TicketsSURPRISE, Ariz. -- An exciting top-25 matchup awaits late Thursday night in the desert, as No. 17 Cincinnati takes on No. 21 Arizona State at 11 p.m. in the Big 12 Tournament.
Both teams are in the quarterfinals of the single-elimination field by virtue of double-byes. The game will air on ESPNU, and it features First-Team All-Big 12 honoree Nathan Taylor against Big 12 Player of the Year Landon Hairston.
- Cincinnati, winners of six-straight series and 16 of its last 22 games, will look to bring its momentum into the Big 12 Tournament. The Bearcats climbed to No. 17 in Baseball America, their highest since finishing No. 13 in 1971, and have their winningest 3-year stretch all-time.
- The Bearcats are also 21-8 in May regular-season games under Jordan Bischel, as well as 13-13 against ranked teams (5-2 this year). The Bearcats earned their double-bye despite only 13 upperclassmen and five of their top-six hitters in their first or second year of college.
- DH/C Enzo Infelise was named the Big 12 Freshman of the Year. Three Bearcats were named to the First Team: Taylor, Quinton Coats and Enzo Infelise, while Adam Buczkowski and Jack Natili made the Second Team. Connor Blue and Ryan Tyranski joined Infelise on the All-Freshman squad.
- Taylor broke the UC single-season strikeout record in his final home start, earning an outstanding ovation. The junior is now 12 away from tying the career record, and his 21 wins (with only six losses) is also tied for that program record.
- Coats is third nationally for home runs (28), RBI (78) and total bases (180), padding the school record in the first and third. He is also one RBI from tying that record. The three-time Big 12 Player of the Week recently homered and doubled three times apiece against Texas Tech, hitting .568. He has reached safely in 27-straight games, coming up on Infelise's 30-game run earlier in the year.
- Natili is one of 16 semifinalists for the Buster Posey Award. He is one of three nationally with two, 3-homer games this season, totaling 16 on the year with 59 RBI and a .338 batting average. He has also helped the pitching staff to back-to-back seasons of strikeout records and now the No. 3 ERA in the Big 12. He holds a 3.6 GPA in industrial management and was rated No. 71 among MLB Draft prospects by ESPN on Monday.
- The bullpen has been carried by Buczkowski (26) appearances. He holds a 4-1 record with six saves, and five of those have been for more than an inning. The high-leverage bullpen ace has also limited opponents to a miniscule .171 batting average.
- Cincinnati's nine homers against Texas Tech gave it 84 on the year, fourth in school history and the most since 87 in 2022. That mark is also fifth in the Big 12. UC is also about the speed, as its 113 steals lead the Big 12 by 20 and rank fifth among the Power 4.
- UC leads the Big 12 with 70 HBPs following 75 in 2025 and a program-record 91 in Bischel's first year. Tyranski and Jackson Smith both enter the weekend in the Big 12's top-10 for on-base percentage, with Smith drawing a league-high 22 HBPs (second in program history).
- Cincinnati is 22-4 when scoring in the first inning and 28-6 when scoring six or more runs.