No. 12 USC Baseball Heads to Maryland

Friday, March 27

College Park, Md.

3:00 p.m. PT

USC

Maryland

Andy Stankiewicz during the national anthem.

Photo by: Chris Mora

No. 12 USC Baseball Heads to Maryland

March 26, 2026 | Baseball

Game Notes (PDF)

THIS WEEK: The No. 12 USC baseball team will travel to face Maryland for a three-game series starting on Friday in College Park. On Tuesday, the Trojans return home to Dedeaux Field to face the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos.

GAME SCHEDULE:
Friday - USC vs. Maryland (Bob "Turtle" Smith Stadium), March 24, 3:00 p.m. PT (B1G+)
Saturday - USC vs. Maryland (Bob "Turtle" Smith Stadium), March 24, 11:00 a.m. PT (B1G+)
Sunday - USC vs. Maryland (Bob "Turtle" Smith Stadium), March 24, 10:00 a.m. PT (B1G+)
Tuesday - USC vs. UC Santa Barbara (Dedeaux Field), March 31, 7:00 p.m. PT (B1G+)

BROADCAST INFO: All games will be broadcast on B1G+. Links to the broadcasts are available on the baseball schedule page at USCTrojans.com.

FOLLOW: Fans can also follow the action through live stats on USCTrojans.com. Live, in-game updates will be available for all games from @USC_Baseball on X as well.

GET SOCIAL: Follow USC Baseball on social media to get updates on everything going on with the team this season. The Trojans can be followed at @USC_Baseball on X, at @sctrojans_baseball on Instagram and USC Trojans Baseball on Facebook.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS UMD: This will be the first-ever meeting between the Terrapins and Trojans. With USC moving into the Big Ten last season, the Trojans will open their all-time series against Maryland on Friday.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS UCSB: The Trojans are 91-51-1 all-time against the Guachos. The two programs faced off twice last season, with UC Santa Barbara winning both matchups.

HUSKY SWEEP: USC won all three games against Washington this past weekend at Dedeaux Field. Mason Edwards and Gavin Lauridsen combined on a two-hit shutout on Friday night, and then the Trojans scored seven early runs in a 7-2 victory on Friday. Sunday saw the USC offense explode for 14 runs in a 14-7 seven-inning run-rule victory.

MLB OPENING DAY: With opening day of the MLB season here, four Trojan alums find themselves on Big League 40-man rosters and six USC alums are on MLB coaching staffs.
Players
Lars Nootbaar – Cardinals
Tyler Gilbert - White Sox
Rhylan Thomas – Mariners
Kyle Hurt - Dodgers
Coaches
Aaron Boone (Manager) – Yankees
Mark Prior (Pitching Coach) – Dodgers
Jason Brown (Bullpen Catcher) – Angels
Dan Hubbs (Bullpen Coach) – Athletics
Hector Rabago (Bullpen Catcher) – Phillies
Jason Lane (Offense and Strategy Coordinator) - Brewers

HOT START: The Trojans' 19-0 start to the season marked the best in program history and tied the USC record for the longest winning streak in program history, set in 1955. USC's 24-2 record marks the best record through 25 games in program history as well. The Trojans were the final unbeaten team in the country before suffering their first loss of the season in the second game of a doubleheader at Northwestern. USC was also the first team to 20 wins in the country and leads the nation with 24 victories.

IN THE RANKINGS: The Trojans moved up to No. 5 in the latest Perfect Game poll, No. 10 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, and No. 12 in all three of the D1Baseball, Baseball America and NCBWA rankings.

PITCHING DOMINANCE: The Trojan pitching staff has been dominant through six weeks of play, posting the No. 1 ERA (2.22) in the country, No. 1 Hits/9 (5.27), No. 1 WHIP (0.99) and No. 1 shutouts (6).

WEEKLY AWARDS: Mason Edwards picked up his third Big Ten Pitcher of the Week award this week and Gavin Lauridsen earned his first Big Ten Freshman of the week award after the pair combined for a two-hit shutout against Washington this past Friday. Edwards tossed 6.0 scoreless innings, with a career-high 12 strikeouts, and Lauridsen tossed the final 3.0 innings, giving up one hit and striking out four, in a 5-0 victory.

Feb. 16 - National/B1G Pitcher - Grant Govel
March 2 - B1G Pitcher - Mason Edwards
March 9 - National/B1G Pitcher - Mason Edwards
March 16 - B1G Pitcher - Grant Govel
March 23 - B1G Pitcher - Mason Edwards
March 23 - B1G Freshman - Gavin Lauridsen

2026 PLAYER NOTES:
HITTERS

Abbrie Covarrubias has been the catalyst to the Trojan offense this season in the leadoff spot, leading the team with 24 runs scored and 10 stolen bases. Covarrubias is slashing .281/.375/.396, has 11 RBI and is 5th on the team with 12 walks.
Adrian Lopez has served as a consistent run producer in the middle of the USC order, currently sitting 2nd on the team in both RBI (21) and runs scored (22). Lopez is slashing .304/.378/.478, with 10 extra-base hits, including 6 doubles, 2 triples and 2 homers.
Andrew Lamb has emerged as one of the best power bats in the USC lineup, currently tied for the team lead with 5 home runs. Lamb homered in three straight games from 3/10-13 and had a three-run homer last Sunday against Washington. His .556 slugging percentage is 3rd on the team.
Jack Basseer is tied with Lamb for the Trojans' home run lead with 5 long balls and his .288 batting average is 4th on the squad. He has driven in 14 runs and scored 18, leading USC with a .606 slugging percentage. Basseer had a walk-off, two-run shot against CSU Bakersfield on 3/18.
Kevin Takeuchi has been the Trojans' offensive leader all season, leading the club in RBIs (22) and hits (30), while tied for the team lead in walks (14) and ranking second in batting average (.316). Takeuchi also has 7 stolen bases on 8 attempts, has scored 21 runs and has a team-high 9 doubles and 3 triples.
Maximo Martinez: since breaking into the lineup the third week of the season, Martinez is leading the team with a .319 average and is second in the club with a .447 OBP. He had a career game against Cal Poly in the Saturday game, going 4-for-5 with five RBIs, three runs, three doubles, and a grand slam.
Maddox Riske had himself a day in the third game of the Cal Poly series, going 5-for-6 with 2 RBI and 2 runs, becoming the first Trojan to record five hits in a game since 2022.
Richard Tejeda has been a regular behind the dish for USC this season and is sixth on the team with a .270 batting average.

PITCHERS

Andrew Johnson has emerged as one of the nations most effective pitchers as USC's Sunday starter, posting a 2.27 ERA and 2-0 record in 6 starts and 31.2 total innings. The sophomore righty is 5th in the Big Ten in ERA (2.27), 7th in strikeouts (38), 8th in WHIP (1.04) and 9th in K/9 (10.8).
Adam Troy leads the nation with 7 saves this season and is 8th in the NCAA with 13 appearances on the mound. Troy owns a 1.80 ERA in 15.0 innings pitched, striking out 19.
Diego Velazquez came to USC as both an infielder and pitcher, but has seen the most time on the mound, making 5 appearances and posting a 0.00 ERA. The freshman has given up just 3 hits and 2 walks in 7.1 innings.
Gavin Lauridsen has been a key arm in high-leverage relief situations this year, posting a 2.29 ERA in 11 appearances and 19.2 innings pitched. Lauridsen earned B1G Freshman of the Week honors after 3.0 scoreless innings against Washington on March 20.
Grant Govel has been like a second ace as USC's Saturday starter, leading the Big Ten and sitting 5th in the NCAA with a 0.69 ERA. Govel has given up just 4 earned runs in 39.0 innings pitched, striking out 41 batters while walking just 4. His 0.54 WHIP leads the nation, and his 3.92 hits/9 are 2nd in the country. Govel was named both National and Big Ten Pitcher of the Week after 6.0 hitless innings against Pepperdine on opening weekend and Big Ten POTW after 7.0 scoreless frames against Northwestern.
Mason Edwards has established himself as one of the top arms in the country this season, posting a 0.25 ERA through 6 starts and 36.0 innings pitched. His ERA is 1st in the nation, 1.75 hits/9 are 1st in the NCAA, 64 strikeouts are 2nd in the country and 1st in the conference, and his 0.58 WHIP is 3rd in the country and 2nd in the Big Ten. The junior lefty went 29.2 innings without giving up a run to start the season and has allowed just 7 hits for a .060 opponent batting average. Edwards has been named B1G Pitcher of the Week three times this season and Perfect Game National Pitcher of the Week once.
Sax Matson has established himself as a key relief pitcher for the Trojans. This season, he leads the team and is 3rd in the NCAA with 15 appearances on the mound, posting a 3.93 ERA and an impressive 3.75 strikeout-to-walk ratio.