Coming off a successful end of the season, Coach Riser and the Memphis Tigers have all the momentum in the world to build off of this offseason as year four of the Coach Riser era has the potential to be the season that only takes Memphis to the top of the American Conference standings, but back to an NCAA Regional for the first time since 2007. Memphis will have 14 guys returning next season, with only 8 hitting the portal. The foundation is there for Memphis baseball to build on the late success of last season as mometum for a memorable 2027 season. 

Before taking an early look at next season for Memphis, one must take a second to recap the 2026 season. In a season where the record didn’t exactly tell the full story, the Memphis Tigers sat out with the new season with one goal of reaching the conference tournament, and not only was that goal successful, but the Tigers finished 5th in the conference standings with 13 wins, and also managed to reach the American Conference semifinal round with two wins in the conference tournament. Adding to that came series wins over UTSA, Rice, and East Carolina, with a midweek win over College World Series participant Ole Miss adding to the resume for the offseason.  Unlike a lot of other programs around college baseball and even within the conference, what Memphis did this past season by finishing 5th in the conference with fewer resources, by simply staying true to the system put in place by Coach Riser and his staff, has since slowly turned the corner of Memphis baseball for a high potential for the upcoming 2027 season. 

Once you have a taste of success like Coach Riser and the Memphis Tigers had at the end of the last season, the key to taking things to the next level is finding the balance between mometum from last season, then using that momentum as fuel to have an even better season in 2027, where Regional hopes don’t come down to having to win the conference tournament in Clearwater. With that said, if there’s a coaching staff in the country better suited to finding the right talent and combining it with an already sustained program, it’s Coach Riser and his staff. It’s a coaching staff that understands what makes Memphis such a special place, and who isn’t afraid of the challenge, and embraces the journey head-on with no excuses. 

Without getting too much into roster this early in the process, Coach Riser and his staff expect a strong nucleus of 14 returning guys next season, with the rest of the roster coming from the portal or first-year players eager to play for the blue and the grey. Using the past three seasons as a guide, there will be some solid guys on the roster who want to play for Memphis, and that’s half the battle in the day and age, having guys that want to play for your school and understand what it means to wear those colors is more than half the battle in an age where money appears to be everything. 

As far as the offseason structure goes, the roster will likely be finalized near the start of August, then the focus will shift to an evaluation-focused fall ball schedule to find the right rotations, lineups, etc. Last season, the Tigers held three fall ball games, plus the intrasquad, but this fall might look a bit different, with the focus on evaluation. Not that it’s a sign of worry for the Tigers, just one of those things in the modern era of college baseball, where coaches get two to three months in the fall with their guys before going home for the holidays to implement lineups that will lead to success in the regular season. 

From an early scheduling perspective, Coach Riser discussed challenging his program once again with games or series against the likes of Missouri State, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Troy, and Mississippi State. Then fast-forward to 2028: Memphis baseball will be heading international, heading to Puerto Rico for the Puerto Rico Classic once again, highlighting the Memphis baseball brand and the future that could be in store for the Tigers. We won’t know the full schedule for another month or two, but the Tigers getting games with Missouri State, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Troy, and Mississippi State next season will once again test the Tigers and prepare them for once the conference slate begins, all five programs reached at least a Regional in 2026, with Mississippi State advancing to a Super Regional, while Troy and Ole Miss ended the season in the promised land at the College World Series. Once again, Coach Riser is in the business of shaping Memphis into a respected baseball program and not shying away from the challenge, which has been and will likely be at the core of the program for as long as Coach Riser runs the baseball program. The approach worked at Southeast Louisiana with four appearances in a Regional and will work at Memphis, given the investment from Athletics leadership under Athletics Director Dr. Ed Scott and the culture maintained by the guys who wear the blue and grey. 

As far as next spring goes, given that the guys click the way they’re supposed to, there’s a real chance that Memphis could finish within the top-four in the American Conference earning at least a bye in Clearwater, but in reality, there’s a world where the Tigers if they rally off a few cruical non-conference wins againt the five known opponets for next season, then there’s a conversation to be had for the Tigers to reach a Regional. Coach Riser and his staff appear to be taking a similar approach to what Troy did this past season, which ended with the Trojans hosting a Super Regional, before making the trip to the College World Series. That approach of playing anyone that will play you and getting battle-tested early is crucial when you get into the thick of conference play or the late nights of conference tournaments. 

From an expectations perspective, it’s not unfair to expect the 2027 Memphis Tigers to compete for the American Championship, while at the very least be in the conversation about earning a place in a Regional somewhere. Memphis has had investments from the athletic department and the top-notch coaching of Coach Riser, and now it comes down to the players on the roster next season to pick up the torch from 2026 and carry it into a new chapter of Memphis baseball. But to say this program can’t do that is simply untrue; all the pieces have either been assembled or are in the works to make the 2027 season the best in the program’s history. 

Photo Credits- Memphis baseball on X