Season Review: 2026 Michigan Baseball
7/10/2026 11:00:00 AM | Baseball
Captains: Kurt Barr, Elie Kligman, David Lally Jr., Colby Turner
Record: 34-24, 17-13 Big Ten Conference (7th Place)
Big Ten Tournament: Quarterfinalis
The University of Michigan baseball team put together a strong 2026 campaign. Navigating a challenging schedule, the Wolverines compiled a 34-24 overall record and finished above .500 in conference play with a 17-13 mark in the Big Ten. U-M finished the season with an RPI of 54 and held a 5-6 record against ranked opponents.
Team Highlights
• Michigan compiled a 34-24 overall record, with a 17-13 mark in Big Ten play, to finish the season in seventh place in the standings. U-M matched its most wins since also winning 34 games in 2022, and tallied its most Big Ten wins since 2008 (excluding the Big Ten-only 2021 season), when the Wolverines went 26-5.
• Six of U-M's opponents earned NCAA Tournament berths, with three coming from the Big Ten. The Wolverines finished 54th in the RPI, 17 places higher than last year, and highest since the 2019 season, going 30-13 in Quads 2-4 while picking up four Quad 1 wins.
• The Wolverines opened the season capturing the Surprise College Baseball Series championship with marquee wins over No. 12-ranked Oregon State, defeating the Beavers with a come-from-behind 5-3 victory before taking down Stanford and No. 24 Arizona. U-M closed out the tournament falling in extra innings to Oregon State, but carried the momentum into the College Baseball Series at Globe Life Field to take down No. 15 Louisville, 8-5.
• Michigan picked up a key series win over No. 15 Oregon in early April and began the series with a 10-0 run-rule victory over the Ducks. Oregon evened the series with a 5-2 win, setting up a rubber match on April 4. The Ducks opened the scoring in the first, but U-M answered with two runs in the third to tie it. After taking the lead back in the top of the fourth, the game stayed at 3-2 until Cooper Mullens delivered a walk-off hit with one out in the bottom of the ninth, giving the Wolverines their first ranked series win since 2021.
• The Maize and Blue excelled on the road, securing 15 away victories including nine in conference play. Both marks ranked second in the Big Ten, trailing only No. 1 UCLA. U-M won every road series except UCLA, including series wins over San Diego, Pepperdine, Michigan State and Minnesota.
• Michigan recorded two series sweeps over the course of the season, first at home against Northwestern and later on the road at Maryland. In mid-April, Michigan took all three games over the Wildcats, highlighted by an 8-3 Saturday victory and a 2-1 complete-game one-hitter from David Lally Jr. on Sunday. Two weeks later, the Wolverines swept the Terrapins in College Park, opening with a 2-1 extra-inning victory, rolling to a 17-5 blowout the next day and finalizing the road sweep with an 8-7 win on Sunday.
Individual Highlights
• Leading the offensive charge, Colby Turner paced the Wolverines with a .366 batting average, starting in all 57 games he played. He collected a team-high 85 hits, including 18 doubles and 14 home runs, while driving in 32 runs and swiping 12 bases. The junior put together the program's longest hit streak since 2000 at 24 games, spanning March 21-April 26 and tallying 46 hits. His best single-game performance came at Maryland on May 2, when he went 4-for-6 with four runs and seven RBI. Turner earned multiple accolades, including two All-America honors, All-Region honors and a Big Ten first-team selection.
• Brayden Jefferis assemmled a strong sophomore campaign, batting .355 across 58 games (57 at third base). He tallied a team-leading three triples while adding eight doubles and five home runs. He ranked second on the team in hits (76), runs (32) and RBI (43). Jefferis finished conference play with a .384 batting average, ranking third in the Big Ten and second among players who played in all 30 games. Jefferis was one of the nation's best defenders, with the third baseman earning the program's first ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove while holding a .974 fielding percentage with 37 putouts, 111 assists and just four errors.
• Kurt Barr tallied 105 strikeouts and set the program record for strikeouts as a senior. He pitched a team-leading 79.2 innings and had a 4.52 earned-run average and a 1.42 WHIP. Barr was the only Wolverine to start every weekend series, starting the season as the Sunday starter and ending as U-M's Friday-night starter. He tossed a complete game at Michigan State, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out 10. Barr earned All-Big Ten third-team honors for the second time in his career.
• Noah Miller ended his season on a high note, earning All-Big Ten Tournament honors in back-to-back seasons, tallying five hits, four RBI and two runs over four games in Omaha. Miller slashed .292/.375/.398, ranking third, fourth and fourth on the team in each respective category. The redshirt sophomore hit three home runs while walking 14 times and striking out just 28 times. Miller started 45 games behind the plate and caught 10 of 34 runners trying to steal.
• A Big Ten Pitcher of the Week selection, David Lally Jr. found his stride by season's end, finishing with a 4.15 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. His WHIP led the three qualified U-M pitchers and was third on the team overall. His best performance came on April 19 against Northwestern, when he pitched a complete-game one-hitter while striking out six. Lally struck out 65 batters over his 69.1 innings pitched, with a high of seven in his final appearance against Washington in the Big Ten Tournament.
• Freshman Shane Brinham finished the season with a 6-4 record, leading the Wolverines with a 3.88 ERA with 61 strikeouts over 65 innings. He earned All-Big Ten Freshman honors and was named an All-American by Perfect Game. Brinham threw two complete games, with one coming against Oregon in seven innings and the other in his final outing against Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament, where he fanned a career-high 11 batters.
• Evan Haeger was a key contributor, playing in 54 games (49 starts) across the outfield. He hit .265 with a .399 on-base percentage and a .482 slugging percentage, with all four marks ranking in the top four on the team. The redshirt sophomore was second on the team in home runs (seven) while adding 32 runs and 28 RBI. Haeger's best game came at Rutgers, where he went 3-for-5 with three runs and RBIs, including two home runs and a double.
• Cade Montgomery and Gavin DeVooght led the Wolverines to a program-record 19 saves, with DeVooght tallying nine and Montgomery six. DeVooght was strong early and finished with a 4.95 ERA with 36 strikeouts in 40 innings, while Montgomery struggled early but came on late to finish with a 4.61 ERA and 45 strikeouts over 52.2 innings.
• Along with Jefferis and Turner, Drew Culbertson, Cade Ladehoff and Matthew Ossenfort made up the infield for most of the season. Culbertson was the lone Wolverine to start every contest, doing so at shortstop, and held a .323 on-base percentage. Ladehoff and Ossenfort split time at first base, with Ladehoff starting 42 games and appearing in 47, while Ossenfort appeared in 56 games and started 30. The pair combined for 15 doubles, six home runs, 43 runs and 39 RBI.
Honors and Awards
Colby
Turner
Brayden
Jefferis
Shane
Brinham
Kurt
Barr
Max
Debiec
American Baseball Coaches Association
All-America (Third Team): Colby Turner
Gold Glove (Third Base): Brayden Jefferis
All-Midwest Region (First Team): Colby Turner
National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association
All-America (Third Team): Colby Turner
Perfect Game
Freshman All-American: Shane Brinham
Big Ten Conference
All-Big Ten (First Team): Colby Turner
All-Big Ten (Third Team): Kurt Barr
All-Big Ten (Freshman Team): Shane Brinham
Sportsmanship Award: Joonsung Park
College Sport Communicators
Academic All-Region: Kurt Barr, Max Debiec
Academic All-Big Ten
Kurt Barr, Sr., Sport Management
Preston Barr, So., LSA Undeclared
Grant Bradley, So., Sport Management
Justin Brown, So., Business Administration
Tate Carey, So., Applied Exercise Science
Max Debiec, Sr., General Studies
Brayden Jefferis, So., LSA Undeclared
Jonathan Kim, Sr., Sport Management
Elie Kligman, Gr., Social Work
Cade Ladehoff, Jr., Economics
David Lally Jr., Sr., General Studies
Brock Leitgeb, Jr., Sport Management
Joe Longo, Gr., Master of Management
Noah Miller, Jr., Sport Management
Cooper Mullens, Jr., Business Administration
Wyatt Novara, Jr., Sport Management
Keegan O'Hearn, Jr., Sport Management
Joonsung Park, Jr., Sport Management
Michael Quedens, So., Sport Management
Colby Turner, Jr., General Studies
