Tuesday, February 24
Huntsville
6:00 PM
vs
Houston
Photo by: Molli Larsen
Midweek Preview: vs Houston
2/23/2026 1:58:00 PM | Baseball
Game 8 | Don Sanders Stadium  (Huntsville)
Sam Houston (4-3, 0-0 CUSA) vs Houston (5-2, 0-0 Big 12)
Projected Starters
February 24 – 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
SHSU: RHP Tate Hickman (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.0 IP, 0 K, 0 BB)
HOU: RHP Caden Cooper (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 2.1 IP, 4 K, 0 BB)
HUNTSVILLE – Sam Houston will look to strike the first blow in the 2026 Don Sanders Cup series on Tuesday night when the Bearkats host Houston at Don Sanders Stadium.
Tuesday's game can be watched on ESPN+ with Matt Pedersen and Kyle Rogers on the call. Each game of the weekend can be followed via Statbroadcast or by following @BearkatsBSB on Instagram and X.
Both teams enter with winning overall records but each are also coming off losing their most recent weekend series. The Kats dropped the first two games of its series with UIC before salvaging Sunday's contest while the Cougars fell in the last two games of its weekend set vs UTRGV after downing the Vaqueros in the opener.
It is the first of consecutive Tuesday games for the Kats against the Cougars with SHSU set to travel to Schroeder Park next week before concluding the Sanders Cup series on April 7 again in Huntsville. It will feature a pair of youthful right-handers making their first starts of 2026 with Tate Hickman getting the nod for Sam Houston against true freshman Caden Cooper for the Cougars.
PROMOTIONS
The game is serving as a Black Out game with Bearkat fans encouraged to wear black to The Original Don. Black rally towels, sponsored by The Heights, will be given out at the game.
SERIES vs HOUSTON
- This will be the eighth playing of the Don Sanders Cup series, which officially began in 2017
Â
- The Don Sanders Cup series was not played during the 2020 and 2021 seasons due to changes and restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Â
- Houston leads the all-time series by a 92-88 margin and 11-9 in the 20 games played since the Cup series began in 2017
Â
- Five of the last six meetings between the teams have been 1-run games, including all three games played last year
Â
- The Kats claimed the Don Sanders Cup in 2025, bringing it back to Huntsville for the first time since 2018
Â
- Houston had taken the first game of the series in Houston and led 5-0 in Huntsville in Game 2 before weather suspended play; the game was picked up a week later in Sugar Land with the Kats coming back to win the suspended game before also winning in extra innings of Game 3 to secure the cup
- With a win the Kats will secure their first 3-game win streak in the series vs the Cougars since sweeping Houston three games in 2017
QUICK HITTERS
- The Bearkats are off to a much different start on the mound in 2026 than in 2025, holding a 3.08 ERA through the first seven games of the year after the staff logged an 8.62 mark a year ago. Five of the Kats' seven starting pitchers have logged at least 5.0 innings, including freshman Collin Aloisio who is now 2-0 after Sunday's win over UIC. He is the first Bearkat true freshman since Hayden Wesneski in 2017 to win his starts on the opening two weekends of the season
Â
- The Kats developed a reputation for success on the bases as one of only 15 teams in the nation to have 90+ steals as a team in each of the past three seasons. This year they have already racked up 19 stolen bases in seven games, led by Jeric Curtis' five, which ranks third in among all teams in CUSA
Â
- Sam Houston has done a good job of avoiding the big inning early in 2026, allowing three runs in the fifth inning of the opener at McNeese and no more than two runs in a frame in any inning otherwise
- Sam Houston has affectionately deemed its group of freshmen the "Baby Kats" and has leaned heavily on that group early this year. Freshman Cade Corcoran has started each game at first base for the Kats and is second on the team in hits, while Wes Baker has started four of the last five games behind the dish, delivering a pair of multi-RBI games in those starts. On the mound the Kats have used four freshman arms – Aloisio, Cooper Harris, Mason Murphy and Gabe Winans – this year who have made a combined seven appearances and hold a collective 2.69 ERA with only six earned runs allowed over 20.0 innings
Sam Houston (4-3, 0-0 CUSA) vs Houston (5-2, 0-0 Big 12)
Projected Starters
February 24 – 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
SHSU: RHP Tate Hickman (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.0 IP, 0 K, 0 BB)
HOU: RHP Caden Cooper (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 2.1 IP, 4 K, 0 BB)
HUNTSVILLE – Sam Houston will look to strike the first blow in the 2026 Don Sanders Cup series on Tuesday night when the Bearkats host Houston at Don Sanders Stadium.
Tuesday's game can be watched on ESPN+ with Matt Pedersen and Kyle Rogers on the call. Each game of the weekend can be followed via Statbroadcast or by following @BearkatsBSB on Instagram and X.
Both teams enter with winning overall records but each are also coming off losing their most recent weekend series. The Kats dropped the first two games of its series with UIC before salvaging Sunday's contest while the Cougars fell in the last two games of its weekend set vs UTRGV after downing the Vaqueros in the opener.
It is the first of consecutive Tuesday games for the Kats against the Cougars with SHSU set to travel to Schroeder Park next week before concluding the Sanders Cup series on April 7 again in Huntsville. It will feature a pair of youthful right-handers making their first starts of 2026 with Tate Hickman getting the nod for Sam Houston against true freshman Caden Cooper for the Cougars.
PROMOTIONS
The game is serving as a Black Out game with Bearkat fans encouraged to wear black to The Original Don. Black rally towels, sponsored by The Heights, will be given out at the game.
SERIES vs HOUSTON
- This will be the eighth playing of the Don Sanders Cup series, which officially began in 2017
Â
- The Don Sanders Cup series was not played during the 2020 and 2021 seasons due to changes and restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Â
- Houston leads the all-time series by a 92-88 margin and 11-9 in the 20 games played since the Cup series began in 2017
Â
- Five of the last six meetings between the teams have been 1-run games, including all three games played last year
Â
- The Kats claimed the Don Sanders Cup in 2025, bringing it back to Huntsville for the first time since 2018
Â
- Houston had taken the first game of the series in Houston and led 5-0 in Huntsville in Game 2 before weather suspended play; the game was picked up a week later in Sugar Land with the Kats coming back to win the suspended game before also winning in extra innings of Game 3 to secure the cup
- With a win the Kats will secure their first 3-game win streak in the series vs the Cougars since sweeping Houston three games in 2017
QUICK HITTERS
- The Bearkats are off to a much different start on the mound in 2026 than in 2025, holding a 3.08 ERA through the first seven games of the year after the staff logged an 8.62 mark a year ago. Five of the Kats' seven starting pitchers have logged at least 5.0 innings, including freshman Collin Aloisio who is now 2-0 after Sunday's win over UIC. He is the first Bearkat true freshman since Hayden Wesneski in 2017 to win his starts on the opening two weekends of the season
Â
- The Kats developed a reputation for success on the bases as one of only 15 teams in the nation to have 90+ steals as a team in each of the past three seasons. This year they have already racked up 19 stolen bases in seven games, led by Jeric Curtis' five, which ranks third in among all teams in CUSA
Â
- Sam Houston has done a good job of avoiding the big inning early in 2026, allowing three runs in the fifth inning of the opener at McNeese and no more than two runs in a frame in any inning otherwise
- Sam Houston has affectionately deemed its group of freshmen the "Baby Kats" and has leaned heavily on that group early this year. Freshman Cade Corcoran has started each game at first base for the Kats and is second on the team in hits, while Wes Baker has started four of the last five games behind the dish, delivering a pair of multi-RBI games in those starts. On the mound the Kats have used four freshman arms – Aloisio, Cooper Harris, Mason Murphy and Gabe Winans – this year who have made a combined seven appearances and hold a collective 2.69 ERA with only six earned runs allowed over 20.0 innings
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ Baseball
IF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballBSB: Jay Sirianni Interview post McNeese
Sunday, February 15
BSB: Highlights vs McNeese (Game 3)
Sunday, February 15
BSB: Highlights vs McNeese (Game 2)
Saturday, February 14
BB: Jay Sirianni Preseason Press Conference
Monday, February 02
