After playing the most difficult nonconference schedule in the nation this past season, the Arizona baseball team is doubling down.
The UA will face College World Series champion Tennessee and national runner-up Texas A&M in the 2025 Astros Foundation College Classic at Minute Maid Park in Houston.
The Wildcats will open the tournament against the Aggies on Feb. 28. They will face 2021 CWS champ Mississippi State on March 1 before concluding the tourney against the Volunteers on March 2.
The other participants in the six-team event are Oklahoma State and Rice.
“That’s gonna be fun,” UA coach Chip Hale said. “We did this last year. We’re going to play the best preseason schedule that we’re allowed to play.”
Arizona will open the 2025 season in the Shriners Children’s College Showdown at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, from Feb. 14-16. That tournament features four teams that made this year’s NCAA tourney: Arizona, Clemson, OSU and Texas. Like the UA, Clemson and OSU were national seeds.
“We’re excited about that,” Hale said. “We’ll have a really good idea of what we’re like, as we did last year.”
The rest of Arizona’s preseason schedule is expected to feature two home series. One will be against 2024 NCAA Tournament participant San Diego, which the UA visited this past season. The other opponent is still to be determined.
The Wildcats are slated to play their inaugural Big 12 series March 14-16.
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