May 29—This time last year, Washington State’s baseball season was long over.
The Cougars had finished last in the Mountain West Conference and WSU coach Nathan Choate’s second year as skipper had sputtered to an 18-36 record — another forgettable year for a program that from 1926-94 had just two head coaches and experienced remarkable success.
But there was hope for Choate and company entering their second and final bridge year in the Mountain West before the new Pac-12 forms this summer — key Cougars were coming back.
Five of the Cougars’ seven best batters by batting average in 2026 were on WSU’s 2025 roster. So were their three weekend starting pitchers and key bullpen pieces.
This year, WSU qualified for its first NCAA Tournament since 2010, punching its ticket with a 14-4 mercy-rule victory over San Diego State in the Mountain West Conference Tournament championship Sunday.
“It’s a team that really likes each other and gets along well, so I think the camaraderie inside the locker room is great,” Choate said. “When you put those two things together, you play pretty quality baseball. Some special things can happen.”
The automatic qualifier sends WSU to a thoroughly fascinating Eugene Regional.
In Eugene, Ore., WSU will play in a pod with former Pac-12 foe and host No. 11 Oregon, Pac-12 Conference rival Oregon State (which this year and last was independent in baseball) and Yale.
WSU (30-26) will open the double-elimination bracket against Oregon State (43-12) at noon today. The tournament will be broadcast by ESPNU.
Oregon (40-16) and Yale (30-13-1) will play at 5 p.m. today.
The winners of those two games will meet Saturday evening, while the losers will play earlier Saturday.
Choate has been in a similar position before.
In 2019, his Loyola Marymount Lions were West Coast Conference champions and found success in a Los Angeles regional, beating Baylor and UCLA before the Bruins beat them twice to end their season.
While he has been there before, the Cougs’ success relies on the players, Choate said.
“It’s a player’s game, and ultimately our players haven’t played in the postseason, so it’ll be interesting to see how they respond,” Choate said. “But I think from a coaching standpoint, you just try to prepare them for the uncertainty of certain things. Things are just a little bit different. You need to be comfortable being uncomfortable.”
Choate said he told his guys to expect more media coverage and to be off their normal routine.
The Cougs have been boosted by batters like Gavin Roy (team-best .372 batting average), Max Hartman (batting .366 with a team-best eight triples) and Ryan Skjonsby (leads WSU with eight home runs).
Hartman, Choate said, might have been drafted last year had he not gotten injured.
His return for a fourth year in Pullman, however, has been exactly the boost the Cougs needed.
“(Hartman) has helped get this program turned around a little bit,” Choate said. “I know that means a lot to him, and I think that ultimately, even with as talented as he is, I think that’s going to be his legacy.”
On the mound, WSU boasts the Mountain West Conference pitcher of the year, Nick Lewis, who holds a 3.07 ERA through 15 appearances (14 starts) with 65 strikeouts to 27 walks.
Choate’s LMU Lions included the 2019 WCC pitcher of the year, Codie Paiva. Choate, a pitching coach by trade, sees a similar competitive fire in Lewis that allowed his Lions to make some postseason noise.
“Nick’s a little bit more cerebral, but their competitiveness is very, very comparable,” Choate said. “When it comes down to environments like this, it’s competitiveness and belief, and I thought Codie had that. I know Nick has that as well. And so, who knows how he’ll throw. I do know he’ll go out there and give us an opportunity to win.”
Choate said that Lewis will kick off the Regional against the Beavers, against whom WSU split a midweek regular-season series 1-1, losing 18-0 before holding onto a 7-6 win in April.
With Lewis on the mound, the Cougs are looking to bust some brackets, Choate said.
“We know that we can beat them right, and we know that we can play poorly against them because we’ve done both,” Choate said. “So excited to have Nick go against them and see how our guys handle that environment, and really want them to enjoy the moment. They’ve earned the right to play meaningful games late into the season.”
Taylor can be reached at 208-848-2260, staylor@lmtribune.com, or on X or Instagram @Sam_C_Taylor.
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