Jim Booth

College Baseball Program of the Day #021: Taylor University Trojans 🛡️ 56-7. A program-record 56 wins. Two months ranked No. 1 in the country. The first national championship game in school history. 2027 and 2028 players, Taylor University in Upland, Indiana just put together the best season in program history, and nobody in the NAIA scored more runs. The 2026 season: - 56-7 overall and 33-3 in the Crossroads League - Ranked No. 1 in the NAIA for two months and finished No. 2 in the final Top 25 poll - Started 11-0 for the first time ever and matched the program record with a 24-game win streak - Fourth straight Crossroads League regular season title and third straight CL Tournament title - Hosted an NAIA Opening Round for the fifth straight year - Went 11-3 in the postseason, 4-2 at the NAIA World Series in Lewiston, and finished as national runner-up - Beat No. 4 Lewis-Clark State, No. 10 Doane, No. 15 Arizona Christian, No. 18 Mid-America Christian and No. 19 William Carey The offense was the best in the country: - Led the NAIA in runs (690), runs per game (11.3) and on-base percentage (.471) - Hit .350 as a team with a .588 slugging percentage, 716 hits and 105 home runs, all program records - On the mound, the staff struck out 538 hitters, third most in the NAIA, at 10.05 per nine innings The consistency: - Five straight 40-win seasons - 46 straight Crossroads League series without a loss - This year's senior class went 187-51 and played in two World Series The players: - OF Brayden Manning, First-Team NAIA All-American. Hit .427 and led the entire NAIA with 93 runs, 103 hits, a 22-game hitting streak and a 41-game on-base streak. Finished his career with 313 hits and 41 home runs - Jordan Malott, First-Team NAIA All-American in his only season at Taylor. Led the NAIA with a school-record 98 RBIs, hit 19 homers and posted a .759 slugging percentage and a .519 on-base percentage - It's the first time Taylor has had two First-Team All-Americans in the same season, and they are the 17th and 18th All-Americans under Coach Gould - Sam Gladd and Lane Lewis made the World Series All-Tournament Team The pro pipeline: RHP Gabel Pentecost went to the Houston Astros in the sixth round of the 2025 MLB Draft, No. 186 overall, the first NAIA player taken that year. The staff: - Kyle Gould, head coach. Just wrapped his 22nd season and is also Taylor's athletic director. He entered 2026 as the winningest coach in program history at 737-378, then added 56 more wins. Eight-time Crossroads League Coach of the Year - Justin Barber, pitching coach and recruiting coordinator. Just wrapped his eighth season. Before Taylor he ran the Indiana Chargers travel program and helped more than 90 players reach college baseball - Kade Kolpien, assistant coach and a Taylor alum - Charlie Jones, graduate assistant coach @taylorbaseball @taylortrojans @JustinBarber16 @jonesc2021 National Baseball Recruiting | @natlbbrecruit