After last week’s parents’ weekend, Pullman, Washington, will again be the place with baseball hosting a big conference series and football hosting its annual spring game.
For those making the journey over for the first ‘football weekend’ of 2026, head over to Bailey-Brayton Field on Friday night as the Washington State Cougars play host to the New Mexico Lobos in a huge three-game set. Currently, WSU sits just a game back of the first-place Nevada Wolfpack in the Mountain West standings. Nevada will be hosting the UNLV Rebels this weekend as part of the Silver State Series. If WSU can pick up a series win and get some help from the Rebels, they could come out of this weekend atop the Mountain West with just two conference series left to play.
The Cougars have won their last two conference series, taking down San Jose State to begin the month and UNLV last weekend.
WSU will likely send their typical Friday starter out on the bump, Nick Lewis, who is coming off two great starts against Gardner-Webb and UNLV. Across his two starts, Lewis has gone 15 innings, surrendering only two earned runs and striking out 11.
Game 1 will be at 6:05 p.m. today (Friday). The series will pick back up on Saturday at 6:05 p.m. and conclude with a matinee on Sunday at 12:05 p.m. There are still plenty of tickets available to all three games, and they all line up perfectly for those going to the spring game to still not miss a second of football.
The main event of the weekend will be the 2026 Crimson & Gray Game on Saturday. Fans can get their first look at the new Kirby Moore-led team at Gesa Field at 2 p.m. The team will begin with standard practice drills before concluding with about an hour of offense vs. defense. There will be no live TV or radio broadcasts of the spring game, but CougCenter’s own Lucas Ingham will be reporting live from the game and have a recap of what he saw on Saturday night. For those also wanting to go, admission is free!
This year’s spring game should be incredibly intriguing. With yet again a virtually all-new team, it will be interesting to see who emerges at key positions like quarterback. Currently, it is believed that Caden Pinnick is the favorite to win the starting job, but for the other quarterbacks like Julian Dugger, Owen Eshelman, and Jake Tiryakioglu, now is their chance to introduce themselves to Coug fans.
The offense itself, outside of just the quarterback position, is also going to be an interesting watch. This is the third different offense WSU will be rolling out over the last three years, but it should be one that looks a little more familiar. Last year, under head coach Jimmy Rogers and offense coordinator Danny Freund, the Cougars tried to shift to a more run-heavy, ball-control, smashmouth style of football. Under new head coach Kirby Moore, the offense will likely still be pretty run-heavy but will be running less-traditional concepts than the ones run last season.
One player I personally will be keeping an eye on is wide receiver Tank Hawkins, the transfer from Florida. Hawkins is fast, to say the least. He reportedly ran a 4.25-second 40-yard dash when at Florida. Pairing him across to a fellow speedster in Tony Freeman could make for an electric offense.
Defensively, Paul Hutson may be the player to watch according to none other than himself. Last week, Hutson told the media he is the ‘best playmaker in college football.’ At 6-foot-1 and 275-pounds, Hutson is part of a revamped defensive line that looks to generate a lot more pressures this season. The defense is led by former Oregon State head coach Trent Bray, a graduate of Pullman High School back in the day.