Michigan
Florida State
Wolverines to Head to Texas for College Baseball Series, Big Early Test
2/18/2026 11:49:00 AM | Baseball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan baseball team (3-1) heads to Arlington, Texas, for the College Baseball Series and a big test after winning the inaugural College Baseball Series in Surprise, Ariz. The event will take place at Globe Life Field, home of the Texas Rangers, and features six teams. Michigan will kick off the tournament facing No. 16-ranked Florida State (3-0) on Friday (Feb. 20) at 11 a.m. CT. The weekend will continue with Michigan taking on No. 15-ranked Louisville (2-2) on Saturday (Feb. 21) at 11 a.m. CT and concludes with a matchup against undefeated Kansas State (4-0) on Sunday (Feb. 22) at 6:30 p.m. CT. All three games will be streamed live on FloCollege.
Notes
• Michigan opened the season in Arizona, facing two preseason Top 25 teams, and went 3-1, winning the inaugural College Baseball Series. The Wolverines opened with taking down No. 12-ranked Oregon State 5-3, with two runs in the eighth inning breaking a 3-3 tie; the victory was highlighted by four RBI from Evan Haeger. The winning ways continued as the Wolverines held on to defeat Stanford 7-6 and used small ball to defeat No. 24 Arizona 4-1. U-M suffered its first loss of the season on Monday (Feb. 16), falling 5-4 in 10 innings against No. 11 Oregon State.
• The Wolverine pitching staff shone over the opening weekend with a team 3.00 earned-run average and a 2.25 WHIP while striking out 8.3 batters per nine innings. The ERA and WHIP rank third among conference teams and are in the top 50 nationally.
• Tate Carey drew the Opening Day start and struck out five batters in five innings of work while allowing three runs on seven hits in a no-decision. The sophomore has yet to be tagged with a loss at Michigan in 19 appearances and eight starts, holding a 9-0 record with a career 3.77 ERA.
• Cade Montgomery made his Michigan debut on Saturday (Feb. 14) against Stanford, allowing no earned runs in 6.1 innings. The junior allowed one unearned run on five hits and a walk while striking out five and picking up the win. He spent his first two years at Utah Tech with a career 4.05 ERA in 108.2 innings pitched.
• Kurt Barr earned the Sunday start and pitched seven innings, striking out eight Wildcats. Barr allowed just one run on six hits to pick up his first win of the season and 13th of his career. The senior holds a 3.88 ERA over 190.0 innings pitched with the Wolverines.
• Michigan's main bullpen in Arizona were Gavin DeVooght and Shane Brinham. DeVooght made three appearances and struck out four batters in 4.2 innings pitched while picking up saves in the first two Michigan wins. Brinham made his debut against Oregon State on Friday (Feb. 13) and earned the win with 1.2 scoreless innings. Two days later, he earned his first career save, pitching the final two innings against Arizona.
• Brenden Stressler leads the Wolverines with a .500 batting average to begin the season, going 7-for-14 with two extra-base hits. Stressler hit the lone Wolverines home run from opening weekend, a solo shot in the second inning on Friday against Oregon State. The junior transfer added two more runs and two more RBI over the weekend and leads U-M in hits, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and total bases.
• Cade Ladehoff joins Stressler as the only other Michigan hitter with an OPS over 1.000 at 1.074. The junior reached base in all four games, with hits in three of them, and has five on the season. Three of his five hits have gone for extra bases, and Ladehoff has added two runs and two RBI.
• Haeger was named the Surprise College Baseball Series Most Valuable Player after going 5-for-12 over the first three games, with a run and five RBI. All five of Haeger's RBI came with two outs, including a career-high four in the opening game against Oregon State. The redshirt sophomore added another hit and run in the Monday game against the Beavers and is now hitting .400 with six hits, two runs and five RBI this season.
• Florida State enters the weekend with a 3-0 record, defeating James Madison and Jacksonville twice each. The Seminoles are ranked 16th in the nation this year after falling to Oregon State last year in the Super Regionals. Michigan trails 7-2 in the all-time series against FSU but holds a 2-1 advantage at neutral sites -- including the last matchup between the two teams, a 2-0 win in the 2019 College World Series.
• No. 15-ranked Louisville is 2-2 to begin the season, dropping an opening weekend series to Michigan State. The Cardinals responded to defeat MSU 9-1 in the finale before a 23-11 win over Xavier on Tuesday (Feb. 17). The Wolverines are 2-9 all-time against Louisville and 0-3 at neutral sites.
• Kansas State is 4-0, which includes two wins over Big Ten teams. The Wildcats opened the season with a 15-6 victory over Iowa, followed by wins over UConn, Penn State and Air Force at the MLB Desert Invitational. Michigan is 1-2 against Kansas State, having dropped last year's meeting at the College Baseball Series but won in 2022.
