Owls Host Northwestern to Open 2026 Baseball Season

Houston-Rice announced its 2026 baseball schedule on Friday, and David Pierce's first full season as Bixby Family head baseball coach will feature five teams that won either a regular-season or postseason conference title and two others that reached the conference title game, five that reached the NCAA Championship, and 15 that won at least 30 games in 2025.

The 56-game slate features 30 home games, including non-conference matchups with Northwestern and Purdue from the Big Ten, Southland Conference regular season champion UTRGV, Southland tournament champion HCU, and a three-game series with Harvard, as well as the first game of the annual Silver Glove series against Houston and single games with Sam Houston, Louisiana, and Texas A&M Corpus Christi.

The 2026 American Conference home schedule opens on March 27 with a three-game series with Florida Atlantic, followed by visits from 2025 regular season champion UTSA (April 2-4), Memphis (April 17-19), UAB (May 1-3) and the Owls will end the conference regular season at home for the first time since joining the American when they host Tulane (May 14-16)

The Owls' 2026 opponents posted a combined .535 winning percentage in 2025 (688-599), and four of five to reach the NCAA Championship posted at least one win in the tournament.

Renewals for 2026 season tickets are currently underway. Information on new season tickets, group plans, and individual game sales will be released soon.

Here's a quick look at the Owls' opponents in 2026:

Northwestern - February 13-15 (Reckling Park)
Third-year head coach Ben Greenspan is coming off a 25-27 season in 2025, a seven-win improvement from 2024, after taking over a team that was 10-40 in 2023. The Wildcats' .481 winning percentage was their highest since 2005.
This will be the first meeting between Northwestern and Rice in baseball.

Louisiana - February 17 (Reckling Park)
Matt Deggs is entering his seventh year leading the Ragin' Cajuns, having posted a 187-130 mark highlighted by 40-win seasons in 2023 & 2024. The schools last met in the regular season in 2024, with the Owls taking two of three in Lafayette. The last meeting at Reckling took place in 2023, when Louisiana won two of three. The schools met in a pair of seven-inning exhibitions earlier this fall, with Rice winning 6-4 and 6-5.

Purdue - February 18 (Reckling Park)
The Boilermakers and Owls will meet for just the sixth time in history prior to Purdue playing in the Round Rock Classic, February 20-22. Head coach Greg Goff is entering his seventh season and is coming off his second consecutive 30-win season as the Boilermakers closed out the 2025 season at 31-23. Goff faced the Owls in 2015 & 2016 as head coach at Louisiana Tech and was 4-5 in nine games. This will be the first meeting between the schools since Rice swept a three-game series in 2014.

USC - February 21-23 (Los Angeles)
While the schools have met six previous times, this will mark the first to be played in Los Angeles and among the first to be played at the renovated Dedeaux Field. USC finished 37-23 last season under fourth-year head coach Andy Stankiewicz despite playing all their home games off campus as their home field was being renovated. The Trojans advance to the final game of the Corvallis Regional before falling to host Oregon State. Rice leads the all-time series 5-1, including a split of two games last season.

HCU - February 24 (Reckling Park) March 25 (Husky Field)
Clay VanderLaan led the Huskies' run through the Southland Conference tournament to win the title and earn the Huskies' second-ever NCAA berth. HCU finished the season 32-25, which included a split of the four-game series with Rice.

Harvard - February 27-March 1 (Reckling Park)
Bill Decker returns for his 14^th season leading the Crimson after a 2025 season that saw a pair of players drafted for the third consecutive campaign. Rice leads the overall series 8-3, with all three losses coming in 2022 when Decker's Crimson took three of four at Reckling Park.

Lamar- March 4 (Beaumont), April 28 (Reckling Park)
Will Davis heads into his 10th year coming off his second-consecutive 40-win season as the Cardinal finished 40-17, including a sweep of games against Rice. The teams split the series last year, with each winning on the road. Rice has won the last three in Beaumont, and its last loss was in 2017.

Abilene Christian March 6-8 (Abilene)
This will be the first meeting between Rice and ACU in baseball. The Wildcats finished 34-23 last season and advanced to the WAC championship game by eliminating the top-seeded Sacramento State team before falling to Utah Valley 11-9. Head coach Rick McCarty is entering his eighth season at ACU and has led the Wildcats to five consecutive 30-win seasons.

Houston - March 10 (Reckling Park); April 21 & May 12 (Schroeder Park)
The Silver Glove series opens at Reckling Park on March 10 before moving to Schroeder Park for the final two games. Todd Whitting returns for his 16th season leading the Cougars, who finished with a 30-25 record, including a 12-17 mark in the Big 12. The Cougars have won the last four Silver Glove Series, but Rice has an overall record of 62-39 since the series began in 1998.

Saint Mary's March 13 & 15 (Phoenix)
The Owls and Gaels will meet for the first time since 2003, at Grand Canyon's Brazell Field at GCU Ballpark. Saint Mary's finished the 2025 season with a 36-26 record, capped by a dramatic run to the WCC tournament title and its second NCAA berth in school history in the Corvallis Regional. The Gaels shocked host Oregon State in the opening round for their first-ever NCAA win, before falling to USC in the winners' bracket and then to OSU in an elimination game. Eric Valenzuela is in his ninth season at Saint Mary's overall and his third since returning after four seasons at Long Beach State.

Grand Canyon - March 13 & 14 (Phoenix)
Greg Wells has posted three consecutive 30-win seasons since he was elevated to head coach in 2023 after nine years as an assistant when Andy Stankiewicz left to become head coach at USC. He led GCU to WAC regular season titles and was named WAC Coach of the Year in each of his first two seasons.

UTRGV March 17 & 31 (Reckling Park)
Derek Matlock led the Vaqueros to a 36-18 record, their best mark since 1991, on their way to the regular-season Southland Conference title. They have won at least 29 games in their last six full seasons and Matlock has compiled a 228-179 mark since taking the helm of the program in 2018.

USF March 20-22 (Tampa)
Rice opens its third season of American Conference baseball in Tampa, where the Owls posted their first series sweep as a member of the league in 2023. Mitch Hannahs is in his second year leading the Bulls to a 31-25 record and a return to the American Conference tournament. Rice leads the overall series 6-1, including a 3-0 mark in Tampa.

Florida Atlantic March 27-29 (Reckling Park)
John McCormack, the dean of American Conference coaches, leads his Owls back to Reckling coming off a 37-21 campaign in 2025. McCormack is 577-372-2 in his career, all with Florida Atlantic, with his most recent win coming over Rice in an elimination game at the 2025 American Conference tournament. He has posted a 20-17-1 record against Rice, with a 9-6 mark at Reckling Park.

UTSA April 2-4 (Reckling Park)
Pat Hallmark and UTSA are coming off a historic season as the Roadrunners won the American Conference regular season title and reached their first Super Regional in 2025, finishing the year 47-15. Rice leads the all-time series against the Roadrunners 30-25, including a 21-10 advantage at Reckling Park.

Texas A&M Corpus Christi – April 7 (Reckling Park)
Scott Malone is in his 19th season of leading the Islanders, who were 21-31 last season. Rice is 21-2 all-time in the series, but the Islanders posted their second-ever win in the series last season.

Charlotte April 10-12 (Charlotte)
Robert Woodard is entering his seventh season with the 49ers, having posted a 181-135 record, including a 36-22 mark in 2025, the fourth time in his six seasons he has won at least 36 games. While Charlotte holds a 16-15 edge in the overall series between the schools, Rice holds an 8-7 lead in games in Charlotte.

Sam Houston April 15 (Reckling Park)
The Owls and Bearkats will meet just once in 2026 as Sam Houston comes to Reckling on Tax Day. Head coach Jay Sirianni is entering his seventh season at Sam Houston and has won at least 30 games in four of his five full seasons at the helm. The Owls have won seven of the last eight in the series.

Memphis—April 17-19 (Reckling Park)
Matt Riser led the Tigers to a 22-33 record in his fourth season at Memphis. Riser guided the Tigers to a series sweep in their first visit to Reckling in 11 years in 2024 and has a 4-2 mark against Rice in American Conference games. Rice leads the overall series against Memphis 24-13. The series has been hotly contested at Reckling with Rice leading 8-7.

Wichita State—April 24-26 (Wichita)
Brian Green heads into his third season leading the Shockers and his 11^th as a college head coach. In his first season at Wichita, the Shockers reached the title game of the American Conference tournament and swept the three games of Rice's first regular-season visit to Eck Stadium. WSU holds a 7-4 lead in the overall series, thanks to wins in all four games played in Wichita.

UAB—May 1-3 (Reckling Park)
Casey Dunn is back for his sixth season guiding the Blazers and his 22^nd as a college head coach, with a career record of 634-544. UAB took two of three in Birmingham last season but Rice leads the all-time series 41-20. Dunn is 3-3 in two previous visits to Reckling Park where Rice holds an overall 20-7 lead over the Blazers.

East Carolina—May 8-10 (Greenville)
Cliff Godwin is entering his 12^th season with the Pirates, coming off an American Conference tournament championship and reaching a sixth consecutive NCAA Regional championship game. He has posted a 432-214-1 record in his time in Greenville. He is 9-2 against Rice in his career, including a sweep of three games in Greenville in 2024. Rice has an overall mark of 9-6 at the Pirates' home field.

br /> Tulane—May 14-16 (Reckling Park)
Jay Uhlman is in his fourth full season of guiding the Green Wave and has posted a 91-97 mark along with a pair of American Conference tournament titles in his tenure. He has posted a 5-1 mark against Rice, including taking two of three in his only previous visit to Reckling Park in 2024.

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