IRVINE, Calif. --- Anteater baseball returns this Spring following a Big West title and second straight NCAA Regional appearance, and its 2026 slate sets head coach Ben Orloff's squad up for another deep postseason run.

Some of the big schedule highlights for 2026:

• 8 tournament teams from 2025
• 3 College World Series teams from 2025 including two visiting Anteater Ballpark
• Games against teams from all Power 4 conferences
• Premier tournament at Las Vegas Ballpark
• 27 games in Anteater Ballpark
• Hosting the 2026 Big West Championship on Memorial Day Weekend
• 13 games vs. 2025 conference champions

UCI plays one Fall exhibition coming up this weekend at UCLA with first pitch at 12:00 p.m.

Everyone's favorite annual Alumni Game kicks things off on Saturday, January 24 with greats from all 47 seasons of Anteater Baseball.

The Anteaters begin 2026 on the road against last year's WAC regular season champions Sacramento State, a program that has finished with a winning record in 13 of their last 14 seasons.

UC Irvine opens Anteater Ballpark with a six-game home stretch starting with San Diego State on a Tuesday night, February 17. The first home series of 2026 features ACC program Cal for their first visit to Irvine since 2013. The home stretch rounds out with Grand Canyon for a two-game midweek set and the first visit from former Anteater Gregg Wallis as head coach.

The 'Eaters them embark on a prestigious road trip to end February at the Live Like Lou Las Vegas College Baseball Classic. UCI plays three games against three other NCAA Regional teams from a year ago starting with Vanderbilt from the SEC on a Friday afternoon after the sides met in the MLB Desert Invitational from a year ago. Saturday, the 'Eaters go toe-to-toe with the Big Ten regular season champs Oregon, and the weekend wraps up Sunday afternoon against College World Series squad from last year and Big XII tournament champions Arizona.

UCI's midweek slate features more big names with trips to reopened Dedeaux Field and USC followed by a trip to UCLA the next Tuesday. UCI welcomes UCLA to Anteater Ballpark on March 31 followed by WCC champions San Diego on April 7 in the first of a home-and-home in 2026. USC comes to Anteater Ballpark on April 28 to finish out the home midweek slate.

Oregon State returns to Anteater Ballpark for a three-game series starting March 20 on a return trip from 2025. The Beavers join UCLA as College World Series programs from 2025 that will visit UCI this season.

Big West play figures to be competitive as every year with UC Irvine defending its regular season crown from a year ago staving off the rest of the conference by one game. Visitors to Anteater Ballpark from the conference include CSUN (March 6-8), UC Davis (April 2-4) on Easter Weekend in a last matchup as Big West foes between the schools, UC Santa Barbara (April 17-19), a rematch of the inaugural Big West Championship with Cal Poly (May 1-3), and the regular season finale May 14-16 vs. Cal State Bakersfield. UCI's conference road trips will be to Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State, a final conference trip to Hawai'i, UC San Diego, and Mother's Day Weekend at UC Riverside.

The Big West Championship is back for its second season, and the Anteaters will be hosting it starting May 20 with the 4-5 seed First Round matchup before getting into the regional format May 21-23 with a winner-take-all set for Sunday, May 24 if necessary to determine the Big West's automatic bid.
 





 

Date	Baseball Schedule
Nov. 1	at UCLA (Fall Exhibition)
Jan. 24	Alumni Game
Feb. 13	at Sacramento State
Feb. 14	at Sacramento State
Feb. 15	at Sacramento State
Feb. 17	San Diego State
Feb. 20	Cal
Feb. 21	Cal
Feb. 22	Cal
Feb. 24	Grand Canyon
Feb. 25	Grand Canyon
Feb. 27	+ Vanderbilt (Live Like Lou Las Vegas College Baseball Classic)
Feb. 28	+ Oregon (Live Like Lou Las Vegas College Baseball Classic)
Mar. 1	+ Arizona (Live Like Lou Las Vegas College Baseball Classic)
Mar. 3	at USC
Mar. 6	CSUN
Mar. 7	CSUN
Mar. 8	CSUN
Mar. 10	at UCLA
Mar. 13	at Cal State Fullerton
Mar. 14	at Cal State Fullerton
Mar. 15	at Cal State Fullerton
Mar. 20	Oregon State
Mar. 21	Oregon State
Mar. 22	Oregon State
Mar. 24	at San Diego State
Mar. 27	at Long Beach State
Mar. 28	at Long Beach State
Mar. 29	at Long Beach State
Mar. 31	UCLA
Apr. 2	UC Davis
Apr. 3	UC Davis
Apr. 4	UC Davis
Apr. 7	San Diego
Apr. 10	at Hawai'i
Apr. 11	at Hawai'i
Apr. 12	at Hawai'i
Apr. 17	UC Santa Barbara
Apr. 18	UC Santa Barbara
Apr. 19	UC Santa Barbara
Apr. 21	at LMU
Apr. 24	at UC San Diego
Apr. 25	at UC San Diego
Apr. 26	at UC San Diego
Apr. 28	USC
May 1	Cal Poly
May 2	Cal Poly
May 3	Cal Poly
May 5	at San Diego
May 8	at UC Riverside
May 9	at UC Riverside
May 10	at UC Riverside
May 14	Cal State Bakersfield
May 15	Cal State Bakersfield
May 16	Cal State Bakersfield
May 20-24	Big West Championship at Anteater Ballpark