Cal State San Bernardino Professional Athletes

A Cal State San Bernardino alumnus is one win away from the World Series.

Tyler Wells, the right-hander out of CSUSB now pitching for the Tampa Bay Rays, has been a factor out of the bullpen as Tampa Bay battles Cleveland in the American League Championship Series — with the Rays holding a 3-2 series lead heading into the final stretch.

Wells earned four big outs alongside former Baltimore teammate Bryan Baker in Game 5 on Tuesday, October 20, helping the Rays secure a 7-3 victory to take command of the series. It wasn't a clean outing on paper — he allowed two earned runs in two-thirds of an inning, leaving his ALCS ERA at 10.80 — but the result was the only number that mattered in the Rays' dugout afterward.

His first appearance came in Game 1 on Sunday, October 18, a tighter 3-1 Tampa Bay win. Wells worked a third of an inning, struck out one, and kept Cleveland off the board in a game where every out carried weight. His ERA stood at 6.75 after that outing.

The numbers won't dazzle anyone browsing a boxscore, but Wells' role reflects how the Rays have long operated — mixing and matching a bullpen built on trust over pedigree, deploying the right arm at the right moment rather than chasing tidy statistics. Wells, who spent time with the Orioles before landing in Tampa Bay, has carved out exactly that kind of role.

For the CSUSB faithful, it's a rare October spotlight. The Coyotes don't often see their alumni pitching in league championship series, and with the Rays one win from the Fall Classic, Wells has a legitimate shot at pitching on baseball's biggest stage.

Game 6 is set to determine whether Tampa Bay closes it out — or whether Cleveland forces a decisive Game 7.

Cal State San Bernardino's Tyler Wells is on baseball's biggest stage — but his first two appearances in the ALCS have been a rough introduction to October's unforgiving spotlight.

Wells, a right-hander for the Tampa Bay Rays, has made two outings against the Cleveland Guardians in the 2026 American League Championship Series, and neither has gone according to plan. In Game 1 on October 13, he lasted just a third of an inning, surrendering two earned runs and posting a catastrophic 54.00 ERA. The Rays dropped that contest 7–3.

Game 2 on October 15 offered a modest recovery. Wells pitched two full innings, struck out four batters, and helped keep the game closer — though Tampa Bay still fell 3–2, putting the Coyotes' most prominent postseason representative in a tough spot alongside his struggling ballclub. His combined ERA across the two ALCS appearances sits at 7.71.

The rough outings aren't entirely unfamiliar territory for Wells in these playoffs. According to Yahoo Sports, he and fellow former Oriole Cole Sulser combined to give up five runs in the Game 1 loss, a rough outing that underscored the Rays' broader pitching woes in the series.

Still, context matters. Wells made it to the ALCS — a feat that puts him among a small handful of CSUSB alumni to ever pitch at this level of October baseball. For a program out of San Bernardino that doesn't typically see its names in ALCS box scores, that alone is worth noting.

Fellow Rays pitcher and CSUSB alum Aaron Brooks is also on the roster, giving the Coyotes an unlikely double presence on a postseason team. Brooks has not appeared in the ALCS through the first two games.

The Rays face a steep climb, down 0–2 to Cleveland. Wells' role going forward will likely depend on how Tampa Bay's staff manages the must-win environment — and whether manager Kevin Cash turns back to the CSUSB righty in a series where every out counts double.

For Coyotes fans, the mixed results don't diminish the moment. Wells is competing when it matters most, against the best the American League has to offer. Getting knocked around in the ALCS is still the ALCS.