Tennessee Tech Baseball Picked to Finish 4th in OVC by D1Baseball
Tennessee Tech baseball finished 18-9 in OVC play last season and has been picked to finish fourth in the conference by D1Baseball in 2026.
By Jeff Bowe, TTU Athletics Media Relations
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech baseball finished 18-9 in OVC play last season and has been picked to finish fourth in the conference by D1Baseball in 2026.
Tennessee Tech was picked to finish fourth by Joe Healy from D1Baseball. Healy picked Little Rock to finish first, Eastern Illinois second, SIUE third, TTU fourth, SEMO fifth, Lindenwood sixth, Southern Indiana seventh, UT Martin eighth, Western Illinois ninth, and Morehead State 10th.
Below is a TTU baseball breakdown from the article that can be found here ($): https://d1baseball.com/season-preview/2026-ovc-season-preview/
From the D1Baseball article by Joe Healy
Progress for Tennessee Tech in head coach Matt Bragga's second stint at the helm has been steady, and that continued in 2025, as the Golden Eagles finished 18-9 in OVC play, good for third in the final standings. It was the first time in Bragga's return and the first time overall since 2018 that the team finished above .500 in the league.
Power up and down the lineup, a weekend rotation that has at least four viable options for three spots, and a deep bullpen are all reasons that progress for Tennessee Tech could very well continue into 2026.
The most dangerous returning hitter is senior DH Jorsixt Jimenez (.315/.423/.506), a first-team all-conference honoree last season. With more walks (32) than strikeouts (31), he has a history of putting together great at-bats, and with his bat speed, there's room for him to grow into more power.
Other returners back in the lineup are senior second baseman Eddie Garza (.288/.397/.397), sophomore shortstop Owen Lee (.249/.368/.430) and sophomore center fielder Landon Smelser (.309/.382/.381), and redshirt sophomore outfielders Jackson Rooker (.240/.359/.269) and Luke Bragga (.207/.258/.207) will look to go from part-time players to full-time contributors.
Three newcomers stand out as potential instant-impact players in the lineup. Fifth-year senior catcher Manny Garza (Eddie's older brother) was a standout backstop at Rice (he originally committed to Bragga while he was the head coach there) before transferring to Arizona State last season. But after getting into just a handful of games at ASU, he's looking to be a key player with the Golden Eagles in 2026. He's one of the elite defensive catchers in college baseball, and while his bat is behind his defense, he's done a nice job of improving at the plate as his career has gone on.
Nash Crowell is a grad transfer from NAIA Reinhardt (Ga.), where he was a career .364/.468/.755 hitter. He also owns both the program single-season home run record (23) and the all-time home run record (60). Look for him to slot into the middle of the order right away. The third newcomer to watch is grad transfer third baseman Connor Crowson from Division II Montevallo (Ala.). Last season at Montevallo, he had a 1.096 OPS, 16 home runs and 62 RBIs. Like Crowell, he'll be looked at as a plug-and-play bat in the order.
The competition for weekend rotation spots is headlined by a trio of sophomores in righthander Logan Moller, lefthander Ty Barnett, a transfer from Cincinnati, and righthander Carter Casabella.
Moller was one of the best freshman arms in the OVC last season, as he finished with a 4.23 ERA in 38.1 innings, mostly as a reliever, but the coaching staff is confident in his ability to transition to starting games. He's been up to 93 mph with his fastball in the past and he developed more swing and miss with his entire repertoire throughout the fall.
Barnett had a 4.61 ERA with the Bearcats in the relatively small sample size of 13.2 innings. His fastball will run up to 92 mph, and both his breaking ball and his changeup show significant swing-and-miss potential.
Casabella has the most starting experience of the three, as he started nine games for Tennessee Tech among his 17 appearances last season. He had a 5.67 ERA across 46 innings in those appearances, and with some of the best stuff on the staff, he has a high ceiling he hasn't hit yet. His fastball was up to 94 mph in the fall and he throws strikes with his entire arsenal.
One wildcard in the rotation competition is senior righthander Jaxson Pease, who had a 4.64 ERA in 66 innings as a weekend starter for the Golden Eagles a year ago. It speaks to the depth of talent on the mound that even someone who started 14 games last spring isn't necessarily guaranteed to start games on the weekends next season.
The optimism about the quality of the bullpen begins with the return of senior righthander Reece McDuffie, a high level strike-thrower who walked just six batters last season in 54.2 innings while saving five games and finishing with a 3.13 ERA. His high-80s fastball doesn't light up a radar gun, but his advanced pitchability and skill in mixing and matching allows the heater to play up.
Two transfers in junior San Diego transfer righthander Jamie Robertson and senior Division II Lee (Tenn.) transfer lefthander Cooper Casteel project to provide depth behind McDuffie.
Robertson had a 5.49 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 19.2 innings last season for the Toreros using a fastball at 88-91 mph and a changeup that carried with it a .105 opponent batting average.
Casteel has the potential to be a Swiss Army knife for the Golden Eagles. He was the staff ace at Lee and could therefore start games or be a bulk innings reliever, but with good feel for spin, he also has a chance to be a back-end weapon.
When longtime college baseball fans think of Tennessee Tech, they think of the 2018 team that advanced to a super regional. The program hasn't gotten back to that point yet, but it's trending in the right direction, and 2026 should be a continuation of that.
