Troy University Athletics
11/15/2026 12:16:00 PM | Baseball
TROY, Ala. — After a challenging fall baseball exhibition slate for Troy with road trips to play SEC heavyweights LSU, Tennessee and Florida, along with a home date against Samford mixed in, head coach Skylar Meade was asked what he learned about his club.
"I don't know if learned is the word, but it confirmed how talented we are … we look like those teams," Meade said in comparison to the SEC foes. "All three of those (Florida, Tennessee, LSU) will probably be somewhere in the top six (of SEC)."
With the fall games being doubleheaders in order for each team to experiment with different lineups and observe new players, Meade wasn't necessarily looking at the scoreboard. Some games were even stretched past the traditional nine innings.
"Against Tennessee, it's a 4-4 game in the ninth and we scored two runs," Meade said. "You don't really win … you play a couple more innings. That's how it works."
Meade also doesn't want to get caught up in comparing his team to the opponents during offseason play, though sometimes it's hard not to.
"Maybe this is a flaw in me," Meade began. "Like, we're stacking ourselves up the way that I judge everything that we do - pitching, defense, hitting, base-running, size, explosive - we're stacking it against the best teams in the country.
"My reality is distorted because at times that's not who you play every game - that's not what our schedule is. You're not playing LSU 56 times."
With that said, Meade came away from the exhibitions extremely encouraged with the way his team battled.
"I've never had more promise for our group," Meade said. "I think throughout the fall we have identified some issues. They're either going to get fixed in the next 100 days or we will fix them in how we go about playing and not playing certain guys, or doing certain things.
"You have to let those things happen in the fall. You're not going to go with a defensive replacement in a fall game. You've got to let somebody figure themselves out.
"Maybe they rise up or they falter, but at least they learn. Maybe you put a pitcher in a circumstance that otherwise you normally wouldn't.
"Each game you try to see and figure certain things out. I think we figured out a lot of things that are great for us in future success, but there's also things that you've got to be aware of. And if you're a player or coach, you've got to own the flaw and just get better for it, and I know we will."
While the fall is meant for some experimenting, Meade stressed that players still had to earn their opportunities in games and intrasquad scrimmages.
"This isn't charity," Meade said. "If some guys didn't show that they should be able to play in these outside competitions, they've got to earn it.
"We play a lot more against ourselves than the outside competition. Everyone bases everything on outside competition, but I base everything on our fall since we began in August.
"We did tinker a little bit about how we structure the lineup at LSU, which I think was great. I like how that looked and felt.
"We had a couple of guys that were a little nicked up in a couple of games, so maybe that slid a guy in who maybe isn't going to be in the position they are.
"I think there were enough situations that I think we've seen all the things we want to see."
Bonding on the Road
Troy is riding high heading into the new year following the school's first-ever College World Series appearance last season, but Meade knows there's plenty to be accomplished in the coming months.
Along with a strong core of returning players, the Trojans have added 13 from the transfer portal and welcomed five freshmen.
One-day trips to Nashville to play Tennessee, Pensacola to face Florida, and Baton Rouge to take on LSU, were good bonding opportunities.
"We left at 4:33 a.m. on Sunday morning (going to Baton Rouge) and we got back in the parking lot at 3:35 a.m. (Monday morning)," Meade said. "When you can provide these situations to where you have to be connected to each other … you've got to sit next to a guy on a bus that maybe you don't hang with all the time … maybe you engage in a conversation and learn something that you otherwise wouldn't because you've got six hours on a bus.
"You can only scroll on Instagram so much. Eventually, you might want to communicate with people, and I think guys did that during the experiences we had on the bus during the fall."
"Make it a one-day experience - really connect and bond. I think we'll see the dividends of that as time goes on."
Opening Some Eyes
While Troy has a solid nucleus of standouts returning such as catcher Jimmy Janicki, power hitter Jabe Boroff, outfielder Houston Markham and pitcher Hayden Smith, the fall season enabled Meade to get a good look at some newcomers, and also some that didn't get a lot of playing time last season.
One of the returners who really opened some eyes is first baseman Ty McGraw, who played in 11 contests last year.
"Ty McGraw has had an incredible fall," Meade said. "We put Ty at third (in the batting lineup) and that went really well. Against Florida, he had a single, double and long homer. He's one that's really been a 'Wow.'
"Cooper Williams (transfer from Kennesaw State) is probably going to bat leadoff and play shortstop …he's a middle infield guy. He's been very dynamic all fall. He's got a chance to steal 30-plus bases and hit 12-plus homers. He's insanely athletic. He just has to stay disciplined in terms of being focused in games.
"Kam Jenkins (Bob Jones High School) and Hudson Reed (Morgan County High School) are two freshmen who are just so good.
"Kam is perhaps our best defender on the field. He can play second, shortstop or third. He made an incredible play in a scrimmage that I haven't seen anyone make here at short. They both have power and each hit long homers against Samford here.
"Layne Akers (outfielder, Middle Tennessee State transfer) has had a tremendous fall. He's had a bunch of hits against the outside competition. He's hit six homers throughout the duration of fall.
"Payton Knowles was a huge signee out of the portal. Gonzaga (2024-25) and Seattle (2026) is where he played previously. He's a huge on-base guy with always more walks than strikeouts."
Pitching Depth Strong
Meade has been pleased with what he's seen from pitchers who have transferred in or are freshmen.
"Preston Watkins (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi transfer) has had an incredible fall," Meade said. "He's had a huge velocity spike. He was over 95 (mph) at LSU. J.T. Long (Dallas Baptist transfer) and Joseph Taylor (Charlotte transfer) have both punched a bunch of tickets and not walked people. Their stuff is really good.
"Noah Marschke (Madison College transfer) is really impressive. A great junior college guy from Wisconsin that we got here.
"Grady Bevins (Eckerd College transfer) will show us flashes. We've got to get him to be more consistent, but he was up to 96 (mph) at LSU. But being consistent is how you earn the right to pitch a lot.
"Tyner Flynt, the freshman (Presbyterian Christian School) out of Mississippi is really impressive. RJ Anglin (Huntington (Ind.) University) is a guy we got late. Good velo; good stuff. We think he's going to be really good.
"Sam Neal, a Division II transfer from Sam Harris, has just been dominant. I think he's had like 21 Ks and three walks. A lefty with a lot of angle. Really proud of how he's done this fall. I think he's going to be a big piece of winning as we move forward."
Meade knows there is plenty of time for others to step up in the coming months.
"All the things that have changed over the first three months have a huge chance to change over the next three months," he said.
Challenging Schedule
The Trojans have a challenging non-conference schedule, which is just the way Meade likes it. Troy will play seven teams that reached the 2026 NCAA Tournament, which includes road games at Mississippi State, Vanderbilt and Alabama. The Trojans will also host in-state foes Alabama, UAB and Alabama State.
"It's just what we're going to do," Meade said. "If you want to be the program that we are and what we still inspire to be … and you want to win a national championship … you've got to do that.
"You can't be scared, but you can't overload (the schedule). You've got to play tough teams on the road. Will the schedule be No. 1 in non-conference, and No. 6 overall? I don't know. There are a lot of teams that you don't know where they'll stack, but we have an opportunity with the way the schedule is structured for it to be really, really good."
Troy opens the season at home against Mercer for a three-game set beginning Feb. 19. The Trojans' Sun Belt Conference schedule features five home series, beginning March 19 with a three-game tilt against James Madison at Riddle-Pace Field.
