College baseball fans in Southern California will be in for some special treats when the season begins in February.
In addition to the standard marquee matchups between in-state and conference rivals, as well as the usual games featuring name-brand national opponents, local teams will play games at both Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles and Angel Stadium in Anaheim.
UCLA, which released its schedule Dec. 19, will be featured in both instances. The Bruins will take on UC–Irvine on March 3 as part of the Dodger Stadium College Baseball Classic that also includes a game between the University of San Diego and Michigan.
A May 3 contest matching UCLA and Cal State Fullerton at Angel Stadium will begin a three-game series that also includes a May 4 meeting at Goodwin Field in Fullerton and a May 5 capper at Jackie Robinson Stadium in Los Angeles.
The Bruins, looking to bounce back after a sub-par 12–16–1, seventh-place finish in the Pacific 12 Conference and 28–24–1 overall campaign, will open their season with a three-game series Feb. 16–18 against visiting Gonzaga.
UCLA will travel to Fort Worth, Texas, for a three-game series against Texas Christian from Feb. 23–25 before opening Pac-12 competition March 8–10 at California.
“We are constantly challenging our players with a premier schedule outside of conference play,” Bruins Coach John Savage said in the university release announcing the schedule. “You must prepare your team for the rigorous Pac-12 schedule, and we think we’re doing that with this non-conference slate.”
In the final season of Pac-12 action before UCLA and USC move to the Big Ten, the Bruins will host conference series against the Trojans, defending champion Stanford, Washington State, Oregon, and Arizona State, while also traveling for three-game sets against Arizona, Washington, Utah, and Oregon State.
USC has yet to release its schedule.
The Pac-12 Tournament will feature nine teams in a three-pool format from May 21–25 in Scottsdale, Arizona.
For the first time this season, the Big West will also determine its automatic NCAA Tournament qualifier with a post-season conference tournament. The inaugural edition is set for May 21–25 at Goodwin Field in Fullerton and features an interesting twist. Five teams will qualify, with the winner of a play-in game between the fourth- and fifth-place clubs joining the other three in a double-elimination competition.
In addition to its game against UCLA at Angel Stadium, a highlight of Cal State Fullerton’s non-conference schedule will be a March 1–3 visit to Greenville, North Carolina for the Keith LeClair Classic.
The Titans will face Southeastern Louisiana, East Carolina, and Purdue in what will mark a return to East Carolina for Cal State Fullerton Coach Jason Dietrich. He served as the Pirates’ pitching coach in 2020 and 2021.
The annual season-opening series against Stanford will take place Feb. 16–18 in Palo Alto, with the Titans playing their first three home games Feb. 23–25 against Fresno State.
Cal State Fullerton’s home schedule also features a three-game set, including a second-day double-header against Jacksonville on March 8–9; a single game against Ohio State on March 13; and two games against Arizona State on April 16–17.
UC–Irvine will open its season with a three-game series against North Dakota State on Feb. 16–18, venture to New Orleans for a Feb. 23–25 series at Tulane, and host San Diego State for three games April 19–21.
Long Beach State will entertain Washington in a season-opening series Feb. 16–18, and travel for three-game sets March 8–10 at Wichita State and April 26–28 at Michigan.
Cal State Northridge and UC–San Diego, which shared first place in the Big West last season, also have some attractive non-conference matchups.
The Matadors will play two road series against Pac-12 foes, a four-game set March 7–10 at Oregon State and a three-gamer April 5–7 at Utah.
The Tritons, meanwhile, open Feb. 16–18 against visiting San Jose State, will face Utah, Missouri, and Loyola Marymount in the Tony Gwynn Legacy tournament Feb. 23–25 at San Diego State, and play at Arizona State on April 30 and May 1.
San Diego State, which shared first place with San Jose State in the Mountain West Conference last season, will take on Missouri, Cal State Bakersfield, and Utah in the Tony Gwynn Legacy. The Aztecs will also travel to Hawaii for a non-conference series March 22–24.
The Mountain West Conference Tournament is set for May 23–26 at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
Loyola Marymount, the defending West Coast Conference champion, will host Villanova for a three-game series March 1–3, and visit Saint Louis for three games the following weekend.
Pepperdine also has a three-game home series against Villanova, March 8–10, and will go to New Orleans for three games against Tulane on March 15–17.
The University of San Diego opens Feb. 16–18 at Texas, will host a three-game set against Arizona the following weekend, and play at Michigan on March 15–17.
The WCC Tournament is May 22–25 in Las Vegas.
