Baseball 6/26/2026 3:20:00 PM Grant Cohen

Tarleton State Baseball to compete in 2027 Cleburne College Baseball Series

STEPHENVILLE, Texas – College Baseball will be back in Cleburne, Texas, in 2027, with Tarleton State Baseball scheduled to play in the Cleburne College Baseball Series at La Moderna Field next season.

Tarleton State, the 2026 Western Athletic Conference regular season and tournament champions, will compete in the showcase March 5-7, 2027 with UT Arlington, UTSA and Washington State. Matchups and first pitch times will be announced at a later date.

La Moderna Field is home to the Cleburne Railroaders of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball. The Texans competed in Cleburne in 2026, going up against Creighton and Texas State in one weekend.

Tickets can be purchased at CollegeBaseballSeries.com.

"We are thrilled to compete in the 2027 College Baseball Series. When assembling our schedule, we always try to go up against top-caliber competition that prepares us for conference play," head coach Fuller Smith said. "Our guys not only love going up against great teams, but also thrive playing in pro ballparks. Having the chance to play in big-time games in this series will test the character of our team and prepare us for our United Athletic Conference opponents. This is a great chance for Texan Nation to support our young men in a pro ballpark setting that is just a short drive from Stephenville. We are pumped to go up against Arkansas on March 1 at Globe Life Field and honored to be invited back to the College Baseball Series March 5-7 in Cleburne."

Tarleton State once again will have a pair of tough tests in Cleburne with matchups against UTSA and Washington State. UTSA was the regular season co-champions of the American Conference and went on to win 38 games in 2026. Washington State clinched the Mountain West Championship to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Regional. Making its first tournament appearance since 2010, Washington State won its opening round game against Oregon State in the 2026 tournament.

The WAC Regular Season and Tournament Champions clinched the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament after defeating Sacramento State 21-11 in the conference tournament title game. Tarleton State played in its first Division I NCAA Regional and first NCAA playoff since 2018.

The program's WAC Championship gave Tarleton State Athletics its eighth conference tournament title at the Division I level (Baseball - 2024, 2026, Women's Golf - 2025-26, Women's Indoor Track & Field - 2026, Tennis - 2026, Men's Golf - 2026, Men's Outdoor Track & Field - 2026). Baseball is the sixth athletic program at Tarleton State to qualify for NCAA postseason competition since the Texans were elevated to Division I (Football, Track & Field, Women's Golf, Tennis, Men's Golf).

In addition to sweeping the WAC titles, Tarleton State Baseball collected three wins over Power 4 conference opponents in 2026. The Texans upset No. 2 nationally-ranked Texas on March 17 and swept the season series with Baylor earlier in the year. Tarleton State has collected three of its four wins against Power 4 conference opponents in program history in 2026.

Smith was tabbed WAC Coach of the Year while six Texan student-athletes earned spots on the All-WAC Teams. Outfielder Rayner Heinrich was named All-WAC First Team. Pitchers Matthew McCullough and Anthony Treto along with catcher Sergio Guerra and outfielder Jake Tatom were all named All-WAC Second Team. Shortstop Ike Shirey was one of five players named to the WAC All-Defensive Team.

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