LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV Hustlin' Rebels will wrap up a home-and-home series with a midweek slate against No. 22 Arizona State on Wednesday, April 8 at Phoenix Municipal Stadium with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 pm.

Historically speaking, UNLV and Arizona State have squared off a total of 94 times dating back to 1974. The Sun Devils lead the all-time series 70-23-1 and have won six of the last seven meetings dating back to the 2023 season.

FOLLOW ALONG: Fans can follow this week's series against No. 22 Arizona State 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 collected one win in a three-game home series against New Mexico, as they beat the Lobos, 15-10, in game one before falling 7-6 in game two and 12-2 in game three.

In game one against the Lobos, UNLV came back from a 3-0 second inning deficit where they put a four spot in the bottom of the second inning and never looked back. Jayden Hertel combined to go 3-for-4 with his first career Hustlin' Rebel home run, along with a pair of singles and four RBI. Drew Barragan's 14-game hitting streak came to an end, however, his one walk allowed him to extend his on-base streak to 15 games. Ayden Garcia's sixth home run of the season is tied with two others for second on the team. LJ Manning was credited with his first win in the Scarlet & Gray after going 2.0 innings where he one hit on one earned run with one walk and three strikeouts.

In game two, Marcos Rosales and Jack Salmon both collected a pair of hits, with the former driving in one run, while the latter tacked on two RBI. Barragan extended his on-base streak to 15-games. Eight of the nine Rebel starters collected at least one hit.

In game three, Roslaes led the Rebel offense going 2-for-4, while Barragan extended his on-base streak to 16 games. The Scarlet & Gray were limited to just six hits compared to New Mexico's 11.

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, four of those first-year Rebels have a minimum of 100 plate appearances, while seven more have pitched in at least eight games. Marcos Rosales is the lone Rebel to have appeared in all 32 contests, as he has 31 games starting at second base. Additionally, Drew Barragan, Nin Burns II and Jonny Rodriguez have started in 31 games. Ayden Garcia has seen action in 28 games, while Reggie Bussey has seen time in 18 games as well, starting 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 OPPONENT: No. 20 Arizona State won three out of four games last week, defeating San Diego State, 6-2 on March 30 before winning two out of three games against in-state rival Arizona. ASU heads into the weekend with a 23-9 overall record and a 7-5 Big 12 record. The Sun Devils are coming off a 2-1 series victory over Arizona. ASU won the first game of the series, but fell in the second game of the series. Moreover, ASU won the rubber match on Saturday, 15-6.

Landon Hairston leads the Arizona State offense with a .461 batting average. Nu'u Contrades is second on the squad in batting with a .371. Hairston is the home run and RBI leader for the SunDevils, as he has 18 homers and 51 RBI.

Cole Carlon is the leading pitcher with a 3.05 ERA. He has made eight appearances, with all of them being starts. Carlon has pitched in 41.1 innings where he has given up 34 hits on 14 earned runs with 16 walks and 67 strikeouts.

ASU is scheduled to start freshman Austin Musso as the righthander has a 5.87 ERA with seven appearances and has given up 11 hits five earned runs with four walks and nine strikeouts.

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.