Cal Baseball Preview: Bears Back in Berkeley for 2026
A preview into Cal Baseball before the 2026 season begins.
Welcome 2026!
It feels like just yesterday that my father was furious at the news on NBC Bay Area when it was announced that UC Berkeley was cutting five intercollegiate programs from its athletics department. My father, a then non-Cal-affiliated dad, who had nothing to do with UC Berkeley (yet) and is a Bay Area pro sports fan at heart, was livid at the breaking news of Cal cutting baseball from their programs.
My father did not play baseball growing up. Instead, he was a gifted tennis player who really loved baseball more and had to live his baseball dreams through me. The dream for him at the time was for his son with lackluster grades play baseball at any of the Bay Area’s colleges, and with his child growing up in the East Bay, seeing Cal remove baseball was a huge blow to the bigger picture he had painted.
I did not mean to disappoint my dad, but I was just simply not that good at baseball. I barely made it into Cal and found my way with the Club Baseball program on campus and then Write For California. I’m much more of a creative thinker than an athlete when it comes to this sport that we share so much love for together. But on the bright side, Cal baseball was also just too important to let fade away! Whether that be with my current passion for covering it, or with people’s historic appreciation for it, the support of alums, former players, local donors, and even our rivals in Cardinal red, allowed the program to remain, and Cal baseball is ready to kick off its 2026 regular season (and 2nd season in the ACC). While I never achieved true NCAA collegiate baseball status at Cal, I am here to cover our Golden Bears for another season at Write For California. You find your way in things, but it’s an adjustment.
Bears in the Big Leagues:
Marcus Semien: On November 24th, 2025, 2nd Generation Golden Bear Marcus Semien was traded to the New York Mets in exchange for Brandon Nimmo. Semien had signed a seven-year, $175 million contract with the Texas Rangers back in 2022 and won a World Series with the team in 2023. In his last season with the Rangers under Bruce Bochy, Semien appeared in 127 games and put up a slash line up (A Three-part statistic representing a batter’s proficiency: Batting Average (AVG) / On-Base Percentage (OBP) / Slugging Percentage (SLG)) of .230/.305/.364 while hitting 15 HR and driving in 62 RBIs.
While Semien’s season was cut short due to a fractured bone in his left foot, he looks to start fresh in Queens with the high-spending Mets as their starting 2B for the 2026 season.
Andrew Vaughn: The former Pac-12 Player of the Year and Golden Spikes Award winner, who was touted as a top prospect out of Berkeley in the 2019 MLB Draft, Vaughn was the 3rd overall pick and signed with the Chicago White Sox for $7.2 million in a draft that saw six Golden Bears selected by Major League ball clubs. While Vaughn made his debut for the Sox in April of 2021, the struggles in the South Side were mirrored by both players and organization, leading to a trade in 2025 after Vaughn spent ~ five seasons with the team where he posted a slash line of .248/.303/.407 with 77 HR, 293 RBIs, and a -.5 WAR (stat that represents how many more wins they provide compared to a “replacement-level” player). When Vaughn was traded to the northern-state’s Milwaukee Brewers, his 2025 season and energy were revitalized and put on a national display, as The Brew Crew won the NL Central division with a franchise record of 97 wins and 65 losses but lost in the National League Championship Series to the eventual World Series Champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
Vaughn was traded for Aaron Civale and cash considerations and began his time with the Brewers in their Triple-A farm team, the Nashville Sounds. After 16 games, he was promoted to the active roster and slashed .308/.375/.493 with 9 HRs and 46 RBIs in just 64 games, and Vaughn also hit two home runs in the postseason. The former Golden Bear will return to the Brewers for his 6th MLB season in 2026.
Dylan Beavers: The 33rd overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft made his debut with the Baltimore Orioles late in the 2025 season, but made himself a household name across the DMV after launching his first career home run in his first ever at-bat at Camden Yards and capped it off with a walk-off home run over Tampa Bay in his last at-bat at Camden Yards for the season.
Tyler O’Neill had signed with the O’s before the 2025 season, but after appearing in just 54 games and putting up a line of .199/.292/.392 amidst an array of injuries, Beavers is expected to take over as the starting right fielder in Baltimore, even though O’Neill opted into years two and three of his $49.5m contract. Beavers’ ability to hit for power in the short-walled Camden Yards against right-handed pitching as a towering lefty will be the key for a successful sophomore season, where he is also a qualified rookie who is eligible for rookie award honors and comes in at MLB Pipelines Prospect ratings at No. 69. Nice.
Grant Holman: Beginning the season with the Athletics’ Triple-A affiliate, Las Vegas Aviators, Holman was recalled to the big leagues last season and made 22 appearances in the green and gold, which included two starts before being placed on the injured list with rotator cuff tendinitis, effectively ending his season. Holman is on the Athletics’ 40-man roster for Spring Training this season.
Korey Lee: The former 1st round pick out of Escondido, CA, saw limited action with the White Sox last season, with just 40 PA to his name in 25 games. Lee hit .257 in 35 Abs, hitting one home run with 9 total base hits. Lee sits behind Kyle Teel in the White Sox’s depth chart at Catcher, as the rookie took over the starting role last season after being called up in early June.
Lucas Erceg: An honorable mention, Erceg’s career at Cal was cut short after being ruled academically ineligible following the 2015 season, where he was named to the All-Pac-12 Conference first team as a third baseman and pitcher. A South Bay native, Erceg transferred to Menlo College and was drafted in the 2nd round of the MLB draft a year later by the Brewers! If you ever have the chance to read more on his story about overcoming suicidal urges, alcoholism, his journey to sobriety, and his love for his wife and child, do so.
Fast forward to now, Erceg is coming off a career season in Kansas City after making 61 appearances for the Royals out of the bullpen in 2025. After going 8-4 with a 2.64 ERA with 48 Ks in 61.1 innings, Erceg was shut down for the year with a right shoulder impingement. The recovery time from last year has Lucas ready to report to Spring Training as one of the best arms in the KC pen for 2026.
Mark Canha: Canha showed promise in a short stint in 2024 with the San Francisco Giants, but in 2025, he struggled to bounce back after signing a Minor League contract with the Royals and was released on August 21st after being DFA’d and clearing waivers. Canha, 36, is not signed to a big-league roster.
Bob Melvin: When the Giants hired Melvin back in 2023, it seemed like a fun “welcome home” party for the time being, but the hype quickly died down after two seasons of missing the postseason and a 161-163 (.497) record. While the Giants did exercise Melvin’s contract option for 2026, the team has taken a new direction with the hiring of Tennessee’s Tony Vitello, leaving Bob as a free agent coach for 2026 and whatever lies ahead.
Bears in Berkeley
California’s first season outside of the Pac-12 was below average at best, and even with a sweep of Stanford on The Farm, the gratuitous tournament format in the ACC which included a couple of surprising victories against the 9-seeded Miami and 8-seeded Wake Forest, and an out-of-conference record of 15-10 where 15/25 games came against tough teams within the state of California; Mike Neu’s Golden Bears ended their first season in the ACC with a 9-21 conference record to finish dead last.
Program stagnation in college baseball is common, but Cal’s momentum from 2024 hit a brick wall in 2025 after leaving the Pac-12, and even with the progress made by star players such as Jarren Advincula putting up a slash line of .342/.410/.506 while having a 15 game hitting streak mid-season, Dominic Smaldino hitting 11 home runs and 46 RBIs in his sophomore season, and PJ Moutzouridis having a stellar fielding season with a .944 FLD%; all three key players hit the portal following the conclusion of the Bears’ season, leaving the Cal baseball infield to Third-Team all ACC Utility player and D1Baseball’s No. 13 ranked 2B Jacob French- who hit .390 in his first season with the Golden Bears after leaping up to DI from SF State, and 3B Cade Campbell, who comes in ranked as the No. 31 3B in the NCAA and No. 5 in the ACC on D1Baseball’s national player rankings.
With a departed core also came a cut to the pitching staff from last season, but a large retention of core members in the rotation. Cal retained Senior RHP Austin Turkington, who in 2025, posted a 4-5 record with a 5.27 ERA in 54.2IP, R-Sophomore RHP Gavin Eddy, who led the Golden Bears with 58 IP last season and struck out 50 in 16 appearances (9 starts), and Junior RHP Oliver de la Torre, who has made preseason headlines after coming in at No. 97 in D1Baseball’s top-100 starting pitchers in the nation for the upcoming 2026 season.
Cole Clark, Ethan Foley, and Jordy Lopez will likely lead the bullpen efforts for the Bears as far as returners go, but the Bears loaded up their staff with freshmen arms that Mike Neu was excited about in the Bay Area college baseball media day, saying;
“The philosophy for opportunities early on is that some [newer] players will try to get big innings with those 4-game series in 4-day scenarios. Then, as the season progresses, big game starters/relievers will be elevated into their roles come ACC-play, as playing time comes in smaller doses in college baseball.”
The freshmen arms added to the Bears’ arsenal amount to 11 rookie pitchers.
The new faces in Berkeley are headlined by USC transfer Joshua Hanson, who gets a second chance at a beginning by coming back home in the Bay Area in Center Field, Tristan Head, a Junior INF from Georgetown/Virginia who slashed .277/.349/.455 in 30 starts last season with the Hoyas, Gannon Snyder, a Junior Utility player from Wichita State who put up a slash line of .274/.348/.390 in 64 total games for the Shockers, and the former Clemson catcher Hideki Prather, who was the No. 61 player and No. 8 catcher in California ranked by Perfect Game coming out of Campolindo High School.
The departures of key players to the portal and additions of so many in the portal/recruitment process are what Mike Neu called the team’s “next man up” approach. “We are going into year two in the ACC with higher standards. We are in a really good league with great players and great coaches – battling for Omaha.”
The battle for Omaha is more of a war, as the Golden Bears will face off against seven opponents who made it to the NCAA College Baseball Regionals last season, including Louisville, which went on to the semifinals of the College World Series. It is an uphill climb for sure, but it is one that Cal must get used to and make an adjustment to quickly after figuring out the learning curves of last season. Cal may have been knocked down last year, but they will find their way as we all seem to eventually do in life, in order to keep moving forward.
Next Series:
California and Santa Clara square off this weekend at home and in Santa Clara for a split two-and-two 4-game series across the bay. Cal will open the season hosting the Broncos on Friday night (6:00 PM Feb. 13th), and Saturday afternoon (3:00 PM Feb. 14th), both games will be streamed on ESPN’s ACCNX, while the Sunday and Monday afternoon games 3:00 PMM Feb 15th and 16th) will be available to all ESPN+ subscribers.
Quotes from Mike Neu were courtesy of the 2026 Bay Area Baseball Media Day Press Conference questionnaire with the Cal Bears’ manager.
2024’s team being snubbed by the tournament selection committee was a crime; extra painful now that we lack the vaunted PAC-12 baseball conference’s presence to give west coast baseball the much needed cred it deserves. To try to keep travel down, the program is scheduling more non-cons that are easier trips if not at home, but this may water things down in terms of national perception of its schedule. Though Cal plays many tough teams from remaining western U.S. conferences now, the east coast bias is definitely a thing, so it’s hard to build “quality”into the resume early: the backbreaking travel Cal then has to do in conference makes the season an uphill battle. Without some heavy infusion of donor money to retain its top talent, the Bears I am afraid will struggle to keep themselves above water. I really love Cal baseball, and will continue to attend games in beautiful Stu Gordon Stadium regardless
I love Cal baseball and what it could be but they have been stuck in also-ran status for decades..The baseball program needs a major reboot like the football program.