LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV Rebels hit the road for their next four games with trips to Reno and St. George to face the UNR Wolf Pack and Utah Tech Trailblazers, respectively. UNLV transitions to the road after it had its three-game homestand against Washington State, winning one out of three games. This upcoming road stretch will begin on Friday, April 24 at 6:05 pm. The Rebels and Wolf Pack will also square off Saturday (2:05 pm) and Sunday (12:05 pm).

The road trip concludes Tuesday (5:05 pm PT) at Bruce Hurst Field against Utah Tech, as this will be the fourth and final meeting of the season between the Scarlet & Gray and Trailblazers.

FOLLOW ALONG: Fans can follow this week's series against the UNR Wolf Pack 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.

SILVER STATE SERIES: Not only do this weekend's games between the UNLV Rebels and UNR Wolf Pack count towards the Mountain West standings, but they have added significance in the Silver State Series presented by America First Credit Union. To date, the Rebels leads the all-encompassing athletic and academic competition between the NCAA Division I programs in the state by 12 points, 19.5 to 7.5.

LOOKING BACK: UNLV won one out of three games at home against Washington State, falling to seventh in the MW standings. In game one 13-2 eight inning run rule loss, Nin Burns II went 2-for-2 with one RBI and two walks. Jayden Hertel also collected a pair of hits and upped his hitting streak to 10 games. Parker Dillhoff went four innings where he gave up six earned runs with six walks and three strikeouts.

In the 12-3 game two victory, Carson Lane picked up his first win of the season on the mound as the junior went 6.0 innings throwing a season-high 114 pitches where he allowed two earned runs with five hits, three walks and a season tying-high eight strikeouts. Cooper Sheff was a triple away from the cycle as the designated hitter went 3-for-4. Marcos Rosales collected himself a pair of hits with a game-high three RBI and belted his team tying-high eighth home run of the campaign. Gavin Taylor went 2-for-2 with one walk and crossed home a game-high three times. Jack Salmon was hit by a pitch for the 13th time this season, which is a team high. Eight of the nine Rebel starters collected at least one hit, and all nine in the starting lineup reached base.

In game three where the Cougars won 9-8, Drew Barragan upped his on-base streak to 39 games and has an on-base streak of 40 games dating back to his time at Western Kentucky last season. Jonny Rodriguez paced the Rebels offensively with a season tying-high four hits, going 4-for-5 with his fifth home run of the season and a season-high four RBI. Ayden Garcia is now on a five-game hitting streak as the catcher went 2-for-4 with a home run, single and collected a walk. Reggie Bussey, Rosales and Gunnar Myro also recorded double-digit efforts Starting pitcher Josh Donegan went 3.1 innings where the right-hander gave up seven hits on five earned runs with no walks and three strikeouts. For the weekend series, Sheff went 8-for-13 with a .615 batting average where he had 13 total bases with a home run, two doubles, two RBI, scored four runs and notched a slugging percentage of 1.000 with an on-base percentage of .643.

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, three of those first-year Rebels (Barragan, Rosales, Rodriguez) have a minimum of 150 plate appearances, while seven more have pitched in at least 10 games. Marcos Rosales is the lone Rebel to have appeared in all 40 contests, as he has 39 games starting at second base. Additionally, Drew Barragan, Nin Burns II and Jonny Rodriguez have played in 39 games. Ayden Garcia has seen action in 33 games, while Reggie Bussey has seen time in 25 games as well, starting 24 games in center field. On the mound, the Scarlet & Gray has gotten starts from five newcomers - Parker Dillhoff, Felix Ong, Yates Bland, Ryan Marton and Josh Donegan.

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 OPPONENT: The Wolf Pack head into the weekend with a 21-16 overall record and sit atop the league standings with a 10-5 record. UNR is coming off a 2-1 series win against New Mexico and a midweek loss to Saint Mary's. The Wolf Pack took the first two-games and then the Lobos answered back with a 9-7 win in the series finale. Jayce Dobie leads the Wolf Pack offense batting a .399 with 59 hits and has a .608 slugging percentage and .474 on-base percentage. Dobie additionally leads the team in total bases leader (90), at-bats (148) and is tied with 13 doubles. On the mound, Andres Castro leads the staff with a 2.03 ERA to go with a 2-0 record through 12 relief appearances. Luke Schat is second with a 2.45 ERA to go with an 1-0 record through nine relief appearances and one start. On the mound, the Rebels will see right-handed pitcher Aidan Brainard on Friday, right-handed pitcher Ryan Oakes on Saturday and left-handed pitcher Alessandro Castro on Sunday. Brainard is 4-2 with a 5.40 ERA in 38.1 innings pitched with 26 walks and 40 strikeouts. Oakes carries a 2.78 ERA with 12 appearances on one start with 13 walks and 34 punchouts in 32.1 innings pitched. Castro is 2-2 with a 9.00 ERA as he has eight starts to his ledger with 24 strikeouts and has given up 32 earned runs.

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.