2026 Cal State LA Baseball – Season Summary

LOS ANGELES -- Cal State LA's baseball team capped off another strong season in 2026 and reached the California Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament for a second straight season for the first time since 2017-18.

The Golden Eagles showed a tremendous amount of resiliency during a season that saw them bounce back remarkably after lopsided defeats. Cal State LA, after reaching the conference tournament, was in line for its first NCAA appearance since 2013 and ranked sixth in the last NCAA West Region rankings. Cal State San Bernardino, though, rode a first-round CCAA Tournament win over the Golden Eagles and went on to win the conference tourney at Fiscalini Field to claim the automatic CCAA bid and final NCAA spot and bump the Golden Eagles from the field.

Cal State LA finished the season with a 26-25 overall record and placed fourth in the CCAA with a 16-16 record. The Golden Eagles drew a tough first-round CCAA Tournament opponent in No. 5 seed and tournament host Cal State San Bernardino, who took full advantage of its home-field advantage. The Golden Eagles fell in the single-elimination first-round game, 12-4, to end their season.

The Golden Eagles opened the season in Hawaii and went 4-1 against Hawaii Pacific and Chaminade. Their return home was not so pleasant and the Golden Eagles dropped a 31-3 decision to defending national runner-up Northwest Nazarene in their 2026 home opener. While the blowout loss was certainly tough to swallow, the Golden Eagles' response was remarkable. Cal State LA bounced back the next day and walloped the Nighthawks, 16-3, showing a resiliency that the Golden Eagles demonstrated several times throughout the season.

The Golden Eagles opened CCAA play with a tough assignment - a four-game series at defending conference champion Cal State Monterey Bay - and Cal State LA dropped the first two games of the set, including a tough 4-3 loss in the first game of a Saturday doubleheader when the Otters scored the winning run on a ninth-inning error.

Undeterred, the Golden Eagles returned the favor in the seven-inning nightcap, as Ethan Gonzalez delivered a two-run single in the seventh inning to send the game into extra innings and Omar Gonzalez belted a two-run home run in the top of the eighth to give the Golden Eagles an 8-7 win.

Cal State LA then got another home run from Gonzalez in the fifth inning to take an 8-2 lead in an eventual 8-6 victory in the finale that netted the Golden Eagles a series split with the champs.

The Golden Eagles returned home and found themselves facing adversity once again in a four-game series against Stanislaus State. After dropping the series opener, Cal State LA faced a 10-7 deficit in the opening game of Saturday's doubleheader before getting two runs in the seventh on a two-run home run from Ethan Gonzalez and then four more in the eighth to stun the Warriors, 13-10. Cal State LA then swept the doubleheader with an 11-1 win in the nightcap and took the series with a 7-3 victory in the finale.

Cal State LA then endured its toughest series of the season, a four-game setback at Cal State San Bernardino that saw the Golden Eagles surrender 62 runs while getting swept by the Coyotes, including a 29-10 loss in the Sunday finale.

One week later, the Golden Eagles showed that resilience once again and won three times in four games at home over Chico State while allowing only 12 runs in the four games. Alejandro Huezo got the Golden Eagles off to a strong start by allowing only seven hits and one run over seven innings of a 9-1 win in the opener and, after suffering a 4-0 loss in the opener of a Saturday doubleheader, the Golden Eagles took 4-2 and 8-4 decisions to win the series. Adam Axtell hit a go-ahead three-run home run to erase a 4-2 deficit in the finale and followed that up one inning later with a run-scoring double that preceded a two-run home run by Kai Penuelas.

Cal State LA then split a four-game series at Cal State East Bay before returning home for a well-played four-game series against Cal State Dominguez Hills that featured a pair of shutouts. Ismael Quintero got the Golden Eagles off to a good start by tossing seven shutout innings in a 2-0 win in the series opener. He allowed only three hits and struck out seven and the Golden Eagles got two shutout innings from Jared Robles to complete the shutout. Quintero earned CCAA and West Region Pitcher of the Week honors for the performance.

The Golden Eagles then claimed a wild 8-7 win over the Toros in the opener of the Saturday doubleheader. After Cal State Dominguez Hills hit a pair of home runs in the top of the ninth to erase a 6-4 deficit and take a 7-6 lead, the Golden Eagles bounced back for two runs in the bottom of the ninth for the win. Alberto Prado tied the game with a single and Kadyn Victorian had the game-winning single to end it. Jonathan Manuel and Alejandro Morales combined for a seven-inning shutout in the nightcap to complete the sweep with a 7-0 victory. Manuel threw six shutout innings and Omar Gonzalez hit a two-run home run in the fifth inning to break a scoreless tie. The Golden Eagles scored all seven runs in the fifth.

After dropping the series finale, the Golden Eagles dropped the first two games of a four-game series against Cal Poly Pomona. Once again, though, the Golden Eagles bounced back and won the final two games, 15-4 and 7-4, to earn the split.

Cal State LA concluded the regular season at Cal State San Marcos and dropped three of four games to finish with a 16-16 conference mark. The Golden Eagles had a bye week to end the regular season and clinched a spot in the conference tourney for a second straight year with the No. 4 seed.

The Golden Eagles had four players earn All-CCAA honors with Cesar Chavez, Omar Gonzalez and Jonathan Manuel earning first-team recognition and Ben Lee receiving honorable mention.

Chavez and Gonzalez earned second-team All-West Region honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and Manuel earned second-team All-West Region honors from the D2 Conference Commissioners Association.

Gonzalez set a new program single-season record with 18 home runs and also led the team with 46 runs batted in. Manuel led the team with a .381 batting average and with seven wins on the mound. Chavez had a team-high 66 hits and hit .349, while Lee had 63 hits and batted .328 with six home runs and 35 RBI. 

The Golden Eagles also did well academically and two Cal State LA players, Carson Panarisi and Alberto Prado, earned CSC Academic All-District honors.

Cal State LA Baseball
2026 Overall Record: 26-25. CCAA Record: 16-16 (4^th place)
NCBWA All-West Region: Cesar Chavez (2nd team), Omar Gonzalez (2nd team)
D2 Conference Commissioners Association All-West Region: Jonathan Manuel (2nd team)
All-CCAA: Cesar Chavez (1st team), Omar Gonzalez (1st team), Jonathan Manuel (1st team), Ben Lee (honorable mention)
CCAA Player of the Week: Cesar Chavez (Week of March 9-15)
CCAA Pitcher of the Week: Ismael Quintero (Week of April 6-12)
NCBWA West Region Pitcher of the Week: Ismael Quintero (Week of April 6-12)
CSC Academic All-District: Carson Panarisi, Alberto Prado
CCAA Spring Academic Honor Roll: Adam Axtell, Kai Butler, Jonny Covarrubias, Patrick Garcia, Jacob Gudino, Ben Lee, Jonathan Manuel, Daniel Neria, Jace Paderez, Carson Panarisi, Alberto Prado, Jared Robles, JR Valadez, Lino Zepeda
CCAA 2025-26 All-Academic Award: TBA
2025-26 D2 ADA Academic Achievement Award: TBA