The final chapter of the 2025-26 season for the University of Utah baseball team ended in the same way much of the year was planned, competitive, emotional and painfully close.
Utah had entered the final weekend of the regular season fighting to build some momentum heading into the Big 12 Conference Baseball Tournament. Instead, the Utes suffered a heartbreaking Senior Night loss to the University of Baylor before their season officially came to an end on May 19 against Kansas State University in the opening round of the Big 12 Tournament.
Despite the ending, Utah’s second season in the Big 12 Conference showed major progress from the first.
The Utes finished the year 26-25 overall after building one of the conference’s best offenses. Utah’s .308 team batting average ranked third in the Big 12 and 24th nationally, while the defense struggled. Even though they had 51 double plays this season, seventh most in the country, the Utes struggled at the mound with having the second worst ERA in the conference with a 6.69.
The Utes season finale against Baylor perfectly summarized the highs and lows of the year.
Offense
Before the first pitch at America First Ballpark, Utah honored its 11-man senior class in a pregame ceremony. The group included Justin Abercrombie, Ian Culver, Demitri Diamant, Matt Flaharty, Dylan Gazaway, Cameron Gurney, Cal Kilgore, Ryan Kittredge, Nevan Noonan, Payton Riske and Derek Smith.
Then the Utah offense exploded.
Utah jumped all over Baylor early, scoring five runs in the opening inning behind RBI hits from Jet Gilliam and a huge three-run homerun from Flaharty. The Utes continued adding on throughout the evening as Smith launched a two-run homerun and Noonan added a solo shot later in the game.
Flaharty finished with a home run and double, while Jake Long connected on three hits and Gilliam added two more. Contributions from several seniors, highlighted the afternoon in what became an emotional final home game for this year’s veteran group.
For much of the game, Utah appeared to be in complete control.
But late innings once again proved costly for the Utes.
Baylor chipped away before delivering the decisive run with a three run home run in the ninth inning, completing a 11-10 comeback that stunned the Utes and handed them another close conference loss this season. Seven of Utah’s Big 12 Conference defeats this season were decided by two runs or fewer.
The loss sent Utah to Surprise, Arizona, searching for one more run in the Big 12 Conference tournament.
Progress
There were some reasons for optimism before entering the conference tournament. Utah had already won a series against Kansas State earlier in the season, highlighted by back to back eighth inning comeback victories in Salt Lake City for the Utes. During that series, Long hit for the cycle, becoming just the third player in program history to accomplish that feat.
Throughout this season Long has developed into one of the breakout stars of the Big 12 this season and earned himself all Big 12 second team honors after dramatically improving across nearly every offensive category this season. The left fielder finished the regular season batting .369 with 11 home runs and 56 RBIs while producing a 21 game hitting streak earlier in the year.
Freshman Cal Miller also earned all freshman team honors after batting .345 with six home runs and playing air free defense at second base during conference play. Gilliam and Gurney, each earned honorable mention recognition after standout seasons of their own.
Those same contributors helped Utah battle early against Kansas State in the big 12 tournament opener.
Diamant tossed three shut out innings to begin the game while Long and leadoff hitter Luke Jacobs combined for six hits and four runs scored. Long delivered a two run double in the fifth inning before Jacobs crushed a solo homer later in the game as Utah continued to trade punches with the Wildcats.
But once again, the late innings changed everything for Utah.
Kansas State broke the game open with a four run eighth inning after a lengthy video review overturned what initially appeared to be the third out of the inning. Moments later, Utah suddenly found itself trailing by four runs.
The Utes threatened and showed throughout the season with late comebacks and they already rallied multiple times against Kansas State earlier in the year. This time, though the magic never came.
End of the 2025-26 year
The loss officially closed the book on Utah’s 2025-26 season.
Even with the disappointing finish, the foundation under head coach Gary Henderson appears far stronger than it did a year ago. Utah developed one of the most productive offenses in the conference, saw young players emerge into major contributors and consistently proved it could compete with top-tier Big 12 baseball programs.
The final record may not fully reflect the progress the program showed this year, but the growth throughout the season most certainly did.
