Thursday, May 21
Kennesaw, Ga.
4:00 p.m.
Missouri State University
vs
Kennesaw State
Baseball Bears CUSA Tournament Central
May 19, 2026 | Baseball
| Missouri State at CUSA Tournament | |
| CUSA Championship Central | ConferenceUSA.com | Bracket |
| Location | Kennesaw, Ga. |
| Site | Mickey Dunn Stadium |
| Game 1 | Thursday, May 21, 4 p.m. CT vs. (7) Kennesaw State ESPN+ | Listen | Live Stats | Tickets Radio: KBFL 96.9FM/1060 AM |
| Game 2 | Friday, May 22, 4 p.m. CT vs. (4) Dallas Baptist ESPN+ | Listen | Live Stats | Tickets Radio: KBFL 96.9FM/1060 AM |
| Semifinal/ Championship |
Updates will be made as Mo State advances through tournament |
| Missouri State | Game Notes Baseball Home Page Media Guide |
| Follow the Bears | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook #GoBears | #WeAreMoState |
| Bears Mobile App | App Store (Apple Devices) Google Play Store (Android Devices) |
Starting 9
1) Missouri State (32-18, 20-10 Conference USA) heads to its first Conference USA Baseball Championship this week as the No. 3 seed and will take on seventh-seeded Kennesaw State at 4 p.m. Central on May 21 and No. 4 Dallas Baptist at 4 p.m. on May 22 for a chance to advance to Saturday's semifinal round. (Bracket on page 4).  Â
2)Â Three Bears earned all-CUSA honors, led by Logan Fyffe and Curry Sutherland on the First Team and Ross Felder adding an all-Freshman Team nod.
3)Â Missouri State is ranked 27th in the NCAA RPI through May 17 thanks to a 32-18 record against the 45th-ranked strength of schedule. The Bears have seven top-40 wins on their resume.
4)Â The Bears have homered in 199 of the last 236 games, including 44 of 50 this season, and rank 10th nationally with 516 long balls since the beginning of the 2022 season, when head coach Joey Hawkins took over as hitting coach. Mo State ranks 2nd in Conference USA and 16th nationally this year with 94 homers, while leading the league in average (.299), slugging (.530) and OBP (.404) and sitting in the top 50 in the NCAA in all three slash categories. The current roster has combined for 196 round-trippers in their time at Mo State.
5)Â According to TruMedia, Missouri State leads the nation in barrel percentage at 25.6%, defined as batted balls at an exit velocity of 95+ mph and launch angle between 10 and 35 degrees. The Bears also rank 9th with an average exit velocity on batted balls of 90.3 mph and 12th with 47.1% of batted balls at 95+ mph.
6)Â Junior Caden Bogenpohl ranks 14th nationally with 50 walks this season after drawing 53 and 55 (season record) his first two years. He broke Bill Mueller's career record, held since 1993, on May 8 in 59 fewer games played than Mueller. Bogenpohl ranks 4th among active Division I players in career walks (158) and 16th with 177 runs scored.
7)Â Senior Taeg Gollert ranks 2nd among active NCAA players (all divisions) with a Missouri State-record 72 career doubles, and his 116 career extra-base hits are tied with Jason Hart for the Mo State record. Gollert also ranks 3rd at Mo State in RBIs with 188 and 7th among active Division I players with 445 total bases. The Toronto native ranks in the top 11 of nine career offensive categories for the Bears (more on page 21).
8)Â Max Knight and Curry Sutherland headline Missouri State's two-way threats this season, with both making the 15-player John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year semifinalist list. Knight has made starts at 1B, LF, RF, DH and P this year, and has 22 homers and 81 RBIs as a Bear while going 10-5 with 7 saves and 106 strikeouts in 82.3 innings. Sutherland owns career totals of 27 homers and 90 RBIs while throwing 33 innings with 40 Ks.Â
9)Â Missouri State is in its first season in Conference USA in 2026 after a 35-year run in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Bears went 488-347 (.584) with 7 regular season championships and 5 tournament titles in the MVC from 1991-2025.
Tournament History
Missouri State is in its first CUSA Baseball Championship but enjoyed a rich postseason history in its Missouri Valley Conference days. The Bears went 66-57 in Valley Tournament games from 1991-2025 with titles in 1996, 1997, 2015, 2018 and 2022. The Bears have won at least one tournament game in 27 of their last 29 appearances, only going 0-2 one time since 1994.
    Prior to the MVC, the Bears won six Mid-Continent Conference Tournament titles from 1984-1990, going 23-5 in that event for a combined 89-62 conference tournament record as a Division I program.
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
IF
/ Baseball
OF/1B
/ Baseball
LHP/1B/OF
/ Baseball
IF/RHP
/ BaseballBaseball Postgame at Kennesaw State (5/16/26)
Saturday, May 16
Baseball Postgame at Kennesaw State (5/15/26)
Friday, May 15
Baseball Postgame at Kennesaw State (5/14/26)
Thursday, May 14
Baseball Postgame vs. NMSU (5/10/26)
Sunday, May 10
