Tennessee baseball will face UCLA in a major nonconference game early in the 2026 season in Arlington, Texas.
The Vols face the Bruins, who could be the nation’s preseason No. 1 team, on Feb. 27 (4 p.m. ET) in their first game in the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series at Globe Life Field.
UT faces Arizona State on Feb. 28 (noon ET) and Virginia Tech on March 1 (11:30 a.m. ET) in the tournament in its final two games in the three-game tournament.
The Vols have played a tournament in Texas in three straight seasons. They played in Houston in the 2025 season and in Arlington in the 2024 season. The latter was also at Globe Life Field.
Tennessee is expected to play Nicholls State, Kent State and Wright State in its nonconference weekend series, but the full nonconference schedule has yet to be announced.
Tony Vitello is entering his ninth season as the Tennessee coach. He has a 341–131 record with a 125–85 mark in SEC play. The Vols have won two SEC regular-season titles and two SEC Tournament titles under Vitello. They have gone to the CWS three times in his first eight seasons.
Tennessee plays LSU in its biggest regular-season matchups at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. It hosts the Tigers from April 3-5. UT and LSU have won the past three nationals titles. The Vols won the program’s first title in 2024. The Tigers won in 2023 and 2025.
UT plays at Vanderbilt from March 27-29, the series prior to hosting LSU.
Tennessee plays both Texas and Oklahoma after facing neither in 2025, the first season of the 16-team SEC. UT will host Texas from May 8-10. The Longhorns are coached by former Texas A&M coach Jim Schlossnagle, who was the Aggies’ coach when the Vols beat Texas A&M to win the College World Series. The Vols play at Oklahoma from May 14-16 to close the regular season.
Nine of Tennessee’s 10 conference opponents reached the NCAA tournament last season, including five of the top-16 seeds. Missouri is the lone team that did not reach the postseason.
UT opens SEC play at Georgia from March 13-15. It plays Missouri from March 20-22.
The Vols play at Mississippi State from April 10-12 before back-to-back home series against Ole Miss (April 17-19) and Alabama (April 24-26). They play at Kentucky from May 1-3.
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on X @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.