The road to Omaha begins this week with the official start of the Division I college baseball season.
For American Athletic Conference teams, the season gets underway at 4 p.m. ET Friday as East Carolina entertains Longwood for the first game of a three-game series at Clark-LeClair Stadium. The Prates went 40-22 last season, won the American Athletic Conference Championship and advanced to the NCAA Coral Gables Regional.
Houston, which is the preseason favorite in The American, begins its season with a three-game series against Villanova at the newly named Schroeder Park, the first of 12 straight gams for the Cougars in the city of Houston. Houston was The American’s regular-season champion last season and was selected to host an NCAA Regional.
Tulane gets things started with a three-game series against Illinois at Turchin Stadium. The Green Wave return six starting position players and five pitchers from the regular rotation last year, as Tulane looks for back-to-back NCAA Regional appearances.
USF has a three-game series against Liberty to start the year at the USF Baseball Stadium. The Bulls, who advanced to the NCAA Gainesville Regional last year, will have 21 newcomers on the 2016 squad.
UConn takes to the road to open its season as the Huskies play a three-game series at Texas-San Antonio. Friday’s opener will be the first of 17 straight away from home to start the season for the Huskies, who won’t play in Storrs until March 22.
UCF will have a new look this season as the Knights host Siena for three games at the UCF Baseball Complex to start the year. The Knights were 23-9 on their home field last year, including a three-game sweep against the Saints to start the 2015 season.
Memphis and Tennessee will meet in Chattanooga for a three-game series billed as the East-West Showdown at AT&T Field. The Tigers haven’t played a three-game set against Tennessee since 1981.
Cincinnati opens its season in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, against No. 5 LSU. The Bearcats, who scored two wins against then-No. 6 UCF last season, face a Tigers squad that advanced to the College World Series in 2015. Friday’s series opener will be the first meeting between the schools since 1954.