JOLIET, Ill. -- The University of St. Francis baseball team opens its 2026 campaign on Thursday afternoon when the Fighting Saints travel to Lebanon, Tenn. for a four-game set against Cumberland University (Tenn.).  Thursday marks the first of 50 regular-season dates for the USF program this spring.

The Saints will then travel back home to host NCAA Division II Roosevelt University on February 18.  From there, head coach Brian Michalak's club goes on the road for a three-game set at University of Tennessee Southern before partaking in another midweek contest on the road against NCAA Division III North Park University on February 24. 

Following the completion of that game, USF will take a second road trip to Tennessee to face Freed-Hardeman University (Tenn.) (Feb. 27 - Mar.1) in a four-game series before beginning the 2026 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference competition with a home doubleheader against Calumet College of St. Joseph (Ind.) on March 6.

All nine league teams will play each other four times on the season with doubleheaders on back-to-back days at each team's site.  The only exceptions to this format will be USF's split dates with St. Ambrose University (Iowa), as well as the Saints' matchups against Viterbo University (Wis.).  The team will travel to Davenport, Iowa on March 17 to face St. Ambrose.  Against Viterbo, both doubleheaders will take place at home (April 24-25).

Following the Calumet St. Joseph home twinbill, USF's other home CCAC contests will be on March 14 (Trinity Christian College), March 21 (Olivet Nazarene University), March 27 (Saint Xavier University), April 3 (Judson University), April 7 (St. Ambrose) and April 18 (Indiana University South Bend).

The only other non-conference dates on the schedule find the Saints facing University of Northwestern Ohio in Lima, Ohio (March 10), NCAA Division II Purdue University Northwest (Ind.) in Hammond, Ind. (April 10) and at home (April 11), and Indiana Tech at home on April 15.

Slammers Stadium will again serve as host to the CCAC Tournament (April 29-May 4), which will be made up of six teams.  The winner of that tournament advances to the NAIA National Tournament Opening Round (May 11-14).

The 2026 NAIA season concludes with the World Series May 22-30 at Harris Field in Lewiston, Idaho.    

For the complete schedule, go to Schedule.

You can keep up with everything happening around USF Athletics on X @USFSaints.