Utah Baseball Begins 2026 Season at Fresno State

Friday, February 13

Fresno, Calif.

7 p.m.

University of Utah

Fresno State

Utah Utes Baseball vs. Vanderbilt University at the The Ballpark at America First Square in Daybreak, UT on Friday, Octoberr 10, 2025.
Sophia Kuder/Utah Athletics

Photo by: Sophia Kuder/Utah Athletics

Utah Baseball Begins 2026 Season at Fresno State

2/12/2026 4:14 PM | Baseball

Four-game set runs from Friday through Monday

2026 Utah Baseball Game Notes
Games 1-4 Date // Time (MT)	Utah at Fresno State Friday, Feb. 13 // 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14 // 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 15 // 3 p.m. Monday, Feb. 16 // 3 p.m.
Location	Fresno, Calif. (Bob Bennett Stadium)
Live Statistics	StatBroadcast
Watch	Mountain West Network
Game Notes	Utah // Fresno State // Big 12 Conference
@UtahBaseball Social Media	Twitter/X // Instagram // Facebook // #GoUtes

The First Pitch: Things to Know
Year No. 2 as members of the Big 12 Conference begins Friday for the Utah baseball team as the Utes head out to the Central Valley for a four-game series at Fresno State. First pitch in Friday's season and series opener is set for 7 p.m. MT inside Bob Bennett Stadium, with additional contests following on Saturday (4 p.m. MT), Sunday (3 p.m. MT) and Monday (3 p.m. MT).

Utah is facing off with the Bulldogs for the first time since a pair of meetings in the 2022 season—both victories for the Utes. Matthew Sox was two outs away from a no-hitter in a neutral-site win over Fresno State before Landon Frei clubbed a grand slam a few weeks later during a road victory.
The Utes bring back some key pieces from last season's club while also welcoming a core of new, talented faces. The returners are highlighted in part by 2025 Big 12 All-Conference First Team selection Colter McAnelly—who is back as the team's Friday night starter. McAnelly went 4-4 as a sophomore last year and had 92 strikeouts, the fourth-most by a Utah pitcher in history.
McAnelly was listed by D1Baseball.com as the Big 12's No. 17-ranked prospect for the 2026 MLB Draft. Fellow right-hander Dillon Fine, who was mostly used out of the bullpen last season, checked in as the No. 19 prospect in the league for the 2027 draft.
The Utes had their fair share of newcomers earn preseason praise as well. Outfielder Luke Jacobs—a two-year contributor at Salt Lake Community College—was listed as D1Baseball.com's No. 25 prospect for the 2026 draft. Jacobs was the SWAC Player of the Year, Region Player of the Year and a second-team All-American during a decorated 2025 season that was capped off with a national championship for the Bruins.
The 2026 season is also one of great anticipation for the Utes, who in January celebrated the grand opening of Charlie Monfort Field at America First Ballpark. The facility brings an on-campus stadium to the University of Utah and places nearly all of the team's support spaces under one roof for the first time in program history. The ballpark seats 3,000 fans through a combination of chairback seats, standing room areas and a grass berm in the outfield.
The Utes will play their first home game in the new home confines on March 6, when the team opens a four-game series against Grand Canyon.
Before coming home to campus, the Utes played the majority of their home games in downtown Salt Lake City from 1996 to 2025 at Smith's Ballpark—the former longtime home of the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees.
Dating back to 2009 when head coach Gary Henderson became skipper at Kentucky, teams coached by Henderson are 9-3 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.