SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The UC Santa Barbara Baseball team enters 2026 eyeing a return to the national postseason and their path is now set. Head Coach Andrew Checketts announced his team's 2026 schedule on Thursday, a 54-game slate featuring matchups with seven teams that reached the 2025 NCAA Tournament, three of which hosted a regional as one of the top 16 national seeds. The Gauchos will host a total of 30 games across eight weekend series and six mid-week games in 2026, headlined by a three-game set against Oregon and a Tuesday evening clash with UCLA, last year's Big Ten Regular Season Co-Champions.
 
Santa Barbara's season begins with a trip to Pete Taylor Park and a first-ever meeting with Southern Miss, which has hosted an NCAA Regional or Super Regional in three of the last four seasons. After their three games against the Golden Eagles, Feb. 13-15, the Gauchos return to California with a Feb. 17 visit to Pepperdine in Malibu before hosting Portland in the 2026 home opener, Feb. 20-22.
 
After a visit to LMU on Feb. 24, the Gauchos come back to Caesar Uyesaka Stadium for their longest homestand of the season, an eight-game run from Feb. 27 to March 10. The homestand begins with three games against Utah as the calendar turns from February to March, then round two against LMU on March 3. Santa Barbara opens Big West play March 6 through 8, hosting Long Beach State, then concludes homestand number two with a March 10 matchup against reigning West Coast Conference Champions Saint Mary's.
 
Conference play continues March 13 through 15, when the Gauchos will visit UC Davis for their first taste of night baseball at Dobbins Stadium. Santa Barbara hosts another departing member of the conference the following weekend, as Hawai'i will pay their last visit to Caesar Uyesaka Stadium as a Big West rival March 20-22.
 
The Gauchos' spring break is also their conference bye week this season, with Santa Barbara set to travel up to Moraga and face the Gaels on March 24 before returning home to host last year's No. 12 national seed Oregon, March 27-29. The Gauchos round out their five-game non-conference stretch and the month of March with a visit to USC and their new Dedeaux Field on the 31^st.
 
To kick off the month of April, Santa Barbara will head up the 101 to take on reigning Big West Champions Cal Poly in the Blue-Green Rivalry Series, April 2-4. The Gauchos then return home to host USC on April 7 and UC San Diego on April 10-12 before heading out on their longest road trip of the season, though it is just five games.
 
First up, Santa Barbara will visit UCLA and 2026 Major League Baseball Draft top prospect Roch Cholowsky on April 14. Then, the Gauchos head to Orange County for a marquee matchup with last season's Big West Regular Season Champions, UC Irvine, April 17-19. Finally, Santa Barbara will stop in Riverside on April 20 to take on California Baptist; the Lancers will join The Big West starting in the 2027 season.
 
Back home to end the month, the Gauchos will host Cal State Fullerton for three games from April 24-26, then last year's No. 15 national seed UCLA on the 28^th. Santa Barbara kicks off the final month of the regular season with a trip to Cal State Bakersfield, May 1-3, stopping home to host Pepperdine on May 5 before heading back out for their final road series of the calendar at CSUN, May 8-10. The Gauchos' final prep before The Big West Championship comes at home, hosting California Baptist on May 11 and UC Riverside for Senior Weekend, May 14-16. The Big West Championship will take place from May 20-24 at Anteater Ballpark on the campus of UC Irvine.
 
For full schedule info, including first pitch times, visit ucsbgauchos.com. Season tickets for UC Santa Barbara Baseball will be on sale soon.