CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard University baseball opens Ivy League play with a three-game series at Columbia University at Robertson Field at Satow Stadium in New York, New York with a doubleheader on Saturday, Mar. 21 at 11:30 a.m. (ESPN+) and a single game on Sunday, Mar. 22 at noon (ESPN+) as the Crimson enters the game coming off a 14-12 win over California Baptist.

What to Know

• The Crimson (1-12, 0-0 Ivy) and the Lions (2-11, 0-0 Ivy) meet on the first conference weekend of the season. Columbia stands as the last Ivy program that Harvard faced in 2025 as the Crimson dropped a 14-6 decision to the Lions at the Ivy League Tournament.
• Harvard's weekend rotation will feature RHP Gio Colasante (0-4, 8.56 ERA) in game one, LHP Luca Alagheband (0-1, 7.58 ERA) in game two, and RHP Andrew Abler (0-1, 4.35 ERA) in game three. Columbia is set to counter with RHP Alex Sotiropoulos (1-1, 5.00 ERA) in game one, RHP Tomas Lopez (0-2, 3.38 ERA) in game two, and RHP Thomas Santana (0-2, 10.80 ERA) in game three.
• Harvard leads the all-time series with Columbia, 95-77-1. The two teams first met in 1886.
• In the series finale at California Baptist, senior Jordan Kang posted four RBIs, a home run, and a double, and sophomore Gavin Smith registered three RBIs, a homer, and a double as the Crimson outlasted the Lancers, 14-12, for its first victory of the season.
• Senior infielder/right-handed pitcher Gio Colasante – a member of the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award Watch List – has tallied two home runs and 10 RBIs on the year. In the Ivy League, he ranks third in home runs (two) and 10^th in RBIs (10).
• First-year infielder Matthew Witkow has opened his rookie campaign with a .293 average and a .463 OBP. In the Ivy League, he ranks second in walks (10) and fourth in OBP (.463).
• Senior Jordan Kang has posted a .295 batting average with 13 hits, nine runs, and 11 RBIs alongside a .418 OBP. He ranks second in the Ivy League in walks (10) and seventh in RBIs (11). Kang tallied four RBIs, three hits, a homer, and a double in the series finale at CBU (Mar. 16). He hit .500 (4-for-8) with three runs in the Liberty series (Mar. 6-8).
• Sophomore left-handed pitcher Luca Alagheband has notched a 7.58 ERA to open the season with 14 strikeouts over 19.0 innings pitched. He ranks seventh in the Ivy League in innings (19.0). In game two at Rice (Feb. 28), he threw 6.0 shutout innings, allowing no runs on two hits and one walk with a career-high seven strikeouts.
• Sophomore right-hander Andrew Abler has registered a 4.35 ERA on the year with 12 strikeouts over 20.2 innings. He ranks second in the Ivy League in innings pitched (20.2) and ninth in ERA (4.35). Abler tallied a season-high six strikeouts over 4.0 innings at Tulane (Feb. 20) before throwing 6.0 innings and permitting just three runs at Liberty (Mar. 8).
• In its season opening series at Tulane, the Crimson hit .293 as a team with junior Ryan Mooney (.500), first-year Matthew Witkow (.444), senior Jordan Kang (.400, four RBIs), sophomore Liam Wilson (.400, two doubles), and senior Gio Colasante (.364, five RBIs, grand slam) leading the way in the three-game set.
• The Crimson plays its first 20 games of the season on the road. The stretch starts with four series – at Tulane (Feb. 20-22), at Rice (Feb. 27 to Mar. 1), at Liberty (Mar. 6-8), and at California Baptist (Mar. 13-16) – outside the region. Harvard then plays two Ivy series – at Columbia (Mar. 21-22) and at Cornell (Mar. 28-29) – alongside a road contest at Holy Cross (Mar. 24) to close out the stretch.
• Harvard was selected to finish fourth in the 2026 Ivy League Baseball Preseason Poll. The Crimson totaled 73 points to land in the top half of the eight-team poll. Columbia (118 points, nine first-place votes), Yale (116 points, seven first-place votes), and Penn (100 points) took the poll's top three spots. Princeton (49 points), Cornell (45), Dartmouth (41), and Brown (34) rounded out the poll in order.
• The Crimson returns several significant hitters from last season, including senior infielder/right-handed-pitcher Gio Colasante (.314 average, 10 home runs, 33 RBIs), junior infielder Tyler Shulman (.291 average, 20 RBIs), and junior infielder Jack Rickheim (.276 average, 24 RBIs, 43 hits).
• Harvard brings back several key pitchers from a year ago, including senior right-hander Gio Colasante (36 strikeouts in 31.2 innings), sophomore left-hander Luca Alagheband (28 strikeouts in 25.1 innings), and junior right-hander Ryan McHugh (team-high four saves). 

Up Next

Harvard plays at Holy Cross on Tuesday, Mar. 24 at 5:00 p.m. (ESPN+) before another Ivy League road series at Cornell with a doubleheader on Saturday, Mar. 28 at 11:30 a.m. (ESPN+) and a single game on Sunday, Mar. 29 at noon (ESPN+).