Rebuilding Pac-12 set to add college baseball powerhouse Dallas Baptist: Sources

The Pac-12 is set to add college baseball powerhouse Dallas Baptist as a single-sport affiliate member next year, multiple sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to The Athletic. The school will begin play as a conference member in spring 2027.

The move comes as the Pac-12 continues to rebuild across multiple sports. Next July, the conference will add Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, Texas State and Utah State in all sports, as well as Gonzaga in all sports except football, joining Oregon State and Washington State. The Athletic previously reported in June that the league was also looking at affiliate members like DBU for sports like baseball.

DBU has been one of the most consistent programs in college baseball. The team, which currently resides in Conference USA as an affiliate member, has played in 11 consecutive NCAA Tournaments, just one of five active programs to do so, along with LSU, Florida, Vanderbilt and Oklahoma State. Coach Dan Heefner has led the team since 2008.

“They don’t have off years,” DBU alum and former MLB player Ben Zobrist told The Athletic last year. “It’s been so long that they’ve had a chance. Everybody’s super proud of what Dan’s created there. Look at the track record of guys going pro. They really develop players.”

The Patriots have reached 13 of the last 14 tournaments after moving up to Division I in 2004. They joined CUSA in 2023 after playing in the Missouri Valley Conference. The school has around 4,200 students and plays Division II in its other sports.

Pac-12 member Oregon State is also a perennial College World Series contender, reaching the final group earlier this year. The Beavers opted to play an independent schedule last season rather than joining another conference on a short-term basis. Future Pac-12 member Fresno State has won the last two Mountain West baseball tournaments.

ESPN first reported that DBU’s move had been finalized.

(Photo of Dallas Baptist facing LSU in the NCAA Division I Regional in May: Scott Clause / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)