Utes Begin 2025 Baseball Season at Pepperdine

Friday, February 14

Malibu, Calif.

2:30 p.m.

University of Utah

Pepperdine

Photo by: Sophia Kuder/Utah Athletics

2/13/2025 12:00 PM | Baseball

Four-game series begins Friday afternoon

2025 Utah Baseball Game Notes
Games 1-4 Date // Time (MT)	Utah (0-0, 0-0 Big 12) at Pepperdine (0-0, 0-0 WCC) Friday, Feb. 14 // 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 15 // 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 16 // 2 p.m. Monday, Feb. 17 // 1 p.m.
Location	Malibu, Calif. (Eddy D. Field Stadium)
Live Statistics	StatBroadcast Friday // Saturday // Sunday // Monday
Watch	ESPN+
Game Notes	Utah // Big 12 Conference
@UtahBaseball Social Media	Twitter/X // Instagram // Facebook // #GoUtes // #UteNotes

The First Pitch: Things to Know

A new chapter in the history of Utah Baseball begins on Friday, as the Utes kick off their first season as members of the Big 12 Conference. The team will lift the lid on the 2025 campaign with a four-game series at Pepperdine, running from Friday through Monday, February 14-17 in Malibu, California.
This is the second straight season that Utah has opened the year against the Waves; in 2024 the club played two games against Pepperdine as part of a split weekend. Utah lost a 1-0 heartbreaker on Opening Day last year at Pepperdine, but responded by winning its next nine games.
Prior to last season's meetings between Utah and Pepperdine, the clubs had faced off just twice in recorded history: once each during the 1962 and '90 seasons, both going as wins for the Waves.
Dating back to 2009 when head coach Gary Henderson became skipper at Kentucky, teams coached by Henderson are 8-3 in season openers. In addition, Mississippi State won its first game under Henderson when he was named interim head coach for the Bulldogs midway through 2018.
The Big 12 Conference will begin Utah's fifth conference affiliation since resuming varsity baseball in 1948. Previously, the Utes have played in the Skyline Conference (1948-62), WAC (1963-98), Mountain West (1999-2011) and Pac-12 Conference (2012-24). Since joining the WAC, Utah has won five conference championships, most recently in 2016 as a member of the Pac-12.
A combination of returning talent and new faces are shaping up to make 2025 one of the most anticipated seasons in recent Utah history. The Utes return two hitters that hit over .300 last year in infielders Drake Digiorno and Core Jackson, as well as MLB Draft selection and right-handed pitcher Merit Jones.
In addition, junior Kaden Carpenter projects to remain a mainstay in the outfield after slashing .278 / .374 / .481 as a sophomore. He played in 51 games with 44 starts, tallying nine doubles, three triples, six home runs and 26 RBI.
The Utes finished 2024 with 33 wins, tying the second-most in program history. Despite being picked 10th in the Pac-12 Preseason poll, Henderson's club entered the D1Baseball.com top 25 in late April and was two games out of first place entering the penultimate Pac-12 series.
Once back from Malibu, the Utes will get ready for the Tony Gwynn Legacy series, co-hosted next weekend by San Diego State and UC San Diego.