The Starting Lineup- 01/30/2026

Look at me, rattling off these things three days in a row.  Here’s what I can pretty much promise you, though.  There will not be a daily blog on weekends, unless I am really in the groove during the college baseball season that is now all of the sudden just two weeks away.  Working on a preseason magazine for a month while raising a newborn really isn’t good for keeping time.  In two weeks, we play.  Craziness. 

Today’s blog comes on the back of a fair line of inquiry from “Drunken Froggo”, a TCU fan.  The Horned Frog friendly account read my tweet regarding my interest in Kansas State ahead of the 2026 season and asked me which Big 12 teams I am NOT in on.

There are two ways I can interpret this question.  On the ambitious side, Mr. Froggo just really wants to power rank the Big 12.  On the flip side, Mr. Froggo is accusing me of being excited about every Big 12 team to the point where I am not credible in my excitement at all.

I responded the only way I knew how, with immediate honesty.  I am a Big 12 shill, loud and proud.  It’s kind of a catch 22, as an Iowa State football and basketball fan, I can find and have developed life-long reasons to dislike every single Big 12 program.  Somehow, I am able to flush that and separate baseball from the other sports.  Kansas basketball ruined my childhood. Kansas baseball has been awesome in my adulthood, for instance.

So, as promised in my response, I am going to lay out my feelings on each Big 12 team headed into 2026.  If you’re looking for analysis, please go read The Diamond Report, where I broke down every team in the league. 

For this exercise, I am going to separate the league into tiers.  Tier 1: Teams I am in on.  These are teams I believe can win immediately in 2026 and probably win the league.  Tier 2: Teams I am optimistic about.  These are teams I believe are a question mark away from competing.  I will likely identify this question in explaining my feelings on them.  Tier 3: Nervous, but I have reasons for excitement.  These are teams I don’t believe will compete to win the Big 12 in 2026, but will be tough outs and probably have some really exciting players.  Tier 4: Teams I am completely out on.  Note: There are no teams in this tier.

Tier 1: TCU, Arizona, West Virginia, Kansas, Kansas State, Arizona State, Cincy

Tier 2: Oklahoma State, Baylor, Texas Tech

Tier 3: BYU, Utah, UCF, Houston

Tier 1’s are fairly self explanatory.  These are complete, or near complete teams.  They generally have dynamic pitching and depth on the mound.  They also have quality at the plate and in the field.

Tier 2’s are a little bit more flexible in their floors, and like I alluded to, generally have a question surrounding their potentials in 2026.  

Oklahoma State could easily be a Tier 1 team, though their excitement level for me personally is dictated by the development of their Freshman class.  If the pokes can utilize their 13th graders to their potential early, this Oklahoma State team may enter 2027 with excitement on par with TCU.  But, that’s easier said than done and there are still plenty of veteran pieces to hang their hats on this season, but their potential lies in their youth, IMO. 

Baylor is a development-first program, the development of their pitching staff intrigues me the most.  What will Ethan Calder look like in 2026?  How will the staff around him carve out roles?  The Bears will utilize two Freshmen in the lineup as early as Opening Day, can they compete against a tough non-conference schedule?

If Texas Tech can develop consistent arms to surround an offense that picked up a lot of steam late last season, the Red Raiders can return to their form of the mid-2010’s.  That’s a huge if, though, and is easier said than done in Lubbock. 

I can find reasons for excitement in the Tier 3’s quite easily as well.  BYU returns a ton of experience and momentum following their Big 12 tournament victory over Arizona State.  Utah has one of the best arms in the league in Colter McAnelly.  You don’t want to see the Utes on a Friday night, but you also don’t have a choice.  UCF has a refreshed team alongside the talents of Andrew Williamson and DeAmez Ross as well as a top-15 recruiting class on campus.  Houston has a ton of experience and would surprise no one if they reached the NCAA Tournament.  

I am in on everyone, to a degree.