WATCH: Angelo State Baseball Opens 2026 on the Road

SAN ANGELO, TX — The Angelo State Rams will open the 2026 season on the road this weekend with a three-game Lone Star Conference series against the UT Permian Basin Falcons.

Due to unplayable field conditions, Friday’s opener will be played at Odessa College’s Wrangler Field. The teams hope to complete the remainder of the series at UTPB’s Roden Field.

The series begins Friday at 2 p.m., followed by games at 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

UT Permian Basin enters the season under second-year head coach Justin Phillips after finishing 20-30 overall and 19-29 in conference play last year. The Falcons closed the 2025 campaign strong, winning 17 of their final 28 games to finish ninth in the Lone Star Conference standings.

Among UTPB’s key returners is right-hander Timmy LaChappa, who made 14 appearances — including 12 starts — last season, posting a 3-5 record with four complete games and one shutout. Infielder Gael Bernal, a transfer from New Mexico Highlands, brings defensive accolades after earning RMAC Gold Glove honors and Freshman of the Year recognition during his collegiate career.

Angelo State enters the season ranked No. 9 by the American Baseball Coaches Association, No. 11 by D2 Baseball and No. 12 by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. Because of Lone Star Conference scheduling adjustments tied to NCAA limits, all of the Rams’ 2026 regular-season games will be conference contests. The first two series will follow a three-game format before returning to four-game series later in the season.

The Rams return a strong core from a 48-10 campaign in 2025, which included Lone Star Conference regular-season and tournament championships. Designated hitter Chase Pendley and infielder Austin Beck headline the lineup after both hit better than .370 last season. Catcher Blake Wilhoite and left-hander Josh Reed also return for a program that has reached the NCAA Division II College World Series seven times under head coach Kevin Brooks.

Beck enters his senior season as the program’s career leader in stolen bases and runs scored and is approaching several additional school and conference records.

Angelo State was picked second in the Lone Star Conference preseason poll behind UT Tyler, with Pendley and Reed named among the league’s Players to Watch.