Penn State lost two huge pieces on the offensive side of the ball in outfielder Paxton Kling and shortstop Ryan Weingartner. But some of the best news for the Nittany Lions is that third baseman Bryce Molinaro returned despite being drafted in the 17th round of the MLB Draft.

Molinaro slashed .267/.363/.502 with eight doubles, 13 home runs, and 61 RBI. It was a bit of a down year compared to his freshman year in 2024. Getting back to his 2024 levels won’t just help his draft stock, but will pay dividends for Penn State as well.

Penn State starting to make some noise.

Bryce Molinaro feasts on a heater and launches a rocket deep over the right centerfield wall. Ball is extremely loud off the bat. pic.twitter.com/eGGPS9TqKS

— Jared Perkins (@JaredCP1) March 11, 2025

The other big returners for the Nittany Lions are outfielder Jesse Jaconski and designated hitter Jack Porter. Both were huge pieces of the Penn State lineup.

Jaconski slashed .298/.368/.551 with 14 doubles, 12 home runs, and 54 RBI, and Porter slashed .310/.408/.549 with 14 doubles, 10 home runs, and 38 RBI. They will likely hit in the middle to the top of the order.

Penn State was able to lock in some interesting bats through the transfer portal to help supplement their losses, including Jayden Davis out of Vanderbilt, Spencer Barrett out of West Virginia, Kevin Karstetter out of Tampa, Michael Anderson out of Arkansas, and Maddox McDonald out of Trinity.

Davis is an absolute athlete who faced some struggles in 2025 at Vandy following an incredible 2024 campaign where he slashed .315/.394/.435 with an .828 OPS. Barrett slashed .278/.336/.443 with five doubles, four home runs, and 26 RBI in 45 games.

Anderson is a guy who saw limited playing time at Arkansas but previosuly was at Rhode Island where he produced a .252/.411/.574 slash line with 13 home runs and 41 RBI. He could provide Penn State with some thump.

The pitching staff is where Penn State struggled the most. It wasn’t just in the rotation, but the bullpen as well. Many of the younger arms struggled to adjust to college ball. Going into 2026, they also lose Ryan DeSanto, who was basically their ace last year.

They got one key arm in the transfer portal who could really be that Friday night ace type in Colin Fitzgerald out of Maine. He’s seen an uptick in velocity, has tons of starter experience, and is a college baseball veteran.

They also brought in Kyle Emmons out of Towson, Benjamin Hudson out of West Virginia, and Kyle Lazer out of West Chester, who could all compete for prominent roles on the mound.

Will Penn State have enough firepower on the mound? It’s too soon to tell, but the offense will be there to carry them again as they look to build on their 2025 winning season.

Washington Huskies

If you haven’t been paying attention to the Washington Huskies since Head Coach Eddie Smith took over, now is the time. The Huskies have been on the rebuild and pulled off a winning record at 17-13 in conference for their first year in the Big Ten.

Coach Smith has a reputation for winning and has been known for a long time as one of the more up-and-coming coaches in college baseball. During his time at Utah Valley, he led them to a 34-24 overall record in 2023 and a solid 18-12 conference record in 2024.

In his first year with the Huskies, they finished 29-28 overall and 17-13 in conference play. He’s looking to build on that success from 2025 and put the Huskies right back in the conversation as an NCAA tournament team in 2026.

The pitching side of things is where the strength of the Huskies lies right now. They return quite a few arms who are ready to roll, including Jackson Thomas, Tommy Bradenburg, and Justin Tims.

Thomas logged the second-most innings for the Huskies in 2025, throwing 71.2 innings in 13 starts while posting a 4.27 ERA. He’s battled injuries over his career so it was fantastic to see him out on the mound healthy.

Bradenburg started 10 games for the Huskies and pitched to the tune of a 4.66 ERA while striking out 31 batters in 46.1 innings. Tims ERA doesn’t pop off the board, but he has the makings of being a very solid starter for Washington and could take some significant steps in 2026.

The Huskies also landed some intriguing arms in the transfer portal, including Jay Miller out of UNC Greensboro, Hayden Lewis out of New Mexico State, and Luke LeMond out of Holy Cross.

Miller is battling back from a significant injury, so who knows what they will get out of him, but he was still ranked the 120th overall transfer portal prospect and threw 59.2 innings last year to the tune of a 4.98 ERA.

On the offensive side of things, like many teams in the Big Ten, the Huskies have a star to build around in first baseman Casen Taggart. He slashed .326/.469/.494 with a .963 OPS last year. He should sit firmly in the heart of this order.

They also return Sam DeCarlo and Braeden Terry. DeCarlo slashed .285/.395/.430 with five doubles, eight home runs, 24 RBI, and 10 stolen bases last year. Terry posted an .839 OPS and hit 11 doubles, four home runs, and drove in 33 RBI.

The Huskies also cleaned up in the transfer portal on the offensive side of things, bringing in the likes of Ethan Swidler from Lafayette, Matthew Gonzalez from New Orleans, Tyler Cowan from UIW, Landon Young from TCU, and Aidan Dougherty from UConn.

Swidler intrigues me the most as he slashed .331/.462/.494 with 14 doubles, five home runs, and 33 RBI at Lafayette. He gives the Huskies a serious option behind the dish. Gonzalez is a DH-type bat who hit 10 doubles, five home runs, and 28 RBI for New Orleans and could provide this lineup some more depth.

Overall, this Huskies team looks healthy and has much improved from the 2025 season. The West Coast teams continue to make noise in the Big Ten, and there is no reason to leave Washington out of that category. Expect Coach Smith’s team to give people fits all season long.

2026 MLB Draft Prospects

PlayerPositionSchoolRoch CholowskySSUCLAMaddox MolonySSOregonMulivai Levu1BUCLAWill GasparinoOFUCLARyan KucherakSSNorthwesternRoman Martin3B/SSUCLARyan McKay2BMichigan StatePeyton BondsOFRutgersCollin JenningsOFIllinoisMason EdwardsLHPUSCLogan ReddemannRHPUCLAKevin TakeuchiINF/OFUSCRyan CooneyINFOregonColby TurnerUTLMichiganLee EllisSSOhio StateChase KrewsonOFRutgersCameron Chee-AloyOFIllinoisJustin LeeRHPUCLACal RandallRHPUCLADean WestOFUCLAParker PicotOFMichigan StateCal ScolariRHPOregonAdrian LopezINFUSCCashel DuggerCUCLAPhoenix CallOFUCLABurke-Lee MabeusCOregonMiles GosztolaLHPOregonBrayton ThomasLHPIndianaCarson JasaRHPNebraskaMax BuettenbackOFNebraskaTy HornRHPNebraskaKyle RemingtonLHPIllinoisLance WilliamsRHPMarylandBrayden Martin3BMaryland

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