BUIES CREEK, N.C. – While the Camels fell one victory shy of their goal of an NCAA Regional berth, the 2026 baseball season will be remembered as one of the best in Campbell University's Division I history.
 
Under the direction of second-year head coach – and Coastal Athletic Association Coach of the Year – Chris Marx, the Camels ran away with the CAA South Division title (26-4) and earned the top seed in the league tournament.
 
Overall, Campbell finished the season with 41 victories – tied for the third-most since CU moved to the Division I ranks in 1978.
 
Only two other teams – the 2023 squad, which won 49 games and the 2023 unit, which finished with 46 triumphs, have amassed more overall wins that this year's group in 49 seasons.
 
Campbell's .707 (41-17) winning percentage was third-best in the program's record books behind the 2013 (49-10, .831) and 2023 (46-15, .754) squads.
 
In league play, Campbell recorded the most victories in CAA history (26), one more than Northeastern won in 2025 and UNCW in 2008.
 
The 2026 Camels posted the second-most league wins in school history behind the 2021 squad, which finished 28-9 in the Big South.  CU's .867 winning percentage was second-best all-time behind the 2022 squad, which posted a 20-3, .870) mark.
 
Facing a difficult opening schedule where eight of the team's first 11 games were against teams that had reached regional finals or advanced further, the Camels stood 4-7 heading into league play.
 
However, a three-game sweep of William & Mary began a stretch where the Camels won 14 of 16 contests.  Only a 5-4 loss in 14 innings at No. 6 North Carolina snapped a nine-game win streak, but CU responded with a second 3-game sweep of the Tribe, this time on the road, to open April.
 
The Camels won nine of 10 league series, produced seven 3-game series sweeps and finished with an 8-game lead in the South Division standings over runner-up Charleston (18-12).
 
"I thought our guys did a tremendous job once we got into spring break," said Marx, who guided his team to a 16-game improvement in the win column after the 2025 unit finished 25-31 overall, 15-12 in the CAA.  "We put the league away fairly early. You hate that you didn't win the conference tournament, but there are some real things we can point to that we can improve upon to where if you're a few games better, you don't have to win the conference tournament to get a bid next season."
 
Outside of league play, Campbell went 2-2 against nationally-ranked opponents, including wins over No. 16 Coastal Carolina (4-3) and No. 14 NC State (7-2).  The Camels also defeated eventual regional participant East Carolina (2-1) and Duke (13-3).
 
In the CAA, the Camels won six of seven meetings with UNCW, including a 3-1 victory in the CAA tournament at Wilmington, while sweeping all six games from Charleston and William & Mary.
 
The Camels accomplished all this – and fashioned an 11-game win streak between Apr. 21 and May 9 – despite losing three key players – pitchers Lleyton Grubich and Harrison Lewis – and fifth-year outfielder Joe Simpson – to injury. 
 
Grubich made just two starts – posting a 1-0 record and 1.17 ERA – before suffering an elbow injury.  The left-hander shut down defending West Coast Conference champion and 2025 NCAA Eugene Regional participant Cal Poly on opening night but only tossed 7.2 total innings.  Lewis – a 6-foot-6 redshirt sophomore transfer from UNC – was slated to be the team's closer but did not pitch an inning after injuring his right (throwing) arm last fall.
 
Simpson batted .320 over the first 30 games and stole a team-leading 25 bases, before suffering a season-ending shoulder dislocation.  He tied a school record with five steals vs. William & Mary on Mar. 8 and finished eighth among CAA stolen base leaders despite missing the final 28 games.
 
Marx pointed to a deep roster and mental toughness as two of the keys to the season.
 
"We had the depth.  We knew we needed about four guys to be really good on the mound to have a really good season. Two of those guys ended up getting injured, and that's just part of college athletics now," said Marx.  "Guys are training to be bigger, faster, stronger, they're training to throw harder, and with the aggressiveness in that training, you're going to deal with more injuries.  I credit our alumni, our donors and (A.D.) Hannah Bazemore for putting us in a situation where we could have more depth this year, where we could withstand some injuries."
 
That depth produced eight All-CAA performers – six first-team members – including league pitcher of the year David Rossow.
 
"We really got validation that the things that have made this place successful over the last decade are still the things that continue," said Marx. "The things that we value in this program are the right things.  Number one, the culture is what separates this place.  It is a different world; you are constantly having to recruit your own players. The exit meetings we've had with our players were overwhelmingly positive. They really enjoyed their experience; they love it here.  We work hard to foster relationships with the players in that locker room and have guys really care about each other and play for each other, as opposed to with each other."
 
Rossow won the "Triple Crown" of pitching in the CAA by leading the league in wins (10), ERA (2.53) and strikeouts (104).  The fifth-year senior from Boca Raton, Fla., also led the conference in strikeout-walk ratio (4.73).  He finished 8-0 in CAA regular season games and struck out a career-high 13 batters – two shy of the school records – at NC A&T on Mar. 14.  His 11.46 strikeouts per nine innings stands second only to Cade Kuehler's (11.9) mark in CU record boolks.
 
Beau Brailey, Carlos Lugo, Joey Morton, Jett Music and Jonah Oster joined Rossow on the All-CAA first team.  Brailey tied for third in the league with three saves, went 5-0 with a 1.72 ERA in 31.1 innings over 28 relief appearances.  A red-shirt sophomore from Hoschton, Ga., Brailey struck out 24 batters and did not allow a home run all season.
 
Lugo was also named to the CAA All-Rookie team after leading the team – and ranking fifth in the league – with a .347 batting average.  He had 13 doubles, six home runs, 38 RBI and 49 runs scored in 56 games, while also putting together a 15-game hitting streak.  Lugo also led the team with 25 multi-hit games.  A freshman left-hander from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., also made eight relief appearances on the mound, posting a 0-1 record with two saves and a 3.48 ERA.
 
Morton led the league and tied John Posey's 41-year-old school record with 75 runs batted in.  A red-shirt senior first baseman from Oxford, Pa., Morton also led the CAA with nine sacrifice flies, while ranking second in home runs (21) and third in slugging (.647).  He batted .293 with 13 doubles while playing in 57 games.  Over his two-year career, Morton hit 35 home runs (8th in program history) and slugged .633 (9th).
 
On May 14 at UNCW, Morton clubbed four home runs – the most by a Camel player since Henry Rochelle set a school (an then NCAA) record with five against Radford on Mar. 30, 1985.  He tallied 16 total bases that day (second only to Rochelle's 23 in school records) and drove in eight, which tied for the fourth-most in program history.
 
Music led the league in home runs (22) and slugging (.787) while batting .297 with 10 doubles.  He ranked fourth in the league in RBI (56).  In addition, the sophomore right-hander from Clayton, N.C., made 17 relief appearances on the mound and fashioned a 3-1 record with a team-leading 4 saves (8th in the CAA) and struck out 34 batters in 24.2 innings.  Music's home run and slugging marks stand as the fourth-highest in a single season in CU Division I history.  In just two collegiate seasons, he owns the fifth-highest career slugging percentage (.642) in CU record books.
 
A redshirt-senior from Apex, N.C., Oster was the only Camel to start all 58 games.  He batted .274 with a team-high 16 doubles, plus 12 home runs and drove in 55 (sixth in the CAA).  He recorded 21 multi-hit games (second on the team) and was third on the squad with 15 multiple RBI contests.
 
Simpson was tabbed 2nd team All-CAA for the second-straight season.  The red-shirt senior outfielder swiped 25 bags in 26 attempts and reached base in each of his final 25 games.  Simpson (Mar. 26 vs. Charleston) and Lugo (May 5 at Charlotte) both tied the school record with four walks in a game.  He concluded his career with the 8th-best career on-base percentage (.467) in CU record books.
 
Right-handed pitcher Braxton Shaffer was named honorable mention All-CAA.  The 6-foot-7 junior from Grinnell, Iowa, posted a 2-0 record and three saves with a 3.42 ERA.  He allowed just 10 earned runs and 14 hits, struck out 39 in 26.1 innings and held opponents to a .154 batting average.
 
With a veteran roster that included only one true freshman (Lugo), who saw action in a game this season, Marx faced the challenge of balancing at-bats and pitching appearances among a number of players.
 
"Everybody was older and expected to play, but not everybody's going to get that opportunity," said Marx.  "Our job as a staff was making sure everybody in this program knows where they stand, and what they need to do to get better at in order to get into the mix, then making sure we're in there in the trenches with every single one of our guys."
 
Two veterans who added to the program's success were fifth-year senior pitcher Zach Sabers and red shirt junior catcher Andy Schuldt.  Sabers closed his career with a .765 winning percentage (13-4) – fifth-best in program history, while Schuldt already stands second on the career walks charts (127).
 
That commitment since Marx joined the program – first as an assistant coach from 2015-19 then since taking over the head job prior to the 2025 season – has produced dozens of all-conference performers.  Four former Camels – Seth Johnson (Philadelphia), Cedric Mullins (Tampa Bay), Zach Neto (Los Angeles Angels) and Ryan Thompson (Arizona) – have played in the major leagues this year, with eight others on affiliated minor league rosters.
 
Depending on the MLB draft and other variables, Marx' 2027 roster could include three returning starters in the outfield, three regular infielders, Schuldt behind the plate, two-way threat Music and a bevy of talented arms.
 
"The guys that come here are going to be developed," said Marx.  "We probably hit more than any team in the country and we're in there with the 40th best player on our roster as much as we're with the first best player on our roster.  They're not always going to like me and the decisions I make, but as long as they care about each other and we're upholding the standard of everybody looking out for each other first, then you can create a really good culture. I think that's what separates this place."