Baseball Welcomes Iowa to Open Big Ten Play

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State baseball team battles Iowa to begin Big Ten action this weekend, March 13-15, at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. The teams are set to begin the series on Friday at 3:30 p.m. Saturday is set for a 2 p.m. first pitch and Sunday is scheduled for 1 p.m. All games will be streamed on B1G+.

 

*Please note Friday's game has been moved to a 3:30 p.m. start from a 5:30 p.m. start due to anticipated weather*

 

Friday is Family Day, while Saturday features postgame autographs and Sunday includes postgame kids run the bases (12 & under).

 

Penn State, led by head coach Mike Gambino, is 4-11 this season and aims to bounce back after dropping two midweek games at Georgetown.

 

Iowa, coached by Rick Heller, is 11-5 this season. Last weekend, the Hawkeyes took two of three games against Lindenwood and added a Tuesday win over St. Thomas.

 

For updates on the Penn State baseball team, please check @pennstatebase on X and Instagram.

 

The 2026 Penn State baseball season is presented by The Family Clothesline.

 

LEADING OFF

• Penn State hosts Iowa to open Big Ten play in 2026.
• The teams last met in 2023 with each team winning one in a two-game series at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.
• Penn State leads the all-time series, 42-37. including a 22-17 mark at home.
• The Nittany Lions look to bounce back after dropping two midweek contests at Georgetown.
• Bryce Molinaro launched two homers against the Hoyas, while Michael Anderson and Spencer Barnett each hit one.
• In the series at Texas Tech last weekend, the Nittany Lions tallied 27 hits, including four homers.
• Michael Anderson had a homer among four hits and drove in six runs, plating two RBI in each game. Bryce Molinaro launched a 455-foot homer on Friday and drove in four runs over the weekend.
• On the season, Anderson paces the Nittany Lions in slugging percentage (.750), on-base percentage (.476), home runs (7), RBI (18) and runs (11), while drawing eight walks and seven hit-by-pitches.
• Spencer Barnett and Bryce Molinaro each have four homers this season. Molinaro is tied-seventh all-time at PSU with 28 career homers.

YEAR THREE UNDER GAMBINO

• Penn State’s 33 wins in 2025 are the second-most in program history, behind only 45 in 2000.
• PSU reached the Big Ten Tournament Semifinals in back-to-back years for the first time since 2000-01.
• Penn State tallied 30 wins in a season for the first time since 2011, while earning seven series wins and nine winning weekends.
• PSU’s 15 Big Ten wins last season are its most since 2012.
• The Nittany Lions won three Big Ten road series (at Northwestern, at Minnesota, at Rutgers) in a season for the first time since 2012 (at Iowa, at Minnesota, at Michigan State).
• Penn State won at least five Big Ten series in a season (vs. Indiana, at Northwestern, at Minnesota, vs. Purdue, at Rutgers) for the first time since 2012.
• PSU had eight Big Ten road wins last season, its most since winning nine Big Ten road games in 2007.
• Penn State earned a .500 or better record in Big Ten games in back-to-back seasons for the sixth time in program history (1995-96; 2000-01; 2003-04; 2007-08; 2011-12; 2024-25).
• Penn State’s 27 wins in Big Ten play over the last two seasons are its most in a two-year span since 2011-12 (not counting the Big Ten-only schedule in 2021).
• PSU was 11-3 in series/weekend openers last season and is 23-10 in series/weekend openers over the last three years.
• The Nittany Lions had five players selected in the 2025 MLB Draft: outfielder Paxton Kling (7th round, Rangers), shortstop Ryan Weingartner (8th round, Cardinals), pitcher Ryan DeSanto (12th round, Guardians), pitcher Chase Renner (13th round, Marlins) and third baseman Bryce Molinaro (17th round, Nationals). Molinaro returned for the 2026 season.

 

TEXAS TECH RECAP

• Penn State fell in all three games at Texas Tech this past weekend.
• The Nittany Lions dropped 15-7, 21-6 (7) and 14-4 (7) decisions against the Red Raiders.
• Penn State tallied 27 hits, including four doubles and four homers, in the series.
• Michael Anderson launched a homer, among four hits, and drove in six runs.
• Bryce Molinaro added a homer and four RBI, while Avery Smith hit his first career homer.
• Cohl Mercado homered to leadoff game two of the series, one of five hits on the weekend.
• On the mound, Kyle Emmons did strong work on Sunday with three scoreless innings in relief.

 

BAHAMAS SERIES RECAP

• Penn State met Indiana State in the first NCAA Division I baseball games in The Bahamas.
• The Atlantis Collegiate Baseball Series, run by bdG Sports, was played at Andre Rodgers National Baseball Stadium.
• Penn State fell in tight battles on Friday, 8-5, and Saturday, 2-1, but bounced back to win 9-8 in 11 innings on Sunday.
• In Sunday’s win, Michael Anderson, Jayden Davis and Bryce Molinaro all launched homers.
• After a Preston Yaucher single tied the game in the ninth, Jesse Jaconski scored the winning run in the 11th on a fielder’s choice by Cohl Mercado.

 

GAMBINO COACHING CONNECTIONS

• Penn State head coach Mike Gambino has coached two current MLB managers.
• Gambino coached Washington Nationals manager Blake Butera at Boston College (2012-15) before Butera was selected in the 35th round by the Tampa Bay Rays. Butera is the youngest manager in the MLB at 33 years old.
• Gambino also mentored Colorado Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer at Virginia Tech in 2007. Schaeffer was selected in the 38th round of the 2007 draft.
• At the Desert Invitational, Gambino went up against Kansas State’s Pete Hughes. Gambino played for Hughes at Boston College from 1999-00 and then served on Hughes’ coaching staffs at Boston College (2003-05) and Virginia Tech (2007-10).

 

NITTANY LIONS DISPLAY POWER, SPEED

• Penn State is one of 13 Division I teams (only Big Ten team) with 152 homers and 168 stolen bases in the last two seasons (2024-25). PSU was one of 14 D1 teams with 81+ homers and 108+ steals last season.
• The Nittany Lions paced the Big Ten in total steals (108; 46th nationally) and steals per game (1.93; 46th).
• In 2026, Penn State owns 21 homers and 12 steals.
• Michael Anderson paces the team with seven homers, while Spencer Barnett and Bryce Molinaro each have four. Jayden Davis has two and Jesse Jaconski, Cohl Mercado, Jack Porter and Avery Smith each have one homer.
• Barnett also leads the team with three steals, while Joey DeMucci, Cohl Mercado and Justin Turcovski each have two.

 

ANDERSON OFF TO HOT START

• After transferring from Rhode Island (2023-24) and Arkansas (2025), senior Michael Anderson is off to a strong start for the Nittany Lions in 2026.
• The Pennsylvania native owns a .313 average this season, going 15-of-48 at the plate. He also owns a .750 slugging percentage and a .476 on-base percentage.
• Anderson also leads Penn State in home runs (7), RBI (18) and runs (11), while adding eight walks and seven hit-by-pitches.
• He hit one homer in the series at Richmond and two against Indiana State.
• In his debut at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, Anderson launched two homers (437 and 399 feet) among three hits and drove in seven runs. The seven RBI were one shy of the PSU game record.
• He followed with four hits, including a two-run homer, and six RBI at Texas Tech. He drove in two runs in all three games. He added a solo homer at Georgetown.
• Among Big Ten hitters, Anderson ranks fourth in homers (7) and ninth in slugging percentage (.750).

 

PENN STATE SIGNS SATO

• On December 22, the Nittany Lions signed Japanese phenom pitcher Genei Sato.
• The 21-year-old right-handed pitcher is expected to enroll in Penn State classes in Summer 2026 and will join the Nittany Lions in Fall 2026 to compete in the 2027 season. Sato will be eligible for the 2027 MLB Draft.
• He spent three years at Sendai University in Shibata, Japan.
• Sato is considered to be a potential first-round pick in the 2027 MLB Draft.
• Before deciding to pursue a college path, Sato was considered a top prospect in the 2026 Nippon Professional Baseball Draft.
• While at Sendai University, Sato threw 170.1 innings, while posting a 2.22 ERA and 10.7 strikeouts per nine, while allowing six hits per nine and 3.3 walks per nine.
• His fastball has been clocked between 94-97 mph while topping out at 99. He also features a splitter (88-91), slider (82-85) and curveball (71-74).
• Sato competed for Japan in the US-Japan Collegiate All-Star Series last July, serving as the closer for the Japanese Collegiate National Team, recording 4.1 innings, allowing one run and striking out six.
• He is the 12th member of Penn State’s 2026 signing class, which includes the top prospect and three of the top nine prospects in PA, according to Prep Baseball Report. It also includes two of the top seven prospects in New Jersey.

 

UP NEXT

• Penn State visits West Virginia on Tuesday, March 17 in Morgantown. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. at Wagener Field at Kendrick Family Ballpark with a broadcast on ESPN+.
• The Nittany Lions travel to Purdue next weekend, March 20-22 for a three-game Big Ten series. Friday’s game will be broadcast on Big Ten Network at 4 p.m. while Saturday (2 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.) will be on B1G+.