Senior Cole Kosciusko rounds the bases after a home run. Courtesy of UCSB Athletics
While UC Santa Barbara baseball (40-20, 22-8 Big West) was unable to advance to the NCAA Division I Super Regionals, they demonstrated versatility, going 2-2 at the Austin Regionals tournament over the weekend.
In the first round of the NCAA tournament at the regional in Austin, Texas, the Gauchos entered as the No. 2 seed. Heading into a tough weekend, they fought hard and nearly prevailed against three highly competitive teams.
Reaching the Regional Finals on Sunday, May 31, the Gauchos were eliminated by the No.6 nationally ranked regional hosts, the University of Texas at Austin (43-13, 19-10), in a 4-6 loss.
The Gauchos entered the tournament on Friday, May 29, losing 5-11 to Tarleton State University (38-21, 12-6). Facing elimination, the Gauchos bounced back, crushing College of the Holy Cross (25-30, 13-13) on Saturday, May 30. Outscoring them 15-1, the Gauchos set a record for their most runs in an NCAA tournament game.
Furthermore, junior starting pitcher Jackson Flora set a new all-time UCSB high in batters struck out in a single season at 129.
“Strikeouts are a really fun part of the game but it all starts with the process, going and getting strikes early and then finishing hitters and executing pitches, but that was pretty sweet,” Flora said.
After the match against Holy Cross, Head Coach Andrew Checketts highlighted the work done by Flora and the team.
“Fantastic effort by Jackson and the rest of the guys, grinding out some offense there,” he said. “Happy to get back in the win column and be here another day.”
Checketts added that while the team was off to a slow start in the first half, they took advantage of defensive miscues by Holy Cross and improved their at-bats.
The win against Holy Cross saved the Gauchos from an early trip home, but meant that the rest of the games played over the weekend would be elimination games. The Gauchos again faced Tarleton State on May 31, but this time, the Gauchos claimed the victory 9-5.
The game against Tarleton State was all hands on deck. Outstandingly, senior first baseman Cole Kosciusko was powerful from the plate in his first NCAA Tournament appearance. Kosciusko had four hits and a homer, helping the Gauchos secure their victory. Additionally, sophomore center fielder Rowan Kelly delivered four runs, including homers in both games played on Sunday.
“Our guys had a nice bounce-back after losing to them,” Checketts said.
Pushed into the regional final later that same day, the Gauchos faced hosts No. 6 UT Austin, narrowly losing 4-6.
Kelly and sophomore left fielder Liam Barrett both showed strength at the plate, without striking out once and each contributing with two runs. Leading the first six innings, the Gauchos pushed the Longhorns to use seven pitchers throughout the game. Rallying back late, the Longhorns put it away at the bottom of the eighth inning, scoring the decisive two runs.
“I think our guys gave a really good effort. Kellan’s start was outstanding, set the tone for us, gave us a shot,” Checketts said.
Despite the loss, the Gauchos celebrated Kosciusko, Kelly, Flora, junior third baseman Xavier Esquer and senior second baseman William Vasseur, who were nominated as part of the All-Tournament team for the Austin Regionals.
With the 2025-26 Gaucho baseball season coming to an end, Checketts highlighted the great team he worked with this year. “This group was really fun to coach. They showed up every day and wanted to work … It’s refreshing to have guys that are like that and have that mentality and have some gratitude to be able to wear this [uniform] and play for this,” he concluded.
