LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV Hustlin' Rebels will wrap up its season-high 11 game homestand with a three-game conference series against New Mexico on the Mountain West Network Thursday through Saturday, with games one and two that are both slated for 6:05 pm first pitches, while Saturday's finale will get going at 12:05 pm. On Monday, UNLV fell to CSU Bakersfield at home 17-14 as the Scarlet & Gray recorded 16 hits with 13 extra-base hits.

Historically speaking, UNLV and New Mexico have squared off a total of 201 times dating back to 1978. The Rebels lead the all-time series 105-96; however, the Lobos have crept closer since the 2024 campaign, winning 10 of the last 12.

PROMOTIONAL ITEMS: Fans can enjoy two-for-one Rebel Dogs on Thursday and $2 beers through the second inning and $5 off ribbon fries on Friday. Shook & Stone is giving away 10 limited-edition UNLV baseball jerseys, plus one grand prize featuring a jersey and a gift basket with a $100 Amazon gift card. Simply scan the QR code at the Shook & Stone table to enter. Must be present to win.

Be one of the first fans through the gates on each day and receive a Hustlin' Rebels Keychain, while supplies last. Kids in high school and younger (with valid NV ID) will receive free admission. Adults can get tickets to this weekend's games by clicking or tapping the button below.

FOLLOW ALONG: Fans can follow this weekend's series against New Mexico 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: The Hustlin' Rebels will face New Mexico this weekend as they went 1-2 against the Lobos last season at home. The series with the Lobos dates back to the 1978 season.

LOOKING BACK: The Hustlin' Rebels split two of three games against San Jose State at home last week, as they came out on top in the game (18-7 in 7 innings) and game two (15-8) before falling in game three in seven innings (18-8). Additionally, the Scarlet & Gray fell to CSU Bakersfield, 17-14, at home on Monday.

In game one against the Spartans, UNLV collected 18 runs on 18 hits as Nin Burns II drove in a season-high six runs, while Reggie Bussey recorded his fourth three-hit game of the season. Furthermore, Marcos Rosales became the first Rebel this season with two home runs in a game, as the second baseman went 4-for-5 with six RBI.

In game two, Parker Dillhoff recorded a career-high 12 strikeouts in 5.2 innings of work giving up four hits, four runs (two earned) with four walks. Rosales went 2-for-3 with three RBI, while Drew Barragan notched a stat line of 3-for-5 with two RBI, two runs scored and one walk Gunnar Myro also went 3-for-5 as the shortstop posted back-to-back three hit games, while Ayden Garcia drove in a game tying-high three runs as the catcher went 2-for-4.

In game three, Rosales went 2-for-5 with two RBI and has recorded double-digit hits in 11 games this season. Jonny Rodriguez hit his second and third home runs of the season on back-to-back at-bats. SJSU finished with 18 runs on 19 hits, compared to UNLV's eight runs and 12 hits.

Against CSU Bakersfield, the Hustlin' Rebels recorded 14 runs on 16 hits with 13 extra-base hits. Barragan went 3-for-5 with two RBI, a single, double and triple, and has upped his batting average to .473 with a team-high 53 hits. Gavin Taylor recorded his third home run of the season and his second multi-hit game of the season, while Rodriguez hit his fourth home run of the season and it was his second consecutive game with a home run.

NEWCOMERS MAKE AN IMMEDIATE IMPACT: The UNLV Rebels' 2026 roster features 26 newcomers with 25 transfers and one true freshman; however, two of the transfers will not play this year due to injury, Drew Charney) and Kevin Smith. Seventeen of those newcomers made their Rebel debuts in the season-opening, nonconference series against the Austin Peay Governors. Delving deeper, five of those first-year Rebels have had a minimum of 100 plate appearances, while five more have pitched in at least eight games. Marcos Rosales is the lone Rebel to have appeared in all 29 contests, as he has 28 games starting at second base. Additionally, Drew Barragan, Nin Burns II and Jonny Rodriguez have started in 28 games. Drew Barragan and senior Ayden Garcia have seen action in 28 and 25 games, respectively. Reggie Bussey has seen time in 17 games as well, starting all 17 games in center field. On the mound, the Scarlet & Gray has gotten starts from four newcomers - Parker Dillhoff, Felix Ong, Yates Bland and Ryan Marton.

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 26 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.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT: New Mexico went 2-0-1 over its three-game series against Fresno State, sweeping Saturday's doubleheader before playing to an 18-18 tie in 10 innings in Sunday's finale. As a team, the Lobos hit .318 (35-for-110) with 32 runs scored, 11 doubles, three home runs and 29 RBI, posting a .473 slugging percentage and .425 on-base percentage while drawing 19 walks to 14 strikeouts.

Individually, Akili Carris led the way with a dominant .615 average (8-for-13), driving in 11 runs and posting a 1.846 OPS. Gene Trujillo followed at .600 (6-for-10) with four RBI, while Khalil Walker hit .500 (5-for-10) with two doubles and seven RBI. Luke Mansy added five hits and reached base at a .467 clip, and Karsen Waslefsky contributed five hits, including a home run and four RBI. Anthony Diaz (4-for-15) and others throughout the lineup added to a balanced offensive effort that saw multiple hitters produce multi-hit games.

On the mound, New Mexico posted an 8.68 team ERA over 28.0 innings, allowing 27 earned runs on 28 hits with 22 strikeouts. Ryan Castillo delivered the top start of the weekend with 6.0 scoreless innings, allowing just four hits while striking out five. Cristian Mogen added 6.0 innings in his start, while the bullpen combined to cover the remaining innings in a high-scoring series, highlighted by Ty Cunningham's save in the doubleheader and multiple multi-inning relief outings from the staff.

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.