When attempting to describe how to build a championship team, plenty of cliche sayings can be used.
One might say: “Defense wins championships” while another could lean towards renowned baseball author Bill James’ philosophy of building a team up the middle. Still others consider pitching as the key to success.
However, all these sayings fall short when describing 2026 Taylor baseball, who end the season at 45-4.
The Trojans entered the season ranked No. 9 on the NAIA Baseball Top 25 Poll. It was clear early in the year, however, that the number nine could not hold them. With the help of a 24-game win streak, the purple and gray quickly ascended to No. 1 for the first time in program history.
“We try to start at zero every year and every team gets to write their own story,” head coach Kyle Gould said. “This team has been incredibly consistent. You know, baseball is a hard game to be consistent. You play a lot of games, play a lot of different weather, a lot of different places and they have been really, really consistent.”
When looking at the Trojans’ roster construction, not a single player in their lineup has an OPS (on base percentage plus slugging percentage which measures power) under .915. For comparison, Shohei Ohtani, who is often described as one of the best players on the planet, has a career .953 OPS. This does not mean Taylor has a team of Ohtanis, it is simply indicative of how well they have performed at such a high level.
“I think that’s just built from the fall, we take a lot of swings and we’re really prepared, probably the most prepared of any team in the country.” senior infielder Ben Kennedy said. “I think Gould and (pitching coach Justin) Barber, they do a great job of just getting us reps, getting us velo (velocity), hitting breaking balls, any machine work, out of the hand. Like, we’re never surprised by something we see, especially week in and week out.... Practice is honestly harder than the games.”
The preparation shows as Taylor ranks third in the NAIA in batting average and slugging, fifth in hits and walks and first in on-base percentage. They have also scored 346 more runs than they have given up.
Most often, when a team appears to be centered around its hitting abilities, its pitching suffers. This is not the case for Taylor. Their pitching numbers have not been anything to scoff at as they have mustered the 10th lowest earned run average in the nation (4.12), while striking out the ninth most batters (426).
“We have really good pitching,” Gould said. “We’re deep on the mound. It’s just a matter of getting our starters through the fifth inning, and our bullpen is really good too.”
Starters Brody Fine and Wes Hunt anchored the rotation, starting a combined 25 games with a 3.25 and 3.52 ERA respectively. The bullpen has been just as effective with five relievers posting a sub-4.10 ERA.
For the players, however, Taylor has something more important than incredible stats. It has unity and chemistry.
“I think we have a really strong senior class, not only talent-wise, but just leadership-wise,” senior infielder Fletcher Roemmich said. “The majority of us have been here since freshman year and so we’re super tightly knit, and I think we were able to set a really good example for the rest of our team.”
Roemmich batted .381/.487/.635 on the season, tacking on 10 home runs, 28 walks and providing a strong anchor leading off the top of Taylor’s lineup.
Being so unified has certainly helped the team function as a unit. But while the word ‘unit’ may connote a sense of being mechanical, the Trojans view it differently.
“I think that starts with this foundational love that we all have and I think that that’s just really rooted in Taylor University itself,” Kennedy said. “I think it’s ultimately like we want to push each other, and I want to win for Fletcher (Roemmich) rather than myself…. I don’t think there is a single guy on the team who cares about what he’s doing individually. It’s just this huge team event and you know you’re playing for something bigger than you.”
It is teams like those that succeed. Baseball is a team sport. Teammates win and lose together. In the Trojans’ case, this year has been dominated by winning.
On April 23, Taylor clinched its fourth straight regular season Crossroads League Championship with a 6-5 extra-inning victory over Marian. As it stands, the Trojans will battle for the crown in the CL Tournament at Spring Arbor starting on April 29.
Following the CL Tournament, Taylor is set to host the NAIA Opening Round on May 11.
