The Crusaders (25-28, 13-13 Patriot League) played 70 percent of their games away from campus this season (37 of 53), and the trend continues this week when Holy Cross makes its second straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in more than 60 years.
The Crusaders travel to the Austin Regional to face No. 6 seed Texas (40-13, 19-10 SEC) at historic UFCU Disch-Falk Field on Friday, May 29, at 1 p.m. The other two teams in the regional are UC Santa Barbara (38-18, 22-8 Big West) and Tarleton State (37-19, 12-6 WAC). The first round of the tournament is a double-elimination format with one team advancing from each of the 16 regionals to the super regionals. Winners of the super regionals advance to the College World Series in Omaha.
Players, coaches and program supporters gathered on campus on Monday, Memorial Day, in the Bill Doran ‘77 Auditorium, located within the Luth Athletic Complex, to watch the NCAA Division 1 baseball selection show live on ESPN.
When the Holy Cross players heard and saw their name paired with Texas, it was bedlam–an explosion of emotion from Crusader players all clad in purple t-shirts.
“It’s obviously going to be a challenge, but I think this team is prepared to do anything,” said senior starting pitcher Jaden Wywoda. “It’s always going to be cool playing in a regional–it’s what we all dream about as college baseball players. I think it’s just pure excitement and we’re ready to get going.”
“Obviously we’re not scared of anybody but being able to go to Texas and play in front of that crowd, play against a team like that, it’s definitely going to be a surreal experience,” added fellow senior and center fielder CJ Egrie.
For Kahovec, this season marks his third trip to the NCAAs with Holy Cross as he was an assistant coach for the 2017 team that upset Nebraska in the Corvallis Regional played at Oregon State.
“It’s a very exciting opportunity for us. It’s going to be an incredible environment,” said Kahovec. “I have a ton of respect for the history, prestige and pageantry of Texas and Augie Garrido. It’s at a program that I’ve admired from afar ever since I was a little kid. To go down there, in that environment where people bleed burnt orange is going to be incredible.”
The Crusaders, winners of back-to-back Patriot League titles, will play in the NCAA Tournament for the 13th time in program history and third time since 2017. The last time Holy Cross made back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Tournament was 1962 and 1963.
Coming off last season’s record of 31-27 and 17-8 in conference play, the Crusaders were picked to finish first in the Patriot League preseason poll of head coaches back in January. However, Holy Cross went 13-13 in league play this spring to finish fourth in the standings behind co-regular season champions Army and Bucknell, and third-place Navy.
Seeded fourth in the Patriot League Tournament, the Crusaders went on the road and won two best-of-three series at Army (May 9-10) and Bucknell (May 18-20) to capture the Patriot League championship and earn an automatic bid back to the NCAA Tournament.
“After the first weekend at Army where we took the series, we were like ‘alright we can really do this thing.’ That’s where the boys really bought in and really got fired up and it went on for the rest of the season,” noted Wywoda.
Egrie, named the Patriot League Player of the Year for the second straight season, has led the team offensively. He ranks first in batting average (.338), hits (54), on-base percentage (.483) and stolen bases (46). His 46 steals are the second-most by any Division 1 player this season and also set a program single-season record. He was also named first-team All Patriot League.
“CJ has just shattered record after record here at Holy Cross,” said Kahovec. “He played an almost unprecedented conference tournament. Statistically, he was just off the charts. A remarkable effort on his part.”
Egrie is now the Holy Cross all-time leader in both stolen bases (98) and runs scored (137) and carries a career batting average of .301. He was named Academic All-Patriot League with a 3.35 GPA as an architectural studies major and studio art minor.
“Speed is probably the number one tool I have. I really love using it because it’s a big distraction,” said Egrie of Ventnor City, NJ. “I think it allows the hitters behind me to kind of expect less from the pitcher that they’re facing. It takes a little pressure off the guys in the dugout.”
Joining Egrie as a first-team All Patriot League selection was Wywoda, a right hander from Milford, CT, who went 4-3 in conference games with a 2.89 ERA. He also pitched four complete games in Patriot League play.
In the Patriot League Tournament, Wywoda was named Patriot League Tournament MVP for throwing a tournament record 19.2 innings and posting a 1-0 record. Wywoda, the Patriot League Pitcher of the Year in 2025, recorded 15 strikeouts in the tournament and earned a save in the title-clinching win over Bucknell.
“He’s been the anchor of our staff all year long. He’s one of the most reliable student athletes I’ve ever had the pleasure of coaching,” said Kahovec. “For him to beg us for the baseball after throwing 122 pitches on Monday–to come back Wednesday and throw 78 more. You don’t see that type of selflessness, toughness and grit very often any more. He’s a blast from the past in the most positive way.”
Kahovec was not short on compliments when it came to speaking about both Egrie and Wywoda and their impact on Holy Cross baseball.
“I cannot overemphasize how much they have meant to our program,” said Kahovec. “I cannot speak highly enough about what the two players, but more importantly those two people, have meant to the success of our program in the last three to four years.”
Crusaders named to the second-team All Patriot League were juniors Alex Sandell (54 hits, 5 home runs, 35 RBI) and Gianni Royer (.313, 6 home runs, 28 RBI) along with sophomore Jake Lenahan (18 appearances, 2 saves, 59.1 innings pitched).
For Egrie and Wywoda, it’s truly the best of times. College courses are finished, they’ve both graduated and not many students other than their teammates are left on campus at this point in the final days of May.
“It kinda feels like you’re at the end of a chapter. It’s been a great four years–it’s been awesome,” said Wywoda. “This is the cherry on top. This is the extra baseball we play for each year.”
“Coach Kahovec has made this experience absolutely incredible for us and we couldn’t be happier with how it’s ending,” added Egrie.
Kahovec, in his seventh season as head coach and 10th overall with the program, set an initial goal to develop a baseball program that is relevant regionally in the northeast. By winning two Patriot league titles in back to back seasons, the Crusaders have achieved that first goal of relevancy. Next up, is the national stage.
“Now we’ll have the second opportunity in as many years to show the world and the country and college baseball what Holy Cross baseball is all about,” said Kahovec.
The Crusaders hit the road for Texas later this week to continue a season that has been quite the journey.
Mike Vigneux is a freelance writer in Worcester with more than 20 years of experience in the fields of municipal government, communications, and public relations. He can be reached at Mikevigs@gmail.com
