The UAB Blazers will have a lot of familiar faces on their 2027 college baseball team. A total of 22 players from 2026 are returning to play in Birmingham next season.

According to UAB Assistant Director of Athletic Communications Andy Poole, the returning players for the Blazers accounted for  74% of the hits, 79.8% of the runs scored, 80.2% of extra-base hits, 86% of the stolen bases, and 61.2% of the total innings pitched this past season.

In 2026, UAB went 32-26 overall and was 15-12 in American Athletic Conference (AAC) play. They finished in fourth place in the AAC standings behind UTSA, East Carolina, and Rice.

Who is returning to UAB in 2027?

All four outfielders from this past season are returning to the Blazers in 2027. This includes John Paul Head, who led the AAC in home runs this past season with 22. Head also led UAB in batting average (.329), OPS (1.167), and RBIs (56).

Another big returner from the outfield group is Kevin Hall Jr. He was UAB’s stolen base leader with 21 swiped bags.

Alex Dupuy, Baylor Roberts, and Alex Cheeseman are three infielders who will be back in the green and gold next season. Dupuy was top ten in the AAC in home runs with 10. Roberts spent his freshman season in Birmingham as the primary shortstop. He had 43 hits and stole 11 bases in 2026.

The Blazers also have a massive amount of pitching coming back. A total of 13 pitchers are back for UAB, and five of them missed all of this past season due to injuries.

Brendan Conner is the most notable pitcher returning to UAB. In 2026, he led the Blazers with a 4.35 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 60 innings of work.

All six UAB players who received All-AAC honors in 2026 are returning. Those six players are Head (first-team All-AAC), Roberts (AAC All-Freshman), Max Price (first-team All-AAC), Landon Beaver (second-team All-AAC), Austin Pierzynski (AAC All-Freshman), and Carter Samuelson (AAC All-Freshman).

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PHOTO: UAB pitcher Konner Keplinger (12) warms up before an NCAA baseball game against Florida on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, in Gainesville, Fla. (AP Photo/Gary McCullough)