SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Setting the stage for the program's bid at a repeat Big South Conference championship, USC Upstate baseball and head coach Kane Sweeney look to build on last season's first-ever NCAA Division I Regional appearance as the program announces its 2026 schedule.
 
The follow-up campaign to last season's NCAA Clemson Regional Club—Big South regular season and tournament champions—features 17 games against teams ranked in the top 100 of last season's RPI, seven of which see Upstate face teams ranked in the top 15 of last season's RPI. The slate also features the Spartans facing eight Power-Four foes. Upstate's 56-game schedule also features 19 home games with two additional games played at Fifth Third Park, home of the Hub City Spartanburgers, and one additional game played at Fluor Field, home of the Greenville Drive.
 
The Spartans opened the season on the road for the first time since 2002, snapping a streak of 23 straight seasons opening at home, marking the first time in Cleveland S. Harley Park history that the team's home opener does not coincide with the season's opening weekend. Upstate begins the 2026 season travelling to South Alabama for a three-game series on Feb. 13-15.
 
The team's home opener takes place Feb. 17 as Upstate hosts Western Carolina in the season's first midweek contest. The game marks the third straight season the Spartans and Catamounts have met in the first midweek contest of the year. The Spartans' slate of midweek contests continues—the first of two double midweeks of the campaign—as Upstate travels to Georgia on Feb. 18, facing the first 2025 NCAA Tournament team on the schedule.
 
Upstate's first weekend series at Harley Park coincides with the fifth-annual OneSpartanburg, Inc. Baseball Classic. The 2026 iteration of the event sees Upstate host Northern Illinois, Valparaiso, and NJIT on Feb. 20, Feb. 21, and Feb. 22, respectively.
 
The final double midweek of the season sees a trip to the Sunshine State for meetings with former ASUN compatriots North Florida and Stetson on Feb. 24 and Feb. 25, respectively. Continuing a nine-game stretch away from home, the Spartans travel to Georgia Southern for a three-game set on Feb. 27-March 1.
 
Upstate's road swing continues with four consecutive contests against teams from the Southeastern Conference, seeing a midweek at South Carolina on March 3 before a three-game set at Texas on March 6-8. The Spartans' trip to Texas marks the program's first-ever venture west of the Mississippi River.
 
Returning from the Lone Star State, the Spartans host the first of three games at Minor League stadiums, entertaining crosstown rival Wofford at Fifth Third Park on March 10. Upstate returns home, beginning Big South play the following weekend, hosting High Point on March 13-15.
 
Midweek contests at Charlotte (March 18) and Tennessee (March 24) bookend a road series at Longwood on March 20-22. Upstate hosts UNC Asheville in the Ingles I-26 Rivalry Series on March 27-29, busting up a stretch of 10 of 13 games played away from Harley Park. The Spartans close the long stretch with trips to George Mason (March 31), Radford (April 2-4), and Western Carolina (April 7).
 
Upstate heads home to Harley Park on April 10-12, hosting Charleston Southern as Big South play continues. Keeping with the Charleston theme, the Spartans venture to the Lowcountry to face College of Charleston on April 14, starting an eight-game road swing.
 
The road trip continues with Upstate heading to Winthrop for a three-game series on April 17-19. Remaining in the Palmetto State, the Spartans travel to Clemson on April 24 before heading to the Yellowhammer State for a three-game set with Samford during the team's first Big South play "bye week" on April 24-26.
 
The Spartans return to Big South Conference play on May 1-3 against Gardner-Webb, hosting the Runnin' Bulldogs at Harley Park. Upstate's second of three games played inside Minor League parks, the Spartans host Elon at Fluor Field in Greenville on May 5, the first of two meetings with the Phoenix.
 
Upstate's final Big South series sees the Spartans travel to Presbyterian on May 8-10. The team's final game hosted at a Minor League stadium sees Upstate meet Clemson at Fifth Third Park on May 12. Upstate closes the regular season at Harley Park on May 14-16, hosting Northern Kentucky (May 14 and 16) and Elon (May 15).
 
The 2026 Big South Baseball Championship features a new home, heading to Asheville, N.C., and McCormick Field—the home of the Asheville Tourists—on May 20-23.
 
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