Many might assume that a team that lost seven players to the 2024 MLB Draft – including No. 1 overall pick Travis Bazzana – would be a shadow of its former self.

But not the Beavers.

Riding a six-game win streak, former Pac-12 foe No. 6 Oregon State (26-7) will pay No. 10 UCLA baseball (28-7, 12-3 Big Ten) a visit Tuesday at Jackie Robinson Stadium. The Beavers will be the Bruins’ highest ranked opponent yet, with the midweek outcome affecting each team’s RPI – and possibly their chances of hosting a regional come the NCAA tournament.

Oregon State, left behind in the Pac-12 exodus, has played an independent schedule this season, defeating then-No. 2 Virginia 7-2 on Feb. 21 and more recently taking two of three against then-No. 12 UC Irvine two weekends ago.

The Beavers defeated the Bruins in five straight contests, with the former sweeping the latter in three games in Corvallis last season.

However, UCLA has proved to be every bit different from its 2024 iteration.

UCLA has five qualified hitters with an OPS north of .900 – and three above 1.000 – compared to just one last season, former Bruin Duce Gourson.

As he has all season, sophomore shortstop Roch Cholowksy leads the way, slashing .374/.523/.740 with team highs across the board.

“He’s a special player, … on defense as well as offense,” said coach John Savage. “He has a knack of giving us a really good opportunity to win.”

After going 0-for-5 on Friday, Cholowsky is six for his last eight with two homers, three doubles and seven RBI.

The other four batters are redshirt senior outfielder AJ Salgado, sophomore first baseman Mulivai Levu, sophomore left fielder Dean West and sophomore third baseman Roman Martin.

“It’s just team chemistry,” West said. “We all know who we are and what our goal is.”

Savage added that the playing time the current sophomores got as freshmen last season helped develop them into the ballplayers they are now.

The Bruins look different than they did a year ago on the mound as well.

Redshirt junior southpaw Ian May – a transfer from California – will make his third consecutive Tuesday start. Against Long Beach State last week, May tossed three perfect innings with four strikeouts.

“He’s just getting acclimated to Bruin pitching – our pitch calling and our sequencing,” Savage said. “We got to know him a little bit more, too, and that helps.”

After injury-ridden starts to their collegiate careers, junior right-hander Jack O’Connor and redshirt sophomore left-hander Chris Grothues have both emerged as high-leverage options this season.

O’Connor, Savage’s setup man, has a 1.56 ERA and 1.10 WHIP across 17.1 innings, while Grothues – who returned Friday after sustaining an in-season meniscus injury – is coming off a weekend where he allowed just one hit and struck out six across two appearances, totaling 3.2 frames.

“I’m just going to trust the process, trust the coaches and then just go pitch to pitch,” Grothues said.

Last year, sophomore right-hander Justin Lee proved one of few bright spots in the Bruins’ series against the Beavers, tossing three shutout innings and notably striking out Bazzana.

Savage probably wouldn’t mind if Lee returns to his late-2024 form, as the Bruins’ closer has struggled as of late, allowing three runs in three of his last five appearances.

As their top-10 ranking indicates, however, the Beavers will be no cakewalk – themselves boasting four qualified batters above the 1.000 OPS mark.

Shortstop Aiva Arquette – a projected top-10 pick in the 2026 MLB Draft – leads Oregon State with his 1.163 OPS, while fellow MLB Pipeline Top 100 Draft Prospect outfielder Gavin Turley is nearby with a 1.079 OPS, and outfielder Easton Talt ranks second on the team with a 1.106 mark.

UCLA has played just one ranked opponent prior to Tuesday, losing to then-No. 18 Vanderbilt 8-3 on Feb. 28.

But after staying stagnant in D1Baseball’s rankings for the first time since entering March 24, a win over the Beavers could push the Bruins higher into the top 10.