Arizona State is back where it belongs — the NCAA baseball tournament. The 35-22 Sun Devils earned the No. 3 seed in the Los Angeles Regional, a four-team, double-elimination bracket hosted by UCLA and featuring Fresno State and UC Irvine.
Few college baseball programs can match ASU’s tradition of success. The Sun Devils have won five national championships, endured just four losing seasons, developed more future MLB players than any other school and will make its 42nd tournament appearance.
Willie Bloomquist, one of the program’s former major leaguers, is working to rebuild this proud baseball program in the era of NIL and the transfer portal in his fourth season at the helm. During his tenure, the team has increased its win total every season and now will get its first chance to vie for Omaha.
ASU opens regional play Friday against UC Irvine at 6 p.m. The Sun Devils will face either UCLA or Fresno State in game two Saturday, depending on Friday’s results.
“They are the guys that have been out grinding all year and just to see them get that opportunity to experience the joy of getting their name called, I think was just extremely great for me to watch them celebrate and be able to do that,” Bloomquist said. “And to be honest, in my opinion and clearly the committee’s opinion, we deserved it. I know we double bogeyed 18 on the last weekend, but throughout the year, we’ve been a very consistent team.”
All season long, the Sun Devils racked up wins against quality opponents. ASU’s 23 victories over teams from the Power Four conferences ranked as the fifth-highest total in the nation.
Entering this season, ASU featured many returning starters such as junior outfielder Kien Vu and senior infielder Jacob Tobias. However, the key to the veteran team’s enhanced success is largely due to the impact it has received from its 2025 transfer portal class.
Senior shortstop Matt King, a transfer from UTSA, and junior second baseman Kyle Walker, formerly at Grambling State, have greatly impacted the team’s offense and defense, while also bringing valuable veteran leadership to the clubhouse. King’s .405 batting average, the second-best in the conference, earned him the distinction of Big 12 Co-Newcomer of the Year.
On the mound, Jack Martinez, a transfer from the University of Louisiana-Lafayette, has emerged as the team’s trusted Saturday starter. Paired with Friday night starter Ben Jacobs, the dynamic duo—ranked third and first in the Big 12 in strikeouts—has become one of the most formidable one-two punches in the conference.
Bloomquist also has the luxury of giving the ball to sophomore left-handed relief pitcher Cole Carlon, who has made massive strides this season, lowering his ERA from 7.52 last year to 2.82.
“The biggest key to me is just trusting myself and going out and attacking each hitter and not worrying about results and just going about my process and making sure that I am doing what I need to do to be successful,” Carlon said.
Carlon’s growth reflects the progress ASU pitchers have made this year under the tutelage of first-year pitching coach Jeremy Accardo.
“He’s been a huge part of my development and plenty of other guys too. His main thing is just helping you find out what your identity is and what you do well and understanding that baseball is a game at the end of the day and not letting the day just get too low,” Jacobs said. “Failure is going to happen. That’s what makes you better.”
Even with all of its talent, ASU ended the season with a four-game losing streak capped by an excruciating 2-0 loss to BYU in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament. As a result, the squad barely sneaked into the 64-team tournament field as one of the last four teams the committee selected.
Despite the tough finish, team leaders like Vu believe that the adversity could serve them well in the pressure-packed environment of regional play.
“I do think that this team is geared up well for the postseason run we are going to make. Our backs are kind of up against the wall,” Vu said. “So now that we’re in, nothing else really matters. We’re all starting from the start line and the finish line is Omaha.”
ASU’s resurgence validates Bloomquist’s approach and shows that the program is headed in the right direction. Not only are the on-field results trending upward, but the university administration is ready to start investing more resources to ensure its baseball team remains competitive in this new age of college athletics.
“I think with the future of our program, the things that ASU President Michael Crow and athletic director Graham Rossini have done over there increasing our scholarships, moving forward, that’s going to be huge for this program to just continue taking off,” Bloomquist said. “This is a destination place that kids want to come to and they know they’re going to get better. And now we’re going to have some resources backing us to continue catapulting this program forward.”
But first, the Sun Devils have to shake off their end-of-season slump and play their best baseball of the season this weekend.
ASU’s return to the NCAA Tournament isn’t just a celebration of its past — it’s a declaration of intent. Bloomquist’s Sun Devils are back on the hunt for Omaha, armed with the roster and resolve to make a real run at the College World Series.