Coastal Carolina baseball will open the 2026 season with a three-game series against Fairfield University at Springs Brooks Stadium from Feb. 13-15.
The Chanticleers, coming off a 56-13 season with a 26-4 record in conference play, are looking forward to the upcoming season. They will begin the season at home following their run to Omaha and will play their first three games over three consecutive days.
This opening series will provide an early look at the team’s condition following last year’s postseason run and the departure of key players. Coastal lost catcher Caden Bodine and right-handed pitchers Riley Eikhoff, Jacob Morrison and Matthew Potok to the 2025 Major League Baseball Draft.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s obviously a different team, so there’s different feelings. There’s different guys. But I think it’s similar to just a group of guys that want to go out there and play the game of baseball together and do the best we can at doing that every day,” Cameron Flukey, a right-handed pitcher, said.
Last season, the Chanticleers advanced to the College World Series before they ended as national runners up with a loss to LSU.
“We stole over 100 bases, led the country in hit-by-pitches, and always found ways to score runs,” Head coach Kevin Schnall said.
Coming off of their Omaha high, the Chanticleers are looking for consistency and humility.
“Obviously, what we did last year was great, and that says a lot about the work our team and staff put in. But that season is over,” Dean Mihos, an outfielder, said. “We can’t live in the past or expect to pick up right where we left off in Omaha. Our focus now is getting this team ready to do what we need to do this year.”
The Fairfield Stags will return to Conway after facing Coastal during the 2025 NCAA Tournament and losing to the Chants 10-2 in the Conway Regional. While the programs met in the postseason last year, this weekend’s series will serve as a non-conference match early into the regular season.
The series will open Coastal’s 2026 schedule before the team continues nonconference play later in the month.
