The 2026 UC Irvine Anteaters baseball team represent the University of California, Irvine during the 2026 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Anteaters will play their home games at Cicerone Field as a member of the Big West Conference. They are led by head coach Ben Orloff in his eighth season as manager. The top five teams in the Big West Conference will play in the conference's postseason tournament, with the winner receiving the automatic bid to the 2026 NCAA tournament. It was announced on January 9, 2026, that head coach Ben Orloff signed a 5-year contract extension, keeping him with the team until the end of the 2030 season. Despite hosting this year's Big West tournament, UC Irvine failed to make the field, being eliminated from contention on the penultimate day of the season. It marked the first season since 2023 the Anteaters did not make the NCAA tournament, as well as the first season since 2017 that they did not post a winning record, the first under Coach Orloff.
Previous season
Last season, UC Irvine finished with a 43–17 record, going 24–6 in the Big West, and finishing first in the conference. They fell in the conference championship in back-to-back games against Cal Poly. They received an at-large bid to the 2025 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament, along with conference tournament champion Cal Poly. The Anteaters went 2–2 in NCAA tournament play, falling to UCLA in the regional finals 5–8. UC Irvine finished the season ranked 25th in the nation by D1Baseball.com and 23rd by the USA Today Coaches Poll.
Preseason Big West Preseason Poll and Team The Big West Coaches' Poll and Team was released on February 6, 2026. UC Irvine was predicted to finish third in the conference, and had two players make the preseason team. Coaches' Poll 1 UC Santa Barbara 95 (5) 2 Cal Poly 89 (5) 3 UC Irvine 86 (1) T-4 Cal State Fullerton 67 Hawai'i 6 UC San Diego 60 7 Long Beach State 41 8 UC Davis 40 9 CSUN 25 10 Cal State Bakersfield 22 11 UC Riverside 13 Preseason Coaches' Team Player No. Position Class Trevor Hansen 28 RHP Junior Ricky Ojeda 13 LHP Junior
Personnel
Starters LineupPos. No.Player. Year C 50 Efren Ortega Sophomore 1B 25 Alonso Reyes RS Junior 2B 26 Noah Alvarez Senior 3B 5 James Castagnola RS Junior SS 36 Zach Fjelstad Junior LF 9 Rowan Felsch Senior CF 2 Tommy Farmer Junior RF 23 Frankie Carney RS Junior DH 21 Landon Gaz Junior
Weekend pitching rotation Day No.Player. Year Friday 28 Trevor Hansen Junior Saturday 13 Ricky Ojeda Junior Sunday 41 Cade Castles Freshman
Roster Source:
Schedule Source:
Legend Anteaters win Anteaters loss PostponementBoldAnteaters team member
{| class="toccolours" width=95% style="clear:both; margin:1.5em auto; text-align:center;" |- ! colspan=2 style="" | 2026 UC Irvine Anteaters baseball game log (25–27) |- ! colspan=2 style="" | Regular season (25–27) |- valign="top" | February (8–3) Date Time (PST) TV Opponent Rank Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall BWC February 13 6:00 p.m. ESPN+ at * — John Smith FieldSacramento, California 5–0 Hansen (1–0) Monson (0–1) Brooks (1) 540 1–0 — February 14 (DH) 2:00 p.m. WAC International at Sacramento State* — John Smith Field 7–3 Ojeda (1–0) Wilson (0–1) None 521 2–0 — February 14 (DH) 5:00 p.m. WAC International at Sacramento State* — John Smith Field 6–2 Wall (1–0) Winterhalder (0–1) Rodgers (1) 583 3–0 — February 18 6:00 p.m. ESPN+ * — Cicerone FieldIrvine, California 5–2 Ross (1–0) Belardes (0–1) None 642 4–0 — February 20 6:00 p.m. ESPN+ California* — Cicerone Field 5–3 Hansen (2–0) De La Torre (0–2) Rodgers (2) 1,031 5–0 — February 21 1:00 p.m. ESPN+ California* — Cicerone Field 2–11 Foley (1–0) Ojeda (1–1) Espinoza (1) 984 5–1 — February 22 1:00 p.m. ESPN+ California* — Cicerone Field 2–4 Eddy (1–0) Castles (0–1) Kreis (1) 894 5–2 — February 24 6:00 p.m. ESPN+ * — Cicerone Field 3–0 Rodgers (1–0) McGuire (0–1) Brooks (2) 632 6–2 — February 25 1:00 p.m. ESPN+ Grand Canyon* — Cicerone Field 4–9 (10) Cunnings (1–0) Rodgers (1–1) None 566 6–3 — Live Like Lou Las Vegas College Baseball Classic February 27 2:00 p.m. D1Baseball vs. Vanderbilt* — Las Vegas BallparkLas Vegas, Nevada 9–4 Hansen (3–0) Bryan (0–1) None 4,722 7–3 — February 28 12:00 p.m. D1Baseball vs. Oregon* — Las Vegas Ballpark 8–6 Grack (1–0) Bell (0–1) Manning (1) 5,713 8–3 —
March (3–14) Date Time (PST) TV Opponent Rank Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall BWC Live Like Lou Las Vegas College Baseball Classic March 1 3:00 p.m. D1Baseball vs. Arizona* — Las Vegas BallparkLas Vegas, Nevada 1–7 Fladda (1–0) Castles (0–2) None 5,304 8–4 — March 3 6:00 p.m. B1G+ at USC* — Dedeaux FieldLos Angeles, California 4–6 Fausset (2–0) Brooks (0–1) Matson (1) 598 8–5 — March 6 6:00 p.m. ESPN+ — Cicerone FieldIrvine, California 4–5 Voorhies (1–0) Manning (0–1) None 675 8–6 0–1 March 7 1:00 p.m. ESPN+ Cal State Northridge — Cicerone Field 4–2 Grack (2–0) Johnson (2–2) None 627 9–6 1–1 March 8 1:00 p.m. ESPN+ Cal State Northridge — Cicerone Field 2–9 Turner (1–0) Brooks (0–2) None 697 9–7 1–2 March 10 6:00 p.m. B1G+ at No. 1 UCLA* — Jackie Robinson FieldPasadena, California 1–11 (7) Cervantes (1–0) Castles (0–3) None 544 9–8 — March 13 6:30 p.m. ESPN+ at — Goodwin FieldFullerton, California 3–8 Negrete (3–1) Grack (2–1) None 1,008 9–9 1–3 March 14 5:00 p.m. ESPN+ at Cal State Fullerton — Goodwin Field 5–9 Smith (1–2) Ojeda (1–2) None 1,125 9–10 1–4 March 15 1:00 p.m. ESPN+ at Cal State Fullerton — Goodwin Field 6–8 Wright (2–1) Brooks (0–3) None 821 9–11 1–5 March 20 6:00 p.m. ESPN+ No. 17 Oregon State* — Cicerone Field 1–5 Whitney (4–0) Hansen (3–1) None 1,008 9–12 — March 21 1:00 p.m. ESPN+ No. 17 Oregon State* — Cicerone Field 3–5 Kleinschmit (3–2) Ojeda (1–3) Roblez (7) 936 9–13 — March 22 1:00 p.m. ESPN+ No. 17 Oregon State* — Cicerone Field 5–9 Morris (1–0) Wall (1–1) Edwards (1) 1,004 9–14 — March 24 6:00 p.m. Mountain West Network at * — Tony Gwynn Stadium San Diego, California 4–8 McKnight (2–0) Foster (0–1) Abadie (2) 649 9–15 — March 27 6:05 p.m. ESPN+ at — Blair FieldLong Beach, California 2–10 Anderson (1–3) Hansen (3–2) None 2,313 9–16 1–6 March 28 6:05 p.m. — at Long Beach State — Blair Field 12–9(11) Suarez (1–0) Larson (0–2) None 1,797 10–16 2–6 March 29 1:05 p.m. ESPN+ at Long Beach State — Blair Field 7–1 (Wall 2–1) Gerfers (2–2) None 1,820 11–16 3–6 March 31 6:00 p.m. ESPN+ No. 1 UCLA* — Cicerone Field 1–9 Cervantes (2–0) Grant (0–1) None 2,685 11–17 —
April (8–6) Date Time (PST) TV Opponent Rank Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall BWC April 2 6:00 p.m. ESPN+ — Cicerone FieldIrvine, California 4–1 Hansen (4–2) Anzai (2–2) Suarez (1) 574 12–17 4–6 April 3 6:00 p.m. ESPN+ UC Davis — Cicerone Field 7–2 Ross (2–0) Valdez (1–4) Ojeda (1) 722 13–17 5–6 April 4 1:00 p.m. ESPN+ UC Davis — Cicerone Field 8–4 Wall (3–1) Pezzolo (0–1) None 700 14–17 6–6 April 7 6:00 p.m. ESPN+ * — Cicerone Field 13–5 Foster (1–1) Garcia (0–1) None 725 15–17 — April 10 9:35 p.m. ESPN+ at Hawai'i — Les Murakami StadiumHonolulu, Hawaii 6–14 Tomii (2–0) Hansen (4–3) None 3,829 15–18 6–7 April 11 9:35 p.m. ESPN+ at Hawai'i — Les Murakami Stadium 0–3 Robello (6–2) Wall (3–2) Martin-Grudzielanek (1) 4,532 15–19 6–8 April 12 4:05 p.m. — at Hawai'i — Les Murakami Stadium 5–1 Ojeda (2–3) O'Brien (1–4) Suarez (2) 4,462 16–19 7–8 April 17 6:00 p.m. ESPN+ UC Santa Barbara — Cicerone Field 3–7 Flora (7–0) Hansen (4–4) None 961 16–20 7–9 April 18 1:00 p.m. ESPN+ UC Santa Barbara — Cicerone Field 6–3 Ojeda (3–3) Aceves (2–2) None 865 17–20 8–9 April 19 2:00 p.m. ESPN2 UC Santa Barbara — Cicerone Field 4–8 Tryba (3–3) Ross (2–1) Krodel (4) 928 17–21 8–10 April 24 6:00 p.m. ESPN+ at — Triton BallparkLa Jolla, California 10–11 Cazares (2–1) Suarez (1–1) Huy (1) 615 17–22 8–11 April 25 2:00 p.m. ESPN+ at UC San Diego — Triton Ballpark 4–9 Bowker (3–1) Wall (3–3) None 462 17–23 8–12 April 26 1:00 p.m. ESPN+ at UC San Diego — Triton Ballpark 9–7 Suarez (2–1) Cazares (2–2) None 454 18–23 9–12 April 28 6:00 p.m. ESPN+ No. 21 USC* — Cicerone Field 4–1 Butler (1–0) Herrell (3–4) Rodgers (3) 1,666 19–23 —
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" style="margin:auto; width:100%; text-align:center; font-size:95%" ! colspan=13 style="padding-left:4em;" | May (6–4) |- ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" | Date ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" | Time (PST) ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" | TV ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" | Opponent ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" | Rank ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" | Stadium ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" | Score ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" | Win ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" | Loss ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" | Save ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" | Attendance ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" | Overall ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" | BWC |-bgcolor="bbffbb" | May 1 || 6:00 p.m. || ESPN+ || Cal Poly || — || Cicerone FieldIrvine, California || 11–4 || Hansen (5–4) || Naess (5–3) || None || 1,000 || 20–23 || 10–12 |-bgcolor="ffbbbb" | May 2 || 1:00 p.m. || ESPN+ || Cal Poly || — || Cicerone Field || 2–11 || Turnquist (5–2) || Wall (3–4) || Downs (1) || 732 || 20–24 || 10–13 |-bgcolor="ffbbbb" | May 3 || 1:00 p.m. || ESPN+ || Cal Poly || — || Cicerone Field || 6–8 || Bonn (1–4) || Suarez (2–2) || None || 951 || 20–25 || 10–14 |-bgcolor="bbffbb" | May 5 || 6:00 p.m. || ESPN+ || at * || — || Fowler Park San Diego, California || 9–4 || Brooks (1–3) || Shannon (0–1) || None || 421 || 21–25 || — |-bgcolor="bbffbb" | May 8 || 2:00 p.m. || ESPN+ || at || — || Riverside Sports ComplexRiverside, California || 17–5 || Hansen (6–4) || Torres (1–4) || None || 134 || 22–25 || 11–14 |-bgcolor="bbffbb" | May 9 || 1:00 p.m. || ESPN+ || at UC Riverside || — || Riverside Sports Complex || 15–3 || Brooks (2–3) || O'brien (3–5) || None || 157 || 23–25 || 12–14 |-bgcolor="ffbbbb" | May 10 || 1:00 p.m. || ESPN+ || at UC Riverside || — || Riverside Sports Complex || 3–5 || Byrd (2–1) || Suarez (2–3) || Hudson (1) || 217 || 23–26 || 12–15 |-bgcolor="bbffbb" | May 14 || 6:00 p.m. || ESPN+ || || — || Cicerone Field || 6–3 || Hansen (7–4) || Myers (3–3) || Ojeda (2) || 605 || 24–26 || 13–15 |-bgcolor="ffbbbb" | May 15 || 6:00 p.m. || ESPN+ || Cal State Bakersfield || — || Cicerone Field || 0–4 || King (4–6) || Wall (3–5) || None || 772 || 24–27 || 13–16 |-bgcolor="bbffbb" | May 16 || 1:00 p.m. || ESPN+ || Cal State Bakersfield || — || Cicerone Field || 10–7 || Suarez (3–3) || Minaker (1–4) || Ojeda (3) || 778 || 25–27 || 14–16
Notes
Awards
Preseason
National team Preseason Perfect Game All-American First Team Player No. Position Class Ricky Ojeda 13 LHP Junior Preseason NCBWA All-American First Team Player No. Position Class Ricky Ojeda 13 LHP Junior Preseason D1Baseball All-American Third Team Player No. Position Class Ricky Ojeda 13 LHP Junior Golden Spikes Award Watchlist Player No. Position Class Ricky Ojeda 13 LHP Junior
Conference D1Baseball Big West Preseason Awards Honor Player No. Position Class Freshman of the Year Cade Castles 41 RHP Freshman Pitcher of the Year Ricky Ojeda 13 LHP Junior
Rankings
References
External links UCI Baseball