Even though the Arizona State baseball season ended a month or so ago, there are still many Sun Devils playing baseball in various summer leagues across the country. These summer leagues keep the Sun Devils sharp and could be an indicator of who may be starting in the fall.
Catchers
Rising junior catcher Brody Briggs is having a summer to forget for the Hyannis Harbor Hawks (Cape Cod League - CCBL). Briggs is batting .080/.179/.080 in 29 plate appearances. He is coming off a year where he went .275/.301/.459 for the Sun Devils.
Rising sophomore catcher Coen Niclai is just beginning his summer with the Ocean State Waves (New England Collegiate Baseball League). Niclai has a single and two walks in his five plate appearances thus far. He is coming off a .242/.324/.455 season at Oregon in limited action.
Rising junior catcher Jonny Garber did not see the field for Arizona State last season. Garber is getting some much-needed playing time going .242/.342/.303 for the Arroyo Seco Saints (California Collegiate League) in 39 plate appearances.
Incoming freshmen Cooper Clouser and Tommy Brown join the trio. Four catchers made the final roster last season. Briggs is likely the top catcher still, but Niclai and the others might be closer to Briggs than they were a month ago.
Infielders
Rising junior first baseman Dominic Smaldino is having an impressive summer with the Saint Cloud Rox (Northwoods League). The UC Berkeley transfer is batting .303/.390/.618 in 105 plate appearances. Smaldino has 25 RBIs on 27 hits this summer, making it one to remember. He is coming off a season where he batted .277/.357/.505 with the Golden Bears.
Smaldino has shown consistent development over time, which makes the battle for first base between him and rising senior Garret Michel interesting. Michel suffered a wrist injury that prematurely ended his 2024 season and has yet to find the complete recipe for success since then. Smaldino’s great summer could put him in the top first base spot over Michel, although either one could wind up being the designated hitter. Smaldino has played some outfield in his career.
If there was any Sun Devil bat that deserved more at-bats last season, it would be rising junior infielder Beckett Zavorek. Zavorek batted .385/.448/.423 in 29 plate appearances for the Sun Devils. He has built upon that as .391/.462/.467 for the Lakeshore Chinooks (Northwoods) in 107 plate appearances. Zavorek has been aggressive on the basepaths with 23 stolen bases and he was caught seven times.
The Sun Devils have not brought in a second baseman from the portal, the only offensive position they have not brought in anyone so far. Zavorek should get the starting second base position not assuming he has a good fall.
Rising junior utility Camden Bates has yet to play in a league where he has had over 50 plate appearances. Bates is coming off a year at Arizona State where he only had six plate appearances. Bates so far is batting .216/.367/.216 in 50 plate appearances for the Wenatchee AppleSox (West Coast League).
Bates has spent time at every position on the diamond except pitcher, catcher and first base in collegiate career. He will likely pick up an occasional spot start when he can next season.
Rising junior shortstop PJ Moutzouridis is having an iffy summer. The UC Berkeley transfer is batting .167/.211/.222 for the Cotuit Kettleers (CCBL) in 19 plate appearances. Moutzouridis is coming off a season where his numbers took a slight dip to .270/.329/.367 with the Golden Bears. His numbers last year for the Kettleers were .222/.300/.222 in ten plate appearances.
Moutzouridis is the favorite for the starting shortstop spot as Jax Ryan has transferred to Missouri State. Transfers Austen Roellig and Dominic Longo could play shortstop, but they primarily play third base. The Sun Devils have brought in freshman Finn Leach and Ryan Darrah, who both appear to be shortstops along with two-way Brenden Lewis.
Incoming freshman Tre Bryant is getting his first taste of collegiate baseball this summer. He has posted .219/.342/.250 for the Pulaski River Turtles (Appalachian League) in 38 plate appearances.
Bryant will probably be behind the previously mentioned transfers Roellig and Longo. It is unclear how Bryant will get playing time in the spring, but that could change if he has a good fall.
Outfielders
Rising senior outfielder George Bilecki is having a solid summer for the Eau Claire Express (Northwoods). He is batting .293/.412/.415 for the Express in 51 plate appearances, a sizable jump in performance from last summer with the same team. Bilecki is coming off a monster season at Division II Lewis College, where he went .356/.432/.797.
Rising sophomore outfielder Ky McGary is having a stellar summer for the Anchorage Bucs (Alaska Baseball League - ABL). McGary has a slash line of .296/.457/.370 and 11 stolen bases in 70 plate appearances. McGary has the same number of walks and strikeouts at 12.
McGary showed some speed as a pinch runner last season, so the high stolen bases are not a surprise. He batted .167/.444/.167 with three walks in nine plate appearances at Arizona State.
Both outfielders figure to get some playing time in an outfield that has graduate transfers Dean Toigo (from UNLV), Matthew Polk (from Vanderbilt), and rising sophomore Landon Hairston. The designated hitter position is still up in the air, as there are many positional battles on the team, and there will probably be a committee for the first month of the season.
Graduate outfielder Matthew Polk is having an okay summer. Polk is batting .263/.462/.368 in 26 plate appearances for the State College Spikes (MLB Draft League). He is getting some much-needed playing time after sitting out for a year.
Polk is likely behind Toigo and Hairston, but his summer is allowing McGary and Bilecki to close the gap. Polk batted .316/.372/.492 in 209 plate appearances in 2024, the most recent season where he saw playing time.
Pitchers
Rising junior southpaw Cole Carlon posted a 1.42 ERA in six and a third innings at Cotuit (CCBL) before moving to Team USA baseball. For the Kettleers, Carlon started two games and pitched from the bullpen in one with a 0.789 WHIP. Carlon struck out eight of the 24 batters he faced.
Carlon then moved to the Collegiate National Team for Team USA and he was placed on the Stars team. So far the Stars have only faced the Stripes, the other Team USA squad. Carlon has pitched an inning of relief in two games. In each appearance, Carlon allowed one hit and struck out one of four batters faced.
Carlon is coming off a year where tossed 54 innings with a 3.33 ERA and 1.056 WHIP for the Sun Devils. He struck out over 38% of the batters he faced. Carlon had four saves and showed he could eat four innings on multiple occasions.
The Tempe arm has a strong case to be Arizona State’s Friday starter next spring. Carlon’s stock continues to rise while facing the NCAA’s best talent, which will help him grow exponentially.
Rising junior right-hander Wyatt Halvorson is having a solid summer for the Kettleers. He has a 1.84 ERA and a 0.955 WHIP in 14 and two-thirds innings for Cotuit. Halvorson has exclusively worked from the bullpen this summer.
Halvorson is coming off a season where he had a 7.48 ERA for the Sun Devils in a mixed role, throwing 21 and two-thirds innings with a WHIP of 1.800. His stock is rising but it seems that the majority of the Sun Devil pitching staff is as well. Halvorson will probably be a middle-inning reliever.
Rising sophomore left-hander Easton Barrett is having an okay summer. He has a 4.50 ERA so far for the Falmouth Commodores (CCBL). The Utah native has only thrown 10 innings and has a WHIP of 1.20. Barrett has started in one of his three appearances and is 2-0.
Barrett is coming off a season where he posted a 4.31 ERA in 39 and two-thirds innings for the Sun Devils with a 1.714 WHIP. The southpaw started 10 of his 17 appearances last year and was made the Sunday starter by the end of the season.
Barrett’s performance could keep him as a Sunday or midweek starter, as it is unclear what pieces will fit the puzzle of who will be in the starting rotation.
Rising sophomore lefty Max Arlich continues to impress as he is Bilecki’s teammate in Eau Claire (Northwoods). Arlich continues to make his case to be a starter with a 1.93 ERA in 14 innings for the Express. Arlich has started two games and closed in his other appearance.
Arlich has a 1-0 record with a WHIP of 1.00 this summer. He had a stellar freshman season with a 1.88 ERA in 14 and a third innings at Arizona State with a WHIP of 1.605. The Minnesota native has yet to give up an unearned run at Arizona State and Eau Claire.
Arlich’s performance should solidify him being either a late-inning reliever or a weekend starter. In either role, Arlich will probably continue to excel.
Rising junior right-hander Josh Butler is having an elite summer for the Wareham Gatemen (CCBL). In 11 innings, Butler has yet to allow an earned run. In the four games he has pitched, he has a 1.273 WHIP. He has given up three unearned runs and been credited with a loss.
Butler is coming off of a season where he had a 4.73 ERA in 32 and a third innings. He pitched 20 games and had a WHIP of 1.546.
Butler will probably be a mid to late-inning reliever for the Sun Devils. His outstanding summer has likely moved him up in the bullpen.
Rising junior right-hander Derek Schaefer is having a superb summer for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox (CCBL). Schaefer has a 2.53 ERA in 10 and two-thirds innings pitched with a WHIP of 1.125. He has thrown in three games and started one.
Schaefer is coming off his first year at Arizona State where he had a 5.29 ERA and a WHIP of 1.515 in 32 and a third innings. He could be a starter next season, as he started three games last season, or could be a middle-inning reliever.
Rising sophomore righty Eli Buxton is having a solid summer for the Bucs (ABL) alongside the aforementioned McGary. Buxton has a 3.86 ERA and a WHIP of 0.75 in nine and a third innings but has given up three unearned runs. Buxton has started in two of his three appearances.
Buxton is coming off a season where he posted a 9.00 ERA in eight innings with the Sun Devils while posting a WHIP of 1.750. He worked exclusively from the bullpen in his freshman year. Buxton’s performance should have him rise in the Arizona State depth chart.
Rising sophomore Max Mousser is having a subpar summer with the Culpeper Cavaliers (Valley Baseball League). In 15.2 innings, Mousser has a 6.89 ERA with a WHIP of 1.213. He has started in all four of his appearances.
Mousser took a redshirt year last season and will likely still have four years of eligibility remaining. He will probably be a long reliever for the Sun Devils next season.
Overall, the pitching numbers look great, and the offense looks a little sluggish. The numbers will almost certainly change as Phoenix Municipal Stadium is a hitters' park. Most of the top Sun Devil bats are not playing summer ball, so the offense will likely continue to be one of the best in the nation. The majority of the established arms are in summer ball, and it could lead to an improved pitching staff in 2026.
With summer ball being about halfway over, the picture of Arizona State’s 2026 season becomes a little bit clearer, yet it remains fuzzy as new pieces can come in and change the complexion of the team. As the summer winds down and classes begin, the fall ball schedule will be released and roster cuts will be made.