The Huskies will be well-traveled with top teams all over the schedule on the weekend.
Welcome to The UConn Blog’s 2025 UConn baseball preview. This is our 10th season covering the Huskies on a day-to-day basis between this site and our newsletter, which will have something new each day leading up to opening day.
There are 14 weekends in the college baseball season and UConn evenly divides them between conference and non-conference play. The latter portion, particularly at the start of the year, is filled with top opponents and opportunities to impress the NCAA Tournament committee before settling into Big East play.
Let’s take a brief look at each of the teams that will appear on the weekend, including the Puerto Rico Challenge and Dodger Classic.
Non-Conference Weekends
Puerto Rico Challenge (February 14-16)
UConn opens the weekend off the mainland, heading to Caguas, Puerto Rico for the first time, with games against Stetson, Missouri and Penn State.
Stetson has played host to the Huskies five times before, three of which were in the Jim Penders era. UConn won the last two, taking a 4-3 lead in the series. The Hatters, a frequent NCAA Tournament participant, were in the Tallahassee Regional last season.
The Huskies and Missouri have played just once before, doing so in DeLand, Florida during the teams’ trip to Stetson in 2008. The Tigers made seven straight regionals between 2003-2009, including one super regional, but have struggled since moving to the SEC with a 12-year NCAA drought and zero finishes in the top half of the league.
The trip to Happy Valley is just far enough as UConn and Penn State have played exclusively in neutral settings, including the 1959 College World Series, and haven’t done so since 2008. The Nittany Lions won 29 games last year under first-year head coach Mike Gambino, who came over from Boston College. It was their first top-100 RPI season since 2007.
Florida Atlantic (February 21-23)
This is the second time in three years that the Huskies will get to Boca Raton following a 3-0 weekend in 2023. The Owls were just 28-29 last year, including a 12-15 mark in American Athletic Conference play but made it to the conference tournament semifinals. Former Husky Jordan Tabakman is the pitching coach.
Dodger Classic (February 28-March 2)
There are heavy-hitters galore in the Dodger Classic with USC, UCLA and Vanderbilt. The game against the Commodores will be at Dodger Stadium to close out the event.
The Trojans have appeared on the schedule regularly as UConn has made southern California a frequent destination for spring break. They’ve hosted the Huskies in 2010, 2016 and 2022. Penders’ team has taken all three as revenge for the defeat in the 1972 College World Series, the only other meeting. This game will take place at UC Irvine as Dedeaux Field undergoes renovations.
UConn went to Westwood for the first time as part of its spring break trip last season, facing the Bruins in a midweek game and taking the victory. UCLA hosted six regionals and three super regionals in the 2010s but have missed the last two fields of 64 and finished with its lowest RPI in two decades last season.
Vanderbilt, then ranked No. 1, beat the Huskies in the 2020 MLB4 Tournament, extending its all-time record over UConn to 4-0. The Commodores have made every NCAA Tournament since 2006 and have hosted nine regionals, six super regionals and made it to Omaha five times with two national championships.
Miami Hurricanes (March 7-9)
The Hurricanes never competed in the Big East in baseball, which contributes to this being just the second time UConn has made it to Coral Gables. The first was for two games in 1970, both Miami wins. One of the most successful programs in the sport’s history, the Hurricanes are trying to get back to a regional after missing out in 2024.
Campbell (March 14-16)
UConn and Campbell have never played before, which means the Fighting Camels will be the 300th different program on the Huskies’ schedule. They missed the NCAA Tournament in 2024 but had been in the previous four fields, including the school’s first-ever at-large bid to an NCAA Tournament in 2021.
UNC Greensboro (March 21-23)
UConn will look for its first win against UNC Greensboro after being swept in 2001 and 2008. They were the Southern Conference regular season champions in 2024 with a 33-21 overall record but went 0-2 in the conference tournament.
Maine (May 15-17)
A unique non-conference series in May, Maine is the fifth-most frequent opponent in UConn’s history. The Black Bears have been on the docket just twice since 1995, including a 20-2 midweek victory last season. They were the America East Tournament champions in 2023, breaking a 12-year NCAA Tournament drought.
Big East Series
Xavier (March 28-30)
The series shifts back to Ohio following a 2-1 weekend at home for UConn last year. The Musketeers and Huskies matched up in the 2021, 2022 and 2023 Big East Tournament finals. UConn is 2-1 in earning the league’s automatic bid and is 13-9 overall against Xavier.
Creighton (April 4-6)
UConn has lost to Creighton just twice — the Bluejays staved off the sweep with a win in last year’s series finale and also won the opener at home in 2023. Creighton has missed the past two Big East Tournaments but finished 35-17 in 2024 with just four losses in non-conference play.
Georgetown (April 11-13)
The Hoyas are on the rise and handed UConn its only conference series loss since returning to the Big East, sweeping the Huskies in the final weekend of the 2022 season. Georgetown has made the past two Big East Tournaments and was one win away from its first regional last year but fell to St. John’s.
Seton Hall (April 17-19)
Seton Hall has struggled against UConn with just a 3-16 win since 2015. That’s been emblematic for the program as a whole, which has just one winning season since 2019 and one NCAA Tournament appearance since 2002.
St. John’s (April 25-27)
The Red Storm are the reigning Big East Tournament champions, pushing UConn to the at-large pool for the first time since re-joining the conference. It was their first NCAA bid since 2018 en route to their highest win total (38) since getting to the 40-win plateau in that season.
Villanova (May 2-4)
The Wildcats are in a similar boat as the Pirates with a 2-19 record against the Huskies since 2010. Villanova hasn’t made the conference tournament since 2008 and haven’t been in the NCAA Tournament since 1991, with its last full winning season coming in 2012.
Butler (May 9-11)
Butler had played the Huskies in just one series prior to becoming conference-mates. Overall, UConn is 11-1 over the Bulldogs. They haven’t been in the conference tournament since 2018 or a regional since 2000.