Dallas Baptist University will join the Pac-12 beginning in the 2026-2027 season, the Pac-12 announced on Aug. 20.
The Patriots will compete as an affiliate member, adding a perennial national contender to the growing conference.
The DBU program will be a hefty addition to Pac-12 baseball, as the Patriots have averaged more than 40 wins a year for over a decade, while reaching 14 NCAA regionals in 17 seasons. They have also produced more than 81 MLB draft picks during Head Coach Dan Heefner’s tenure.
The Patriots join the conference as an immediate contender in the league standings for the Pac-12. With DBU in the conference, Oregon State University will have a series every spring against a team capable of boosting their strength of schedule and testing their postseason readiness.
Given the dissolution of the former Pac-12 and uncertainty surrounding the future of the conference, the move brings the shared vision for Pac-12 athletics enunciated by OSU and Washington State University administrations closer to reality.
“What really matters is competing at the highest level and winning. And I think our football and basketball metrics do show that the teams that we’re going to have in this league compare together as a group are a top five league, and that’s where we want to continue to position ourselves,” Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould said on Aug. 5 in an interview with ESPN.
With the addition of DBU, Gould’s statements apply even more to the positioning of Pac-12 baseball.
With the constant movements and realignments in recent years, football rivalries have been center stage. Baseball often gets overshadowed in national conversations, but the Pac-12’s decision to bring in DBU signals that the sport could be central to the league’s identity.
Oregon State, with its three national championships, has been a cornerstone of Pac-12 baseball. The arrival of a program with DBU’s track record ensures that the conference’s profile remains strong on a national level. Games between OSU and DBU are likely to carry implications beyond the Pac-12 standings, feeding into NCAA tournament seeding and national perception.
For fans in Corvallis, the announcement creates nationally relevant matchups down the road. The Beavers have long-standing rivalries with regional opponents like Washington State and Gonzaga, but a series against DBU brings a new kind of challenge. The Patriots hail from Texas, an area synonymous with elite baseball talent, and offer the Beavers what might become a nationally relevant baseball rival in their own conference.
The addition also expands the recruiting footprint of the Pac-12. By establishing a presence in Texas, the league opens doors to one of the deepest talent pools in the country. Oregon State has already shown it can recruit nationally, but competing alongside DBU could expand that reach.
When the Patriots officially take the field as members of the Pac-12 in 2027, Oregon State will once again find itself at the center of a baseball league with nationally relevant contenders.
