LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV baseball program opens the 2026 season at Earl E. Wilson Stadium Friday night against the Austin Peay Governors. The contest, which is slated for a 6:05 pm first pitch, is the first of four against Austin Peay in a nonconference series that runs through Sunday afternoon.

The Rebels and Governors, who hail from the Atlantic Sun Conference, will also square off twice Saturday with game one of the doubleheader scheduled for 1:05 pm, while the second affair is tentatively set for 3:05 pm. Sunday's finale will commence at 12:05 pm.

PROMOTIONAL ITEMS: Hustlin' Rebels baseball is back at Earl E. Wilson Stadium as UNLV opens the 2026 season with a four-game home series against Austin Peay, February 13–15. Fans can enjoy $2 beers through the second inning and $5 off ribbon fries on Friday, a Valentine's Date Night 2-for-1 ticket special on Saturday located here, and $5 mimosas and Bloody Marys on Sunday, courtesy of Smoken Sam's.

FOLLOW ALONG: Fans can follow this weekend's season-opening series between UNLV and Austin Peay through live stats, live video and social media. Links to stats and live video can be found online at UNLVRebels.com in the "schedule" section of the team's baseball page as well as on the team's official social media channels.

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING: This will be the first meeting all time between UNLV and Austin Peay, and the Governors' second consecutive season opening their season against a Mountain West opponent as they opened the season in 2025 against New Mexico at the MLB Desert Invitational in Mesa, Arizona.

REBELS PICKED SIXTH: UNLV was predicted to finish the 2026 conference season in sixth place (32 points) by the nine head coaches. The Rebels was slotted behind UNR (60 points/five first-place votes), Fresno State (55 points/three votes), conference newcomer Grand Canyon (47 points/one first-place votes), New Mexico (36 points) and San Jose State (33 points), who was picked to finish first through fifth, respectively. San Diego State (30 points), Washington State (17) and Air Force (14) were tabbed to conclude the year in seventh, eighth and ninth.

LANE TABBED TO MW'S PRESEASON TEAM: UNLV baseball's Carson Lane was named to the MW's Preseason All-Conference Team, which was voted on by the league's nine head coaches. The honor marks his first preseason All-Conference selection during his time with the Scarlet & Gray. Lane, a junior right-handed pitcher from Huntington Beach, California, was named to last season's All-MW First Team in his second season with the Hustlin' Rebels where he posted the second-most wins in MW action (5) and the third-most strikeouts in conference play (61). In MW action, Lane registered a 4.45 ERA in 56.2 innings after allowing 28 earned runs (30 total). He posted the fourth best opponent batting average at .230 and his season was highlighted by helping throw UNLV's first no-hitter since 2003 where he went eight innings striking out nine Fresno State batters on three walks en route to winning MW Pitcher of the Week and College Baseball Foundation (CBF) National Pitcher of the Week accolades. The junior led the Rebels with 85 strikeouts, third among MW pitchers and recorded the second-best ERA in the MW (4.23) with a 6-4 record.

REBEL RETURNERS: Including All-Mountain West First Team honoree in Carson Lane, the Scarlet & Gray will see veterans Cooper Sheff and Gunnar Myro make their returns to the starting lineup. Sheff, a redshirt sophomore infielder, played in 53 games and started 49 of them where he batted .281 (fifth on the team) with 54 hits (fourth on the team) including 12 doubles, a triple and six home runs. The Las Vegas native brought in 30 RBI, scored the third-most runs on the team (41) and was named the MW Freshman of the Week three times last season. Myro, a junior from Las Vegas, played in 43 games with 35 starts where he batted .260 with a career-high 32 hits including four doubles and three home runs.

NEW REBEL PITCHERS: The Rebels welcome 27 newcomers, including key starting pitchers in Parker Dillhoff and Felix Ong. Dillhoff, who transferred from Louisiana, made nine appearances with two starts, throwing 7.1 innings with 10 hits allowed along with 11 earned runs. He struck out seven batters and collected a season-high four strikeouts in his Rajun Cajun debut where he threw two innings in a start against San Jose State. Ong, a sophomore transfer out of Florida, pitched in three games out of the UF bullpen as a true freshman. He fanned six batters in 3 1/3 innings pitched.

SCOUTING THE REBELS: UNLV went 31-23 and punched its ticket to the Credit Union 1 Mountain West Championship for the first time since 2022 and 21st overall tournament berth. The Scarlet & Gray earned the four seed where they fell to the fifth-seeded Aztecs of San Diego State, 8-0, in the first round contest.

The Scarlet & Gray returns 10 letterwinners from last year's team, and that includes four positional players and two starting pitchers – six pitchers in all.

Additionally, there are 27 newcomers donning the Scarlet & Gray this season, 13 pitchers and 14 positional players. Moreover, catcher Drew Charney and outfielder Kevin Smith will miss the 2026 season due to injuries, leaving 11 positional players that are newcomers, including one true freshman, Noah Kubasky.

SCOUTING THE GOVERNORS: Austin Peay, who are receiving votes in the NCBWA Preseason Poll, were tabbed the preseason favorites after being selected in the 2026 Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) Preseason Gold Poll, sharing the honor with conference member Stetson, who were chosen as the preseason favorites in the Graphite Division coaches poll. Last year, the Governors recorded a 45-14 overall record and a 26-4 conference play record. 

APSU infielder Ray Velazquez, who was named ASUN Preseason Player of the Year and named a Fourth Team Preseason All-American by the NCBWA, enters the 2026 season after batting .364 with 18 home runs and 57 RBI last spring. He ranked third in the ASUN with a slugging percentage of .728. The Lipscomb Bisons were picked second in the Gold Division coaches poll after making an appearance in the last year's tournament.

Austin Peay returns four positional starters and nine pitchers, three of which were starters one year ago. There are 17 newcomers on this year's roster.

2026 SEASON: UNLV baseball will play a total of 55 regular season games in 2026, with five of those against two teams that participated in last season's NCAA Tournament. In all, the Rebels will play 32 home contests in Las Vegas with 31 of those on campus at Earl E. Wilson Stadium and one more – a March 23 affair against Arizona State – at the Las Vegas Ballpark in Downtown Summerlin. 

In addition to the 24 Mountain West contests, the Scarlet & Gray's season slate is highlighted by 30 nonconference games against 15 squads that hail from 10 different leagues. Overall, these 15 teams compiled a .464 winning percentage, and five of those finished with winning records. Delving deeper, four – Austin Peay (ASUN), Cal State Fullerton (Big West), Milwaukee (Horizon) and Southern Illinois (Missouri Valley) finished in the top three of their respective conference standings. Moreover, six of 2026's foes had an end-of-year NCAA RPI that was 125th or better, with six of those in the top 90: Arizona State at No. 49, BYU at No. 62 and Austin Peay at No. 90.