New Mexico Baseball’s Khalil Walker was named to the Mountain West All-Conference Preseason Team and the Lobos were picked to finish fourth in the Preseason Coaches’ Poll released Wednesday ahead of the 2026 baseball season.
Ahead of UNM’s 36 points in the preseason poll, 2025 MW Regular Season Champions Nevada were tabbed as the team to beat with 60 points and five first-place votes ahead of 2025 MW Tournament Champs Fresno State with 55 points and three first-place votes. New member Grand Canyon clocked in at third with 47 points and one first-place vote.
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2026 MOUNTAIN WEST BASEBALL PRESEASON PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH |
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|---|---|---|
| Rank | Team (First-Place Votes) | Points |
| 1 | Nevada (5) | 60 |
| 2 | Fresno State (3) | 55 |
| 3 | Grand Canyon (1) | 47 |
| 4 | New Mexico | 36 |
| 5 | San José State | 33 |
| 6 | UNLV | 32 |
| 7 | San Diego State | 30 |
| 8 | Washington State | 17 |
| 9 | Air Force | 14 |
The Lobos have outperformed their preseason rank in each of the last three seasons. Before the 2023 season, UNM was picked to finish seventh and ultimately finished fifth; in 2024, they were voted fifth and closed out the regular season one game out of sharing a regular-season championship with Air Force. Last season, they were also picked fourth and finished third in the conference standings.
Walker has been the Mountain West batting champion in each of the last two seasons with a career .396 average at UNM in that span, earning All-MW honors twice. The fifth-year senior ranked second in the league in on-base percentage (.457) in 2025 and showed an increase in power last season – after hitting 11 doubles and three homers in his first season as a Lobo in 2024, Walker improved to 16 doubles, five triples and four homers in 2025.
He’s also posted a .984 fielding percentage in center field, starting 86 games and preparing in 96 over the last two seasons.
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2026 MOUNTAIN WEST BASEBALL PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Class | Position | Institution |
| Walker Zapp | Sr. | C | Air Force |
| Griffen Sotomayor | Sr. | INF | Fresno State |
| Alessandro Castro | Jr. | P | Nevada |
| Jayce Dobie | Sr. | UTL | Nevada |
| Jake Harvey | Sr. | C | Nevada |
| Junhyuk Kwon | Sr. | INF | Nevada |
| Sean Yamaguchi | So. | INF | Nevada |
| Khalil Walker | Sr. | OF | New Mexico |
| Tyler Albanese | Jr. | P | San José State |
| Kyle Calzadiaz | Sr. | P | San José State |
| Alex Fernandes | Sr. | OF | San José State |
| Carson Lane | Jr. | P | UNLV |
| Max Hartman | Sr. | OF | Washington State |
2026 OUTLOOK
The Lobos improved their overall record for the third year in a row in 2025 en route to their second Mountain West Tournament appearance in a row, going 30-23 and 17-13 in Mountain West play. UNM wrapped up the season ranked among the nation’s most productive offensive teams, finishing as NCAA statistical champions in both batting average (.337) and doubles per game (2.79) while also ranking among the Top 20 in the nation in slugging (3rd, 0.574), scoring (8th, 9.2), OBP (13th, 0.425) and homers per game (16th, 1.75).
Heading into Head Coach Tod Brown’s fifth year at the helm, the Lobos return three players that batted above .300 last season in starting roles and a total of nine upperclassmen pitching returners – eight of which with eight or more appearances last season – that combined for 217 innings of work.
Grand Canyon joined the Mountain West for the 2025-26 academic year, expanding the league to nine baseball-playing teams for the first time in conference history. Next year’s Mountain West will also field nine teams despite realignment changes, with departing Fresno State, San Diego State and Washington State replaced by newcomers Hawaii, UC Davis and Utah Tech (affiliate).
UP NEXT
New Mexico Baseball opens the season at home for the first time since 2017 when the Lobos host Fordham at Lobo Baseball Field for a four-game series Feb. 13-15.
Friday and Sunday’s games in Albuquerque will be available to stream free via the MW Network at GoLobos.com/Watch, with live stats, streaming options and more available via GoLobos.com/BSBGameDay. Follow @UNMLoboBaseball on IG, X and Facebook for comprehensive coverage, promotional updates, behind-the-scenes content and more.