- Utah Valley University teammates Landon Frei, Mason Strong and Carston Herman grew up playing baseball in Utah's Washington County.
- The trio were reunited this season at UVU after competing for different college baseball programs.
- The Wolverines will play Oregon in the opening round of the NCAA tournament Friday after claiming the WAC tournament title.
The story of three southern Utah kids hailing from the same neighborhood and reuniting at the tail end of their varied college baseball careers — and now competing in the storied NCAA Tournament — seems as unlikely as an unassisted triple play.
But as baseball sage Yogi Berra once observed: “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.”
Despite beginning their respective college baseball journeys at three different schools, the boyhood trio of Landon Frei, Mason Strong and Carston Herman are once again wearing the same uniform.
They’re teammates on the Utah Valley University baseball team gearing up for Friday’s NCAA tournament opener against Oregon. The Wolverines will make their second-ever tournament appearance after claiming the WAC tournament title last week.
‘Pushing each other to be better’
Frei, Strong and Herman all grew up just a few houses apart from one another. Their similar ages and love of all things sports made them almost inseparable.
“We all played on the same travel baseball team since we were like 7,” said Frei, a Wolverine infielder. “We played on the same youth football team growing up and all the way through high school. So we’ve had a lot of years playing on the same teams.”
And they’ve claimed plenty of memories competing together — winning championships in multiple sports across Utah and beyond.
The three play different positions on the diamond — which likely tempered any personal competition. Instead, they focused on blending their varied baseball talents to compete against their opponents.
“We were always pushing each other to be better,” said Herman.
That “competitive-cooperation” between the friends helped drive the Snow Canyon High baseball team to a Utah 4A state title in 2021.
“There were 10 or 11 of us that had all played together from the time we were little kids — so the chemistry on that team was unmatched because we had been playing together for so long,” remembered Frei.
But after claiming the high school state championship, the Frei-Strong-Herman trio figured their baseball years together were over.
Frei signed to play for the University of Utah. Strong began his college career at BYU before transferring to Oklahoma. And Herman spent his first three college years on the pitching staff at Utah Tech.
“All three of us did our (college) signing dates together … but we never thought that we would play college baseball together,” said Herman.
But despite playing in different programs and conferences, the trio remained close.
“We were able to all keep in touch,” said Strong. “During the breaks, we’d always meet up and hang out. We were always rooting for each other.”
Frei marvels at how their own respective circumstances would bring the childhood friends back together. College sports have, of course, become increasingly transient. And the three played positions that were needed on the UVU squad.
So prior to the start of the 2025 season, they each packed up their cleats and gloves and moved to Orem. Now they’re teammates — and roommates.
“The odds of all that happening has got to be close to zero,” said Frei, laughing.
Wolverines seeking historic ‘first win’ in the NCAAs
Despite playing apart for several years, the chemistry that Frei, Strong and Herman formed during years of Little League and high school play returned immediately.
Herman and Strong remain a potent pitcher-catcher battery.
“I’ve been throwing to Mason all the while we were growing up and all through high school … so he knows the things I like and don’t like,” said Herman. “And then to be able to turn around and see Landon — there’s a different level of trust because of what I’ve seen him do for years.”
Frei, Strong and Herman say they will be connected forever by shared baseball memories of winning high school and college championships. Now they’re eager to make a few more memories this week in Oregon — and maybe beyond.
UVU has never won a game in the NCAA baseball tournament. The three would like to see the Wolverines nix that fact.
The Wolverines were not expected to win the recent WAC tournament — so the squad played relaxed baseball on their way to the title. Strong was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player after hitting a pair of homers in the WAC championship win over Abilene Christian.
“I think that’s going to be the same approach we take into the regional here,” Frei added. “We’re not supposed to be here, so we have absolutely nothing to lose. That’s a fun way to play.”
Regardless of this weekend’s results, the three boyhood friends from Santa Clara, Utah, say their connection will outlast baseball. The championship memories will remain. But so will the fun recollections of hanging out together “and just being college kids.”
“And hopefully — 30 or 40 years down the road — we can talk about our kids playing sports together,” said Herman.
How to watch this week’s NCAA Eugene Regional
The Wolverines will begin the double-elimination regional on Friday against an Oregon team that’s the No. 12 overall seed in the NCAAs this season.
UVU and Oregon will face each other Friday at 7 p.m. MDT at PK Park in the second of two first-round contests that day.
Arizona and Cal Poly, who are also in the Eugene Regional, will play at 2 p.m. MDT in the regional’s opening game.
Both games will be streamed on ESPN+.
Here’s the full schedule for the Eugene Regional, per ESPN:
Friday
- Game 1: Cal Poly vs. Arizona, 2 p.m. MDT
- Game 2: No. 12 Oregon vs. Utah Valley, 7 p.m. MDT
Saturday
- Game 3: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
- Game 4: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2
Sunday
- Game 5: Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 3
- Game 6: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5
Monday:
- Game 7 (if necessary): Rematch Game 6