PREVIEW: Baseball Tosses First Pitch in 2026 Season in Puerto Rico

HOUSTON – The Houston Baseball team throws the first pitch for the NCAA Division I baseball season as it starts the 2026 campaign at the Puerto Rico Challenge. The Cougars play four games over four days, starting with an 8:30 a.m. CT tilt against #21 Wake Forest on Friday.

PUERTO RICO CHALLENGE
#21 Wake Forest	Friday, Feb. 13 \| 8:30 a.m. CT/10:30 a.m. AT Ponce, Puerto Rico \| Estadio Paquito Montaner Victory+ \| Stats
Boston College	Saturday, Feb. 14 \| Noon CT/2 p.m. AT Caguas, Puerto Rico \| Parque Yldefonso Sola Morales Victory+ \| Stats
Manhattan	Sunday, Feb. 15 \| 8:30 a.m. CT/10:30 a.m. AT Ponce, Puerto Rico \| Estadio Paquito Montaner Victory+ \| Stats
Washington	Monday, Feb. 16 \| 8:30 a.m. CT/10:30 a.m. AT Ponce, Puerto Rico \| Estadio Paquito Montaner Victory+ \| Stats
Game Notes	Houston \| Wake Forest \| Boston College \| Manhattan \| Washington
Media Center	Notes, Record Book, Rosters, Box Scores

Quick Hitters

The game against Wake Forest is the first NCAA Division I Baseball game of the season. Teams are allowed to start their seasons no earlier than Friday, and with the Cougars' 8:30 a.m. first pitch, Houston and Wake Forest are the first Division I game of the season.
This is just the second time under Head Coach Todd Whitting that Houston has started the season away from Schroeder Park. The Cougars are 11-4 in season openers with Whitting at the helm.
Houston is no stranger to neutral-site tournaments, playing in at least one in every season under Whitting.
Junior Tre Broussard has been highly ranked on MLB Draft prospects lists. MLB.com put him at No. 46 on their first 2026 Top 100 Draft prospects list while FloBaseball tabbed him at 79^th and D1Baseball placed him at No. 80.
Houston returns five position starters from last season, including Tyler Cox, the lone Cougar to start every game. Overall, the Cougars return a majority of its at-bats, hits, homers and RBIs. The pitching staff also sees significant returns as nearly 60 percent of Houston's innings and 52 percent of strikeouts are back in H-Town this year.
This weekend starts a non-conference slate that sees Houston play 11 different conferences, including all of the Power 4 leagues. The Cougars play two ACC teams as well as a MAAC foe and Big 10 squad in the season's opening weekend.
The Cougars face a loaded schedule in 2026, battling five teams that finished 2025 in the Top 25 of RPI. The team will play 29 of its 55 games against teams that finished in the Top 50 of the NCAA's RPI and 25 games against teams that made the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

THE SERIES
Wake Forest

All-time: 2-0
At Neutral Sites: First Meeting
Last Meeting: Feb. 19, 2017 | Houston | Houston won, 5-4
Current Streak: Houston, 2
Under Whitting: 2-0

Boston College

All-time: 1-1
At Neutral Sites: 1-1
Last Meeting: June 14, 1967 | College World Series | Houston won, 3-2
Current Streak: Houston, 1
Under Whitting: First Meeting

Manhattan

All-time: First Meeting

Washington

All-time: 0-1
At Neutral Sites: 0-1
Last Meeting: Feb. 9, 2003 | Neutral | Washington won, 4-1
Current Streak: Washington, 1
Under Whitting: First Meeting

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