The Emory University baseball team navigated the ebbs and flows of the 40-game schedule in 2026 to finish at .500 with a 20-20 record under second-year Head Coach Bobby Perez.
The Eagles were led by All-Region hurler Josh Zuckerman as well as All-University Athletic Association performers Jake Lawson, Zach Hanson, Adam Geller and Zach Wasserlauf to win 20 games for fifth consecutive year as well as the team's 32nd overall campaign with 20 or more wins in team history.
After starting the season with a four-game skid, Hanson provided some late-game heroics with an extra-inning walk-off against LaGrange College to give Emory's its first win of the season. The victory sparked an eight-game winning streak for the Eagles while the walk-off was the first of several for the third-year shortstop, including another extra-inning winner against Oglethorpe on March 3rd to give Emory an 8-4 record through 12 games.
After seeing its winning stream snapped in the first game of a doubleheader against Middlebury on March 7th, the Eagles closed out the non-conference slate with a 3-3 record that featured additional walk-off winners from Mitchell Smallwood vs. Middlebury in the second game of March 7th's doubleheader and Hanson again on March 21st against in-state rival Piedmont.
Entering UAA play with an overall record of 11-8, the Eagles started conference action on a blistering pace with back-to-back 3-1 series wins over NYU and Case Western Reserve as well as the opening two games of the series against No. 14 WashU that included Lawson's go-ahead three-run home run in the top of the ninth in the series opener at the Bears.
Despite the 19-10 record, the Eagles faltered down the stretch with one win over the team's final 11 contests to end the year at 20-20. Zuckerman provided the win during the span with a herculean effort in his final collegiate start, delivering a 139-pitch complete game shutout in a senior day triumph against Brandeis.
Zuckerman shined in his final season in Blue & Gold as the ace of the pitching staff, posting a 4-3 record in 10 starts to go along with a team-leading 2.80 earned run average and a team-high 66 strikeouts in 61 frames. Zuckerman drew All-region acclaim from both D3baseball.com and the ABCA and was one of two Eagles to land on the All-UAA First Team.
Lawson joined Zuckerman as All-UAA First Team performers as he excelled at the top of the Eagles' lineup with a .370 average and was one of two players to start in each of the team's 40 contests. Lawson racked up a team-leading 61 hits, 53 runs, 93 total bases, 11 hit-by-pitches and 18 stolen bases. He also set an Emory record with at least one hit in each of the team's 31 games to start the season.
Geller joined Zuckerman as Emory arms on the All-UAA list with his Second Team selection and was joined there by Hanson and Wasserlauf. Geller made 10 starts as well on the mound, recording a 4-2 mark with a 3.69 ERA and 58 punchouts in 61 innings. At the plate, Hanson batted a .335 clip in 40 starts as he led the team with 17 doubles and 30 walks while Wasserlauf hit .322 with 28 hits and 19 RBI before being sidelined with an injury after appearing in 25 games.
Zuckerman added three UAA Athlete of the Week honors to lead the team while Hanson, Geller, Lawson and freshman Owen Stone each picked up one AOW win.
The Eagles earned the following awards in the 2026 season.
