Who’s to credit for Cougars’ recent hot streak? It’s ‘someone different every game’

Wolfgramm was listed eighth in the batting order but with his .294 average, including two home runs, a triple and five doubles, Pratt moved him up to fifth, and with his speed and glovework in the field, the fifth-year head coach can’t take him out of the lineup.

Sophomore Keoni Painter is another head turner, playing center field for the injured Crew McChesney. On the day McChesney went out with a hamstring strain on March 28, Painter entered the game and hit the first walk-off home run of his life to beat Oklahoma State, 5-4.

BYU outfielder Keoni Painter (2) celebrates after successfully making it to third base beside Utah infielder Daniel Arambula (21) during a game held at America First Ballpark in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, March 24, 2026. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News

BYU’s season also mirrors Easton Jones. The senior third baseman from American Fork has nearly doubled his RBI total (29) from last year (15) and the Cougars still have 19 games remaining before the conference tournament.

Pitching has been a hodgepodge of smoke and mirrors with bullpen guys (Justice Reiser and Cayson Bell) starting games and the ear-marked preseason starters (Garrison Sumner and Nate Gray) now coming out of the pen. Dinkel’s all-hands-on-deck approach to BYU’s pitching might look different, but it’s working.

“We know they are a good team, but we’ve played other good teams. I don’t want to make it bigger than it is. We’ve got to go play good baseball and if we do that, we have a chance to win the series.”

BYU coach Trent Pratt on the Arizona State Sun Devils

“We know they are a good team, but we’ve played other good teams. I don’t want to make it bigger than it is. We’ve got to go play good baseball and if we do that, we have a chance to win the series.”

“We are landing more secondary pitches for strikes. They aren’t just fast balls,” Pratt said. “That’s been the biggest thing. (Adrian) has done a good job developing guys with extra pitches.”

Last April in Tempe, Arizona State roasted the Cougars on three-straight nights. The Sun Devils outscored BYU by a combined 36-13. During the series finale, Arizona State set a program record with six home runs in the second inning.

Returning to Provo for the first time since 2019, the Sun Devils will not only face a confident group of Cougars, but also much different weather as rain and cooler temperatures are in the forecast.

For BYU, the Arizona State series provides a measuring stick for how far the Cougars have come in their third year in the Big 12 and how far they still have to go.

“Yeah, a little bit,” said Pratt. “We know they are a good team, but we’ve played other good teams. I don’t want to make it bigger than it is. We’ve got to go play good baseball and if we do that, we have a chance to win the series.”

BYU head coach Trent Pratt cheers his players on during a game against Utah held at America First Ballpark in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, March 24, 2026. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News

Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar,” available at deseretbook.com.