WACO, Texas – Baylor baseball announced its 2017 schedule Wednesday, featuring 54 overall games and 32 at home. The Bears will face 10 2016 NCAA Tournament teams and their 25 opponents combined for an 827-636-3 (.565) record last season.
Head coach Steve Rodriguez’s second season at the helm also features five teams that won either their conference regular season or postseason titles and 17 teams that finished with a .500 record or better in 2016.
BU starts 2017 by playing eight of its first nine games at home, including the first four. Furthermore, 20 of the Bears’ first 26 games are at Baylor Ballpark and BU doesn’t leave the state of Texas in its first 26 games – the Bears have just nine games outside of Texas all season. Conversely, 16 of Baylor’s final 28 contests are on the road.
The season opener is Friday, Feb. 17 at 6:35 p.m. CT as the Bears begin a three-game series at Baylor Ballpark against Niagara. Following a Feb. 20 home game vs. Nevada, BU has its first road game on Feb. 22 at Texas State before returning home to face South Alabama (NCAA Regional) in a three-game series Feb. 24-26 and Arkansas-Pine Bluff Feb. 28.
The Bears then head to Houston for the 2017 Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic at Minute Maid Park from March 3-5. BU will face Ole Miss (NCAA Regionals), LSU (NCAA Super Regional) and Texas A&M (conference champion, NCAA Super Regional), respectively.
After a March 7 game at Sam Houston State (conference champion, NCAA Regional), Baylor hosts LIU Brooklyn March 8 and Houston March 10-12. Following a March 15 tilt at Dallas Baptist (conference champion, NCAA Regional) the Bears have a season-long, eight-game home stand that includes games vs. West Virginia March 17-19 for the Big 12 opening series, Dallas Baptist March 21, Oklahoma March 24-26 and UTSA March 28.
Baylor’s first trip outside of Texas comes March 31-April 2 at Washington (NCAA Regional). BU stays on the road after a quick home game vs. Lamar April 5 to face Texas Tech April 7-9 in its first Big 12 road series.
BU then has its second longest home stand of the season – a five-game run. The Bears will host Sam Houston State April 11, Texas April 13-15 and Stephen F. Austin April 18.
The Bears finish the regular season with a road series at TCU (conference champion, College World Series) April 21-23, home game vs. Texas State April 25, road series at Kansas April 28-30, home games against Prairie View A&M May 9-10, road series at Oklahoma State (College World Series) May 12-14, road game at UTSA May 16 and home series vs. Kansas State May 18-20 to end Big 12 regular season play.
The Big 12 Championship will be held in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark from May 24-28. NCAA Regionals will be held June 2-4, Super Regionals June 9-11, and the College World Series will take place June 17-28 in Omaha, Nebraska.
2017 Baylor Baseball Schedule (PDF)
