PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania baseball team begins postseason play this weekend at the Ivy League Tournament, hosted by top seed and Ivy League regular season champion Yale at George H. W. Bush '48 Field in New Haven, Conn. After an early exit in last season's rendition of the tournament, the Quakers look to capture their third ILT title in four seasons this weekend.
 
Second-seeded Penn prepares to face third-seeded Brown on Friday at 4 p.m. in Game 2 of the seven-game, double-elimination tournament with both teams playing again on Saturday against either the top-seeded Bulldogs or fourth-seeded Columbia.
 
The Quakers enter the weekend with plenty of momentum, winning five of their last six games and posting their best conference record (14-7) since a 16-5 mark during the 2023 campaign.
 
2026 Ivy League Baseball Tournament | George H.W. Bush '48 Field | New Haven, Conn.
May 15-18 | Watch (ESPN+) | Live Stats | Tickets
 
SCHEDULE
Friday, May 15
Game 1: No. 1 Yale vs. No. 4 Columbia – 12 p.m.
Game 2: No. 2 Penn vs. No. 3 Brown – 4 p.m.
 
Saturday, May 16
Game 3: Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2 – 12 p.m.
Game 4: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2 – 4 p.m.
 
Sunday, May 17
Game 5: Winner of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4 – 12 p.m.
Game 6: Winner of Game 4 vs. Winner of Game 5 – 4 p.m.

Monday, May 18
Game 7 (if necessary) – 12 p.m.
 
Penn at the Ivy League Tournament
There have been two iterations of the Ivy League Tournament with Penn winning both times in 2023 and 2024.
 
In the inaugural year of the ILT in 2023, the Quakers won all three games to become the tournament's first champion, heading to the NCAA regional for the first time since 1995. Top-seeded Penn hosted the tourney at Tommy Lasorda Field at Meiklejohn Stadium, defeating Columbia in the opening game, 10-6, before beating Harvard (10-7) and Princeton (16-3) to claim the crown.
 
Jarrett Pokrovsky was named the ILT's Most Outstanding Player during his first season in Red and Blue.
 
In 2024, the Red and Blue battled back through the loser's bracket to claim their second consecutive ILT crown. The fourth-seeded Quakers beat top-seeded Columbia in the opener, but fell to Cornell in the next game. Penn won three games in a row, including two over the Big Red on the final day to win the title.
 
A Regular Season to Remember
Over the course of the regular season, several program records were broken en route to a second-place conference finish.

Senior infielder Ryan Taylor has been a menace on the basepath all season long as his 32 stolen bases pace the Ancient Eight. During the team's Liberty Bell Classic semifinal victory over Lafayette, he broke the program's stolen base record with the 59^th stolen bag of his career. A few weeks later, the Elmer, N.J. native claimed the single-season stolen base record with his 26^th of the year. Taylor's 174 games played and 171 starts are also program records, and he's tied for the career record in triples (13) with Steve Flacco (1980-83).
 
Senior co-captain Jarrett Pokrovsky set both the Ivy League and Penn single-season record for doubles (24) last season and his .395 batting average in conference play this season led him to another career milestone. The Pittsgrove, N.J. native notched the 51^st double of his career on May 1 against Brown, passing program great Wyatt Henseler (2021-24).

In addition, fellow co-captain Thomas Shurtleff moved into third all-time in pitching appearances two weeks ago with the 56^th of his career.
 
Coaching Milestone
The W. Joseph Blood Head Coach John Yurkow eclipsed the 250th victory of his career earlier this season in Penn's second win of the campaign. On Mar. 8, the Quakers notched a 10-5 non-conference triumph over UMBC which pushed Yurkow to the historic mark. He's just the third head coach in the Red and Blue's history to reach the milestone.
 
Currently at 268 following a pair of wins over Brown in the final series of the regular season, Yurkow is ranked third in all-time wins behind just Bob Seddon (634 from 1971-2005) and Walter Cariss (309 from 1920-43).
 
Heating Up Late
Following an 0-6 start to the season, the Quakers battled back down the final stretch of the campaign to win seven of their final 10 Ivy League games that guided them to clinching their fourth straight postseason berth.
 
Across their final six games the Red and Blue claimed five victories, three against Harvard and two over Brown. Penn's sweep against the Crimson secured their ILT berth, while the doubleheader victory over the Bears eliminated Brown from regular season title contention.
 
Through its 21 conference games, Penn paces its Ivy foes at the dish with a .299 average, the next closest being Columbia (.277). The Quakers lead the Ancient Eight in RBIs (154), total bases (337), slugging percentage (.451), walks drawn (95), and on-base percentage (.396) during conference play.

All-Ivy Honors
The Red and Blue earned a conference-high nine All-Ivy selections when the conference office announced its awards slate on Thursday afternoon. From those nine, two—right-handed starter Thomas Shurtleff and center fielder Gavin Degnan—were unanimously named first-team selections. Ernie Echevarria, Jarrett Pokrovsky, and Jack Warner also claimed first-team laurels. Shurtleff also rececived Academic All-Ivy recognition.

Junior first baseman Nick Spaventa earned a spot on the second team following his honorable mention laurel last year, while freshman shortstop Jay Secretarski joined him to secure his first All-Ivy nod.

Junior southpaw Marty Coyne was tabbed an honorable mention, along with senior second baseman Ryan Taylor. 
 
The Brown Series
Penn holds a 94-82-5 all-time advantage over Brown in a series that dates all the way back to 1885.
 
The Quakers won the best-of-three series in Philadelphia when the two teams met earlier this season, taking two of three matchups. Penn dropped the opening game of the weekend at Tommy Lasorda Field at Meiklejohn Stadium, 13-9, but bounced back the following day. Brown could have clinched the regular-season title with a Saturday sweep, but the Red and Blue notched 11-3 and 7-3 victories to cap off a memorable Senior Day.
 
The Bears are an unfamiliar opponent for the Quakers in the Ivy League Tournament, as this season marks their first appearance in the competition since the new format was instituted in 2023. The 2026 season also marks Brown's first postseason appearance since 2007 when it defeated Penn 2-0 in the best-of-three championship series.
 
At the Plate
Penn wrapped up its 2026 regular season two weekends ago against Brown and now have five hitters batting north of .300 in Ancient Eight play led by Pokrovsky (.395) and Degnan (.356).
 
Overall, Degnan paces the Quakers in batting average (.304), hits (49), doubles (12), RBIs (40), and slugging percentage (.534), while adding seven home runs and an on-base percentage of .365.
 
Spaventa and Pokrovsky are second in hits with 46 apiece this season, followed closely by Secretarski's 44. Spaventa's eight homers are tied for second among his conference foes, while Secretarski's 29 walks drawn and 20 stolen bases make him a formidable threat when he's on base.
 
Taylor leads the Quakers with 36 runs scored and he's far and away the best baserunner in the conference, leading with 32 stolen bases, six more than Yale's Kaiden Dossa.
 
In conference play, Degnan (.994), Spaventa (.994), and Pokrovsky (.981) all rank within the top 10 of OPS percentage and are all hitting .330 or better over the 21-game stretch. Junior outfielder Gavin Collins found his swing in conference play, ringing up four home runs and his 21 RBIs come in at fifth place among his Ivy foes.
 
On the Mound
Last year's relievers of Shurtleff (6-2, 2.95) and Coyne (5-4, 4.29) turned into Penn's high-volume arms throughout the course of the regular season. Overall, Coyne's 59 strikeouts, 65.0 innings pitched, and 18 batters struck out looking all rank within the top five of their respective categories.

Shurtleff's Ivy League ERA of 2.09 is the second lowest in the conference among qualified pitchers, striking out 38 batters over 43.0 innings, and walking only seven.
 
The Quakers adjusted to utilizing openers halfway through the conference slate with freshman southpaw Ben Moulin being their standout arm. The San Clemente, Calif. native boasts a 2.60 ERA through 17.1 innings pitched in conference play and went a career-high 5.1 innings with four strikeouts to aid Penn in capturing a series victory over Brown on the final day of the regular season.
 
Additional pitchers that have been consistent options and will certainly contribute on the mound this weekend include Josh Katz (0-4, 6.23), Jake Moss (4-2, 5.79), Nick Newburn (0-1, 4.88), Connor Darling (1-1, 6.75), and Aidan von Zuben (0-2, 7.66).

Scouting #1 Yale
The Bulldogs enter the tournament on a four-game winning streak, picking up a final non-conference victory over Iona before sweeping Dartmouth over the weekend in New Haven. Their clean sweep against the Big Green guided them to their second straight Ivy League regular-season title.
 
Yale has won seven of its final 10 games of the year, which stems back to a doubleheader sweep over Cornell on Apr. 18. The hosts' 27-13-1 overall mark was the best in the conference and they were one of three Ancient Eight members to notch 20 or more wins this season, alongside Penn (20-20) and Brown (21-18).
 
Through 41 games, five hitters are batting .250 or better for the Bulldogs, including: the conference leader, Garrett Larsen (.362), Chris DiPrima (.344), Dossa (.329), Jack Dauer (.299), and Colin Sloan (.269).
 
Starting pitchers Tate Evans (6-1, 2.86 ERA), Daniel Cohen (5-3, 4.98), and Jack Ohman (4-2, 5.56) lead a quality rotation and are responsible for 13 of the Bulldogs' 27 wins in 2026. Ohman paces the unit with a team-high 75 strikeouts, while Evans is right on his tail with 73.
 
This is Yale's second appearance in the Ivy League Tournament field, as it searches for its second consecutive title and NCAA regional appearance.
 
Scouting #3 Brown
As previously stated, the most unfamiliar foe for Penn in the field is Brown. The Bears are set to make their inaugural appearance in the Ivy League Tournament and are looking for their first conference title since knocking off the Quakers back in 2007.
 
Brown concluded its regular season journey against the Quakers at Tommy Lasorda Field at Meiklejohn Stadium. They took Game 1 in Philadelphia, 13-9, before W. Joseph Blood Head Coach John Yurkow's group rallied on Saturday to secure the series victory. Prior to that, the Bears won 13 of their last 18 games which ultimately secured their spot in the postseason. They've earned series victories over Yale, Princeton, Harvard, Dartmouth, and Columbia.
 
Six of Brown's key offensive contributors are batting over .250 on the season and Mika Petersen's ridiculous .443 average during Ancient Eight play paces his competition by a comfortable margin. Over the 21 games, he's registered 35 hits, 18 RBIs, 22 runs scored, eight doubles, five home runs, eight stolen bases, and an insane 1.316 OPS percentage.

Alex Benevento (.317), Matt Luigs (.300), Mark Henshon (.299), Logan Meusy (.282), and DJ Dillehay have all made solid impacts at the dish this year for the Bears.
 
From a pitching standpoint, the Bears' starting rotation of Dylan Reid (4-3, 3.48), Drew Nelson (5-3, 4.43), and Peter Dubie (3-4, 4.62) have combined for 12 victories. Dubie's 61 strikeouts rank fourth in the conference, while Reid's 42 place second on the team. Camren Piwnicki (4-1, 4.11) will be relied on heavily as Brown's standout bullpen option. In 15.2 innings of conference relief work, the rookie has recorded a 1.72 ERA and 10 strikeouts.
 
Scouting #4 Columbia
Columbia punched its ticket into the Ivy League Tournament by knocking off Cornell with a dominant 9-1 victory two weekends ago, marking its fourth consecutive ILT appearance.
 
Prior to their two triumphs over the Big Red, the Lions only managed to claim series victories over Harvard, Penn, and Yale. The reigning ILT champions have Harvard to thank, as the Crimson's clean three-game sweep over Princeton opened the door for Columbia to snatch the final spot in the tournament.

The Lions are making their fourth-straight appearance in the Ivy League Tournament and look to become the second team to win the tourney in back-to-back fashion, the first being the Quakers in 2023 and 2024.
 
The offense heads to New Haven with the second-highest batting average (.277) in conference play, led by Jack Kail (.360) and Jimmy Chadwell (.337) who rank within the top 10 in batting average. Overall, Kail (54) and Chadwell (46) have combined for 100 hits, while Kail (37), Cole Fellows (33), and Anthony Temesvary (33) all sit in the top 10 in RBIs.

On the season, six hitters are batting .250 or better for the Lions and three are over .300, including: Kail (.348), Chadwell (.317), Fellows (.312), Temesvary (.299), Hunter Snyder (.298), and Ben Fishel (.259).

Fellows' eight long balls are in a three-way tie for second in the conference with Jack Rickheim from Harvard and Spaventa from Penn.
 
Columbia's pitching has struggled throughout the year, but experienced arms Evan Kleinhans (3-2, 4.64), Thomas Santana (5-4, 4.98), and Alex Sotiropoulos (1-4, 6.91) have performed when it matters most. Santana leads the pack with 48 strikeouts and Kleinhans has allowed only 11 walks in 42.2 innings pitched which leads the Ivy League. On the other hand, Sotiropoulos has handed out 38 walks, the most of qualifying Ivy pitchers. Throughout the season, Tomas Lopez (0-2, 3.06), Payton Soske (1-0, 3.26), and Baylor Hicks (1-4, 7.42) have been reliable options for the Lions out of the bullpen.
 
Follow the Action
All seven Ivy League Tournament games will be streamed live on ESPN+, including the winner-take-all Game 7, scheduled for Monday at noon (if necessary). Live stats will also be available for fans throughout the tournament.
 
 For the latest on Penn baseball, follow @PennBaseball on X (formerly Twitter), @Penn_Baseball on Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.