LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – A total of 28 regular-season games will be played at Earl E. Wilson Stadium as UNLV baseball acting head coach Stan Stolte released the 2016 schedule on Monday. The Rebels will also be on the road for 27 games.
Matchups with nationally prominent teams from the Big 10, Big 12 and Pac-12 conferences and historically strong teams from the Big West Conference and Western Athletic Conference will highlight the 2016 season.
“We are excited to be playing some of the top programs in the country outside of our conference,” Stolte said. “Opening up the first two weekends of the season against premier Big 12 programs will keep us motivated during the offseason. There isn’t such a thing as an ‘easy’ non-conference opponent on the West Coast and this season we will embrace playing some elite teams.”
The regular season will open on February 19 with a three-game series at Texas. It will be the first time since 2005 that the Rebels will face the Longhorns in Austin. It will also be the first time since 2012 that UNLV has opened its season on the road.
Following up their trip to Texas, the Rebels will open their home schedule with a rare four-game series against West Virginia Feb. 26-29. It will be the first time the two programs have played a weekend series against each other.
Mountain West Conference play opens for UNLV on March 4-6, as the Rebels host San Jose State.
Following its series with the Spartans, UNLV will travel to UC Riverside for two midweek games, March 8-9, before hosting Ohio State for a weekend series on March 11-13. Following the series, the Buckeyes will stay in Las Vegas and also play the Rebels in a midweek game on March 15.
UNLV will resume MW play at Fresno State on March 18-20 before hosting Grand Canyon in a midweek game on March 22.
The Rebels will then host in-state rival Nevada, Reno on March 24-26. It will mark baseball’s first installment of the 2016 Governor’s Series presented by NV Energy and Barrick Gold. The two teams will also meet in the final series of the regular season in Reno on May 19-21.
Two midweek home games following Easter with Texas Tech will prelude an eight-game road trip for UNLV. The first three games of the roadie will be at New Mexico on April 1-3 and a Monday contest with Grand Canyon will follow on April 4.
The last four games of the road trip will come in San Diego, Calif., as the Rebels will play a three-game series with conference foe San Diego State on April 8-10 before playing a non-conference matchup with San Diego on April 11.
UNLV will return to Earl E. Wilson Stadium for its only home games of the month, as the team hosts Air Force on April 15-17.
The Rebels will head back on the road for another eight-game road trip following their series with the Falcons. Arizona State will open the road trip with a midweek game on April 19. UNLV will then travel to Cal State Fullerton for a three-game set on April 22-24.
Following their series with the Titans, the Rebels will play a midweek game against UC Irvine on April 25 before resuming Mountain West play at San Jose State April 29 through May 1.
UNLV will return home to host UC Irvine in a midweek game on May 3 before hosting New Mexico for a three-game series on May 6-8.
A midweek game against Arizona State on May 10 and a three-game series against Fresno State on May 13-15 will close out the Rebels’ home schedule.
The postseason will begin with the Mountain West Tournament on May 25-29 in Albuquerque, N.M. If the Rebels win the tournament or earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, the Regionals will be played June 3-6 and Super Regionals will follow June 10-12. The College World Series will be played June 18-29 in Omaha, Neb., at TD Ameritrade Park.
During the fall season, UNLV will play an exhibition game against Utah on October 24 at 11:00 a.m. PT. It will be the second straight year that the Rebels and Utes have met in the fall. Admission to the contest will be free. The team will also hold an Alumni Game on Nov. 7 at 10:00 a.m. PT. Admission to the contest will be free.
