GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) baseball team is set to begin the 2026 season, hosting the No. 18 Kentucky Wildcats at UNCG Baseball Stadium on Feb.13-14. The three-game series starts on Friday at 4:00 p.m. and ends with a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 1:00 p.m. Game three will start 45 minutes after the conclusion of the second game. 

  PRESEASON HONORS 

• The Spartans were voted to finish fifth in The Southern Conference (SoCon) Preseason Coaches' Poll. 

• Samford claimed the top spot with four first-place votes and 45 points. Mercer was picked to finish second with 44 points and three first-place votes.  

• Junior left-handed pitcher Noah Chapman was named to the Preseason All-SoCon Second Team ahead of the season after throwing 68.1 innings with a 5.14 ERA in 21 appearances in 2025.  

SCOUTING THE SPARTANS 

• UNCG concluded the 2025 season with a 21-33 overall record and went 9-12 in SoCon play.  

• Entering the SoCon Tournament as the sixth seed, the Spartans ended the 2025 campaign with a play-in round loss to Wofford, 4-2, at Fluor Field in Greenville, South Carolina. 

• The Blue & Gold returns 20 players from last year's squad while adding 16 newcomers to the roster. Eleven of them are freshmen this year. 

• The Spartans boasted one of the better pitching staffs last season in the SoCon, if not in the nation, finishing 35th in shutouts (4), 52nd in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.27), 60th in strikeouts-per-nine innings (9.1) and 60th in walks allowed-per-nine innings (3.99).  

• A plethora of impactful pitchers return to the 2026 squad, including Grant Aycock and Hunter Shuey who have earned All-SoCon nods in previous seasons. 

• Head Coach Cody Ellis enters his third season at the helm of the Spartans, guiding them to a 54-54 record during his time.  

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS 

• Kentucky is coming off a 31-26 overall record from the 2025 season, which included a 13-17 record in SEC games. 

• The Wildcats saw postseason action as they competed in the Clemson Regional, falling to West Virginia in the finals, 3-4. 

• The Cats are led by infielder Tyler Bell who was a second-round pick (no. 66 overall) in the 2024 MLB Draft. He comes into 2026 after hitting .296, with 67 base knocks, 46 runs batted inand swiping 11 bags.  Bell also played for the United States Collegiate National Team last summer. 

• Kentucky has been quite opportunistic on the base paths these past two seasons, stealing 252 bases, which is second-most among Power Four teams. 

• The pitching staff is led by returners Ben Cleaver and Nate Harris, who started 10 and seven games last season, respectively.   

• Kentucky is led by Head Coach Nick Mingione who enters his 10th season as head of the program. Mingione's 293 career wins is second most all-time in UK's history.  

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE WILDCATS 
This weekend's series will mark the first-ever meeting between the Spartans and the Wildcats. 
 
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UP NEXT 
The Spartans will begin their 2026 road schedule traveling to Davidson on Tuesday, Feb. 17 at 6:00 p.m. then returning to UNCG Baseball Stadium to take on rival North Carolina A&T on Wednesday, Feb.18 at 4:00 p.m.