The Teams: Tarleton State Texans (11-5, 0-0 WAC) vs. Houston Christian Huskies (8-8, 4-2 SLC)
Where: Stephenville, Texas
Stadium: Tarleton State Baseball Complex (1,000)
Day and Time: Friday at 6 p.m. | Saturday at 3 p.m. | Sunday at 12 p.m.
Streaming Platform: ESPN+
Series Sponsor: The Purple Goat
 
PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS

• TSU RHP Brendon Carter (0-0, --- ERA, 0.0 IP); HCU RHP David Lopez (3-1, 4.74 ERA, 19.0 IP)
• TSU RHP Cort Lowry (1-2, 2.13 ERA, 12.2 IP); HCU RHP Joshua Caravalho (1-3, 10.06 ERA, 17.0 IP)
• TSU RHP Ethan Wendel (2-0, 3.44 ERA, 18.1 IP); HCU RHP Ben Smith (2-1, 5.85 ERA, 20.0 IP))

 
QUICK HITS

• Tarleton State enters Friday's game on a five-game winning streak, with a Power Four conference win against Baylor and a four-game sweep at New Mexico. This is the Texans' longest winning streak since a five-game run between March 7-12, 2025, which was a four-game sweep of New Mexico and a home win against UIW. Tarleton State last won six straight Feb. 20-27, 2024.
• The Texans' 11-5 start to 2026 is tied for their best start in their NCAA Division I era (2023).
• Tarleton State and Houston Christian have matched up twice before. Last season the Huskies won 10-4 in Houston on April 30. The two also played in 1990 (March 5), with Tarleton State winning 12-2.
• Texan RHP Cort Lowry was just named the WAC Pitcher of the Week. Lowry blanked the Lobos across five innings on Saturday, allowing no hits, striking out seven with three walks. In the planned seven-inning affair, Tarleton State was two outs away from its first no-hitter in nearly 30 years (1997). Lowry now has the second most strikeouts on the team (18), with a 2.13 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, and .103 BAA.
• Tarleton State has four players with active 7+ game hitting streaks; Rayner Heinrich at 11 games, Carson Lorch at seven games, Cage McCloud at seven games and Slade McCloud at seven games. Lorch has reached base safely in all 16 games this year, Heinrich in 12 straight.
• Tai Phetluangsy has four saves on the year, three last week alone. He now has the tied-sixth most saves in the country, second most in WAC, two short of the nation's leader Ryan Kroepel (Utah Tech).
• Tarleton State is 6-2 at home this season, its last home game a 6-5 thriller over Baylor on March 3.  

 
Team Comparison (Tarleton State vs. HCU)

• Batting Average (.310 to .291)
• Slugging Pct. (.487 to .436)
• BB/SO (82/131 to 62/119)
• On-Base Pct. (.425 to .389)
• SB-Att (29-36 to 13-16)
• HR (16 to 12)
• 2B (40 to 37)
• 3B (5 to 2)
• Runs (133 to 111)
• ERA (5.37 to 7.16)
• WHIP (1.55 to 1.62)
• Opp. Batting Avg. (.282 to .298)
• SO/BB (134/66 to 135/59)

 
LOBO LOVE
Tarleton State has had great success playing the Lobos over the past two seasons, going a perfect 8-0 against New Mexico with two four-game series sweeps in each of the past two seasons. This year it was in Albuquerque, with the Texans winning 13-11, 7-3, 15-10 and 9-7. That makes it an 11.0 runs per game series for the Texans, and they collected 54 hits across the four games. That boosted their batting average to .310 as a team, the 36th best mark in the nation and first in the conference. New Mexico entered the four-game series with a 12-1 overall mark, and the Lobos finished the series 12-5.
 
BEAT THE BEARS
The Tarleton State Baseball Complex was rockin' last week, as the Texans beat the Baylor Bears in a midweek matchup. This marked the first Power Four conference home victory for Tarleton State in program history.
 
The Texans beat the Bears 6-5 in front of packed house in Stephenville, winning their second game against Baylor over the past four seasons. The Texans beat the Bears on April 25, 2023, in Waco 6-2, for their first Power 4 victory. And now, after several narrow losses to Power Four teams at home, and a narrow 3-1 loss to No. 7 ranked Arkansas at a neutral site location this year alone, Tarleton State finished the job to send Texan Nation into a frenzy.
 
After trailing early, Tarleton State scored three unanswered runs between the sixth and seventh innings to take the lead for good. The Texans allowed just a single baserunner in each of the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, then Tai Phetluangsy closed the door in the ninth with back-to-back strikeouts and an induced foulout to first to earn his second save of the year. Ethan Jaques earned the win, improving to 2-0, with scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth.
 
Tarleton State didn't allow a hit over the final three innings, and outhit Baylor 12-7 on the night. Each of the Texans' first eight batters in their lineup got a hit, with four multi-hit outings by Kendyl Johnson, Rayner Heinrich, Slade McCloud and Carson Lorch. Johnson reached base three times with a double and a walk, and Slade McCloud had a double, as well. The Bears got eight free passes on the night, five hit by
 
AT LA MODERNA IN CLEBURNE
Two weeks ago at La Moderna Field in Cleburne, home of the Cleburne Railroaders, Tarleton State split with Creighton and lost to Texas State. The Texans posted their third comeback victory of the year on Friday (now with six), to beat the Bluejays 8-7 in walk-off fashion. Tarleton State allowed three runs in the first and trailed 4-1 in the fifth before stringing together a pair of three-run innings and a walk-off RBI single by Sergio Guerra in the ninth.
 
After a loss to Texas State, the Texans dropped a 12-inning affair 4-3 against Creighton in the second game. Four of Tarleton State's five losses have been by four runs or fewer, including that one-run loss and a two-run defeat against No. 7 Arkansas at Globe Life Field in Arlington.
 
OFFENSIVE ONSLAUGHT VS. UIW
On Feb. 24, the Texans dropped 17 runs in seven innings on Incarnate Word, their third time scoring double-digit runs in the first eight games of the season. Tarleton State had six batters with multi-hit outings, led by a 4-for-5 day with three RBI by Slade McCloud. His brother, Cage McCloud, went 3-for-5 with four RBI and provided the walk-off run-rule three-run home run in the seventh inning. Jake Tatom went 3-for-4 with four RBI, all coming on a grand slam in the seventh inning. Sergio Guerra, Rayner Heinrich and Kendyl Johnson also had two hits apiece, combining for four doubles, with Heinrich belting a pair.
 
The Texans scored 11 runs in the seventh inning after entering the frame leading 6-5. This marks the second time this season Tarleton State has scored 10+ runs in a single inning (10 in the third inning in the season opener vs. Le Moyne on Feb. 13).
 
SEASON-OPENING SUCCESS
The Texans were 5-3 entering the College Baseball Series this past weekend, marking the third time in their six NCAA Division I seasons they started 5-3 or better through eight games (2023, 2024). The last time they started that hot, the Texans went on to win the WAC Tournament, becoming the first reclassifying baseball program to win a postseason conference tournament.
 
Tarleton State had one of the better weekends to start the college baseball season, going a perfect 3-0, outscoring Le Moyne 38-15 with a 34-24 hit advantage. The Texans scored the most runs in their season-opener in the program's modern era, dropping 20 runs in seven innings to win 20-3. They then scored 13 runs on Sunday, totaling double-digit runs twice in the three-game series and sweeping the Dolphins for their first season-opening sweep in their D1 era. Tarleton State also got it done on the bump, allowing 10 ER across the three games, owning a 3.60 ERA through the opening slate.
 
BACK TOGETHER
New this season, there are two pairs reuniting for the 2026 campaign. First are the McCloud brothers, as Cage McCloud joins the Texans to play with his older brother Slade McCloud. Cage McCloud played last year at McLennan CC in Waco, where he appeared in 59 total games. Cage McCloud posted a batting average of .292, notching 47 hits in 161 at-bats with 51 walks. With McLennan, he won the Regional and Super Regional, plus won a National Player of the Week Award. Slade McCloud, of course, is one of Tarleton State's best returning players. Slade McCloud was an All-WAC First Team selection last year, and is Preseason All-WAC and the No. 10 second baseman among mid-major players and No. 40 overall entering the season, according to D1Baseball.com. In 2025, Slade McCloud led the Texans with a .358 batting average, collecting 78 hits in 218 at-bats, finishing the year with a career-high 45 runs scored, third most on the team. McCloud had the tied-most RBI on the team with 45 and posted a .541 slugging percentage with eight home runs. He was also a threat on the base paths, tallying 20 stolen bases on the season. The infielder was one of three players to start all 56 games for the Texans last season.
 
Also back together are head coach Fuller Smith and outfielder Jake Tatom. Tatom played for Smith at Sam Houston in 2023, a year the two won a WAC Tournament championship together and won a game in the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional. The Bearkats finished the season 39-25 overall. Smith left that offseason to become head coach at Tarleton State, and Tatom departed for Houston, where he played the last two seasons. Last season for the Cougars, he batted .224 with a home run, three doubles and 13 RBI in 36 games. He also had 14 walks. At Sam Houston with Smith, Tatom played in 43 games as a true freshman and was selected to the 2023 All-WAC Tournament team as a designated hitter. He posted a 4-for-5 five RBI performance vs Grand Canyon (May 26) in an elimination game, plus had two walk-off hits during the regular season, the first being a two-run double vs Abilene Christian (April 8), followed by another RBI double vs UT Arlington (May 13). He went 2-for-4 against Tulane in game two of the 2023 Baton Rouge NCAA Regional.
 
SPIEHS ELEVATED
After the 2025 campaign, R.D. Spiehs was promoted to Associate Head Coach by head coach Fuller Smith. "R.D. has been an incredible asset to our program since the day he arrived," said Smith. "His wealth of knowledge, work ethic, and ability to connect with our players have been instrumental to our success. This promotion is a reflection of his dedication to Tarleton State Baseball, and I'm excited to continue building this program alongside him."
 
Over his first two seasons, Spiehs has coached numerous All-WAC pitchers and guided his staff to multiple WAC Pitcher of the Week honors. In 2024, Grant Garza posted a 10-1 record on the mound and earned First Team All-WAC recognition, while Brian Panneton and Reese Bassinger were named to the Second Team All-WAC.
 
Alongside Smith and Spiehs, Will Fox is new to the coaching staff, with returners Dustin Williams (assistant coach) and Mason Crews (Director of Player Development / Camp Director). Fox, a seasoned coach with Power Four conference experience, comes to Stephenville after six seasons on staff at Texas A&M, most recently serving as an assistant coach. He works with the Texans' infielders and hitters. During his time in Aggieland, Fox helped guide the Texas A&M to a 179-92 record, three NCAA Tournament berths, and two College World Series appearances. In 2023, Texas A&M reached the College World Series championship series for the first time in program history, finishing the season with a 53-15 record, tied for second-most wins in school history.
 
LET'S GET PERSONAL
All of the Tarleton State players have great stories and unique things about them -- here are some of the most notable...
 
#2 Ike Shirey
• Trains horses, plays golf, fishes, hunts
• Came to Tarleton State when head coach Fuller Smith came here
• Plan postgrad is to work in a fire department
 
#3 Kendyl Johnson
• Was a First Team All District WR for high school football team, chose baseball over football because love of the sport -- belives baseball is a more polished game than football, and he loves the pursuit of the small percentage of success
• Favorite movies are Marvel movies
• Favorite shows are anime related
• Favorite video games are Minecraft and Call of Duty
• Favorite memory from his time thus far at Tarleton State have been Bible studies on Fridays and the side quests he goes on with his teammates
• Plan postgrad is to play professional baseball, then be an entrepreneur
• Dad played overseas basketball (Anthony Johnson), and his cousin was part of the infamous Butt Fumble (offensive lineman Brandon Moore)
 
#4 Brady Englett
• Was born in Alabama, lived there until he was 4 years old (Mobile)
• Was a football state champion at safety in high school
• Likes to hunt, hang out with friends
• Rocky IV is favorite movie
• Favorite video game is NBA 2K
• His dad, Todd, played Single A baseball in the Pirates organization
 
#5 Jake Tatom
•  Likes to golf and fish
•  Played for Fuller Smith at Sam Houston
•  Plan postgrad is to coach high school baseball
 
#6 Carson Lorch
•  Big Star Wars fan (especially Revenge of the Sith), and also likes Marvel movies
•  Big video game player (Call of Duty, Fallout, Pokemon)
•  Favorite shows are The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones
•  Plan postgrad is to play professional baseball and then enter the sales business
 
#7 Karsen Davis
•  Is a second degree black belt in Tae-Kwon-Do, been doing it his whole life
•  Big-time golfer, has a five handicap
•  Plan postgrad is to open up a tint shop
 
#8 Rayner Heinrich
•  Goes by Baywatch
•  Likes to fish and hunt
•  Favorite movie is Step Brothers
•  Favorite video game is MLB The Show
 
#10 Matt Guthmiller
• Started getting into duck hunting
• Enjoys to play golf every now and then
• Favorite move is Fast and Furious
• Favorite show is Shooter
 
#11 Sergio Guerra
• Big hunter, sells deer on the ranch back home
• His dad played professional baseball in the Indians organization (Pete, catcher for the Double-A team)
 
#12 Raphael Smeenk
•  Plays pool and card games
•  Favorite movie is Moneyball
•  His great grandpa played professional soccer in Brazil
 
#13 Cage McCloud
•  Says he's a scratch golfer
•  Favorite show is Big Brother
•  Favorite video game is Fortnite
•  Joined the Texans to play with his brother
•  Plan postgrad is to open a business, a high-fence ranch
 
#14 Chris Ricard
•  Spends a lot of time outdoors a lot in a small town in Idaho, spends a lot of time in the mountains
•  Favorite shows are Landman, Yellowstone
•  Plan postgrad is to become a strength and conditioning coach
•  Favorite memory at Tarleton State was going to the lakehouse in Granbury with team
•  Dad is a logtruck driver, mom works with kids with special needs
 
#15 Mason Kirk
•  Getting married this summer to Lindsay after five years
•  Watches Big Brother
•  Plan postgrad is to work somewhere in finance, ideally front office of a professional sports team, will get MBA next year here at Tarleton State.
•  Favorite memory at Tarleton State was winning the WAC Tournament his freshman year, dogpiling after.
 
#17 Slade McCloud
• Hunts, fishes, golfs, takes his boxer dog Shep on walks, boxer Shep
• Favorite memory at Tarleton State was winning the WAC Tournament 
 
#18 Tai Phetluangsy
• Wakeboards sometimes, tries to golf
• Favorite movie is Fury
• Favorite show is The Pacific
• Plan postgrad is to be a collegiate coach
• Favorite memory since being here have been the Bible studies
• His dad is in the Marines
 
#19 Ethan Downum
•  Hunts a lot, fishes
•  Favorite show is Vikings or Last Kingdom
•  Favorite movie is Gladiator
 
#20 Braden Gostisha
•  Has a identical twin, Conner, who is working back home
•  Fishes, hunts, golfs
•  Favorite shows are Landman and Yellowstone
•  Favorite movie is Interstellar
 
#21 Brian Panneton
•  Used to competiveily waterski, ended his junior year in high school -- started at 5 years old, parents met on the waterski team at Texas A&M, stopped because of baseball
•  Still waterskis for fun and for good exercise
•  Cooks a lot, specialty is steak
TSU coaches and the culture
•  Plan postgrad is to play professional baseball, and then financial planning
•  Chose Tarleton State partially after lessons with Chad Fox – had an influence in him coming here
 
#23 Cullen Kickhoefer
•  Says he's a goofy guy, likes to have fun, constantly trying to have a good time and make people laugh
•  Hunts, fishes, wood work
•  Favorite shows are The Sopranos and Dexter
•  Favorite movies are Goodfellas and The Godfather
•  His uncle played basketball at Navy, cousin designs missiles for the Navy
 
#24 Aden Lucas
•  Likes to golf, play the guitar, played the last five years
•  Favorite show is Suits
•  Plan postgrad is to enter construction field and eventually become a superintendent
 
#25 Daniel Bass
•  Senior year of high school was his first season playing consistent baseball
•  Likes to bow hunt
•  Favorite show is The 100
 
#26 Kobe Minchey
•  Born in Japan, dad played baseball in Japan so back and forth as a kid
•  Was ranked ninth in the US in Pokemon as a kid
•  Hiked a 14,000 Red Cloud
•  Missed last year because of Tommy John
•  Favorite show is Criminal Minds
 
#27 Ethan Jaques
• Golfs
• Favorite shows are Suits and Breaking Bad
• Interstellar is favorite movie
 
#28 Cort Lowry
•  Is big into duck hunting
•  Considers himself a cowboy, an amateur golfer, semi-pro Fortnite player
•  Plan postgrad is to be an electrician
•  Favorite memory since being here was being part of the Tarpless Texans in the football playoff games
 
#29 Conner Doucet
•  Had three heart surgeries from 18-19 years old
•  Has a dog from the shelter here, Nala – breed is lab mix
•  Favorite show is Peaky Blinders
•  Favorite movie is Hook
•  Favorite video game is Sea of Thieves
•  Considers himself a semi-pro ping pong player
 
#30 Ashton Bassett
•  Golfs, fishes, hunts
•  Has webbed toes
•  Favorite video game is NBA 2K
Favorite shows are Friends, Ted Lasso, Grey's Anatomy
•  Plan postgrad is to play professional baseball and then be an anesthesiology assistant
• His grandpa was a LHP at Miami – went onto the Mets organization, the Triple-A team (Richard Bassett)
 
#31 Anthony Treto
•  Has a ton of hobbies, likes to do as much as he can to stay out of the house (bowling, golf, fishing, hunting)
•  Favorite show is SWAT
•  Favorite movie is 300
•  Favorite memory is the Tarpless Texans and being part of the group at the football playoff games
•  Plan postgrad is to follow father's footsteps in sales, maybe work alongside him, but wants to play baseball as long as he can
 
#32 Corbin Walter
•  Used to play football, sophomore year, stopped to focus on baseball
•  Fishes and races cars sometimes
•  Favorite movie is Ford vs. Ferrari
 
#33 Kasey Swan
• Hunts, fishes, attempts to golf
• Plan postgrad is to enter the oil and gas field
 
#34 Ethan Wendel
•  Owns a lot of animals back home, dogs, cats and ducks
•  Favorite Show is Peaky Blinders
•  Favorite movie is Transformers
•  Hunts, fishes
•  Plan postgrad is to be a sports agent
 
#35 Andrew Hardin
• Likes MLB The Show
• Hunts, fishes
• Favorite movie is Moneyball
• Plan postgrad is to be a chiropractor
• Dad played college baseball at Texas Tech
 
#36 Ben Bosse
• Likes to fly fish and bow hunt
• Likes the show 1923
• Chose Tarleton State partially because of the master's program
• Plan postgrad is to study and work with wildlife, especially quail and duck habitats, wetlands 
 
#37 Carter Coffin
• Big-time outdoorsman, fishing, hunting
•Plan postgrad is to go to game warden school
 
#38 Tyson Drake
• Golfs, fishes, hunts
• Favorite memory at Tarleton State has been winning the WAC Tournament, getting to spend a week with the boys
• Plan postgrad is to get his CPA or work in the bank somewhere
• His dad is a seven-time state champion football coach (Robert Drake)
 
#39 Brendon Carter
•  Played hockey for 12 years, gave it up when he was 15 to pursue baseball -- he was a defenseman, played travel hockey, played in Dallas a lot
•  Watches a bunch of Netflix, favorite shows are Peaky Blinders and Landman
•  Favorite movie is Miracle on Ice
•  Plan postgrad is to be a physical therapist
 
#40 Matthew McCullough
•  Plays video games, hunts, fishes,
•  Has a lot of family who went to Tarleton State, including his mom and dad, who met here, and his brothers
•  Uncle played basketball at Southeastern, cousin plays basketball in Nebraska Wesleyan
 
#43 Jack Lovin
• Can play the piano, has been playing since he was 3 years old
• Likes to ski, been a lifelong skier
• Favorite show is Breaking Bad
• Favorite memory has been going to head coach Fuller Smith's lakehouse with the team and riding the jet skis
• Plan postgrad run is to run his own business
 
UP NEXT
The Texans will head to Austin, Texas, to take on the Longhorns on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.