About 3 minutes reading time.

Matchups to Watch on College Baseball’s Opening Weekend

 Alfred Ezman - World Baseball Network  |    Feb 13th, 2025 5:37pm EST

---

With college baseball back for the 2025 season, here are some matchups to watch nationwide.  

1. Shriners Children’s College Showdown – Globe Life Field – Arlington, Texas 

This multi-team event at Globe Life Field, home of the Texas Rangers, features great teams and matchups.

Here is the schedule for the weekend, which will feature nine games over three days.  

Feb. 14

• Oklahoma State v. Clemson – 11 a.m. 
• Arizona v. Ole Miss – 3 p.m.
• Texas v. Louisville – 7 p.m.  

Feb. 15 

• Clemson v. Arizona – 11 a.m. 
• Louisville v. Oklahoma State – 3 p.m.
• Ole Miss v. Texas – 7 p.m.  

Feb. 16 

• Louisville v. Arizona – 10:30 a.m. 
• Ole Miss v. Clemson – 2:30 p.m.
• Oklahoma State v. Texas – 6:30 p.m.  

Four of the six teams in Arlington this weekend are ranked in D1 Baseball’s preseason top 25. Those four ranked teams create three games featuring top 25 opponents fans will see in Texas this weekend. The Shriners Children’s Showdown is the main event for college baseball’s opening weekend.  

2. Texas Tech v. North Carolina – Chapel Hill, N.C. – Boshamer Stadium

After ending the 2024 season as a College World Series team, the North Carolina Tar Heels get to start the 2025 season at home against the Texas Tech Red Raiders.   

Texas Tech went 33-26 overall a season ago and made a deep run into the Big 12 tournament. They provide a tough test for head coach Scott Forbes and the Tar Heels to begin the season.  

This is a good power conference matchup on opening weekend instead of plenty of weekend series we see with mid-majors traveling to big schools.  

Texas Tech and North Carolina will play from Feb. 14-16 in Boshamer Stadium. The Friday game starts at 4 p.m. E.T. The Saturday game starts at 2 p.m. E.T. The series’ final game on Sunday begins at 1 p.m. E.T.

3. The Puerto Rico Challenge – Ponce, P.R. and Caguas, P.R. – Estadio Francisco Montaner and Estadio Yldefonso

College baseball goes international and heads to Puerto Rico for The Puerto Rico Challenge. The multi-team event features some great teams.  

The Virginia Cavaliers will be there and were a College World Series team a season ago. UConn was an NCAA Tournament team that made a Super Regional, and they will also be participating in the event.  

Other teams in Puerto Rico include Stetson, Rice, and Missouri.

Here is the full schedule: 

Feb. 14 

• UConn v. Stetson – 11 a.m. 
• Virginia v. Michigan – 2 p.m.
• Missouri v. Penn State – 5 p.m.
• Villanova v. Rice – 8 p.m.  

Feb. 15 

• Stetson v. Penn State – 11 a.m. 
• Rice v. Michigan – 2 p.m.
• UConn v. Missouri – 5 p.m.  

Globe Life Field / (AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter)