BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – Heading into Year 2 of the Jordon Banfield era, the Cal State Bakersfield baseball program has its sights set on another year of progress toward its ultimate goal of winning Big West Championships. On Friday, Banfield announced the team’s 2026 schedule, which will prepare his Roadrunners for a challenging Big West slate and postseason opportunities.

“I think our schedule is a good mix,” Banfield said of the 2026 slate. “We’ve got some Power Five teams and some other good teams. I’m optimistic that our team will give people a good reason to come out to the ballpark. Come out and give us a chance to make you want to come back!”

A late addition to the CSUB staff in Summer of 2024, Banfield had very little time to throw together a schedule and fill out a roster, yet the `Runners were able to produce slightly better results in 2025 than the year prior. With a full recruiting season under his belt and time to strategically craft a schedule, CSUB looks primed to continue improving under Banfield’s direction.

Strength of schedule will be in Bakersfield’s favor this season as Banfield did not shy away from pitting his `Runners against tough tests. In fact, almost 25% of CSUB’s games this year will be against teams that made it to NCAA Regionals last season: USC, Utah Valley, Saint Mary’s, Cal Poly, UC Irvine, and Fresno State.

Banfield on the difficulty of the schedule preparing his squad to be battle-tested: “Our goal is to be ready as we can going into the league. I hope that the schedule will give us a chance to have a good mix between being prepared and being confident. I hope we can go win some games that people think we shouldn’t and then take care of our home park.”

Non-Conference Series

Cal State Bakersfield will open the 2026 season at home for the third time in the last four seasons, benefiting from the mild winters while regularly welcoming teams from further east. This year’s Opening Weekend slate, set for Feb. 13-16, will pit Bakersfield against Southern Indiana, a strong squad with an RPI south of 150 a year ago.

The `Runners will then hit the road for the Kleberg Classic, a multi-team event hosted at Whataburger Field, a professional ballpark that is home to the Double-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. The first trip of the year to Texas will feature games against the tournament host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, ACC power Pitt, and a non-conference clash with fellow Big West member Long Beach State.

Just before conference play begins the `Runners will travel to Lubbock, Texas to face Texas Tech.

“That’s going to be a really different environment than our team will be used to. Big 12 games are a lot more offensive while almost all of the parks in the Big West are tough places to hit. We’ll go and see some really high-end arms and it should be good for our guys to go out and play in a non-West Coast atmosphere.”

During CSUB’s bye week, the `Runners will get a preview of a future Big West foe when Utah Valley comes to town. Prior to the Wolverines joining the league next year, Banfield relishes the opportunity to go toe-to-toe: “Utah Valley is going to bring a really different style when they join the Big West. They’re playing at elevation and they are a strike you out and hit home runs kind of team, which is very different from the rest of our league.”

Midweek Matchups

Sprinkled throughout the 2026 schedule are several tiffs with strong programs from around the region. We’ll highlight just a few of Cal State Bakersfield’s midweek clashes, most of which include return trips during the season:

• Saint Mary’s: Feb. 24 (H), Apr. 8 (A)
• Cal: Mar. 4 (A)
• USC: Mar. 18 (A)
• Fresno State: Apr. 14 (A), May 5 (H)

The `Runners will also host Westcliff University on Mar. 10 as part of CSUB Baseball’s second annual Education Day game, welcoming hundreds of local school children to Hardt Field to enjoy a game.

Big West Battles

Bakersfield opens the Big West slate at home, Mar. 6-8, when Cal State Fullerton comes to town. CSUB’s other home series during league play include:

• Long Beach State: Mar. 20-22
• Hawai’i: Apr. 17-19
• UC Santa Barbara: May 1-3
• UC San Diego: May 8-10

The `Runners will tackle four Big West road series this season, including trips to both teams that represented the conference in the postseason a year ago.

Tickets

Fans will not want to miss out on all the top-tier baseball to be played at Hardt Field this season, as well as a promotional schedule in the works that promises an entertaining experience for the whole family. Stay tuned for seasons tickets to go on sale soon as well as an announcement of the 2026 promotional schedule.

~GoRunners.com~