by JJ Sledge (Special to the LPJ)
During the week of March 8, I wrote an article about the first month of the Tech baseball season. And I asked Tech fans to be patient with this 2026 team because I knew better things were coming. Yes, it took a little longer than I expected. But things finally clicked on a Good Friday evening in Miami as Tech sat with a 14-17 record.
Since Easter weekend, Tech has gone 18-6 and now sits at 33-23 overall. That marks the 9th time in Coach Lane Burroughs’ 10 seasons that Tech has won at least 30 games and will also finish with a winning record.
In that same stretch, Tech has only lost 1 conference series. 2 of those series wins came against teams (Missouri State, Liberty) who were very high in RPI at the time, which is the metric used for the NCAA Tournament.
Tech pitchers Declan Dahl and Thomas Allen have been a lethal 1-2 punch in that stretch, with Dahl starting and Allen finishing the first game of the series. Dahl led the conference with an ERA of 2.11 and 73 strikeouts during conference play, and finished with an ERA of 2.32 in home games. Allen has baffled teams in his closing role, with a combination of 95 mph fastballs and upper 70s off-speed pitches. He struck out 49 batters while allowing just 11 walks.
On the offensive side, Trey Hawsey and Colton Coates have helped lead the resurgence. Hawsey leads the team in batting average and rbis. He also leads the team with 15 homers, adding 2 this past weekend. Coates is close behind in batting average, while leading the team with 44 walks and is tied for the team lead in triples.
So yes, better days have come since Easter weekend. There is life and hope in the locker room, and a hunger to go out and win. The team knows they can get it done.
Now Tech turns its attention to the C-USA tournament, which marks the final action for Tech as a member of the conference.
Making sense of the 2026 C-USA Tournament
Since Tech’s first appearance in the C-USA Tournament back in 2016, it has been a traditional “double elimination” style bracket. Tech fans are all too familiar with that, as the team had to fight their way out of the loser’s bracket both times it was held in Ruston.
But that 2024 tournament led to a change starting this year. After Tech clawed its way out of the loser’s bracket with a thrilling 10th inning win to make the championship, the team had exhausted its bullpen. And DBU would shoot out to a 9-2 lead after the first inning before eventually winning 17-10.
After the 2024 championship game, another coach proposed a new championship format. The coach felt that the final two teams shouldn’t have to exhaust their roster just to play for a conference title. And if any teams advanced to an NCAA Tournament regional, they should be able to have their best roster on the field.
So for 2026, and I assume beyond, C-USA is moving to a 9-team, pool play style bracket. And the graphic below helps show that.
Here’s how it works: the 9 teams that qualified are split into 3 groups (or pools) of 3. And each pool gets a certain time slot for its games over the first 3 days:
Pool A (5 pm est time slot): 1 Seed, 6 Seed, 9 Seed
Pool B (10 am est time slot): 2 Seed, 5 Seed, 8 Seed
Pool C (1:30 pm est time slot): 3 Seed, 4 Seed, 7 Seed
Each team will play 2 guaranteed games against the other teams in their pool, and those will take place Wednesday through Friday at the times mentioned above. Rain is a possibility in Kennesaw this week, but with fewer games per day, it should be easier to get them all in.
Each pool winner will advance to the semifinals on Saturday. There will also be a “wild card” team, which will be the highest remaining seed with the best record (likely a 1-1 record). The semifinal winners will play on Sunday at 1 pm eastern for the championship. All games from Wednesday through Saturday will be on ESPN+, with the championship game being on CBS Sports Network.
Here’s what Tech fans need to know:
While Tech is the 5th seed, it is a favorable pool to be in. Their opponents will be 2 seed Liberty and 8 seed Sam Houston. Tech took the series from both Liberty and Sam Houston during the regular season. Tech also gets the benefit of having a day off Thursday, which will help get the bullpen some needed rest before the possibility of 3 games in 3 days. Confidence is still high among both players and coaches that they can get the job done.
And lastly here is Tech’s schedule:
Wednesday at 10 am est (9 am Ruston time) against Sam Houston on ESPN+
Friday at 10 am est (9 am Ruston time) against Liberty on ESPN+.
If Tech advances out of pool play, please make sure to check Tech social media or the C-USA website to see when they’d play on Saturday.
As I finish writing this, the team buses are headed out to Kennesaw. For the final time this week, Tech will participate in a C-USA tournament. If the Dogs play like they have for the past few weeks, this team can make a push towards a conference title. But as always, they need your support. So whether you’re at the games in Kennesaw or watching from your living room, be loud and proud and cheer this team on to victory.
