Holliday Embraces 'Blue-Collar' Mentality for Upcoming Season

Josh Holliday didn’t mince words.

Entering his 14th season at the helm of his alma mater, Holliday dons the task of righting the ship within a program tethered to heightened annual preseason expectations. Despite capturing 12 consecutive regional appearances and five Big 12 championships — three conference-tournament and two regular-season titles — OSU hasn’t appeared in the College World Series since 2016. 

Can the 2026 team be the group to neutralize that drought? Time will tell.

The college baseball realm will get an early gauge of that come Friday at 7 p.m. when OSU opens its season against No. 7 Arkansas in the Shriners Children’s College Showdown at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.

But even as calamitous as the 2025 season was for Holliday, the Oklahoma State coach opted to illustrate last season from a brighter lens during OSU’s annual team media day last week. 

“It was probably one of the most rewarding feelings I’ve had at the end of the year,” he said. “To just look at what a bunch of kids overcame and still held their heads high, competed exceptionally well at the end. (They) did so on behalf of their program.”

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Simultaneously, he said he hopes the plethora of adversity his 2025 team overcame doesn’t fizzle into a retrospective afterthought. 

Despite boasting lofty expectations heading into Opening Weekend — a No. 17 national ranking and being nabbed as the preseason Big 12 favorites — nothing came with ease for last year’s group.

Mother Nature postponed multiple start times, even canceling six contests. Players’ homes were destroyed during an outbreak of wildfires and uncanny wind gusts last March. And injuries to key pieces were recurrent, limiting consistency and continuity within the lineup.

All circumstances that are unideal to withholding momentum over the course of a season. Yet, the Cowboys (30-25, 15-12 Big 12) manufactured a late-season surge, appeared in the postseason for a 12th-straight year, and clawed their way to the Athens Regional title game. 

“(They) did all that with one of the most unique springs I’ve ever been a part of,” Holliday said. “I don’t view any of these as excuses — they’re just simple facts.”

Now, a new chapter awaits OSU baseball.  

Out went the likes of ace southpaw Harrison Bodendorf, right-handed flamethrower Sean Youngerman, behemoth right-hander Gabe Davis and slugger Nolan Schubart. But in came an abundance of young talent and key returnees to supplement it.

Holliday expressed immense confidence in his 2026 ballclub. He tabbed it as “a blue-collar group,” even stating its current form is ahead of past teams he’s coached. 

He highlighted the upside his 16-freshman class withholds, all while commending the manners in which returning key pieces such as infielders Aidan Meola, Brock Thompson, first baseman Colin Brueggemann and outfielder Kollin Ritchie have complemented that youth. He praised the philosophy and style of new pitching coach Blake Hawksworth, who was hired away from Oregon to replace Rob Walton after 13 years following his retirement.

“I think it starts with just some of the personalities that we know,” Holliday said. “And also the leadership that they’ve put on display. The work ethic has been excellent.”

And his players echoed each of his sentiments.

“I think there’s’ talent from the freshman class, all the way to the fifth-years,” Cowboys’ third baseman Aidan Meola said. “I think that it’s a really good problem to have. We’ll be deep position-wise and pitching staff-wise.”

An Opening Weekend against the seventh-ranked Razorbacks, Oklahoma and No. 23 Vanderbilt might be daunting at first glance. But it won’t be a tell-tale sign of OSU’s season. 

It will, however, provide a glimpse into where the Cowboys stack up against college baseball’s upper-tier teams. 

Momentum is often a catalyst arbiter in seasonal trajectory. So is motivation. Navigating a turbulent campaign like the Cowboys did a season ago can spark just that. Perhaps returning prospects can use last season as a blueprint for 2026.

And if anything, Holliday said, that all will pay dividends come regional play.

“Hopefully there will be 25,000 people down there like there was last time down there, and (it will be) a lot of fun,” Holliday said. “...I’m excited about this group. I really do like what I’ve seen from them and I think they have a lot to prove. So, come Friday, that’ll be their chance to get started. 

“We’re basically playing in a regional tournament on Opening Weekend and that’s gonna be fun. And why the heck not, right? I mean, (you get to) go play against three great teams in a great environment. That’s gonna grow you no matter what the result is, and the process is going to be sound. And we’re gonna be much more aware of where we’re good and aware (of) where we need to get better."

Holliday provides glimpse at potential starting rotation

When asked who his team’s Opening Day starting pitcher will be come Friday, he responded bluntly: “Hudson Barrett is a guy that will pitch Game 1, right out of the chute.”

That shouldn’t come as a surprise when factoring in the youth within OSU’s pitching staff. And not to mention, Barrett’s collegiate credentials alone can back Holliday’s move. 

Barrett earned freshman All-American honors with UC-Santa Barbara in 2023 before missing most of his sophomore campaign after recovering from Tommy John surgery. He pitched sparingly in 2024, but never matched the production of his inaugural college campaign.

Fast-forward, Holliday said he believes OSU has unlocked that from Barrett.

“He’s been a guy who had a lot of success (at UCSB) early on in his career,” Holliday said. “He has a unique pitch style. He’s a bulldog. He’s aggressive.

“He has all the tools to be an exceptional piece for us this year. Hopefully everyone will see that on Friday.”

Senior right-hander Mario Pesca was another name Holliday mentioned as a likely candidate to start on the mound for the Cowboys. After transferring in from St. John’s ahead of last season, Pesca dazzled in 2025. The 6-foot-8 righty posted a 4.46 ERA to go with 60 strikeouts and a .261 opponent batting average through 66 2/3 innings pitched, eight starts and 22 appearances. 

Injuries within the pitching staff kept his role in constant flux. However, as Holliday noted, that might be a silent blessing. 

Holliday commended Pesca’s fall progression, calling him “the best version of himself.” And Pesca looked the part, flashing noticeable weight loss when addressing reporters last week. 

Holliday also mentioned sophomore left-hander Ethan Lund and sophomore righty Noah Wech as potential options to finalize OSU’s starting rotation.

“You’re gonna see some guys in this rotation early that our fans will be excited to watch,” Holliday said. "We’ve got some different styles that we’ll throw out there. Good stuff, different looks."

Cowboys will be without two key arms for 2026 season

Junior pitcher Hunter Watkins will miss the 2026 season due to a knee injury he suffered during fall camp, Holliday told reporters last week. 

Watkins transferred to OSU ahead of last season after one year with Grand Canyon. He shifted roles as a starter and reliever, all while swiftly cementing himself as one of the Cowboys’ prominent arms. The 6-foot-9 right-hander finished the 2025 season with a 5.43 ERA, to go with 70 strikeouts and a .289 opponent batting average through 64 2/3 innings pitched, 19 appearances and 11 starts.

Throughout the fall, Holliday raved about Watkins’ fall progression, which came shortly after a productive summer in the Cape Cod Summer League. But for now, that heralded product will be put on hold for a while.

“If you watched us closely last year, Hunter pitched a lot of good innings for us last year,” Holliday said. “He had a great summer in Cape Cod and was really gonna shape up as probably a real weapon within this pitching staff.”

Holliday also announced that sophomore right-hander Matthew Brown will miss significant time, if not “the whole year” due to an undisclosed injury suffered in the fall. As a freshman, Brown posted a 3.00 ERA with 23 strikeouts and a .216 opponent batting average through 24 innings pitched and 14 appearances.