UCF Baseball to face LSU, Notre Dame and Indiana in 2026 Jax Baseball Classic
UCF Baseball will take part in one of the premier early-season college baseball tournaments next spring, joining a loaded field at the 2026 Jax Baseball Classic.
The Knights are one of four teams competing in the event, which will be held Feb. 20-22 at VyStar Ballpark in Jacksonville, home of the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins.
UCF is joined by 2025 National Champion LSU, Notre Dame and Indiana in the round-robin style tournament. Each team will play the other three opponents once across the weekend slate.
Now entering its third year, past Jax Baseball Classic champions include Alabama in 2025 (topping a field of NC State, Coastal Carolina and Ohio State) and Virginia in 2024 (which also featured Auburn, Iowa and Wichita State).
LSU, fresh off capturing the 2025 College World Series title, headlines the field. The Tigers finished 53-15 overall and went 19-11 in the SEC en route to claiming the program’s eighth national championship.
The weekend will also serve as a reunion for UCF head coach Rich Wallace, who will match up against his former team when the Knights face Notre Dame. Wallace spent three seasons with the Fighting Irish from 2020-22, helping guide the program to back-to-back Super Regional appearances and a trip to the College World Series in 2022.
Notre Dame wrapped up the 2025 season with a 32-21 overall record and 14-16 mark in ACC play. The Irish missed the postseason.
Indiana rounds out the tournament field. The Hoosiers also came up short of the NCAA Tournament last season, finishing 32-24 overall and 16-14 in the Big Ten.
After reaching the NCAA Tournament in Wallace’s first season, which also marked UCF’s Big 12 debut, the Knights are looking to bounce back from a 2025 campaign in which they finished 29-26 overall and 9-21 in conference play.
Game times for the Jax Baseball Classic will be confirmed at a later date. Last year’s games were streamed by D1Baseball.com.
Click here for some early tidbits about UCF’s 2026 baseball schedule.
