Mar 1, 2025; Stanford, CA, USA; Stanford Cardinal first baseman Rintaro Sasaki (3) bats against the Xavier Musketeers during the first inning at Sunken Diamond. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

With the 2026 Stanford baseball season about to get started, it is time for me to provide a breakdown of the Cardinal’s season schedule. Stanford is coming off a season in which they went 27-25 overall and 11-19 in the ACC. Stanford is picked to finish 10th in the ACC, looking to get back to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2023. All rankings are courtesy of D1Baseball.com. Let’s get after it!

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GoStanford.com: 2026 Stanford Baseball Schedule

Stanford will open up their season in Surprise, Arizona for the College Baseball series (February 13th-16th). On Friday, February 13th, Stanford will face No. 24 Arizona. On Saturday, February 14th, they’ll face Michigan. On Sunday, February 15th, they’ll face No. 12 Oregon State. On Monday, February 16th, they’ll face Nebraska.

The College Baseball Series will be a good batch of teams for Stanford to open the season against. Two of those teams being ranked. If Stanford could get wins over Michigan and Nebraska and then split Arizona/Oregon State, I’d say that would be a good way to open the season. Especially given that Arizona and Oregon State both were in the College World Series last season.

Stanford will then come home for their home opening series against Cal State Fullerton for a four-game series from Friday, February 20th to Monday, February 23rd. The Titans went 29-27 overall and 19-11 in the Big West last season. They had a solid season but got swept at home against Stanford in a four game series. It’s hard to sweep any team in a four-game series, but on paper Stanford should take care of business in all four games. At a minimum, Stanford has to take three out of four games.

After facing the Titans at home, Stanford will welcome Waseda University to Sunken Diamond on Wednesday, February 25th at 3:30 PM PT. Waseda University is a private research university in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. Given the presence of Rintaro Sasaki on Stanford’s roster, Stanford invited Waseda out for a game. Waseda will also play Santa Clara the day before, so they’ll get a couple games out of this Bay Area trip. One would think Stanford would win this game, but given how popular baseball is in Japan, maybe Waseda makes this game interesting. It’ll certainly be fun for Sasaki to reunite with his countryman for a game at Sunken Diamond.

Stanford will then welcome Fresno State to Sunken Diamond for a three-game series from Friday, February 27th to Sunday, March 1st. The Bulldogs went 31-29 overall and 18-12 in the Mountain West last year. Once again, a sweep should be the goal for the Cardinal with taking two out of three the absolute worst case scenario.

Stanford will then welcome Nevada to The Farm for a home game on Monday, March 2nd. The Wolfpack went 34-23 overall and 19-11 in the Mountain West last season. Stanford will be favored to win this game, but given it’ll be a Monday game right after a weekend series, Stanford’s pitching will be put to the test. The Wolfpack took a game off Cal last season in a four game series, so you just never know. Honestly, a win would actually be rather encouraging for Stanford given their recent struggles on the mound.

Stanford will then open up ACC play on the road at No. 21 Wake Forest with a three-game series from Friday, March 6th to Sunday, March 8th. Wake Forest is picked to finish 9th in the ACC, just ahead of Stanford, coming off a season in which they lost in the Tennessee regional of the NCAA tournament. The Demon Deacons have a strong team taking two out of three against Stanford at Sunken Diamond last season. The goal here for Stanford has to be to simply win the series 2-1. A sweep would be amazing, but that’s going to be a tall order. Depending on how the season is going up to this point, even just avoid the sweep and winning at least one game could be considered an okay weekend given how early it is in the season. But as always, winning the series is the goal.

On Wednesday, March 11th, Stanford will welcome Nevada to The Farm for another midweek game. Once again, this will be another good test for Stanford’s pitching staff.

After their second game against the Wolfpack, Stanford will face Pittsburgh in a three-game series at Sunken Diamond from Friday, March 13th to Sunday, March 15. The Panthers are picked to finish 14th in the ACC, so a sweep here should be attainable for the Cardinal. At a minimum, win the series 2-1, but a sweep really would be ideal.

Stanford will stay at home to welcome Utah Valley to The Farm for a four-game series from Friday, March 20th to Monday, March 23rd. The Wolverines went 33-29 overall and 13-11 in the WAC last season, reaching the regional round of the NCAA tournament. They had a decent season last year. Still, Stanford should look to take three out of four games in this one.

After facing the Wolverines on The Farm, Stanford will hit the road for a three-game series at Virginia Tech from Friday, March 27th to Sunday, March 29th. The Hokies are picked to finish 11th in the ACC, right behind Stanford. They did not make the NCAA tournament last year. This is a golden opportunity for Stanford to take two out of three on the road. It’ll be interesting to see if they can take advantage.

Stanford will then welcome No. 19 Clemson to Sunken Diamond for a three-game series from Friday, April 3rd to Sunday, April 5th. The Tigers are picked to finish 5th in the ACC, losing in the regional round of the NCAA tournament last year despite hosting. If Stanford can simply take two out of three, I think they’d be tickled pink. And then they absolutely cannot get swept.

After squaring off against the Tigers, Stanford will then hit the road to face No. 8 Louisville from Friday, April 10th to Sunday, April 12th. The Cardinals reached the College World Series last year and project to be strong contenders to get back there again. This is a series where avoiding a sweep would be a good weekend for Stanford. Especially if they’ve taken care of business up to this point. Just get a game and don’t get swept. Obviously two out of three would be amazing.

On Wednesday, April 15th, Stanford will welcome Santa Clara to Sunken Diamond. The Broncos went 20-30 overall and 7-17 in the WCC last year. Given it’s a midweek game, anything can happen, but Stanford should win.

Stanford will then welcome Miami to The Farm for a three game series from Friday, April 17th to Sunday, April 19th. The Hurricanes are picked to finish 8th in the ACC, coming off a season in which they lost in the Super Regional round to Louisville. This will be a huge series for Stanford. If they can take two out of three, that’d be big.

After facing Miami, Stanford will have a road game at Santa Clara on Tuesday, April 21st. The second meeting of the season between the two teams.

Stanford will then have a three game home series against No. 16 Florida State from Friday, April 24th to Sunday, April 26th. The Seminoles are picked to finish 3rd in the ACC and got eliminated by Oregon State in the Super Regional round of the NCAA tournament last year. If Stanford can take two out of three, once again, that’d be a big deal.

Stanford will then welcome UC Davis to The Farm on Monday, April 27th for a home game. The Aggies went 27-28 overall and 13-17 in the Big West last season. Stanford will be expected to win big provided the pitching holds firm.

After facing the Aggies, Stanford will hit the road for a three-game series at Notre Dame from Friday, May 1st to Sunday, May 3rd. The Fighting Irish are picked to finish 12th in the ACC this year. Just like the Virginia Tech series, this is another golden opportunity for Stanford to take two out of three.

Stanford will then face San Francisco at home on Wednesday, May 6th. The Dons went 26-30 overall and 9-15 in the WCC last season. This should be a win for Stanford, but once again, that midweek pitching will need to prove itself.

Stanford will follow up the game against the Dons with a home series against NC State from Friday, May 8th to Sunday, May 10th. The Wolfpack are picked to finish 6th in the ACC after losing in the regional round of the NCAA tournament last year. This should be a golden chance for the Cardinal to possibly get a home sweep in league play. At a minimum, Stanford has to take two out of three, but a sweep would be great and should be doable.

Stanford will then welcome Saint Mary’s to The Farm on Tuesday, May 12th. The Gaels went 36-26 overall and 15-9 in the WCC last season, losing in the regional round of the NCAA tournament. This is a game where if Stanford can win, no matter the score, they should be happy. This has trap game all over it.

Stanford will finish up regular season action with a three-game series at Cal from Thursday, May 14th to Saturday, May 16th. The Golden Bears are picked to finish 15th in the ACC. Given it’s on the road and it’s a rivalry, Stanford should be happy if they take two out of three. That said, a road sweep is certainly possible and should be the goal. Just gotta take it one game at a time.

After facing the Golden Bears, the ACC tournament will then happen after which will be the NCAA tournament. All 16 teams make the ACC tournament, so there’s no qualification process for that. That said, depending on where Stanford sits entering the conference tournament, that could make or break their NCAA tournament hopes. They’re looking to get back to the tournament after missing it two seasons in a row. Hopefully for Stanford, they’ll be able to go into the ACC tournament with an NCAA tournament bid virtually locked up. Otherwise, all bets are off.

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