Oregon State Baseball opened the 2026 season ranked 12th in the nation by D1Baseball.com, with high expectations following a trip to the College World Series in 2025.
Now, seven games in, the Beavers have dropped to No. 19 in the latest poll after a 4-3 start: wins over Arizona, Stanford, Michigan, and Baylor, but losses to Michigan, Southern Mississippi, and Purdue.
But with nearly 50 games remaining on the schedule – not counting the postseason – the Beavers emphasized they weren’t overreacting to their recent two-game losing streak in Tuesday’s media session.
“I mean, it’s baseball, so nobody’s smashing the panic button or anything like that,” senior infielder Cooper Vance said. “Guys are going out there trying their best, competing, and it’s a long season. We’re gonna be just fine. … We’re going about our work the right way, and we’re gonna be rewarded for it.”
The Beavers have already reaped one reward this season. Sophomore pitcher Dax Whitney tied an Oregon State record with 17 strikeouts across seven scoreless innings in Feb. 20’s game versus Baylor, leading the Beavers to a 3-1 win.
“Definitely the best pitching performance I’ve ever caught,” senior catcher Jacob Galloway said. He joked his arm was more tired than his legs after the game from throwing the ball around the horn after each strikeout.
However, the OSU offense is still finding its footing. Although the Beavers played against a different slate of opponents to open last season, the team went 5-2 with 63 runs scored across their first seven games in 2025, compared to a 4-3 record with 27 runs to start 2026.
“They’re not touching home as often as we want them to, so we’re going to find ways to get around the bases,” Head Coach Mitch Canham said with a smirk. “What I’ve noticed is most of our strikeouts are swinging and not from taking, and we’re kind of in swing mode, pressing … We got to work on controlling the zone better and hitting line drives, hard ground balls, that kind of stuff.”
Currently, the Beavers have two hitters over .300 in batting percentage: Galloway (.429) and senior catcher/designated hitter Bryce Hubbard (.300).
“Jacob Galloway is probably one of the toughest outs in the country right now,” Whitney said. “So if we can get everybody on pace with that, just don’t go down easy, that’d be a huge way for us to manufacture runs and to be able to win.”
The Beavers still have a week to go until they play at home in Corvallis’ Goss Stadium for the first time in 2026 on March 6 against Xavier. Next up will be three games at the Frisco College Baseball Classic in Texas starting at noon against Houston on Friday.
Vance said the Beavers’ long stretch of away games to start the season wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. “I mean, just from my experience, I’ve never started a year playing at home,” he said. “Same thing for the other teams – they’re playing at neutral sites, too. So can’t let that be a concern.”
Canham echoed his players, emphasizing growth over the long season rather than worrying about the results of the opening stretch.
“These first couple weeks are always a blessing,” he said, “if you allow them to be.”
