh talent that also features Bud Coombs — an outfielder from down the road in Mechanicsville, MD — and Austin Weiss, a LHP from Rockville, MD, who brings an electric arm to Maryland’s rotation.

“With guys like Ryan Costello, Jackson Sirois, and a bunch of new transfers coming in, mixed with a lot of our returning guys, I can’t wait to see us all mesh well together,” Martin said.

Costello, a first baseman who can play in the outfield, comes to College Park via LSU while Sirios, a sophomore infielder, transferred in from Virginia in the offseason. Maryland also added a pair of junior utility men in Antonio Morales from Wake Forest and David Mendez, who came over to the Terps by way of Vanderbilt University. They highlight a militia of new transfers that will boost Swope’s improvement efforts. 

Martin’s a true utility player. He’ll see some action at third base, but will also roam the outfield alongside Aden Hill, a senior outfielder who started 55 games for the Terps, whalloped 10 homers, and raced for a team-high 11 steals a season ago. Jordan Crosland also brings his .265 average and diverse toolset back for another season after suffering an injury in 2025.

Maryland’s offense will be lethal in the Big Ten, but the Terps aren’t the only squad that’ll be able to mash the ball in 2026. With stars from coast to coast in the conference, the Big Ten won’t just have to be won, it’ll have to be conquered. 

“I’m excited to go after some great competition,” Williams said. “My pitch arsenal has already gotten better since coming here, going from two to five pitch types. I feel like I have a lot more tools to do what I need to do: dominate hitters.”

The Terps have the talent. There’s no question about it. Once the team finds its stride in 2026, it’ll be a force to be reckoned with. A 55-game slate — that includes 22 games in College Park — gives the Terps plenty of opportunities to continue to establish themselves as one of the top offenses in the Big Ten, but with a new-and-improved staff that’ll keep opponents at bay. 

“I know we can do it,” Martin said. “I know we can do better than people think we will. I let people lean on me as one of the guys who’s been here for the longest time, and I’m excited to help lift this team up.”

Perhaps people aren’t as high on the 2026 Maryland Terrapins as they should be. But Swope has his guys ready to take the Big Ten by storm and silence any doubters. 

“I’ll send our guys pictures of where people rank us and try to use it as some bulletin board material,” Swope said. “I’m not sure if it motivates them as much as it motivates me, but we also don’t need that motivation. Our goal is to come out and expect to win every single game. We’re going to put our heads down, work hard, and see what happens.”