First-year UVA Baseball coach Chris Pollard isn’t exactly challenging his team with the nonconference schedule that he put together for 2026.
The ‘Hoos open at home with a three-game series that begins on Feb. 13 with Wagner, which was 31-22 last season, 23-7 in the Northeast Conference, but finished 2025 at 244 in the RPI.
After a mid-week game with VMI (27-26, RPI: 228), the next weekend is a trip to Florida to face Monmouth (24-30, RPI: 193), Stetson (41-22, RPI: 64) and North Dakota State (21-34, RPI: 132).
Stetson and North Dakota State, I’ll note here, played in the 2025 NCAA Tournament as AQs.
They’re the only two teams on the nonconference schedule who made it to the postseason last year.
Following a mid-week with George Washington (27-27, RPI: 191), there’s an interesting three-game weekend series with VCU (17-37, RPI: 247) that has the teams playing in Charlottesville on Feb. 27, Richmond on Feb. 28 and back in Charlottesville on Feb. 29.
UVA travels to VCU for a mid-week game in April to even out the home-and-home-and-home-and-home.
The first VCU series is followed by a mid-week trip to Charlotte (36-22, RPI: 67) for a two-game series before the beginning of ACC play.
Mid-week games in March, April and May during the heart of the conference season include Fordham (25-33, RPI: 194), Georgetown (16-40, RPI: 271), Liberty (30-27, RPI: 96), Maryland (27-29, RPI: 127), ODU (22-31, RPI: 110), JMU (17-38, RPI: 201), George Mason (40-21, RPI: 106), William & Mary (21-35, RPI: 220) and Radford (28-28, RPI: 217).
I know well the limitations on mid-week games – programs are loathe to schedule games too far away from home, because of the limitations with the pretense of the school part of college baseball.
OK, so, I’ll bite.
It hasn’t been that long since Virginia regularly played Coastal Carolina, a College World Series team last season, in mid-week games – UVA and Coastal played eight mid-week games against each other between 2006 and 2016.
Ditto for East Carolina (35-27, RPI: 55) – ECU and Virginia played three-game weekend series in each other’s home parks in 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016.
West Virginia (44-16, RPI: 28), a Super Regional team in 2024 and 2025, is a four-hour drive from Charlottesville – and the two programs could agree to meet halfway, perhaps in Frederick, Md.
East Tennessee State (41-17, RPI: 45) is a SoCon power, and Johnson City is four hours away, and the minor-league park in Salem is about halfway.
Just thinking out loud there.
I don’t accept the excuse for mid-week games, and there’s no excuse for opening with Wagner, traveling to Florida to play three tomato cans, then doing the lazy thing with a three-game series with VCU.
Not impressed.
2026 UVA Baseball schedule
Feb. 13 Wagner
Feb. 14 Wagner
Feb. 15 Wagner
Feb. 17 VMI
Feb. 20 vs. Monmouth1
Feb. 21 at Stetson1
Feb. 22 vs. North Dakota St.1
Feb. 24 George Washington
Feb. 27 VCU
Feb. 28 at VCU
March 1 VCU
March 3 at Charlotte
March 4 at Charlotte
March 6 at North Carolina*
March 7 at North Carolina*
March 8 at North Carolina*
March 11 Fordham
March 13 Virginia Tech*
March 14 Virginia Tech*
March 15 Virginia Tech*
March 17 Georgetown
March 18 at Liberty
March 20 Wake Forest*
March 21 Wake Forest*
March 22 Wake Forest*
March 24 vs. Maryland2
March 27 at Boston College*
March 28 at Boston College*
March 29 at Boston College*
March 31 Old Dominion
April 2 Florida State*
April 3 Florida State*
April 4 Florida State*
April 7 James Madison
April 8 Richmond
April 10 at Notre Dame*
April 11 at Notre Dame*
April 12 at Notre Dame*
April 14 at VCU
April 16 Clemson*
April 17 Clemson*
April 18 Clemson*
April 22 Liberty
April 24 at Pittsburgh*
April 25 at Pittsburgh*
April 26 at Pittsburgh*
April 28 George Mason
April 29 William & Mary
May 3 Radford (DH)
May 3 Radford (DH)
May 8 Cal*
May 9 Cal*
May 10 Cal*
May 14 at Louisville*
May 15 at Louisville*
May 16 at Louisville*
May 19-14 ACC Tournament3
May 29-31 NCAA Regionals4
June 5-8 NCAA Super Regionals5
June 12-22 College World Series6
*Indicates ACC Contest | Home Games in BOLD
1-DeLand, Fla. (Melching Field) | 2-Fredericksburg, Va (Virginia Credit Union Stadium) | 3-Charlotte N.C. (Truist Field) | 4-Site TBD | 5-Sites TBD | 6-Charles Schwab Field (Omaha Neb.)
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Chris Graham
