The Top College Baseball Match-ups this Weekend
As the 2026 college baseball season continues to ramp up, we’ve got another exciting slate of games this weekend, and it might be the best weekend slate of the season thus far.
Amegy Bank Series
The most highly-touted series of the weekend will take place at Globe Life Field via the Amegy Bank Series. It consists of six teams, three of which are ranked on the Baseball Focus college baseball top 25. #1 UCLA, #4 Mississippi State, and #12 Tennessee are all represented while 8-1 Arizona State, undefeated 8-0 Texas A&M, and 7-1 Virginia Tech are in the mix as well. With the ceiling of these teams and how well they’ve played through the first two weeks of the season, it’s not crazy to say that any of these teams can walk away with a series sweep. On the other hand, it’s also very likely that none of these teams sweep as three teams walk away 1-2 and the other three, 2-1.
Each day’s best game
Friday: #1 UCLA vs #12 Tennessee, 3 PM CT
Saturday: Texas A&M vs #1 UCLA, 7 PM CT
Sunday: #1 UCLA vs #4 Mississippi State, 2:30 PM CT
It’s no secret that UCLA highlights this tournament as the number one ranked team in the country and will be the team to watch each day. They got their first real test last weekend against a tough TCU team at home, and made quick work of them. Their three match-ups this weekend won’t be any easier as they’ll take on two undefeated SEC teams, and might as well be on the road too as they’ll take on Texas A&M in their home state. Tennessee is coming off of a series loss to Kent State, but come into this series as a dangerous team looking to get back in the win column as they’ll send their ace Tegan Kuhns to the mound on Friday night against the Bruins.
Bruce Bolt College Classic
Right down the road from the Amegy Bank Series in Arlington will be the Bruce Bolt College Classic at Daikin Park in Houston. Although it doesn’t feature as many high-end programs, this series also has three ranked teams - #5 Texas, #14 Coastal Carolina, and #24 Ole Miss. UTSA at 7-1, Ohio State at 5-2, and Baylor at 5-3 will also be there, so there are no teams attending just to take a beating from the better programs. Like the Amegy Bank Series, any of these teams can walk away with a series win. #5 Texas is one of the hottest teams in the nation right now and possess arguably the best rotation in the country, so they are certainly the team to beat, something that hasn’t been done yet this year as they sit at 8-0.
Each day’s best game
Friday: #14 Coastal Carolina vs #5 Texas, 7:05 PM CT
Saturday: UTSA vs #14 Coastal Carolina, 3:05 PM CT
Sunday: #14 Coastal Carolina vs #24 Ole Miss, 10:05 AM CT
Although they are not the highest ranked team in this series, Coastal Carolina is featured in the top game each day, and also owns the hardest schedule in this one. They are also without their Friday and Saturday starters as Cam Flukey and Hayden Johnson, two starting pitchers projected to be selected within the first couple of rounds in the upcoming MLB Draft, are sidelined with injuries for roughly the next two months. The Chanticleers are still expected to compete at a high level as they are one of the best run programs in the country with a pitching staff run by one of the best pitching minds in the nation, Matt Williams. They’ll be sending sophomore right-hander Luke Jones to the mound on Friday to take on the high-powered Texas offense and duel with Longhorn senior Ruger Riojas. Jones has made two starts for Coastal thus far, allowing just two earned runs across 7.2 innings while striking out 12. Junior right-hander Ross Norman will be on the mound on Saturday against UTSA for the premier mid-major match-up of the weekend. Their Sunday starter against Ole Miss is still to be determined.
#9 Florida @ #20 Miami
Among the three game weekend match-ups, the in-state rivalry between the Gators and the Hurricanes in Miami presents itself as the most intriguing. These two teams have met a total of 264 times in their programs’ existences, and Miami leads the series by just one game at 132-131-1. It has been Florida that has owned the series recently, winning the last four series dating back to 2022. Miami enters the weekend undefeated at 10-0 while Florida enters at 9-1, but on a nine game win streak after dropping their first game of the season.
Florida’s ace Liam Peterson will face his tallest task of the season thus far on Friday night. One of the top college pitching prospects in this year’s draft class, a lot of eyes will be on how he handles this potent Hurricane lineup. Peterson struggled in his first start against UAB, but bounced back against Kennesaw State last weekend, throwing 5.1 scoreless innings while striking out 12 and allowing just one hit. He’ll be met by big hitters such as Daniel Cuvet, Derek Williams, and Alex Sosa. The offense currently leads the nation in home runs with 28, six of them hit off the bat of Daniel Cuvet which is tied for the nation lead.
Sophomore right-hander Aj Ciscar will match Peterson on Friday night and is up to 16 strikeouts through 11 innings while allowing just three runs in two starts thus far. The Saturday game will feature Florida sophomore right-hander Aidan King who has 12 scoreless innings through two starts and Miami senior left-hander Rob Evans. The rubber match on Sunday will be Florida sophomore right-hander Cooper Walls taking on Miami sophomore right-hander Tate DeRias.
Florida has some offensive firepower to match the Canes as top ranked 2027 shortstop Brendan Lawson leads the way with a team-leading three home runs and a 1.537 OPS. Junior center fielder Kyle Jones leads the offense with 19 hits and a .487 batting average as the table-setter.
When this weekend is all said and done, there is likely to be a lot of shakeups on the top 25, so subscribe below to follow along to receive all the latest updates!
