Spartans Clash With Scarlet Knights In Three-Game B1G Weekend Series in Piscataway

Friday, March 13

Bainton Field | Piscataway, N.J.

4 PM

Michigan State University

Rutgers

Team huddle before Clemson at Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C.

Photo by: Jeremy Fleming

Spartans Clash With Scarlet Knights In Three-Game B1G Weekend Series in Piscataway

3/12/2026 4:16:00 PM | Baseball

MSU BSB Notes - at Rutgers

MSU and Rutgers meeting for earliest dates in series history.

• Michigan State baseball heads to the East Coast to take on Rutgers in a three-game Big Ten Conference weekend series, Friday-Sunday, March 13-15, at RU's Bainton Field in Piscataway, N.J. ... the series opens on Friday with a 4 p.m. first pitch, before Saturday's game two at 2 p.m., and the series finale on Sunday at 1 p.m. ... MSU's schedule is subject to change, stay tuned to MSUSpartans.com and @MSUBaseball on X/Twitter for schedule updates.

• Fans can follow this week's action with "Watch Live," "Live Stats" and "Listen Live" links, where available, at MSUSpartans.com.

• The Spartans are making their first trek to Piscataway since 2023.

• Michigan State will be playing in its sixth different state this weekend, as the Spartans have already played in the states of Kentucky, Texas, South Carolina and Nebraska, adding Michigan on Tuesday with the midweek match-up at Eastern Michigan ... MSU is adding New Jersey this weekend as the Spartans head to play Rutgers at Piscataway, N.J. for a three-game Big Ten weekend series.

MICHIGAN STATE ATHLETICS ANNOUNCES JAKE BOSS JR. CONTRACT EXTENSION
• Michigan State athletics announced a contract extension for head baseball coach Jake Boss Jr. on Thursday, Feb. 12 on the eve of Opening Day ... With the extension, Boss' contract now runs through 2029.

• Boss is in his 18th year at Michigan State and 19th overall as a collegiate head coach ... Boss entered the 2026 season at No. 3 on MSU's longest coaching list behind John H. Kobs (1935-63), the namesake for Kobs Field, location of McLane Stadium, with 39 seasons, and legendary head coach Denny Litwhiler (1964-82) with 19 seasons ... Now at 472 wins entering the weekend at Rutgers, Boss is also No. 3 on the Spartan head coach list for wins and games coached, also behind Kobs with 576 wins in 969 games, and Litwhiler with 489 wins in 859 games.

BOSS CLOSING IN ON 500 CAREER WINS
• MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. enters this weekend at Rutgers closing in on 500 career wins, as he currently has 497 career wins in his 19th overall season with 472 wins in 18+ seasons at Michigan State (2009-pres.), and 25 wins in one season at Eastern Michigan (2008).

SEASON 142 OF SPARTAN BASEBALL
• Michigan State is in its 142nd season of baseball in 2026 and won its 2,500th all-time Victory for MSU vs. Eastern Michigan on May 6, 2025 ... Baseball was the first organized varsity sport on campus with the first season of Spartan baseball in 1884, winning its first recorded game on May 19, 1884, 20-9 over Olivet, going 4-2 in the six-game schedule, and baseball has been played every season since, with only no varsity in 1944 due to World War II.

PROFESSIONAL STADIUM EXPERIENCE
• Michigan State's five games over the end of February and first few days of March at Fluor Field, home of the Greenville Drive, the high-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox were the first five games the Spartans will play in professional stadiums this season, with three more on tap this weekend in Lincoln, Nebraska.

• Michigan State is slated for a total of 10 games and one exhibition contest in four different professional stadiums.

• The Spartans played five games at their home-away-from-home, Fluor Field, in Greenville, S.C., home of the Greenville Drive, the high-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. Fluor Field nearly replicates the dimensions of Fenway Park, home of the Red Sox. The Greenville ballpark has its own "Green Monster" replica, a 30-foot high wall in left field as opposed to the 37-foot one found at Fenway, and contains a manual scoreboard. Every other dimension is to the same specifications as Fenway Park, including "Pesky's Pole" in right field.

• Michigan State opened Big Ten play last weekend at Nebraska, in Lincoln, Nebraska, and the Spartans faced the Cornhuskers at Hawks Field at Haymarket Park in Lincoln, which the Huskers share with the Lincoln Saltdogs of the American Association of Professional Baseball.

• Michigan State will tangle with the Lansing Lugnuts, the High-A affiliate of the Oakland A's, in the 2026 Crosstown Showdown on Wednesday, April 1 at Jackson® Field™ in the annual exhibition game.

• MSU will also meet Western Michigan on Wednesday, April 15 at LMCU Ballpark in Comstark Park, Michigan, home of the West Michigan Whitecaps, the High-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers.

• On Friday, May 8, the Spartans open their three-game Big Ten weekend series at Ohio State by playing at Huntington Park, home of the Columbus Clippers, the Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians.

TOUGH SCHEDULE TO OPEN SEASON
• MSU game against No. 10 Clemson on March 4 was Michigan State's seventh game already this season against a ranked opponent, going 2-5 so far.

• Michigan State opened the season with a three-game series at No. 8 Louisville, taking 2-of-3 and then a three-game series at No. 3 Texas, falling in all three.

• After being at No. 1 in the Big Ten in the first two weeks, MSU was No. 2 for the week of Feb. 23, behind UCLA in the Baseball Current Strength of Schedule (SOS) by warrennolan.com ... the Spartans were No. 28 in the NCAA, while the Bruins are No. 24.

• MSU is remains at No. 1 in the B1G for the second week in a row, and the Spartans are up seven spots to No. 12 in the NCAA, after being at No. 19 last week ... UCLA is now No. 4 in the B1G and No. 48 in the NCAA.

• Other B1G teams including Ohio State (No. 33), USC (No. 4), Illinois (No. 45)

NIGHTMARE IN SEASON-OPENERS
• With the 4-3 Victory for MSU over No. 8 Louisville in the 2026 season-opener on Friday the 13th of February, the Spartans have been victorious in their season-opener in seven of the last eight seasons ... overall, MSU is now 15-3 in the 18 season-openers under Coach Boss, only losing in 2013 vs. Furman, 2018 at Fresno State and 2022 at UNLV.

RANKED WINS
• Michigan State opened the season with a 4-3 upset at No. 8 Louisville on Feb. 13 ... The Victory for MSU was the Spartans' second Top-10 win in as many seasons, after upsetting No. 6 Oregon, 2-0, last year in East Lansing on May 2, 2025 ... It was MSU's highest-ranked upset win away from home since beating No. 1 Oregon State, 8-7, on Feb. 22, 2014 in Surprise, Ariz.

• The win was also MSU's first win at Louisville since 1993, as Friday was also the first meeting between MSU and UofL since 2012.

RANKED SERIES WIN
• MSU took two out of three games to win the series with the 8th-ranked Cardinals, for the Spartans' highest-ranked series win in Coach Boss' 18 seasons at the helm.

• Michigan State dealt Louisville consecutive losses to start the year for just the third time in the 20 years under head coach Dan McDonnell.

SEYMOUR SMACKS HOMER IN BACK-TO-BACK GAMES...TWICE
• Prior to this season, MSU senior infielder Randy Seymour did not have a home run in consecutive games in his career, but he has now smacked in home run in consecutive games twice this season.

• Seymour belted a home run in the season-opener at Louisville on Feb. 13, and adding another homer in game two of the season on Feb. 14

• Seymour blasted a solo, opposite field home run in the first inning of last Sunday's game at Nebraska, then smacked a three-run home run to right center on Tuesday at Eastern Michigan.

SEYMOUR'S FIRST HOME RUN OF SEASON WITH RUNNERS ON
• Seymour's three-run home run on Tuesday at Eastern Michigan was the first of his team-leading four home runs this season with runners on base, as his previous three home runs this season were all solo homers.

• For his career, Seymour now has a slurpee-wielding convenience store resemblance of seven solo HRs out of his 11 career home runs.

• He also has one two-run HR, a pair of three-run HR and one grand slam.

WILLIAMS WITH THE INSIDE-THE-PARK HOME RUN...AGAIN
• Senior outfielder Nick Williams hit an inside-the-park home run on Tuesday at Eastern Michigan, after the EMU right fielder collided with the wall, initially appearing to make the catch, but the ball came loose on the collision and Williams darted around the bases for the inside-the-park home run.

• Williams' inside-the-park home run was eerily similar to Dillon Kark's walk-off inside-the-park HR on March 10, 2023 vs. Western Carolina at Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C., which has the same dimensions as Fenway Park, and Kark's fly ball was down the right field line and the WCU right field collided with the wall right at Pesky's Pole.

• Williams now has MSU's last two inside-the-park home runs, as he was the answer to the Jeopardy clue of "This Spartan had the last inside-the-park home run" - "Who is Nick Williams," which came on March 7, 2025 vs. Cornell, also in Greenville, S.C. at Fluor Field ... knocked a hard liner down the right field line that bounced off the wall just past Pesky's Pole, and the ball bounced past Cornell right fielder, allowing the speedy Williams to dart around the bases for an inside-the-park home run.

LOUISVILLE SLUGGERS
• MSU slugged five home runs in the opening weekend in Louisville, with all five coming in the first two games, starting off with two homers in the season-opener, from senior infielder Randy Seymour and redshirt-sophomore catcher Adam Broski each knocking solo shots ... In Saturday's slamming of the Cardinals, the Spartans blasted three round-trippers, including two from junior outfielder Parker Picot, with a grand slam and a three-run shot, while Seymour smacked his second in as many games.

• The Spartans had 23 hits on the weekend, including nine extra-base hits, with the five home runs and four doubles, on the way to hitting .237 and scoring 18 runs (6.0 rpg).

• Last season, the Spartans were hitting .163 after the first weekend, with 14 runs on 16 hits in four games played at the USA Baseball Complex at Cary, N.C.

STRIKING 'EM OUT
• MSU's pitching staff opened the season with a 2-to-1 strikeout-walk-ratio with 23 strikeouts on the weekend (7.7 Ks/game), while only yielding 12 walks.

• The Spartan staff enter this weekend at Rutgers at 2.1-to-1 K/BB, with 107 strikeouts (7.1 K/game), while yielding 50 walks (3.3 BB/game).

ROUND-TRIPPERS
• MSU only needed two games to hit five home runs in the opening weekend ... last season, the Spartans didn't have any home runs for the first six games, and MSU's fifth HR didn't come until game number eight, on Feb. 28 vs. Harvard, when the Spartan bats erupted for six homers.

• With five home runs through the first three games, the Spartans were averaging 1.7 HR/game through the first weekend ... MSU did not hit a HR in the series at Texas, facing a tough Longhorn staff combined with a Texas wind blowing in from left field in all three games, to drop to 0.8 HR/game.

• The Spartans were right at that average with two homers in the three games of the First Pitch Invitational at Fluor Field in Greenville, with two HR in the loss to Illinois on Friday, but no round-trippers during the midweeks in Greenville, and went into the Nebraska weekend with a slurpee-wielding convenience store resemblance of seven HR through 11 games, averaging 0.6 HR/game.

• MSU hit two home runs in the three games at Nebraska, adding two more on Tuesday at Eastern Michigan, and now have 11 homers in the 15 games this season, for a 0.7 HR/game average.

• Last season, MSU had 51 home runs in 55 games for a 0.9 HR/game average.

FIRST CAREER HOMER FOR STURGESS
• MSU sophomore outfielder Issac Sturgess smacked the first home run of his career on Feb. 27 vs. Illinois, going to deep left-center field at Fluor Field, home of the Greenville Drive, which has the same specs as Fenway Park.

• Sturgess sent the ball on a 388-foot adventure that was 106 mph off the bat.

FAMILIAR OUTCOME
• Michigan State has lost its last three extra-inning games by the same score and in playing 10 innings in all three.

• MSU lost 5-4 in 10-innings to Illinois on Feb. 27 in the Spartans' opening game of the First Pitch Invitational at Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C.

• That was the same score as the Spartans' last extra-inning game, a 5-4 10-inning loss to Nebraska in the opening round game of the 2025 Big Ten Tournament last season.

• The Spartans then lost at Nebraska by the same, 5-4, 10-inning score in the opener on Friday night, March 6, giving MSU

WILLIE MAYS MCKAY
• After entering the game on Feb. 28 vs. Albany without a stolen base in the first seven games played, junior infielder Ryan McKay unleashed his inner Willie Mays Hayes over the rest of the weekend, swiping four stolen bases, coming in the last two games, with two each on Feb. 28 vs. Albany and James Madison on March 1.

• McKay now leads MSU and ranks tied for 20th in the B1G with the four stolen bases.

• For perspective of McKay's speed outburst and for comparison, he had five stolen bases in all of the 2024 season and 11 last season.

CHUCKIN' CHAMBERS
• Redshirt-freshman Brady Chambers chalked up season highs of four strikeouts in 4.0 IP of relief, with only one hit and no runs or walks, on Saturday vs. UAlbany, earning the first save of his collegiate career.

• Chambers earned his first win in the Victory for MSU over No. 8 Louisville on Feb. 14, going 2.0 IP, scattering two hits with one K.

• The Spartan righty then made the first start of his college career on March 4 vs. No. 10 Clemson in Greenville, S.C., going 2.0 IP with one hit, one run and one K.

• Chambers pitched 2.1 IP of relief in game 2 of the series at Nebraska on March 7, with two his, one run, two walks and three strikeouts.

• After redshirting last season while recovering from an injury in high school, Chambers now has five appearances with one start, chalking up nine Ks in 12.1 IP, spraying seven hits and only allowing three runs and three walks.

MIGHTY MONKE
• Graduate starting pitcher Carter Monke has gone at least 4.0 IP in each of his four starts, including a season-long 6.1 IP vs. No. 3 Texas on Feb. 21, scattering seven hits but only yielding two runs, while striking out three.

• On Feb. 28 vs. UAlbany, Monke went 5.0 IP with a season-high four Ks, with three hits and one run.

• In his Big Ten debut on March 7 at Nebraska, Monke went 4.2 IP, spraying six hits with two runs, two walks and four strikeouts.

• For the season, Monke has four starts with a 1-2 mark with a 2.25 ERA, topping the team with 20.0 IP, with 14 strikeouts and eight walks, allowing seven runs, five earned.

EIGHT RIBBIES
• MSU junior outfielder Parker Picot posted eight RBI in Michigan State's 13-4 win at Louisville on Feb. 14 ... He knocked in a sacrifice fly in the first inning, then blasted a grand slam in the fourth and added a three-run homer in the sixth for eight RBI on the day, becoming the first Spartan with eight RBI in a game since Bob Malek had eight ribbies on April 19, 2000 vs. Detroit Mercy.

• Picot's collection of eight RBI was identical to Malek's 26 years ago, just in a different order with a three-run HR in the first inning, then a sac fly in the fifth before a grand slam in the sixth in the Spartans' 19-6 win over Detroit Mercy.

PICOT GRAND SLAMMIN'
• Picot was the first Spartan to hit a grand slam since teammate Randy Seymour smacked a grand slam on March 2, 2025 vs. Harvard at Greenville, S.C., coming in the third inning of MSU's 13-3 crushing of the Crimson.

DOUBLING UP THE HR
• Picot's two HR's in Saturday's game marked the first time for a Spartan to hit two HR in the same game since former teammate Sam Busch hit two at No. 25 USC last year on May 10, 2025 in the Spartans' 15-5 (8 inn.) win over the Trojans.

• It marked the second year in a row that Picot's first two HR of the season came in the same game, as he hit his first two homers as a Spartan last season on Feb. 28 vs. Harvard, but not until game seven of the season.

SEY-MOUR HOME RUNS
• Senior infielder Randy Seymour joined Picot in smacking two homers in the opening weekend, with a solo shot in each of the first two games at Louisville on Feb. 13 and 14.

• Seymour hit his third homer of the season over the weekend at Nebraska, slugging an opposite-field home run to right field in the first inning of Sunday's series finale on March 8 ... he then belted his fourth homer of the season with a three-run HR at Eastern Michigan on Tuesday, matching his homer total for all of 2025.

• Last season, Seymour hit four HR for the whole season, with his first homer of the season coming in game 10 on March 2 vs. Harvard, and his second round-tripper of the season didn't come until game 17 on March 14 at Iowa.

TOP OF THE LINE...UP
• In MSU's 13-4 win at No. 8 Louisville on Feb. 14, eight of the nine Spartan batters had at least one hit on the day, with a total of six Spartans posting multiple hits ... Batters 1-4 in the MSU lineup combined to go 8-for-16 with 12 RBI and scoring 10 runs.

• Leadoff hitter senior outfielder Nick Williams was 2-for-4 with three runs scored and adding one walk, while No. 2 hitter junior infielder Ryan McKay was 2-for-4 with three runs scored and one RBI ... No. 3 hitter senior infielder Randy Seymour was 2-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored, hitting his second HR in as many days, ahead of junior outfielder Parker Picot, who went 2-for-3 with two HR and eight RBI total, knocking a sac fly and also drawing a walk.

MOUND DEBUTS
• On the mound in MSU's rout of No. 8 Louisville on Feb. 14, four Spartan pitchers all made smashing debuts, as graduate starting pitcher Carter Monke, who is in his first year at MSU after transferring from Illinois State, went 4.0 IP, scattering five hits and yielding two runs, while ringing up three strikeouts.

• Redshirt-freshman reliever Brady Chambers earned his first collegiate win in his college debut after missing last season with an injury ... The righty went 2.0 IP with one run and one punchout.

• Two other transfers also made their Spartan debuts, in junior reliever Ben Kochany and graduate reliever JD Greeley finished it out from there ... Kochany went 1.2 IP with four hits and a run, while Greeley went 1.1 IP with two hits, no runs and one K.

• In the series at Texas, two Spartan freshmen pitchers made their debuts for the Green & White, with Kyle Rudolph and Bobby Crane seeing their first action as Spartans ... Rudolph came on in with one out in the bottom of the sixth and yielded an RBI groundout, then later chalked up his first collegiate strikeout to end the inning and the Texas rally ... he then fired a three-up, three-down seventh inning, the lone inning that the Spartan defense retired the Longhorns in order with another strikeout, then a flyout and a groundout ... Crane took over in the eighth and worked around a one-out hit, inducing a groundout and flyout to finish the frame unscathed.

MITTEN STATERS
• Michigan State has 21 players on its 2026 roster from the state of Michigan.

• Rutgers does not have any Michiganders on its roster.

JERSEY BOYS
• The Spartans do not have any players from the state of New Jersey on its roster.

• Like MSU, the Scarlet Knights have 21 players on its roster from its home state.

UP NEXT
• MSU makes the short trip to Ann Arbor on Wednesday, March 18 to play at Michigan in a non-conference midweek contest ... First pitch from UM's Fisher Stadium is slated for 4 p.m.

• The Spartans' home opener at Jeff Ishbia Field at McLane Stadium is also their Big Ten Conference home opener, hosting Iowa on Friday, March 20 at 3:32 p.m., in the first of the three-game weekend series ... Game two is on Saturday, March 21, also with a 3:32 p.m. start time, while the series finale slated for Sunday, March 22, starting at 1:02 p.m.

SPARTAN BASEBALL 2026 PRESEASON NOTES

RETURN OF THE MACK-ay
• Michigan State has three of its top five battling average leaders from a year ago returning in 2026, led by junior infielder Ryan McKay, who led MSU and ranked 27th in the B1G with a .319 average last season, the lone Spartan and one of 46 players to hit over .300.

• McKay also led MSU and ranked tied for fifth in the B1G with 20 doubles.

• Additionally, McKay led the Spartans and ranked tied for 19th in the league in walks with 36 free passes, and was also among the league leaders in toughest to strikeout, with just 31 Ks in 210 at bats.

OTHER RETURNING NUMBERS
• Senior catcher Noah Bright was fourth for MSU last season with a .277 average ... Bright added 15 RBI and 18 walks.

• Senior infielder Randy Seymour was fifth, hitting .268 ... Seymour was second on the team and tied for sixth in the B1G in triples (3) last season ... He also ranked second on the Spartans in triples (3), while ranking third on the team in hits (53), RBI (36) and stolen bases (9) ... Also, he not only topped the team, but led the Big Ten and ranked 14th in the NCAA in sacrifice bunts (12) ... Additionally, Seymour led the Spartans in both games played and games started with 55, the only MSU player to start in all 55 games and also the only Spartan to play in every game.

• MSU also returns number seven and eight on its top 10 batting average list from a year ago in senior outfielder Nick Williams (.266) and junior outfielder Parker Picot (.261).

• Williams is second among returners and was third overall on the team in on-base percentage (.405), as well as fourth in runs scored (48) and fifth in RBI (29) ... He was also tied for fourth in HR (5) and third in triples (2).

• Picot led not only MSU but also shared the lead in the B1G last season in triples (5) ... He also is the top Spartan returner and was second overall on the team last season in slugging percentage (.500), RBI (37) and HR (8).

• The Spartans lost their second and third top hitters to graduation in catcher Caleb Berry (.297) and infielder Sam Busch (.289). Busch also led MSU in slugging percentage (.584), RBI (62), HR (15) and total bases (111).

• On the mound, returns senior right-hander Nolan Higgins, who is the Spartans' top returner and tied of the team lead in starts (15), tying with Joseph Dzierwa, who was named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Year last season ... Higgins also is MSU's top returner in strikeouts and was No. 3 overall on the team (39), as well as the top returner and No. 2 on the team in innings pitched (61.1).

• Sophomore right-hander Aidan Donovan was No. 3 on the MSU staff in games started (8), with 17 strikeouts, in 11 appearances, making eight starts.

• Senior righty reliever Tommy Szczepanski returns after leading MSU is opposing batting average (.188), and ranking fifth on the team in ERA (4.00).

NEW NUMBER, WHO DIS?
• Michigan State junior outfielder Parker Picot changed his jersey number from number 13 in 2025 to wearing number 11 in 2026.

NEWCOMERS
• Michigan State has 16 newcomers on the 2026 roster, with 10 freshmen and six transfers:

NO       NAME POS     HT       HOMETOWN/PREVIOUS SCHOOL
            29        Sam Beemer   RHP     FR        Lake Orion, MI/Lake Orion Community HS
            43        Bobby Crane   LHP      FR        Grosse Pointe, MI/U of Detroit Jesuit HS
            13        CJ Deckinga     INF/OF FR        Minooka, IL/Minooka HS
            44        Isaiah Domey INF       FR        New Baltimore, MI/Anchor Bay HS
            24        Anthony Elezaj           C          FR        Rochester, MI/Orchard Lake St. Mary's HS
            26        Andrew Everson         RHP     FR        Brighton, MI/Brighton HS
            32        Steve Fountain           RHP     FR        West Bloomfield, MI/West Bloomfield HS
            22        JD Greeley       RHP     GR       Blakeslee, PA/Pocono Mountain West HS/Monmouth
            31        Ben Kochany   RHP     JR         Bay City, MI/Bay City Western HS/Saginaw Valley State
            7          Carter Monke RHP     GR       Mount Olive, IL/Mount Olive HS/Illinois State
            30       Jasen Oliver     INF       JR         Almont, MI/Orchard Lake St. Mary's HS/Indiana
            5          Trent Rice        OF        JR         Macomb, MI/Marine City Cardinal Mooney Catholic HS/Oakland
            38        Kyle Rudolph RHP     FR        Peachtree City, GA/Starr's Mill HS
            42        Andrew Siler   LHP      GR       Avon, OH/Avon HS/Tiffin
            2          Cole Van Ameyde       INF       FR        Lake Orion, MI/Brother Rice HS
            6          Davis Weeks   RHP/INF          FR        Edwards, IL/Dunlap HS

FROM FOE TO FRIEND
• One of MSU's 16 newcomers is graduate right-handed pitcher JD Greeley, who came to MSU from Monmouth and he was on the mound for last season's meeting between MSU and Monmouth on Feb. 15, 2025 in Cary, N.C. at the USA Baseball Complex ... Greeley went 6.0 IP, holding the Spartans to just two hits and two runs, one earned run, with four Ks and two walks, as MSU beat Greeley and Monmouth, 2-0.

DANDY VANDY FAMILY
• One of the 10 Spartan freshmen is infielder Cole Van Ameyde, who is the son of Spartan pitching coach Mark Van Ameyde ... Cole not only joined his father in college baseball, but also his two brothers ... His older brother, Chase, is a sophomore pitcher at Notre Dame, while his twin brother, Cash, is a freshman outfielder at Oakland.

• The Spartan Van Ameydes will face off against their family members three total times this season, as MSU plays at Notre Dame on Wednesday, April 8 and the Spartans host the Irish on Wednesday, April 22, while Michigan State hosts Oakland on Tuesday, April 14.

TRIO OF SPARTAN BASEBALL PLAYERS TABBED TO BIG TEN PLAYERS TO WATCH LIST
• Three Michigan State baseball players were tabbed to the Big Ten Conference Players To Watch List, announced Wednesday by the conference office ahead of this weekend's 2026 season opening across the country.

Senior pitcher Nolan Higgins, junior infielder Ryan McKay and senior infielder Randy Seymour were recognized. McKay and Seymour are now two-time B1G Players to Watch selections after both collecting the accolade last season, while Higgins was recognized with his first conference recognition.

A native of Wixom, Michigan, Higgins tied Joseph Dzierwa for the most starts in 2025 with 15, good for tying for fifth in the B1G and ranking tied for 73rd in the NCAA ... Higgins pitched 61.1 IP, which ranked second on the team behind Dzierwa's 91.2 IP, and ranked 34th in the B1G ... Along with leading the Spartan staff for returners in starts, he also is the top returner in strikeouts with 39 Ks ... Higgins fired three or more Ks in eight of the 15 outings, including the first four of the season all with four or more, highlighted by a season-high five Ks vs ... Cornell on March 7, and later matching that with five punchouts in the Spartans' B1G Tournament clinching Victory for MSU over Minnesota on May 17 ... He also went at least 5.0 IP in five starts, led by a season-high 6.0 IP on three different outings.

McKay, a native of Clarkston, Michigan, was not only a Preseason Player to Watch list, but he also earned postseason Second-Team All-B1G accolades in 2025 after leading the Spartans and ranking tied for 27th in the B1G with a .319 average ... He was the lone Spartan and only one of 46 players in the B1G to hit over .300 ... He also led MSU and ranked tied for fifth in the B1G with 20 doubles ... Additionally, he led the Spartans and ranked tied for 19th in the league in walks with 36 free passes, and was also among the league leaders in toughest to strikeout, with just 31 Ks in 210 at bats ... McKay also topped the team in on-base percentage (.421), while ranking third on team in slugging percentage (.495) ... Furthermore, McKay led MSU in multiple hit games with 18, including the only Spartan in the 2025 season with five hits in a game, which came in at Penn State (March 21), going 5-for-5 ... McKay started 54 games at second base, missing one game with illness, ranking second on team in both games played and games started, and led MSU in most games played at one position ... He was second on the team in both assists (117) and fielding double plays (25).

Seymour, a Frankfort, Illinois native, was second on the team and tied for sixth in the B1G in triples (3) last season ... He was also fifth on the team with a .268 average, also ranking second on the Spartans in triples (3), while ranking third on the team in hits (53), RBI (36) and stolen bases (9) ... He also not only topped the team, but led the Big Ten and ranked 14th in the NCAA in sacrifice bunts (12) ... Additionally, Seymour was second on the team in at bats (198) ... Seymour also led the Spartans in both games played and games started with 55, the only MSU player to start in all 55 games and also the only Spartan to play in every game ... He made 38 starts at shortstop and 17 at third base, leading the MSU defense with 128 assists and third in fielding double plays with 15.

McKAY COLLECTS THE PRESEASON ACCOLADES
• Along with being named a Big Ten Preseason Player to Watch, Spartan junior infielder Ryan McKay also collected a handful of other preseason accolades.

• McKay was also on D1Baseball's Top 50 Second Basemen list, coming in at No. 4 among second baseman in the B1G and No. 31 in the NCAA.

• McKay was also on Baseball Media's Top 100 College Prospect List.

McKay is No. 72 on the 100-player list and is one of nine players from the Big Ten Conference on the list ... The Spartan second baseman joins UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky (No. 1), Oregon shortstop Maddox Molony (16), UCLA first baseman Mulivai Levu (41), Northwestern shortstop Ryan Kucherak (53), USC pitcher Mason Edwards (55), UCLA third baseman/shortstop Roman Martin (73), UCLA outfielder Will Gasparino (92) and UCLA pitcher Logan Reddemann (95).

MSU BASEBALL'S DECKINGA NAMED TO D1BASEBALL'S PRESEASON TOP BIG TEN FRESHMEN LIST
• Michigan State baseball player CJ Deckinga was named one of the D1Baseball's Preseason Top Big Ten Freshmen list, announced by the platform ahead of the 2026 season kicking off this weekend.

• Deckinga, an infielder, was joined on the five-player list by UCLA pitcher Angel Cervantes, Iowa pitcher/outfielder Brody Irlbeck, Maryland infielder Ty Kaunas and Ohio State pitcher Jude Fisher.

• A native of Minooka, Illinois, Deckinga was a three-year letterwinner at Minooka High School, helping MHS to a 33-4 record in his senior season, and he was a two-time All-Southwest Prairie Conference honoree, registering a .400 batting average as a senior with 30 RBI, logging a .521 on-base percentage, .657 slugging percentage and a 1.179 OPS ... Deckinga was ranked as the No. 1 3B/OF and No. 8 overall player in the state of Illinois by Prep Baseball Report, and was selected to play in the Future Games as well as attend the Prep Baseball Report Super 60 and the PBR Illinois Preseason ProCase.