Photo by Luke Zayas/Backwards Hat Media
BELTON — The tests will come early and they will come often for UMHB Baseball in its 2026 campaign. When it’s all said and done, The Cru will have faced four D3baseball.com Preseason Top 25 teams along with two others who received votes in Tuesday’s preseason poll, forming one of the toughest non-conference slates in Mike Stawski’s seven seasons as head coach.
The marquee matchups begin on the first weekend of February, as UMHB opens its season in Belton by hosting 12th-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. The Stags picked up one first-place vote in the preseason poll as they come off a 35-15 campaign in 2025. The Feb. 6-8 series sees Game 1 set for 6 p.m. on Friday, Game 2 at 2 p.m. on Saturday, followed by the finale at noon on Sunday.
CMS returns nearly its entire lineup with the exception of First Team All-American Andrew Mazzone, bringing back three players—UTL Alex Henderson, INF Dillon Martin, INF Carter Bennett—who started all 50 games last spring. Five of the six contributors who hit above .300 on the season (min. 2 plate app/game) are back, making CMS’ lineup a very difficult matchup. On the mound, junior Parker McGraw returns after leading CMS in ERA (2.91) through 68.0 innings last spring, primarily working out of the bullpen. Senior Dominic Rolla is poised to be CMS’ top returning starter, as the southpaw started 15 games in 2025 and posted a 7-2 record, though his ERA sat at 5.23.
A week later, No. 15 Webster makes the trip down from the St. Louis area, facing The Cru in a three-game, Friday-Saturday series at Red Murff Field. The 6 p.m. duel in Game 1 will be followed by a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday, as UMHB faces Webster for the first time in program history. The defending SLIAC champions went 37-9 a year ago, winning their 13th conference title.
Webster could potentially be the best pitching staff UMHB faces during the 2026 regular season, as the Gorloks return right-hander Carter Hunt (9-1, 2.10 ERA, 1.01 WHIP), left-hander Ryan Greifelt (12-3, 92.0 IP, 89 Ks), and 6-foot-6 right-hander Elijah Rompala-Matthews (5-2, 3.91 ERA, 1.37 WHIP). That trio formed Webster’s starting rotation last season and will be amongst the most experienced rotations in Region 8, as Hunt is a grad student and Greifelt and Rompala-Matthews are both seniors. Greifelt was named the 2025 Region 8 Pitcher of the Year by D3baseball.com and the ABCA.
Moving further down the schedule in March, UMHB hosts North Central on March 6-7, welcoming another Midwest foe to the Lone Star State. NCC received votes in the preseason poll coming off last season’s CCW title campaign that also saw the Cardinals make their 14th NCAA Tournament appearance. The Friday-Saturday series starts with a 6 p.m. Game 1 followed by Games 2 and 3 on Saturday afternoon.
NCC lost top infielders Austin Wienke and Justin Lang to Division I opportunties during the offseason, but returns its starting outfield of Yuhki Yamada, Caleb Coberley, and Peyton Burgh. Starting pitchers Brian DuVall and Chris Rogers are also back on the roster after starting 10 and 13 games, respectively, last season.
The Cru’s third ranked non-conference opponent comes to Belton two weeks later, when UMHB hosts No. 16 La Verne in a March 13-14 series. A squad that went 35-11 and won the ultra-competitive SCIAC Tournament last season, La Verne will be making its second trip to Texas in the last three years. The Leopards have posted five consecutive 30-win campaigns (not counting abbreviated seasons in 2020 and 2021), and will be led by senior shortstop Ryan Vosika, a D3baseball.com Preseason All-American. Vosika hit .417 and tallied 29 RBIs for La Verne in 2025.
Concordia (TX) also received votes in the poll, and will play a unique home-and-home series with The Cru on April 2-3. The Tornados, a former ASC program now playing in the SCAC, will travel to Belton for a Thursday night duel in Game 1 of the series before the two squads make the trip south to Austin for a Friday afternoon doubleheader at Concordia. The Tornados went 35-13 last season, finishing as SCAC Tournament runners-up and regional finalists in the NCAA Tournament.
ETBU, ranked No. 25 nationally, is UMHB’s final preseason Top 25 opponent of its regular season. The Crusaders will battle the Tigers in a four-game series April 16-18 in Marshall, with Game 1 on Thursday, a doubleheader on Friday, and a noon series finale on Saturday. ETBU graduated several top hitters from its 2025 squad, but brings back outfielders Carson Livesay (.324 BA, .479 OBP, 48 H) and Connor Massimini (.309 BA, 31 RBI, 10 HR) along with ace Matthew Irwin (8-2, 3.70 ERA, 73.0 IP) on the mound.
UMHB will play a 40-game regular season schedule in total, with 12 ASC games in addition to the packed non-conference slate. The Cru will play its first seven games at home and 23 total home games. UMHB is looking to build upon a 24-18 campaign last spring. Check out the complete 2026 slate here.
