SAN ANTONIO – Two-hundred and fifty days. When UTSA Baseball hits the field on Friday, it will be exactly 250 days removed from the NCAA Super Regional in Los Angeles. Last year’s Roadrunner squad produced the best season in the school’s history, regardless of sport. Forty-seven wins, a conference championship, 14 straight victories, an at-large bid to the Austin Regional and a resounding upset of top-seeded Texas captivated baseball fans across the nation. Alas, the chronicles of 2025 are in the past. A new chapter, titled ‘2026’, is yet to be written for UTSA. That journey begins on Friday, as Head Coach Pat Hallmark’s bunch opens up its 56-game regular season at home.
WHAT TO KNOW
Who: South Dakota State (0-0, 0-0) at UTSA (0-0)
When: Friday, Feb 13 (4 p.m.) | Saturday, Feb. 14 (Noon) | Sunday, Feb. 15 (1 p.m.)
Where: Roadrunner Field – San Antonio, Texas
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Stream: ESPN+
Broadcast Crew: Jordy Fee-Platt (play-by-play) and Mike Capps (color)
JUNKYARD DOGS: A HALLMARK MOVIE
The greatest season in the decades-old history of UTSA Athletics belongs to last year’s baseball squad. The sixth edition of the Pat Hallmark era concluded with a remarkable 47 wins, suffering just 15 losses along the way. From Feb. 22-March 9, the Roadrunners rattled off 14 straight victories, highlighted by a 7-4 triumph at No. 14 Texas A&M. The group carried its momentum into conference play, notching five sweeps in American action and blazing to a 24-3 league record. The mark clinched the regular-season conference championship, helping guide UTSA to its first-ever at-large bid to an NCAA Regional.
Texas hosted the Austin Regional, also welcoming Kansas State and Houston Christian to the four-team, double-elimination bracket. After the ‘Runners knocked off the third-seeded Wildcats, they stunned the hosting Longhorns in back-to-back contests, winning 9-7 and 7-4. The squad advanced to the Super Regionals for the first time in program history, remaining as one of the final 16 teams standing in the nation. UCLA hosted the best-of-three series, knocking off UTSA in two contests. Still, the 2025 club wrapped up the season ranked No. 13 by D1Baseball in its end-of-year poll.
PRESEASON RECOGNITION
The ‘Runners were picked to finish second in the American’s Preseason Coaches’ Poll, only behind East Carolina. UTSA and ECU each received four first-place votes, but the Pirates tallied 75 total points to edge out the Roadrunners’ 70. Drew Detlefsen, Connor Kelley, Robert Orloski and Andrew Stucky were all named to the American All-Conference Preseason Team after stellar showings with the 2025 Super Regional squad. With four selections, UTSA led the league in individual preseason honors.
Right-handed pitcher Robert Orloski was named to D1Baseball’s top-200 preseason pitchers list, coming in at No. 24. The junior appeared primarily out of the bullpen in 2025, but was electric with a 3.36 ERA, eight wins without a loss, nine saves and 77 strikeouts. The Middleton, Idaho, native was also selected to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers’ Association (NCBWA) Preseason All-American Second Team.
Graduate catcher Andrew Stucky also earned preseason recognition, landing as D1Baseball’s 19th-best mid-major catcher. In 2025, the ‘Runners’ backstop made 42 starts across 52 appearances, notching 15 doubles, six home runs and 40 RBIs while batting .324.
ABOUT THE JACKRABBITS
South Dakota State is under the direction of ninth-year Head Coach Rob Bishop, who holds a 174-238 record with the program. The group went 16-36 in 2025, but went 12-18 in Summit League play. SDSU most recently bowed out of the league championship in two games, falling in a 10-inning heartbreaker to Omaha.
UP NEXT
After its three-match series, UTSA will stay home for a Tuesday bout with UIC at 4 p.m. The Flames visit Incarnate Word for a three-game series this weekend at nearby Sullivan Field. The Roadrunners’ Feb. 17 home matchup against UIC will be streamed live on ESPN+ and available to follow via StatBroadcast.
-UTSA-