The Big West is one of college baseball’s most stable and talent-rich mid-major leagues thanks to pitching depth and a familiar group of programs capable of playing deep into June. At the top, UC Santa Barbara again sets the tone with a staff that has drawn national attention from both evaluators and opponents. Meanwhile, UC Irvine, Cal Poly, Hawaii and a resurgent Cal State Fullerton give the conference competitive breadth. 

With multiple teams carrying postseason expectations and an unusually dense concentration of draft talent, the Big West shapes up as a league defined less by parity and more by pressure at the top.

Baseball America subscribers can find our complete 2026 Big West preview below, featuring projected order of finish, top 2026 MLB Draft prospects and conference award picks.

Projected Big West Standings

Note: Listed records are from 2025

UC Santa Barbara (36-18; 16-14 Big West)

UC Irvine (43-17; 24-6)

Cal Poly (43-19; 23-7)

Hawaii (35-21; 16-14)

Cal State Fullerton (29-27; 19-11)

UC San Diego (26-25; 15-15)

UC Davis (27-28; 13-17)

Long Beach State (22-31; 15-15)

Cal State Bakersfield (18-38; 9-21)

CSUN (15-34; 10-20)

UC Riverside (16-36; 5-25)

Top 10 Big West Draft Prospects For 2026

Jackson Flora, RHP, UC Santa Barbara

Ricky Ojeda, LHP, UC Irvine

Cole Tryba, LHP, UC Santa Barbara

Anthony Potestio, SS, UC San Diego

Calvin Proskey, RHP, UC Santa Barbara

Nathan Aceves, RHP, UC Santa Barbara

Jonathan Mendez, SS, UC Santa Barbara

Laif Palmer, RHP, Cal Poly

Ryan Tayman, C, Cal Poly

Steele Murdock, RHP, UC San Diego

Big West Team To Beat: UC Santa Barbara

UC Santa Barbara has become the West Coast’s most dependable pitching pipeline. It’s a reputation that’s been built steadily over more than a decade under coach Andrew Checketts, and the 2026 staff looks poised to reinforce that identity. 

The Gauchos are expected to feature a rotation anchored by righthander Jackson Flora, the No. 4 overall prospect in the 2026 draft class, alongside Calvin Proskey (No. 200) and Nathan Aceves, an electric arm who flourished in relief last season and has drawn top five-round buzz from multiple evaluators. Long Beach State transfer Kellan Montgomery adds another experienced option to a staff that is deep, versatile, and built to absorb innings. The bullpen figures to be just as impactful, with lefthander Cole Tryba (No. 123) slated for a fireman role that routinely comes with near-starter workloads in Checketts’ system. 

There are legitimate questions about offensive depth, though infielder Jonathan Mendez provides a steady foundation. Even if the lineup proves merely adequate, UCSB’s potential to control games on the mound gives it enough to challenge opponents well beyond the conference level.

Preseason Big West Player of the Year

Jonathan Mendez, SS, UC Santa Barbara

Mendez emerged as one of the Big West’s most impactful everyday bats as a sophomore in 2025, hitting .314/.392/.559 with 11 home runs and 17 doubles. A righthanded-hitting middle infielder, he thrives when pitchers challenge him in the zone, showing plus feel for the barrel with hard contact against velocity, which he consistently punished a year ago. There are still adjustments to be made. Spin can give Mendez trouble at times, but the offensive foundation is already in place. If Mendez closes that gap in his approach, he has both the production base and the skill set to make a legitimate run at Big West Player of the Year, which would boost his already-solid draft stock.

Preseason Big West Pitcher of the Year

Jackson Flora, RHP, UC Santa Barbara

Few pitchers enter the season with more industry-wide consensus than Flora, who sits atop many draft boards as college baseball’s premier arm. The 6-foot-5, 205-pound righthander posted a 3.60 ERA with 86 strikeouts against 17 walks over 75 innings last spring, then went back to work with Checketts to refine an already-imposing arsenal. While retaining his triple-digit fastball velocity and devastating sweeper, Flora adjusted his fastball grip and added both a kick changeup and a slurve, giving him multiple new ways to attack hitters. Evaluators who saw him after those changes came away impressed, and with frontline stuff that should overwhelm Big West competition, Flora enters the year as one of the safest ace profiles and Pitcher of the Year candidates in the country.

Preseason Big West Freshman of the Year

Caden Castles, RHP, UC Irvine

Castles impressed upon arrival at UC Irvine, showing off an impressive competitive edge for a first-year player on top of advanced stuff. His mix features a low-90s fastball, slider, sweeper and a changeup he can deploy confidently against both righties and lefties. Castles consistently achieves more than seven feet of extension, which is elite regardless of stature and especially notable for someone 6-foot-2. He’s expected to be an immediate factor in the Anteaters’ rotation.

Notable Big West Storylines

While its multi-bid status fluctuates year to year, the Big West remains one of the most reliably competitive mid-major conferences in the country. UC Santa Barbara narrowly missed the preseason Top 25, while UC Irvine and Cal Poly also drew consideration, signaling real depth at the top of the league. Hawaii lingered on the NCAA Tournament bubble deep into the 2025 season, and Cal State Fullerton appears to be trending upward after several down years. Baseball America projects the Big West to earn three NCAA Tournament bids in 2026—UC Santa Barbara, UC Irvine and Cal Poly—which would mark the league’s first three-bid season since 2016 when it saw the Gauchos reach the College World Series.

UC Santa Barbara is uniquely positioned to generate one of the largest draft footprints in the country. With Flora leading the rotation and Proskey, Montgomery, Aceves and Tryba forming a deep and versatile supporting cast, the Gauchos have a legitimate case for the nation’s best pitching staff. Infielder Jonathan Mendez adds top eight-round upside on the position player side. After a rare postseason miss in 2025, UCSB returns enough frontline talent to reassert itself as a national contender and one of the most compelling teams to track throughout the spring.