The first week of conference play has officially wrapped up, and to say it was a wild, whirlwind of a weekend to kick things off is a drastic understatement. Programs we thought were rough everywhere but the edges came out the other end looking smooth and in control. Others that started off the year with fireworks all of a sudden imploded, falling down the Mountain West standings and in our rankings farther than we imagined they would in the whole season.
It is only week one, and there is still a lot
of ball left to play in the schedule. But until those weeks happen, these are the rankings for the Mountain West Conference baseball teams!
1. Nevada (prev. 2)
Nevada began the week taking a loss to Stanford just days after getting a win over the Cardinals. The Wolf Pack then began conference play and did something it hadn’t done since 2021, which was sweeping the Bulldogs in Fresno. It started with a 9-4 win in the first game, followed by an offensive battle in a 15-12 win before completing the sweep with another 9-4 win. Additionally, Nevada’s trip to Fresno was also the first time the program started 3-0 in conference play since 2015.
After getting swept by Ole Miss to start the year, Nevada has won 11 of its last 14 games. Hard to argue why the Wolf Pack are not deserving of the No. 1 spot this week. Nevada will play one game against Fresno Pacific before facing Air Force at home for another three-game set.
2. San Diego State (prev. 1)
The Aztecs started the week similarly to the Wolf Pack, losing their first game, which was a 3-2 loss to Cal State Fullerton. San Diego State then began conference play against Washington State, winning the three-game series 2-1.
In the Aztecs’ two wins, a total of 29 runs were scored. It wasn’t a strong pitching performance by SDSU, which gave up 21 total runs between three games to a Washington State team that has been at the bottom of our rankings. Still, the Aztecs have the best ERA in the Mountain West at 5.61 and the second most strikeouts with 212. San Diego State will head to one of its L.A. neighbors to play USC for a game before playing both San Jose State and UConn for two games each.
3. San Jose State (prev. 8)
The 2026 season for the Spartans wasn’t looking pretty to start, but this past week gave them a huge shot up in the rankings. After beating Cal 3-2, San Jose State hosted New Mexico, a team that started the year winning its first 12 games. It wasn’t a clean sweep, but San Jose State won the three-game series 2-1 off the backs of stellar pitching.
The first game was a low 1-0 win that ended after infielder Peyton Rowles hit a walk-off double in the 10th inning for the Spartans. New Mexico left 11 runners on base and the shutout was San Jose State’s first over New Mexico since 1999. Game two was another close one, but this time it ended in an 8-7 win for the Lobos. A four-run ninth inning for New Mexico provided the edge it needed. Game three was another shutout for the Spartans, their fourth of the season, which is the most they’ve thrown since 2015. SJSU will face both SDSU and UConn this week at home.
4. GCU (prev. 6)
GCU hasn’t started conference play just yet, facing both Rice and Saint Mary’s last week. The Lopes lost both games to Rice, falling 16-5 and 13-2. Their two wins came against Saint Mary’s, winning 9-8 and 6-3. GCU now has the third-worst ERA in the conference at 6.84 after giving up 40 runs in those four games. The Antelopes do sport the third-best strikeout numbers in the conference at 165, just behind UNLV and SDSU.
The Lopes will play one more non-conference game next week against ASU before finally starting conference play against Washington State this weekend.
5. Air Force (prev. 9)
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the week and one of the highest jumps in our rankings. Air Force came into this three-game series against UNLV with just three wins and came out with six after sweeping the Rebels.
Not only did the Falcons sweep, but they put up a boatload of runs against the Rebels. UNLV did as well, but not until the final two games. Air Force won via the mercy rule in game one, taking it 16-5. Then, the next game was an 18-16 score, followed by a 15-11 game in the finale. That’s a total of 49 runs scored by Air Force compared to UNLV’s 32. All of a sudden, the Falcons have found themselves near the top of the conference standings with their 3-0 start and will play St. Thomas for one game before facing Nevada this weekend.
6. Fresno State (prev. 3)
Going into this weekend, the hype behind the battle between the best two teams in the conference last season was high, with the Bulldogs hosting the Nevada Wolf Pack this past weekend to open conference play. However, the Diamond Dogs’ usual fireworks shows got rained on. Fresno State lost the first game 4-9, then gave up a six-run lead in the backend of the second game to lose 15-12. Looking to at least squeeze out a win during the opening conference series, the program was then shut down on Sunday, losing 4-9 yet again, allowing Nevada to get the opening sweep.
This series was a major step back for a program that drastically needed a win. Fresno State has now lost their last seven games, all of which were by at least three runs. Statistically, the Diamond Dogs sit dead in the middle in team ERA (6.54) and batting average (.277). To prevent slipping further, Fresno State will need to mount some results back in the win column against CSUN on Tuesday and/or on the road against Utah Tech in a two-game series Thursday and Friday.
7. New Mexico (prev. 5)
New Mexico has been on a slippery slope over the last two weeks, and that trend continued for the Lobos this past weekend against San Jose State. They fought hard in the series opener, losing 0-1 in an extra-innings pitching duel. New Mexico then evened out the series the next day with a close 8-7 win where it took three different pitchers to close out the ninth before the Spartans closed the gap. The program’s momentum was quickly taken away, however, as the Lobos were blanked once again in the rubber match, capping off the series with a 0-3 loss.
Despite being skunked twice in the same series, New Mexico still boasts the best team batting average (,317) and the second best team ERA (5.73). However, the program has lost seven of their last eight games, a trend that can not be ignored when it comes down to who’s doing great. The Lobos will have a break from conference play this week, facing the Arizona Wildcats on the road on Tuesday and hosting Abilene Christian University over the weekend.
8. UNLV (prev. 4)
The Runnin’ Rebels’ time in the upper portion of the rankings came to a screeching halt over the weekend. After fighting off the UC Riverside Highlanders in a close 11-10 home game, UNLV took on Air Force to open conference play, which on paper should’ve been a somewhat easy start to their conference schedule. Instead, the Rebels got swept on the road, losing the first game in a 5-16, seventh inning mercy rule end and both matchups in the double-header on Saturday 16-18 and 11-15.
All of UNLV’s air was kicked out of them, losing the series by a combined score of 32-49, sending their team ERA all the way to 7.41, the lowest in the conference and right behind Air Force (7.28). The program also has the most errors in the conference with 27, tied with Fresno State, which does not put out the fire at all. UNLV has a lot to work on over the next week, as they will play Cal State Fullerton on Tuesday and Utah Tech in a two-game series over the weekend.
9. Washington State (prev. 7)
Washington State actually had a pretty good time this week all things considered. Losing the first game this weekend to San Diego State 14-4 in eight innings was rough, but the Cougars were able to bounce back with a 7-2 win the next day. And while Wazzu did wind up losing the rubber match on Sunday, they did compete with the Aztecs pitching staff, putting up a fight with a 10-15 result.
Putting up a fight against the team with the best team ERA in the conference and one of the top batting averages is notable, and would usually result in going up a spot or two. However, due to the meteoric rise of San Jose State and Air Force and the fall of teams like Fresno State, New Mexico and UNLV, the Cougars sadly had to slide to the worst spot on the list. This does not mean Wazzu will be down here for long, especially if they are able to put up another good showing when they play Utah on the road Tuesday and host GCU over the weekend.
