The 2026 USC Trojans’ baseball team had their most dominant campaign in years. USC won 48 total games, went 32-1 at home, scored at least 14 runs in three Regional games in College Station, and nearly made it past UNC to earn the elusive berth to Omaha. Now, the Trojans will look for similar (or better) numbers with some familiar faces back.
The Returnees
The Trojans lost their top pitcher from 2026, as Mason Edwards was picked and signed by the Athletics. But the club was able to keep Grant Govel around for the 2027 campaign.
Govel was taken by the Pirates in the 16th round but was unable to convince the righty to go pro. A draft-eligible sophomore, Govel didn’t miss a ton of bats, at least compared to Edwards. Over 200 balls were put in play off the junior last season, compared to 113 for the now-A’s prospect. Still, he posted a 2.87 ERA and 99 strikeouts as the team’s innings leader (103.1 IP).
Aside from Govel, Andrew Johnson is back. Johnson struck out 85 over 92 innings as one of Andy Stankiewicz’s horses in the USC pitching staff. He’s been one of the club’s most trusted arms over the last two years, with 159.1 IP thrown between 2025 and 2026.
Johnson made the USA collegiate national team this past summer.
USC did lose now-sophomore Gavin Lauridsen to Vanderbilt, plus others aside from Edwards. But two key pieces from the 2026 bullpen, Sax Matson and Chase Herrell, also came back to campus this fall.
Moving to that offense, USC welcomed back now-seniors Kevin Takeuchi, Dean Carpentier, Abbrie Covarrubias, and Andrew Lamb.
Takeuchi finished last season tied with Adrian Lopez for the most hits (77) on the USC roster last season. He slashed .314/.417/.539 with 10 home runs and 32 extra-base hits, plus 10 stolen bases. The senior has a good hit tool, and that was blatantly obvious just from looking at his 2026 numbers. He struck out just 45 times over 66 contests.
In the Cape Cod League this past summer, Takeuchi’s Whiff% was just 20.1%.
Andrew Lamb, the son of former Astro Mike Lamb, was a major source of power for the Trojans last season. His 14 home runs from last season were second-most on the club behind catcher Augie Lopez.
Very pull-heavy hitter, albeit one who, unlike Takeuchi, doesn’t have the same hit tool. Lamb had a 38.9% Whiff% in the Cape Cod League this past summer.
Covarrubias (.368 OBP) and Carpentier (.377) were both big on-base threats for the Trojans last season.
Those four will be joined by sophomore Walter Urbon, plus junior Maximo Martinez.
The Newcomers
Starting with the freshmen, Stankiewicz welcomed 12 newcomers to the USC roster from high school. Arguably, the most notable from that list is pitcher Dustin Dunwoody.
Dunwoody was a 15th-round pick by the Tigers this past July. Obviously, he didn’t sign. An electric arm, Dunwoody was popping mid-90s fastballs in the high school showcase circuit back in 2025. There’s a slider in there, too.
Beau Hollins had a rather good year for South Carolina as a freshman in 2025. Hollins batted over .300 and hit six home runs for a Gamecocks team that had a better lineup, compared to 2026. But last season, he hit just .200 over 29 games and had just four extra-base hits.
Infielder Robert Orr finished third on Pacific’s 2026 team in total hits (58) and was the team leader in home runs (7).
Jace Souza came over from Texas Tech. Souza, a junior outfielder, played just 34 games in two seasons with the Red Raiders over two seasons. He slashed .194/.324/.210 in those games.
Nate Kugler is also one of the new pitchers with USC. A junior and transfer from Dartmouth, Kugler struck out 29 over 45 innings last fall.
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