It's been a whirlwind two weeks for Sun Devil baseball.
After going into their final weekend of the regular season with a shot at first place in the Big 12, Arizona State was swept by Oklahoma State and then got shutout (for the first time all year, no less) by BYU in the first round of the conference tournament.
That left the Sun Devils waiting with baited breath to find out if they'd make the NCAA Tournament, and head coach Willie Bloomquist's job security hung in the balance while they waited. Ultimately, the Sun Devils made it as one of the last four teams in.
Their postseason was cut short, though. After a gutsy opening win over UC Irvine, Arizona State was outscored in their next two games - losses to UCLA and UC Irvine - by a combined score of 22-11.
The disappointing and borderline embarrassing finish to the year left many still wondering if Bloomquist had done enough to come back in 2026 despite snapping Arizona State's postseason drought. Apparently, athletics director Graham Rossini wasn't among those people.
Per a report from Chris Karpman of Sun Devil Source, Bloomquist will return for his fifth season as the head coach of his alma mater. His initial coaching contract was for five years, meaning next season will be the last one, but sources suggest a minor extension - perhaps as small as just adding one more year to the deal - is expected in the coming weeks.
Rossini was put in a bit of a bind to make a quick decision on Bloomquist. The baseball transfer portal opened up the day after Arizona State's season ended, so having clarity on the coaching staff was paramount to avoid a mass exodus of players. Rossini offered these comments on the way the Sun Devils finished this year:
""No one should be satisfied with making a Regional," Rossini said. "The goal is always bigger and we are now making the investment it takes for Coach Bloomquist to operate the program at a high level. Our coaches will recruit nationally to attract high-end talent to Tempe to play winning baseball at one of the sport's most decorated programs. It's important to President (Michael) Crow, it's important to me, and should be for everyone associated with our baseball program to be a part of this important next step for Sun Devil Baseball.""
The investment Rossini is referring to is Arizona State's decision to use the full allotment of 34 scholarships for baseball next season, a significant increase from 11.7 scholarship slots. Rossini has also hinted at coming renovations for Phoenix Municipal Stadium, while the school's highly touted pitching lab is set to complete its final stage of construction this summer.
All of that translates to a program with a rich history now having ample resources to get back to its winning ways. Bloomquist made the pitch to continue as the leader through this inlux of resources, and it was hard to argue against bringing him back. After all, the Sun Devils have seen their record improve every year under his watch, and just got back to the postseason.
However, Rossini's comments also hint at the elevated expectations for 2026.
Rossini, whose administrative experience is exclusively in baseball, understands that Arizona State backed its way into the NCAA Tournament this year. The talent was obvious to anyone, but the execution was lacking at critical junctures of the season, namely the final two weeks of play.
Bloomquist is returning for another year, but he's far from safe. If this year's standard was to make the tournament, next year's standard will be much higher. It's hard to put a specific measurement on a team whose makeup we don't presently know, but it's hard to imagine that Bloomquist keeps his job with a repeat performance of this year.
Arizona State has historically ventured to Omaha with regularity, and they usually advance to the Super Regional round at the very least. That may very well be the expectation next year, assuming Bloomquist can retain his top talent while adding some new contributors via the transfer portal.