Baseball Set to Play in 2026 BIG EAST Tournament at Prasco Park

Wednesday, May 20

Mason, Ohio

6:30 PM

Xavier University

UConn

Baseball Set to Play in 2026 BIG EAST Tournament at Prasco Park

05.19.26 | Baseball

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Musketeers open play against No. 2 seed UConn on Wednesday

By: Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI – The Musketeers earned the No. 3 seed in the 2026 BIG EAST Tournament and open up play on Wednesday, May 20, at 6:30 p.m. against No. 2 seed UConn at Prasco Park in Mason, Ohio. All games of the tournament will be available to watch on ESPN+.

The 2026 BIG EAST Baseball Championship Presented by JEEP will be co-hosted by Xavier University at Prasco Park in nearby Mason, Ohio. It is the seventh time the championship has been hosted at Prasco Park. The tournament will be held May 20-23, 2026. The top four teams in the BIG EAST baseball standings qualify for the tournament, which is a double-elimination format.

Xavier clinched a share of the 2026 BIG EAST Regular Season Championship with a 5-3 win over Creighton at Hayden Field on Saturday afternoon. In addition to earning a share of this season's regular season championship, Xavier also won the regular season title in 2016. Xavier shares the league title with St. John's and UConn. St. John's earned the No. 1 seed and will face No. 4 Creighton on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. at Prasco Park.

This is Xavier's 10th appearance in the four-team BIG EAST Tournament since joining the conference, including earning a spot in the event in every season it has been held since 2019. Xavier advanced to the conference championship series seven times in the Musketeers' nine trips to the league tournament, claiming the tournament championship four times (2014, 2016, 2017, 2023) and finishing runners-up three times (2019, 2021, 2022).

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

Wednesday, May 20 (ESPN+)
Game 1: No. 1 seed St. John's vs. No. 4 seed Creighton - 11:00 a.m. ET (moved from 2:30 p.m. due to weather)
Game 2: No. 2 seed UConn vs. No. 3 seed Xavier 6:30 p.m. ET

Thursday, May 21 (ESPN+)
Game 3: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser - 2:30 p.m. ET
Game 4: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner - 6:30 p.m. ET

Friday, May 22 (ESPN+)
Game 5: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser - 4 p.m. ET

Saturday, May 23
Game 6: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner - 1 p.m. ET
Game 7 (If Necessary): 4:30 p.m. ET

BIG EAST BRACKET

ALL-BIG EAST HONORS

Five Musketeers earned All-BIG EAST honors following the 2026 regular season, as voted on by the league coaches. Outfielder Clay Burdette, third baseman Luke Hammond, relief pitcher Garrett Helsel and starting pitcher Ryan Piech earned First Team honors, while starting pitcher Ashton Chronister was named to the All-BIG EAST Second Team.
Burdette, a redshirt sophomore from Cincinnati, leads the Musketeers and ranks third in the league with a .354 average at the plate for the season, and currently has team highs for RBIs (44) and runs scored (42). Burdette's 16 doubles and 17 home runs both rank second in the conference for the season, to give him a .730 slugging percentage, top in the league and No. 28 in NCAA DI Burdette also leads the Musketeers with 10 stolen bases.
In BIG EAST play, Burdette had a .337 average at the plate and posted a .684 slugging percentage, third best in the league against conference opponents. Among his 32 hits, third most in the league, were a league-leading nine doubles and eight home runs, second most in the conference. He drove in 21 RBIs, fifth most in conference action, and scored 18 runs, eighth most among league players.
Hammond, a graduate student from Cincinnati, has .290 average at the plate for the season, with his 61 hits trailing on Burdette among Musketeers, and leads Xavier with 21 multi-hit games. He has a career-best 37 RBIs and has scored 28 runs on the year. Hammond also has seven sacrifice bunts on the season, third most in the league.
Hammond led the Musketeers with a .400 average at the plate in BIG EAST play, fourth best among league players. with three doubles, two triples and three home runs among his team-high 34 hits in league play, second most in the conference. Hammond drove in a team-high 25 RBIs during conference action, third most among BIG EAST players, and came around to a score 15 runs. Hammond was tied for the most sac bunts in league play with four.
Helsel, a senior from Blacklick, Ohio, has a 4.35 ERA through 41.1 innings pitched, across 22 appearances, including one start this season. Helsel's 41 strikeouts trail only Piech among the Musketeers. For the season, he has a WHIP of 1.43. He's earned four wins on the year and his six saves on the season are tied for third most in the BIG EAST.
Helsel has made 10 relief appearances in BIG EAST games, with a 3.32 ERA through 21.2 innings pitched, the seventh-best mark among qualified pitchers in the league. He collected 17 strikeouts to just nine walks, and allowed only 24 hits, wrapping up league play with a WHIP of 1.52. His eight earned runs allowed during conference play is best among qualified pitchers in the league. During conference play Helsel earned four wins and collected four saves.
Piech, a redshirt sophomore from Aurora, Ohio, has team-best 3.41 ERA, ranked fourth in the league. Piech has limited opposing batters to a .206 average at the plate for the season, with a WHIP of 1.17. His 89 strikeouts lead the Musketeers and rank No. 3 in the league, while his 11.67 strikeouts per nine innings rank second in the league and No. 55 in the country. Piech's 6.82 hits allowed per nine innings is the best in the BIG EAST and No. 48 in NCAA DI.
Piech has a 3.18 ERA through 39.2 innings pitched across seven starts in league play, sixth best among qualified BIG EAST pitchers. In BIG EAST games, Piech collected a team-high 49 strikeouts, third most in the league, while issuing just 17 walks and has a WHIP of 1.36. Piech earned four wins against BIG EAST opponents.
Chronister, a junior from Rogers, Ark., has made 16 appearances, including 12 starts, and has 3.62 ERA through 64.2 innings pitched this season, second best among Xavier's regular pitchers and ranked fifth in the BIG EAST. Chronister has a career-best 40 strikeouts for the year, and he leads the Musketeers with 2.23 walks per nine innings for the season, the fifth-best mark in the conference.
In BIG EAST play, Chronister has an ERA of 3.13 through 37.1 innings pitched across seven starts, the best mark among Xavier's qualified pitchers in conference play and fifth best in the league. His WHIP of 1.29 against BIG EAST opponents also leads the Musketeers. Chronister collected 24 strikeouts to 10 walks against league opponents and earned three wins in conference play.

THE FIELD

St. John's is 30-24 overall on the season and earned a share of the BIG EAST Regular Season Championship with a 15-6 record in conference play. The Red Storm went 2-1 against both co-champs UConn and Xavier to earn the No. 1 seed. A trio of Johnnies earned All-BIG EAST First Team honors, catcher Adam Agresti, centerfielder Jon LeGrande and starting pitcher Liam O'Leary, while four earned Second Team honors, relief pitcher Evan Hoeckele, first baseman Shaun McMillan, third baseman Jayder Raifstanger and left fielder Lewis Rodriguez.
The Musketeers went 1-2 against St. John's at Hayden Field during the regular season series. Jonathan Fitz led the Musketeers with a .615 average at the plate, finishing the weekend with eight hits, two RBIs and four runs scored. Jorge Valdes matched Fitz for team high with eight hits, finishing with a .500 average at the plate. Luke Hammond had a team-high five RBIs, with a double and two home runs among his six hits.
Ashton Chronister posted a 1.50 ERA through 6.0 innings in the start in game two, allowing just one earned run and striking out a pair. Evan Vasiliou threw 5.1 innings of relief in game three, allowing three runs on five hits and two walks, striking out a pair on the way to picking up his first win of the season.
UConn is 32-24 on the season and earned a share of the league regular season title at 15-6 in conference play, earning the No. 2 seed over Xavier with a win in the season series. Sophomore first baseman Jackson Marshall was named BIG EAST Player of the Year, sophomore left-hander Cayden Suchy earned Pitcher of the Year, and outfielder Cam Righi was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Year. Suchy and Marshall were joined on the All-BIG EAST First Team by second baseman Peyton Jemison and starting pitcher Charlie West. Outfielder Anthony Belasario, shortstop Rob Rispoli and outfielder Nater Wachter earned Second Team honors.
Xavier posted a 1-2 record against UConn in Storrs to open conference play. Josh Stonehouse led the Musketeers with a .600 average at the plate, driving in two RBI on three hits, including a double and a home run. Clay Burdette had a team-high four hits, including two doubles and a home run, driving in two RBI and scoring two runs.
Ryan Piech went 5.0 innings in the start in game one, finishing with three runs allowed on seven hits, striking out seven. Chronister made the start in game three, throwing six scoreless innings, surrendering three hits and issuing two walks. The LHP threw five strikeouts, the second most strikeouts in a game this season for the junior.
Creighton is 29-24 on the season and went 13-8 in conference play to earn the No. 4 seed in the league tournament. Three Bluejays, DH Nate McHugh, shortstop Ben North and centerfielder Isaac Wachsmann, earned All-BIG EAST First Team honors, while catcher Connor Capece earned Second Team honors.
Xavier took a 2-1 series win over the Bluejays in the final series of the regular season. Luke Hammond batted .545 to lead the Musketeers, finishe the series with six hits, three RBI and a run scored. Jorge Valdes had three hits and three walks in the series, batting .300. Donavan Canterberry also batted .300 for the weekend.
Ashton Chronister made the start in game two, going 6.1 innings with one run allowed on five hits, striking out a pair and walking one. Evan Vasiliou started game three, allowing one run on one hit, walking one and striking out four. After allowing a hit in the walk in the first inning, he retired every other batter he faced, sitting down 13-straight Bluejays and the way to the win.

WEEKLY AWARDS

Xavier third baseman Luke Hammond earned a spot on the final BIG EAST Weeky Honor Roll, the league office announced on Monday.
Hammond, a graduate student from Cincinnati, led the Musketeers with a .545 average at the plate, collecting a team-high six hits and leading the team with three RBIs as Xavier went 2-1 against Creighton last weekend.
In game one against the Bluejays, Hammond collected three hits, going 3-4 at the plate. He finished game two with an RBI and a run scored after hitting his seventh home run of the season. In the finale against Creighton, Hammond went 2-4 at the plate, driving in a pair of RBIs with a single.
Hammond leads the Musketeers with 21 multi-hit games, and currently has an eight-game hit streak as well as a 17-game reached base streak.

2026 SCHEDULE

The Musketeers have faced teams from nine conferences outside of BIG EAST play, as well as Oregon State, which is competing as an independent in baseball this season.
Among the 23 programs Xavier faced this season, 10 played in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, with three teams that took part in the College World Series.
Six teams on the 2026 schedule were ranked in 2026 USA TODAY Preseason Coaches Poll: No. 4 Georgia Tech, No. 5 Arkansas, No. 11 Louisville, No. 12 Oregon State, No. 18 Vanderbilt and No. 23 Oregon. East Carolina, UConn and Cal State Fullerton also received votes in the poll.
Xavier played 17 of the first 18 games on the road, traveling to North Carolina, Arkansas, California and Oregon for the first four weekends of the season.
The Musketeers have traveled to 10 states outside of Ohio as well as the District of Columbia.
Xavier's non-conference strength of schedule has ranked in the top 10 in each of the last three seasons, currently sitting at No. 7 for 2026, after finishing 2025 at No. 5 and 2024 at No. 3.
The Musketeers overall strength of schedule is currently ranked No. 48 for 2026, and also ranked in the top 50 in the last two seasons (2025 - No. 37, 2024 - No. 25).