Baseball

No. 13 Coastal Carolina Aims for Unblemished Calendar Year in Sun Belt Baseball Weekend Play

WEEK 4 CONFERENCE NOTES

NEW ORLEANS – At the midway point of the 2026 season, the Sun Belt is again projected to be a multi-bid conference with a pair of regional hosts by multiple national publications. 
 
No. 13 Coastal Carolina aims to extend its winning streak against conference opposition to a full calendar year, as the Chanticleers (13 RPI) host South Alabama (85 RPI) in 1-of-2 Top 85 RPI matchups this weekend, alongside Arkansas State (54 RPI) at Troy (77 RPI). 
 
All 21 Sun Belt games this weekend will be broadcast nationwide on ESPN+.
 
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
  • ON THE RADAR – The Sun Belt, which has sent 14 teams to NCAA Baseball Regionals over the past four seasons, had three teams listed in the D1Baseball Midseason Field of 64 Projections. No. 8 Southern Miss and No. 13 Coastal Carolina were projected as regional hosts for the second-straight year, while Texas State was also listed among the 64-team field. Arkansas State and Louisiana earned mention among D1Baseball’s Four to Watch just outside the Field of 64. The Golden Eagles and Chanticleers were also projected as regional hosts by Baseball America, with Texas State and Arkansas State joining them in the publication’s Projected Field of 64. The Red Wolves were among Baseball America’s Last Four In, while Louisiana earned mention among the First Four Out. 
  • DOUBLE TROUBLE – Four of the nation’s top doubles hitters hail from the Sun Belt, with Texas State senior catcher Rashawn Galloway (6th, 14), James Madison redshirt sophomore outfielder Clay Thompson (10th, 13), ULM senior infielder Jake Haggard (25th, 12) and Georgia Southern redshirt senior outfielder James McCoy (25th, 12) each ranking among the Top 25 in the nation. 
  • COASTING – No. 13 Coastal Carolina is in the midst of a 31-game winning streak against Sun Belt Conference opposition, with its last conference loss coming to Arkansas State on April 6, 2025. The Chanticleers are the last remaining unbeaten in conference play and are in the midst of an eight-game winning streak that ranks fourth in the country, trailing only UCLA (20), High Point (9) and Mississippi State (9). Coastal Carolina will put both of those streaks on the line when it hosts South Alabama in 1-of-2 Top 85 RPI matchups in the Sun Belt this weekend. 
  • SITTING IN SECOND – ULM and Texas State, which are tied for second in the Sun Belt standings behind No. 13 Coastal Carolina at 6-3 in conference play, will attempt to build on their hot starts as they host the bottom two teams in the conference standings for three-game weekend series. ULM will play host to Georgia State, while Texas State will welcome Georgia Southern to San Marcos. In their last meeting in 2024, the Panthers broke through for their first weekend series win over the Warhawks since 2017. The Eagles have won 3-of-4 weekend series against the Bobcats since 2018. 
  • GOLDEN ERA – Since they both joined the Sun Belt ahead of the 2023 season, No. 8 Southern Miss has never lost a weekend series to Old Dominion. The Golden Eagles took 2-of-3 in Norfolk in 2023 and 2-of-3 in Hattiesburg in 2025. The Sun Belt’s top pitching staff—boasting a 3.49 ERA that ranks 13th in the country—will attempt to continue that trend for Southern Miss in Norfolk this weekend. 
 
SUN BELT BASEBALL SERIES – WEEK 4
 
 Series  Thursday  Friday  Saturday 
 Marshall at App State  5:00 p.m.  5:00 p.m.  12:00 p.m.
 South Alabama at No. 13 Coastal Carolina  5:00 p.m.  5:00 p.m.  10:00 a.m.
 Louisiana at James Madison  5:00 p.m.  3:00 p.m.  10:00 a.m.
 Georgia State at ULM  6:00 p.m.  6:00 p.m.  1:00 p.m.
 No. 8 Southern Miss at Old Dominion  5:00 p.m.  2:00 p.m.  11:00 a.m.
 Georgia Southern at Texas State  6:00 p.m.  6:00 p.m.  11:30 a.m.
 Arkansas State at Troy   6:00 p.m.  6:00 p.m.  1:00 p.m.
 
All Times CT