A year ago, a stacked nonconference schedule that included two tournaments loaded with competition helped prepare Arizona for a run to the College World Series. The Wildcats are hoping the same formula produces the same results next season.
Arizona is set to play in the Las Vegas Baseball Classic Feb. 27-March 1, where it will face former Pac-12 rival Oregon along with SEC standout Vanderbilt and perennial mid-major power UC Irvine at Las Vegas Ballpark.
The Las Vegas Baseball Classic is the second tournament the UA will play in next season. The Wildcats open 2026 in Surprise, Ariz., in a round robin tourney against Michigan, Oregon State and Stanford. Surprise Stadium is the new home of the Big 12 Conference Tournament starting in 2026.
The UA was in line to face Oregon during the opening weekend of the 2025 NCAA Tournament, having been sent to the Eugene Regional, but the host Ducks went 0-2 and were the first team eliminated while Arizona went on to win the regional and eventually reach the College World Series in Omaha.
Arizona is 29-27-1 all-time against Oregon, their last meetings coming in 2024 when the Ducks took two of three at home in a Pac-12 series.
The UA’s only meeting with Vanderbilt came in the opening game of the 2021 College World Series, an extra-inning affair won by the Commodores. The Wildcats are 16-7-1 against UC Irvine, most recently beating the Anteaters on the road in 2023.