California State University Northridge Athletics
2025-26 Top CSUN Moments - Baseball Records Impressive Wins/Matthew Thomas Drafted by St. Louis Cardinals
8/3/2026 11:20:00 AM | Baseball
From July 6 to August 7, GoMatadors.com will present the top CSUN Moments from the 2025-26 sports season. Today, we celebrate baseball's impressive victories over Michigan and Oregon State and outfielder Matthew Thomas' selection in the MLB Draft.Â
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The 2026 season saw several highs for the CSUN Baseball program. Along with a 10-win turnaround from the season before, the Matadors would take down a pair of teams from Power Four conferences, both of which in dramatic fashion. Among the team's five All-Big West honorees, junior slugger Matthew Thomas also heard his name called at the 2026 MLB First-Year Player Draft, as he was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals.Â
CSUNÂ RALLIES FROM SEVEN RUNS DOWN VS. MICHIGAN
The Matadors pulled off the comeback of the season on March 3 against Michigan by a 9-8 score at Robert J. Hiegert Field. CSUN held an early 1-0 lead, but Michigan roared back with a six-run third inning and a two-run fourth inning to build an 8-1 lead. After a pair of rough innings, the Matador bullpen righted the ship over the middle frames as Kody King escaped a bases loaded jam and freshman Gage McCown tossed a scoreless fifth inning in his first career outing.Â
Meanwhile, CSUN began chipping away at the deficit in the fifth on a solo homer from Andrew Becker. An inning later, the CSUN bats exploded with a furious two-out rally. Five straight two-out hits, including RBI triples from Thomas, Matthew Pena and Trent Abel along with a pinch-hit RBI double from Mateo Rickman plated five CSUN runs. In the eighth, Abel hammered a dramatic game-tying solo homer to nod the game at 8-8.Â
The game would go into extra innings with the Matador bullpen combination of Jaiden Turner and Jackson Banuelos keeping the Wolverines off the scoreboard. Finally, in the 12th inning, CSUN came away with one more clutch hit. A Becker hit by pitch started the inning then Abel laid down the sacrifice bunt to put the winning run in scoring position. Two pitches later, freshman Vaughn Coleman lined a single to center field to plate Becker and send CSUN to a 9-8 victory.Â
MATADORS STUN SIXTH-RANKED OREGON STATE
CSUN would travel to Corvallis to take on sixth-ranked Oregon State for the first of a three-game series on May 1. In what would be back-and-forth slugfest, the Matadors stayed with the Beavers for 10 innings before completing the upset in an 8-6 victory.Â
The Matadors went ahead in the second inning on a solo homer from Coleman, but the Beavers roared back with four runs over their next two innings. Coleman would strike again in the fourth inning, blasting a two-run homer to get CSUN to within 4-3. After a Oregon State homer extended the lead, CSUN put up a three-spot as Rickman hit a go-ahead two-run homer for a 6-5 advantage.Â
The seesaw matchup was tied yet again in the seventh inning via an Oregon State home run. CSUN's freshman James Voorhies though cooled the Beavers' bats with a pair of strikeouts in the eighth and a shutout ninth to help send the game to extras. In the 10th, key singles from Pena and Rickman set the table for the Matadors who eventually loaded the bases with one out. From there, Abel executed a well-placed squeeze bunt to bring home the go-ahead run. After Kyle Panganiban drove in another run for a two-run lead, Voorhies shut the door on the Beavers with a 1-2-3 bottom of the 10th.Â
THOMAS DRAFTED BY ST. LOUS CARDINALS
A junior transfer from Cal, Matthew Thomas broke out for a career year with the Matadors in 2026. Thomas would lead the Matadors in a host of offensive categories as he was one-of-three CSUN players to earn All-Big West First Team honors. His outstanding season culminated with his selection in the 2026 MLB First-Year Player Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals in July.Â
The Garden Grove native led the Big West in doubles (21) and slugging percentage (.679) this season as he was a permanent fixture near the top of the Matador batting order. Thomas was also second in the conference in OPS (1.090) and total bases (142) while finishing third overall with teammate Matthew Pena in home runs (15). He also finished the season ranked fifth in batting average (.335), sixth in runs scored (47) and hits (70), and ninth in RBI (43) during his amazing season.Â
Thomas' selection in the MLB Draft would come on day two when the St. Louis Cardinals took him in the 13th round. The slugger became the highest drafted Matador since Lucas Braun in 2023 while he was the fourth Matador selection in the draft over the last four seasons. In school history, Thomas is the 107th CSUN selection in the MLB Draft all time along with the 10th to be selected by St. Louis.Â
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The 2026 season saw several highs for the CSUN Baseball program. Along with a 10-win turnaround from the season before, the Matadors would take down a pair of teams from Power Four conferences, both of which in dramatic fashion. Among the team's five All-Big West honorees, junior slugger Matthew Thomas also heard his name called at the 2026 MLB First-Year Player Draft, as he was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals.Â
CSUNÂ RALLIES FROM SEVEN RUNS DOWN VS. MICHIGAN
The Matadors pulled off the comeback of the season on March 3 against Michigan by a 9-8 score at Robert J. Hiegert Field. CSUN held an early 1-0 lead, but Michigan roared back with a six-run third inning and a two-run fourth inning to build an 8-1 lead. After a pair of rough innings, the Matador bullpen righted the ship over the middle frames as Kody King escaped a bases loaded jam and freshman Gage McCown tossed a scoreless fifth inning in his first career outing.Â
Meanwhile, CSUN began chipping away at the deficit in the fifth on a solo homer from Andrew Becker. An inning later, the CSUN bats exploded with a furious two-out rally. Five straight two-out hits, including RBI triples from Thomas, Matthew Pena and Trent Abel along with a pinch-hit RBI double from Mateo Rickman plated five CSUN runs. In the eighth, Abel hammered a dramatic game-tying solo homer to nod the game at 8-8.Â
The game would go into extra innings with the Matador bullpen combination of Jaiden Turner and Jackson Banuelos keeping the Wolverines off the scoreboard. Finally, in the 12th inning, CSUN came away with one more clutch hit. A Becker hit by pitch started the inning then Abel laid down the sacrifice bunt to put the winning run in scoring position. Two pitches later, freshman Vaughn Coleman lined a single to center field to plate Becker and send CSUN to a 9-8 victory.Â
MATADORS STUN SIXTH-RANKED OREGON STATE
CSUN would travel to Corvallis to take on sixth-ranked Oregon State for the first of a three-game series on May 1. In what would be back-and-forth slugfest, the Matadors stayed with the Beavers for 10 innings before completing the upset in an 8-6 victory.Â
The Matadors went ahead in the second inning on a solo homer from Coleman, but the Beavers roared back with four runs over their next two innings. Coleman would strike again in the fourth inning, blasting a two-run homer to get CSUN to within 4-3. After a Oregon State homer extended the lead, CSUN put up a three-spot as Rickman hit a go-ahead two-run homer for a 6-5 advantage.Â
The seesaw matchup was tied yet again in the seventh inning via an Oregon State home run. CSUN's freshman James Voorhies though cooled the Beavers' bats with a pair of strikeouts in the eighth and a shutout ninth to help send the game to extras. In the 10th, key singles from Pena and Rickman set the table for the Matadors who eventually loaded the bases with one out. From there, Abel executed a well-placed squeeze bunt to bring home the go-ahead run. After Kyle Panganiban drove in another run for a two-run lead, Voorhies shut the door on the Beavers with a 1-2-3 bottom of the 10th.Â
THOMAS DRAFTED BY ST. LOUS CARDINALS
A junior transfer from Cal, Matthew Thomas broke out for a career year with the Matadors in 2026. Thomas would lead the Matadors in a host of offensive categories as he was one-of-three CSUN players to earn All-Big West First Team honors. His outstanding season culminated with his selection in the 2026 MLB First-Year Player Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals in July.Â
The Garden Grove native led the Big West in doubles (21) and slugging percentage (.679) this season as he was a permanent fixture near the top of the Matador batting order. Thomas was also second in the conference in OPS (1.090) and total bases (142) while finishing third overall with teammate Matthew Pena in home runs (15). He also finished the season ranked fifth in batting average (.335), sixth in runs scored (47) and hits (70), and ninth in RBI (43) during his amazing season.Â
Thomas' selection in the MLB Draft would come on day two when the St. Louis Cardinals took him in the 13th round. The slugger became the highest drafted Matador since Lucas Braun in 2023 while he was the fourth Matador selection in the draft over the last four seasons. In school history, Thomas is the 107th CSUN selection in the MLB Draft all time along with the 10th to be selected by St. Louis.Â
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