Utes, BYU Baseball Square Off For First Time In Big 12
Apr 10, 2025, 1:18 PM | Updated: 1:28 pm
BYU first baseman Cooper Vest slides under the tag of Utah catcher Hunter Antillon during a 7-3 BYU win at Smith's Ballpark on April 9, 2024. (Abby Shelton/BYU Photo)
(Abby Shelton/BYU Photo)
SALT LAKE CITY – The BYU Cougars and Utah Utes are set to square off in a Big 12 baseball tilt for the first time. This will be the first conference matchup between these programs since 2011. The Big 12 is the fourth conference to host both programs in baseball, joining the Skyline Conference (1948-62), the WAC (1963-99), and the Mountain West (2000-11).
Utah (13-16, 2-10) hosts BYU (16-14, 4-8) at Smith’s Ballpark in a three-game series beginning Thursday, April 10. First pitch is at 6:35 p.m. MT.
RELATED: Utah Pitcher, BYU Hitter Earn Big 12 Weekly Recognition
🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴
⚾ vs. BYU
🏠 Smith's Ballpark
🕰️ 6 PM MT
🎟️ https://t.co/vHfcj77Zn4
📊 https://t.co/sXwHkoJW8S
📺 https://t.co/Twd1HrWoJORemember it's @TheMUSS Appreciation Night and students always get in free!#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/tOmlkZjxqP
— Utah Baseball (@utahbaseball) April 10, 2025
With Utah planning to open America First Ballpark in 2026, this weekend marks the final series between these long-time rivals at the corner of 100 West and 1300 South in downtown Salt Lake. The Cougars hold a 36-30 all-time advantage at the 32-year-old ballpark.
The Utes and Cougars played the first college game at the ballpark on April 20, 1994, with Utah earning a 9-8 win in 13 innings.
Utes look to end 7-game losing skid
Utah enters the series with 73 doubles, tied with BYU for the second-best mark in the conference. Beyond that, the Utes have struck out in their attempts to find more slug in the league’s lowest-scoring offense.
The Utes are averaging 4.7 runs while opponents score 10.3 runs per game during the current seven-game losing streak. One of two Big 12 teams scoring fewer than 200 runs this season, Utah’s 15 home runs and .421 slugging percentage are last in the league.
Core Jackson has slid down to the two-spot in Gary Henderson’s lineup and leads his team in most major offensive stats. The Wyoming, Ontario, Canada native paces the Utes in batting average (.398), OBP (.462), slugging percentage (.686), RBI (26), runs scored (34), home runs (7), and total bases (81) while equaling Austen Roellig’s team-best 11 doubles.
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One more rivalry series downtown for history's sake#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/oNXeehVfMb
— Utah Baseball (@utahbaseball) April 10, 2025
Colter McAnelly takes the ball on Friday night, looking to shut down the high-scoring Cougars. McAnelly equaled the Utah program record with 12 strikeouts two starts ago, tossing eight shutout innings against the Oklahoma State Cowboys. The three-time Big 12 Pitcher of the Week enters the weekend with a 3.02 ERA (4th in Big 12), and his 6.54 hits allowed per nine innings is second in the conference.
McAnelly (No. 32 starting pitcher) and Jackson (No. 13 shortstop) were included in the D1Baseball.com midseason positional rankings.
Cougars play at Smith’s Ballpark for final time
The Cougars are riding high after demolishing Utah Tech 19-1 on Tuesday afternoon. BYU’s offense has piled up double-figure runs in five of its last eight games, averaging 10.6 runs each game.
Cooper Vest is the big bopper in the middle of the Cougars’ lineup, leading the team in nearly every major offensive category. The senior is near the top of the Big 12 in home runs (4th, 11), runs scored (T5th, 35), total bases (T7th, 79), RBI (T8th, 36), and hit by pitch (2nd, 12).
The St. George, Utah native went 2-for-5 with a pair of dingers in BYU’s mid-week win over the Trailblazers. He was named the Big 12 Player of the Week in week two.
RELATED: Former BYU Cougars Earn Opening Day Opportunities
Regarding this weekend. pic.twitter.com/4RiAs1gObj
— BYU Baseball (@BYUBaseball) April 9, 2025
Friday night starter Payton Gubler is 3-2, throwing the sixth-most innings in the conference (42 IP). The sophomore right-hander leads the Cougar staff in innings and is tied with Garrison Sumner for the strikeouts lead with 30.
Former Utah hurler Jaden Harris is expected to start game two. He is 1-3 with 20 strikeouts, one season after the Ridgeline H.S. prepster made 18 appearances in Utah red and white. He threw 36 innings for the Utes, ending the season with a 6.75 ERA and 27 punchouts.
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The Utes and Cougars will have a 6 p.m. first pitch on Thursday and Friday. The first pitch for the series finale will be at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 12.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
Follow the BYU Cougars with KSL Sports here.
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Steve Bartle is the Utah insider for KSL Sports. He hosts The Utah Blockcast (SUBSCRIBE) and appears on KSL Sports Zone to break down the Utes. You can follow him on X for the latest Utah updates and game analysis.
You can find KSL Sports coverage of the Utes here.
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Brian Preece is a sports.ksl.com insider covering Locals in MLB and the Salt Lake Bees. Follow Brian’s Bees and Beehive baseball here. Find Brian on X, Instagram, and BlueSky at @bpreece24.
