2020 BYU Cougars baseball team

The 2020 BYU Cougars baseball team represented Brigham Young University during the 2020 NCAA Division I baseball season. Mike Littlewood acted as head coach of the Cougars for an eighth consecutive season. The Cougars were picked to finish second in the WCC Pre-season poll.[2] However they secured more first place votes from the WCC Media than any team with 5 and were named the team to beat by Baseball America.[3] The Cougars never got to play in conference though as all athletic events were shutdown by the school March 12 due to COVID-19.[4]

2020 BYU Cougars baseball
Conference	West Coast Conference
2020 record	7-9 (0-0 WCC)
Head coach	Mike Littlewood (8th season)
Assistant coaches	Trent Pratt (8th season) Brent Haring (8th season) Michael Bradshaw (2nd season)
Home stadium	Larry H. Miller Field

2020 West Coast Conference baseball standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 21 Pepperdine  ‍‍‍	0	–	0		–			12	–	3		.800
Portland  ‍‍‍	0	–	0		–			12	–	4		.750
San Diego  ‍‍‍	0	–	0		–			11	–	4		.733
Santa Clara  ‍‍‍	0	–	0		–			12	–	5		.706
San Francisco  ‍‍‍	0	–	0		–			9	–	8		.529
Loyola Marymount  ‍‍‍	0	–	0		–			8	–	8		.500
Pacific  ‍‍‍	0	–	0		–			8	–	8		.500
Saint Mary's  ‍‍‍	0	–	0		–			8	–	8		.500
BYU  ‍‍‍	0	–	0		–			7	–	9		.438
Gonzaga  ‍‍‍	0	–	0		–			6	–	10		.375
‡ – Tournament champion As of March 12, 2020[1]; Rankings from D1Baseball

2020 Roster

2019 BYU Cougars roster[5]
Pitchers 4 Andrew Pintar - Freshman 6 Mitch McIntyre - Junior 9 Easton Walker - Junior 13 Cy Nielson - Freshman 14 Chase Bauerle - Junior 18 Justin Sterner - Junior 19 Bryce Robinson - Freshman 21 Jack Sterner - Freshman 22 Jarod Lessar - Senior 24 Drew Zimmerman - Junior 25 Austin Deming - Sophomore 26 Carter Smith - Freshman 31 Reid McLaughlin - Sophomore 32 Tyson Heaton - Freshman 34 Cutter Clawson - Freshman 37 Cooper McKeehan - Freshman 39 Mikade Johnson - Freshman 40 Ayden Callahan - Junior 45 Ben Weese - Senior		Infielders 2 Brock Watson - Freshman 4 Andrew Pintar - Freshman 8 Bryan Call - Sophomore 16 Jacob Rogers - Sophomore 23 Peyton Call - Freshman 25 Austin Deming - Sophomore 28 Zack Peterson - Sophomore 29 Sean Rimmer - Freshman 41 Russell Parry - Freshman		Catchers 11 Abraham Valdez - Senior 17 Joshua Cowden - Sophomore 44 Chase Taylor - Freshman Outfielders 3 Danny Gelalich - Junior 5 Hunter Swapp - Freshman 6 Mitch McIntyre - Junior 7 Hobbs Nyberg - Sophomore 10 Hayden Leatham - Junior 12 McKay Barney - Freshman 27 Ryan Sepede - Sophomore 29 Sean Rimmer - Freshman 43 Jaren Hall - Sophomore

Schedule

2020 BYU Cougars Game Log[6]
Regular Season
February Date Opponent Rank Site/Stadium Television Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Record WCC Record February 14 vs. Gonzaga – Surprise Stadium FloBaseball 7–1 Reid McLaughlin (1–0) Daniel Naughton (0–1) None 635 1–0 – February 15 vs. New Mexico – Surprise Stadium FloBaseball 0–2 Aaron Makil (1–0) Cy Neilson (0–1) None 741 1–1 – February 15 vs. New Mexico – Surprise Stadium Auxiliary Facebook 4–5 Will Armbruester (1–0) Carter Smith (0–1) Miguel Reyes Jr. (1) 311 1–2 – February 17 vs. #25 Oregon State – Surprise Stadium FloBaseball 4–3 Drew Zimmerman (1–0) Joey Mundt (0–1) Mikade Johnson (1) 2,598 2–2 – February 20 at Cal Poly – Baggett Stadium Big West TV 3–2 Justin Sterner (1–0) Taylor Dollard (1–1) None 1,523 3–2 – February 21 at Cal Poly – Baggett Stadium Big West TV 4–3 Bryce Robinson (1–0) Kyle Scott (0–1) None 1,598 4–2 – February 22 at Cal Poly – Baggett Stadium Big West TV 0–10 Drew Thorpe (1–0) Easton Walker (0–1) None 1,668 4–3 – February 22 at Cal Poly – Baggett Stadium Big West TV 5–4^(14) Tyson Heaton (1–0) Bryan Woo (0–1) None 1,668 5–3 – February 27 at New Mexico – Santa Ana Star Field MW Net 7–8 Payton Strambler (1–1) Reid McLaughlin (2–1) None 751 5–4 – February 28 at New Mexico – Santa Ana Star Field MW Net 0–4 Justin Armbruster (1-0) Cy Nelson (0–2) Terrell Hudson (1) 789 5–5 – February 28 at New Mexico – Santa Ana Star Field MW Net 18–9 Tyson Heaton (2–0) Cody Dye (0–2) None 789 6–5 – February 29 at New Mexico – Santa Ana Star Field MW Net 1–12 Nathaniel Garley (1–0) Easton Walker (0–2) None 826 6–5 –
March Date Opponent Rank Site/Stadium Television Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Record WCC Record March 3 Utah Valley – Larry H. Miller Field BYUtv.org 5–4 Cooper McKeehan (1–0) Bobby Voortmeyer (0–2) Reid McLaughlin (1) 1,640 7–6 – March 5 at Oklahoma State – Allie P. Reynolds Stadium ESPN+ 0–2 Scott Parker (3–1) Cooper McKeehan (1–1) None 382 7–7 – March 6 at Oklahoma State – Allie P. Reynolds Stadium ESPN+ 1–6 Justin Campbell (1–2) Cy Nielson (0–3) None 672 7–8 – March 7 at Oklahoma State – Allie P. Reynolds Stadium 3–8 Bryce Osmond (1–1) Reid McLaughlin (2–2) None 1,320 7–9 – March 12 Loyola Marymount* – Larry H. Miller Field BYUtv.org Cancelled- COVID-19 March 13 Loyola Marymount* – Larry H. Miller Field BYUtv March 14 Loyola Marymount* – Larry H. Miller Field BYUtv March 19 at Pepperdine* – Eddy D. Field Stadium WCC Network March 20 at Pepperdine* – Eddy D. Field Stadium WCC Network March 21 at Pepperdine* – Eddy D. Field Stadium WCC Network March 24 Utah – Larry H. Miller Field BYUtv.org March 26 Santa Clara* – Larry H. Miller Field BYUtv.org March 27 Santa Clara* – Larry H. Miller Field BYUtv March 28 Santa Clara* – Larry H. Miller Field BYUtv March 30 at Boise State – Memorial Stadium MW Net
April Date Opponent Rank Site/Stadium Television Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Record WCC Record April 2 at Portland* – Joe Etzel Field WCC Network Cancelled- COVID-19 April 3 at Portland* – Joe Etzel Field WCC Network April 4 at Portland* – Joe Etzel Field WCC Network April 6 at Oregon – PK Park P12+ ORE April 9 Pacific* – Larry H. Miller Field BYUtv.org April 10 Pacific* – Larry H. Miller Field BYUtv.org April 11 Pacific* – Larry H. Miller Field BYUtv April 13 Boise State – Larry H. Miller Field BYUtv April 16 San Diego* – Larry H. Miller Field BYUtv.org April 17 San Diego* – Larry H. Miller Field BYUtv April 18 San Diego* – Larry H. Miller Field BYUtv April 21 Utah – Larry H. Miller Field BYUtv.org April 22 at Utah Valley – UCCU Ballpark WAC DN April 30 at San Francisco* – Dante Benedetti Diamond at Max Ulrich Field WCC Network
May Date Opponent Rank Site/Stadium Television Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Record WCC Record May 1 at San Francisco* Dante Benedetti Diamond at Max Ulrich Field WCC Network Cancelled- COVID-19 May 2 at San Francisco* – Dante Benedetti Diamond at Max Ulrich Field WCC Network May 4 Cal Baptist – Larry H. Miller Field BYUtv May 7 at Saint Mary's* – Louis Guisto Field WCC Network May 8 at Saint Mary's* – Louis Guisto Field WCC Network May 9 at Saint Mary's* – Louis Guisto Field WCC Network May 12 at Utah – Smith's Ballpark P12 May 14 at Gonzaga* – Washington Trust Field and Patterson Baseball Complex ESPNU May 15 at Gonzaga* – Washington Trust Field and Patterson Baseball Complex WCC Network May 16 at Gonzaga* – Washington Trust Field and Patterson Baseball Complex WCC Network
2020 West Coast Conference Baseball Tournament
May Date Opponent Rank Site/Stadium Television Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Record WCC Record May 21–23 – Banner Island Ballpark WCC Network Cancelled- COVID-19 Rankings from Collegiate Baseball. Parenthesis indicate tournament seedings. *West Coast Conference games

Rivalries

BYU had two main rivalries on their schedule- the Deseret First Duel vs. Utah and the UCCU Crosstown Clash vs. Utah Valley. The first game against UVU was played, but the remaining 3 rivalry games were cancelled because of COVID-19.

Radio Information

For the third consecutive season BYU Baseball was broadcast as part of the NuSkin BYU Sports Network, and for the second time ever every BYU Baseball game was broadcast on radio. Brent Norton was scheduled to provide play-by-play for his 28th consecutive season beginning with conference play, but when all games beginning March 12 were canceled it was Jason Shepherd who had called every game. Tuckett Slade provided analysis for all but 1 games. Games were carried on KOVO and KUMT. KOVO had 3 exclusives (Gm. 1 Feb. 15, Gm. 2 Feb. 22, and Gm. 2 Feb. 28), while BYU Radio's KUMT had 4 exclusives (Gm. 2 Feb. 15, Feb. 20, Gm. 1 Feb. 22, and Mar. 7). All games were carried live on the BYU Sports Radio App and are archived on BYU Radio.

TV Announcers

• Feb 14: Zachary Anderson-Yoxsimer
• Feb 15 (1): Zachary Anderson-Yoxsimer
• Feb 15 (2): Jason Shepherd & Brock Hale
• Feb 17: Zachary Anderson-Yoxsimer
• Feb 20: Zachary Anderson-Yoxsimer
• Feb 21: Chris Sylvester
• Feb 22 (1): Chris Sylvester
• Feb 22 (2): Zachary Anderson-Yoxsimer
• Feb 27: Robert Portnoy
• Feb 28 (1): Robert Portnoy
• Feb 28 (2): Robert Portnoy
• Feb 29: Robert Portnoy
• Mar 3: Spencer Linton & Gary Sheide
• Mar 5: Dave Hunziker & Tom Holliday
• Mar 6: Dave Hunziker & Tom Holliday

References

1. "West Coast Conference Standings". wccsports.com. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
2. "Gonzaga Picked as 2020 WCC Baseball Favorites". WCC Sports. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
3. "2020 West Coast Conference Baseball Preview". Baseball America. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
4. "NCAA cancels March Madness and spring sports championships. Utah, BYU, USU all on hiatus". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
5. http://byucougars.com/roster/m-baseball
6. "Cougars baseball releases 2020 schedule". Daily Herald. Retrieved September 11, 2019.