BYU baseball is on the clock, so the team is hitting the road. The Cougars are two weeks away from their season opener at Fresno State and eager to get a feel for playing on real dirt and grass, and in some warm sunshine.

“I’m looking forward to our guys getting out there and playing someone else,” head coach Trent Pratt told the “Y’s Guys” podcast this week. “This team loves each other. You can see it when they come to the field every day. I’m just excited to see them reap the rewards from all the hard work they have put in.”

Fielding one of the youngest rosters in the country, BYU struggled to a 21-31 record last season, including 7-23 in its debut season in the Big 12. Nine of those conference defeats were by two runs or less.

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The losses were painful, but Pratt could see silver linings all over the place. The Cougars return eight of their top 10 hitters and a group of pitchers who should be less wide-eyed at the competition.

“You can’t coach experience. No matter how talented they are or how good they are coming out of high school, until they get in that league and get punched in the face they don’t know what to expect,” Pratt said. “Most of these kids went to high school and probably never really struggled before, but they have gone through some battles and some struggles now. They are a year older, and they know what to expect. So, this year I don’t think it should rattle us as much as last year.”

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Easton Jones is back from a team-leading 55-hit sophomore season, including 14 home runs — several of which ended up on the stairs of the Marriott Center across the street from Miller Park’s left field wall. Standing tall at 6-foot-3, the third baseman from American Fork, Utah, has a major role to play in 2025.

“He has been a leader on our team as far as how he shows up and works every day and he’s using his voice,” Pratt said. “We expect a lot out of him.”

Pratt’s all-time favorites

  • Pitcher: Randy Johnson
  • Catcher: Buster Posey
  • Power Hitter: Barry Bonds
  • Shortstop: Derek Jeter
  • Outfielder: Ken Griffey Jr.

Stone Cushing anchors the bullpen. Named to the Big 12 All-Preseason Team, the senior from Salem, Utah, struck out 46 batters in 34.1 innings as the Cougars’ closer last year. He earned 10 saves, including two at Texas.

“We are going to use Stone like we used Mason Olson last year,” Pratt said. “If it’s the sixth, seventh, eighth inning, or if it’s a big situation and we need someone to stop the bleeding or shut the door, we are going to put him in the game.”

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BYU’s 52-game season begins at Fresno State on Feb. 14 and follows with UCLA, Cal State Northridge and Gonzaga. The home opener is March 5 against Stetson. The Big 12 opener is the following week against UCF at Miller Park.

The long wait, that has included a lot of watching football, soccer, volleyball and basketball, is just about over.

“I think our guys enjoy going to the other sports and watching them play and supporting each other,” Pratt said. “It’s been awesome to see how successful the teams have been this year. Hopefully we can continue to ride that wave.”

Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar,” available at deseretbook.com

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