USC baseball keeps building toward breakthrough: Cant go backward

The USC baseball team began practicing on its new field in February 2025, a year before the still-under-construction Dedeaux Field welcomed fans for a 2026 season that necessitated the use of portable toilets and a food truck.By Opening Day 2027, everything should finally be completed.Players will get to take hacks in the indoor batting cages before relaxing in their clubhouse.

Fans will enjoy permanent restrooms, concessions and a palm tree-lined entryway.Just like the facilities taking shape around them, the Trojans have been building season by season under coach Andy Stankiewicz, closing in on a big payoff.They came two outs away from their first trip to the College World Series in a quarter of a century before things collapsed Sunday during a season-ending loss to North Carolina.But their first trip to an NCAA Tournament Super Regional since 2005 represented another metaphorical brick in the rebuilding of the most decorated program in college baseball history.“It’s tough, no question about it,” Stankiewicz told reporters after his team gave up two runs in the ninth inning against the Tar Heels.“But we’re building this thing for the long haul – that’s been the design since we got here.“We got to the finals of a Regional last year and now the finals of a Super Regional, so we feel like the program is moving well, it’s strong, it’s healthy, we’ve got great young men and skilled young athletes that want to be Trojans and take pride in wearing this uniform.

So we’re not going away, we’re going to continue to work and our goal moving forward, we’ll obviously get this program back to Omaha.”Having largely ridden the 1-2 starting pitching punch of Mason Edwards and Grant Govel to a 48-18 record – the program’s most wins since its last national championship season in 1998 – the Trojans should have another formidable duo in 2027.A lifelong Trojans fan, expect Govel to return for his junior season to pair alongside Andrew Johnson, one ...