TUCSON, Ariz. — The Arizona Wildcats kick off the 2024 baseball season this weekend at Hi Corbett Field with a three-game series against the No. 23-ranked Northeastern Huskies. First pitches are slated for 6:00, 1:00, and 12:00 p.m. MST on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, respectively.

All three games will be live streamed for free at ArizonaWildcats.com.

Arizona enters the year with a revamped roster and coaching staff while looking to make a run to their fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats have made the postseason in each of head coach Chip Hale's first two seasons in charge.

The Wildcats will roll out a combination of returning favorites and brand new promotion this season — for the full list, visit the Arizona Baseball promo schedule page. This weekend will include a home opener K Card giveaway, pregame autographs on Saturday, and postgame kids run the bases on Sunday. Single-game tickets for the full season can be purchased here.

Also debuting on Friday is the newly renovated Team Store; be there for their grand opening and see Tucson's newest mural created by the one and only CYFI. An opportunity to meet the artist will be available when gates open at 5:00 p.m. MST.

For more, a complete weekend preview is below.
 

Date	Opponent	Time (MST)	Arizona Pitcher	Opponent Pitcher
Friday, Feb. 16	#23 Northeastern	6:00 PM	LHP Jackson Kent (0-0, -.--)	RHP Wyatt Scotti (0-0 -.--)
Saturday, Feb. 17	#23 Northeastern	1:00 PM	RHP Clark Candiotti (0-0, -.--)	RHP Dennis Colleran (0-0, -.--)
Sunday, Feb. 18	#23 Northeastern	12:00 PM	RHP Anthony Susac (0-0, -.--)	RHP Aiven Cabral (0-0, -.--)

Leading Off...

• Arizona Baseball opens their third season under head coach Chip Hale with a three-game series against No. 23 Northeastern this weekend at Hi Corbett Field.
• This weekend is the second all-time meeting between the two programs. Arizona is 1-0 against Northeastern, with the Wildcats one victory over the Huskies coming at the 1966 College World Series (8-1 final).
• Head coach Chip Hale — a standout alumni and Arizona's all-time leader in games played, hits, and total bases — enters his third year leading his alma mater. Hale has led the Wildcats to NCAA Tournament berths and 30+ wins in each of his first two seasons in charge in Tucson.
• Arizona has won 15 consecutive season-opening games. Their last opening day loss came against Georgia in 2008 (7-9).
• Since 2010, Arizona starting pitchers on opening night have combined to post nine quality starts. No starter in that stretch has allowed more than three runs.
• Last week, sophomore infielder Mason White and senior right-handed pitcher Dawson Netz were selected to the Pac-12 Preseason All-Conference team, the first such honor for both players.
• RHP Dawson Netz, INF Garen Caulfield, and OF Emilio Corona were selected by their teammates as captains for the 2024 Wildcats.
• Assistant coach Kevin Vance and director of player development John DeRouin joined the Wildcats coaching staff this offseason. Former volunteer coach Toby DeMello also earned a promotion to full-time assistant coach.

SOME SERIES THEMES: The Arizona Wildcats kick off their third season under the direction of head coach Chip Hale this Friday at Hi Corbett Field...Hale looks to lead his alma mater to a third consecutive NCAA Tournament berth after earning regional bids in each of his first two campaigns back in Tucson...Joining the Wildcats coaching staff this year are assistant coach Kevin Vance and director of player development John DeRouin, both of which work with the Wildcats pitching staff...Two standout Arizona players, infielder Mason White and right-handed pitcher Dawson Netz, both earned selections to the Pac-12 Preseason All-Conference team last week...White (#17 ranked shortstop) and left-handed pitcher Jackson Kent (#128 ranked starting pitcher) both picked up national recognition from D1Baseball as being among the best players in the nation at their respective positions...Arizona enters the 2024 season unranked, but receiving votes in both the NCBWA and USA Today Coaches polls...The Wildcats will host the No. 23 Northeastern Huskies, a team the Wildcats last faced at the 1966 College World Series before Arizona had won any of their four national championships...Northeastern is led by 10th-year head coach Mike Glavine, who has nine years experience leading the Huskies and 17th seasons overall with the program.

LID LIFTER: Arizona boasts a long run of success in season openers, having won 15 consecutive lid lifters dating back to the 2009 season. Arizona's last opening day loss was a 9-7 decision at Georgia in 2008. This weekend marks Arizona's first opening weekend at home since 2021, having kicked off both the 2022 and 2023 seasons at neutral site tournaments. Finally, the Wildcats have won or tied 26 consecutive season-opening series/weekends — the last time Arizona had a losing record after their first weekend of the season came all the way back in 1994, when they went 1-2 at home against New Mexico. During that two and a half decade stretch, the Cats have collected 14 series/weekend sweeps.

O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN!: Senior right-handed pitcher Dawson Netz, junior infielder Garen Caulfield, and senior outfielder Emilio Corona have been named Arizona Baseball's 2024 Team Captains. The trio of upperclassmen were voted into their captain roles by their teammates. All three captains have been major contributors on the field, leaders in the clubhouse, and exemplary men off the field.

CATS COACHES: The Wildcats are led into the 2024 season by third-year head coach Chip Hale — he was hired on July 5, 2021. Hale, the Wildcats all-time leader in games played, hits, and total bases during his time in Tucson from 1984-87, brings nearly two decades of professional coaching experience to Arizona. During his collegiate career, Hale helped steer the 1986 Arizona Wildcats to their third NCAA National Championship. His professional coaching career was highlighted by a stint as the manager for the Arizona Diamondbacks (2015-16) and a World Series championship with the Washington Nationals in 2019. Hale is once again assisted by assistant coaches Toby DeMello and Trip Couch. DeMello, who joined the Wildcats from Sacramento State in 2022, was promoted from volunteer assistant into a full-time coaching role during the offseason. Since arriving in Tucson he has helped craft one of the most dangerous offenses in America, one that averaged 7.5 runs per game and batted .301 between the 2022 and 2023 campaigns. Couch, one of the nation's top recruiting coordinators, joined the Wildcats in the same role after splitting the previous 11 years between Houston and South Carolina. Across his decades of collegiate coaching experience, Couch has made 13 NCAA postseason appearances, developed 15 All-Americans, and directly coached 42 MLB Draft selections. The Wildcats newest full-time staff addition was assistant coach Kevin Vance, who arrived in Tucson to develop the Arizona pitching staff. Vance joined the Cats following two season at Boston College where he helped lead the Eagles to their first NCAA Regional berth since 2016. Arizona's staff is rounded out by director of baseball operations Will Gaines, in his third season with the program, and director of player development John DeRouin, who is in his first season in Tucson and will work directly with coach Vance and the Arizona pitching staff.

OPENING NIGHT ACES: For over a decade, the Wildcats have enjoyed dominant starting pitching performances on Opening Night. Since 2010, Arizona starting pitchers have posted 10 quality starts and struck out 102 opposing batters across 87.1 innings. All but one starter has pitched at least five innings, with six going seven or more — none have allowed more than three runs.

PRESEASON ALL-PAC-12 TEAM: Arizona Baseball infielder Mason White and right-handed pitcher Dawson Netz both earned spots on the Pac-12 Preseason All-Conference team. Players are nominated for, and voted onto, the Pac-12 Preseason All-Conference team by the league's head coaches. The Pac-12 also released their annual Preseason Coaches Poll on Wednesday, where the Wildcats were selected to finish ninth in the conference standings. Arizona will face the teams selected to finish first through third place in the conference at home this season — the complete 2024 Preseason Coaches Poll can be found on page three of these notes.

PAC-12 FAREWELL TOUR: The 2024 season will be Arizona's final go-around in the Pac-12 — they joined the conference for the 1979 baseball season. Beginning with the 2024-25 academic year, the Wildcats will compete in the Big 12 Conference along with current Pac-12 foes Arizona State, Utah, and Colorado. During their time in the Pac-10 and Pac-12, Arizona Baseball won five Pac-10/12 Championships earned three of their four NCAA National Championships.

HOME SWEET HOME: Since Arizona Baseball moved to Hi Corbett Field for the 2012 season, the Wildcats have enjoyed a tremendous home field advantage. Over those 12+ seasons, Arizona has posted a home record of 272-114, winning games at a .705 clip. Their home winning percentage over that stretch is the second best mark in the conference, while their 272 home victories are tops in the conference.

EXTRA EXTRA, READ ALL ABOUT IT: Arizona has consistently taken advantage of the large dimensions at Hi Corbett Field since moving there in 2012 — in the decade-plus since the move off campus, the Wildcats hold the Pac-12 lead with 2,161 extra-base hits (second: Stanford, 2,064). During that stretch Arizona has paced the conference in doubles seven times and triples seven times.

STATE 48: The Wildcats 2024 roster features 14 players hailing from the state of Arizona. Other states represented on Arizona's roster include California (11), Illinois (6), Texas (2), Minnesota (2), New York (1), Colorado (1), New Mexico (1), and Florida (1). The Wildcats 14 Arizonans represent nearly 36% of the roster. Among the 14 Arizona natives on the roster, five current Wildcats also played their high school baseball in or near Tucson: Andrew Cain (Ironwood Ridge HS), Mason White (Salpointe Catholic HS), Jaeden Swanberg (Salpointe Catholic HS), Alessandro Castro (Pusch Ridge Christian HS), and Caid Bergthold (Catalina Foothills HS).

STREAKONOMICS: Two Wildcats carry extended streaks at the plate into this year from the end of the 2023 campaign. Infielder Mason White hit safely in each of Arizona's final six games of last year, while outfielder Emilio Corona sports an 11-game on-base streak that stretches back into the end of the 2023 regular season. White's 17-game hit streak in 2023 was the longest on the team.

ROAD FROM THE SHOW: Arizona Baseball, a program that proudly boasts 280 Major League Baseball Draft selections and 94 alumni MLB players, also currently has five players on the roster with MLB ties in their bloodlines. Between those five players, the Wildcats relatives have logged 44 years and 1,357 games worth of Major League service time.

GOLD GLOVES: The Wildcats defensive prowess has improved and continued to increase every season under the direction of head coach Chip Hale. Prior to his arrival, during the 2021 season, Arizona's defensive unit combined to post a .967 fielding percentage on 78 errors. In Hale's first season in charge of his alma mater in 2022, the Wildcats improved those numbers to a .972 fielding percentage on 66 errors. They again showed improvement in 2023, earning a .977 fielding percentage on just 52 errors.