OMAHA, Neb. — The No. 21 Arizona Wildcats (44-19) open play at the Men's College World Series with a matchup against the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (53-11) this Friday afternoon at Charles Schwab Field Omaha.

First pitch on Friday is set for 11:00 a.m. MST on ESPN. The game will also be broadcast on Wildcats Radio 1290 AM.

Friday's CWS opener is a much-anticipated rematch for the Wildcats, whose only three games against the Chanticleers came in the championship series of the 2016 CWS.

The Wildcats are playing in their 19th College World Series, tied for the eighth most appearances in the nation. Arizona holds an all-time winning record of 43-32 in the CWS, with their last win coming over Coastal Carolina in 2016.

For more, a complete game preview is below.
 

Date	Opponent	Time (MST)	Arizona Pitcher	Opponent Pitcher
Friday, June 13	#11 Coastal Carolina	11:00 AM	RHP Owen Kramkowski (9-6, 5.48)	RHP Riley Eikhoff (6-2, 2.90)

Leading Off...

• The Arizona Wildcats open play at the 2025 Men's College World Series with a matchup against the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers on Friday night.
• Friday's game will be televised on ESPN with Karl Ravech, Eduardo Perez, Ben McDonald, and Dani Wexelman on the call. It will also be broadcast live on Wildcats Radio 1290 AM with play-by-play from Brian Jeffries.
• The Wildcats are playing in their 19th College World Series, tied for the eighth most appearances in the nation with former Pac-12 Conference member, Stanford.
• Arizona head coach Chip Hale, along with Oregon State skipper Mitch Canham, are the 21st and 22nd individuals to make the College World Series as both a player and a head coach. Only two men (Arizona's Jerry Kindall and UC Irvine's Mike Gillespie) have ever won the CWS as a player and as a coach. Gillespie is the only one to have accomplished both feats with the same school.
• The Wildcats and Chanticleers have faced off three times previously, with all three games coming in the championship series of the 2016 College World Series. Coastal Carolina won the series, two games to one.
• Arizona boasts an all-time winning record of 43-32 (.573) at the College World Series. The program's 43 wins are sixth most in CWS history, five behind fifth place LSU (46).
• Shortstop Mason White currently ranks second in program history with 48 career home runs. He now sits seven home runs shy of a tie for the Arizona record. Of his 48 career home runs, 35 have been hit away from Hi Corbett Field at road/neutral venues.

SOME GAME THEMES: The No. 21 Arizona Wildcats and No. 11 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers face off in the opening game of the 2025 Men's College World Series...Friday's game will be televised on ESPN with Karl Ravech, Eduardo Perez, Ben McDonald, and Dani Wexelman on the call...The game will also be broadcast live on Wildcats Radio 1290 AM with Brian Jeffries and Brody Dryden on the call...This marks the 19th College World Series appearance in Arizona program history, tied with Stanford for the seventh most in the nation... Arizona reached their 19th College World Series by sweeping through the Eugene Regional and taking the Chapel Hill Super Regional 2-1 from No. 1 ranked and No. 5 national seed North Carolina...The Wildcats now sport 21 all-time Regional/District championships and five Super Regional championships...Arizona head coach Chip Hale, along with Oregon State skipper Mitch Canham, are the 21st and 22nd individuals to make the College World Series as both a player and a head coach...Only two men (Arizona's Jerry Kindall and USC's Mike Gillespie) have ever won the CWS as a player and as a coach...Gillespie is the only one to have accomplished both feats with the same school... Arizona boasts an all-time winning record of 43-32 (.573) in their 18 prior trips to the College World Series...The program's 43 wins are sixth most in CWS history, three behind fifth place LSU (46)...Arizona is currently competing in their 44th NCAA Baseball Championship...Arizona finished the regular season with a record of 36-18 before tallying an 8-1 postseason record across the Big 12 Championship, the Eugene Regional, and the Chapel Hill Super Regional...The Wildcats have won back-to-back conference tournament championships; the team won the 2024 Pac-12 Tournament during their last year in the conference before earning the Big 12 Championship during their first year in the conference...The Wildcats and Chanticleers have faced off three times previously, with all three games coming in the championship series of the 2016 College World Series; Coastal Carolina won the series, two games to one...Arizona won the opening game of the series 3-0 before falling in back-to-back one-run games on final scores of 4-5 and 3-4.

POSTSEASON POINTS:

• Arizona is participating in their 44th NCAA Tournament, the sixth most in Division I history.
• The Wildcats are participating in the NCAA Tournament for the fifth consecutive season, marking the second longest streak in program history. The program's longest streak was 14 consecutive tournament appearances from 1950-63.
• The Wildcats sport an all-time winning record of 43-32 (.573) in the College World Series, with four National Championships (1976, 1980, 1986, 2012).
• Since the NCAA Baseball Championship format change in 1999, Arizona has advanced to five College World Series, with one National Championship in 2012 and one runner-up placement in 2016.
• Head coach Chip Hale is only the second coach in program history to lead their team to the NCAA Tournament in each of his first four years, joining Frank Sancet, who made 14 stright tournament appearances from 1950-63.
• Chip Hale, along with Oregon State skipper Mitch Canham, are the 21st and 22nd individuals to make the College World Series as both a player and a head coach.
• Arizona's current roster features a combined 311 at-bats and 64.1 innings of NCAA Tournament experience.

TUCSON'S OWN: Infielder and Tucson native Mason White has slugged his way into the Arizona Baseball record books. With 10 home runs as a true freshman, a team-leading 19 last year as a sophomore, and 19 more so far this year, White is now second in program history with 48 dingers. He has also piled up 110 career extra-base hits, tied for the most in program history. He passed his current head coach, Chip Hale, with two XBH on May 22 against BYU.

BIG 12 AWARDS: Seven Wildcats picked up recognition last month with the announcement of the Big 12 Conference's end of year baseball awards, highlighted by right-handed pitcher Tony Pluta who was selected as the league's Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Pluta, the first conference Scholar-Athlete of the year in program history, was also named to the All-Big 12 Second Team along with infielder Mason White. Additionally, first year right-handed pitcher Smith Bailey was voted onto the Big 12 All-Freshman Team. Arizona's recognitions were rounded out by catcher Adonys Guzman, right-handed pitcher Owen Kramkowski, and outfielders Brendan Summerhill and Aaron Walton all earning All-Big 12 Honorable Mention nods. 

STREAKONOMICS: Infielder Garen Caulfield carries the longest active hit streak on the team into this Friday's action at the College World Series, having hit safely in five consecutive games. During that streak, Caulfield is hitting .348 (8-for-23) with five runs scored, two doubles, two home runs, and two RBI. Infielder Andrew Cain and outfielder Easton Breyfogle have the next longest active hit streaks, at three games each. The longest hit streak of the year belongs to Caulfield, who put together a 15-game hit streak from March 1–29. Four Wildcats enter Friday's action with on-base streaks of five games or longer: Caulfield (6 games), Breyfogle (6 games), outfielder Brendan Summerhill (5 games), and catcher Adonys Guzman (5 games). Summerhill and fellow outfielder Aaron Walton have both posted 25-game on-base streaks this year, tied for the longest on the team.

SAVING PRIVATE PLUTA: Reliever Tony Pluta has been a rock-solid force out of the Arizona bullpen this season and has quickly risen up the program's single-season and career saves leaderboards. Pluta's dominant ninth inning last Sunday to secure Arizona's Chapel Hill Super Regional championship earned him his 14th save of the season, setting a single-season program record in the process. He also boasts 16 saves in his career, the third most in program history. Pluta paced the Big 12 and ranks tied for fourth nationally with 13 saves this year. With his accomplishments on the mound this season, Pluta was recently named one of 13 finalists for the NCBWA Stopper of the Year award, making him the first finalist for the award in program history. He was also recently selected as a First Team All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association and a Second Team All-American by Perfect Game.

ALWAYS BE CATCHING: Arizona catcher Adonys Guzman was selected as one of 13 semifinalists for the Buster Posey Award, the Wichita Sports Commission announced last month. Through 60 games, Guzman has posted a .318 batting average (71-for-223) with 40 runs scored, 11 doubles, eight home runs, and 42 RBI, all of which are career-high marks. In addition to his contributions at the plate, Guzman has started 54 games behind the plate and posted an impressive 4.63 catcher's ERA. The junior backstop has thrown out 17 would-be base stealers and registered a .987 fielding percentage on a team-high 537 total chances. Guzman's 17 baserunners caught stealing are the eighth most in a single season by a Wildcat during the StatCrew era (1998-current).

IRON MAN: Wildcat infielder Garen Caulfield has logged nearly four full seasons in an Arizona uniform and has cemented himself among some of the most prolific players in program history. Since 2022, Caulfield has seen time in 229 games (221 starts) and tallied 870 at-bats, marks that rank 3rd and 2nd in Arizona Baseball history, respectively. With a minimum of two games remaining in the Wildcats season, Caulfield could move into a tie for third all-time in games played.

3,000 CLUB: Arizona Baseball is one of just 10 programs in the history of college baseball to win 3,000 games. As it currently stands, Arizona is the tied for the ninth all-time winningest program in the history of the sport. The Wildcats logged their 3,000th victory with a 3-2 win over UCLA on March 29, 2024. Across time as a player (1984-87) and as a coach (2022-present), Arizona head coach Chip Hale has contributed to over 9% (302) of the program's all-time wins.

PLUTA NAMED STOPPER OF THE YEAR FINALIST: Arizona Baseball closer Tony Pluta has been selected as one of 13 finalists for the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award, the organization announced last week. The award, in its 20th year, is given annually to the nation's top Division I relief pitcher. Pluta is the first Arizona player to be honored as a finalist. Pluta, a junior right-hander, has tallied 14 saves this year, a mark that sets the Arizona single-season record, leads the Big 12 Conference, and ranks tied for fourth nationally. The Illinois native boasts a minuscule 1.26 ERA and 34 strikeouts while holding opposing hitters to a .183 batting average. Pluta has appeared in 28 games for the Wildcats this season and has allowed runs in only two of those outings. As the Wildcats closer he has punctuated numerous highlight wins for the program this season, including their victory in the Big 12 Championship title game and their win in game three of the Chapel Hill Super Regional. A standout student-athlete, Pluta has excelled both on the field and in the classroom during his time as a Wildcat. He was recently selected to the CSC Academic All-District team for the second time in his career and last month was named the Big 12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year, making him the first player in program history to earn the honor.

BAILEY, KRAMKOWSKI TO USA BASEBALL CNT: Two Arizona Baseball standouts, right-handed pitchers Smith Bailey and Owen Kramkowski, have accepted invites to participate in the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Training Camp this summer in Cary, North Carolina. The USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Training Camp will feature 56 of the premier non-draft-eligible college players for a five-game Stars vs. Stripes intrasquad series in North Carolina from June 29–July 3. USA Baseball will name the final Collegiate National Team following Training Camp on July 3. If selected to the final team, Bailey and Kramkowski would become the 21st and 22nd Arizona Baseball players to represent the Wildcats on the Collegiate National Team. Bailey, a true freshman, has made 17 starts for the Wildcats this season during their run to the Men's College World Series. The Peoria, Arizona native has earned three wins and struck out 76 over 83 innings of work while posting an impressive 4.01 ERA. Bailey's last three starts have been crucial for Arizona with the Widlcats securing a Big 12 Championship title, the Eugene Regional championship, and the Chapel Hill Super Regional crown with him on the mound. His efforts this season earned him a spot on the 2025 Big 12 All-Freshman Team. Kramkowski, a sophomore, picked up Big 12 All-Conference Honorable Mention recognition after spending a full season in the Wildcats weekend rotation. Across 17 starts the Sahuarita, Arizona native has logged nine wins, 83 strikeouts, and posted a 5.48 ERA. Kramkowski's most impressive start of the season came in the second game of the Wildcats rivalry series against Arizona State, in which he went 8.2 innings and allowed just three runs while earning the win; it was his first of four consecutive starts in which he would earn the win.

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 have swatted 2,597 extra-base hits. Over that stretch, only one current members of the Big 12 Conference have tallied more extra-base hits: Texas Tech (2,736). Across 13 seasons at Hi Corbett Field as members of the Pac-12 Conference, Arizona paced the league in doubles seven times and triples eight times. This year they led the Big 12 and the entire nation with 36 triples, while their 133 doubles were second most in the Big 12. Since the College World Series moved to Charles Schwab Field Omaha, a field similarly sized to Hir Corbett Field, in 2011 the Wildcats have played in 15 CWS games and swatted 31 extra-base hits.

THE FRENCH CONNECTION: Arizona infielder Mathis Meurant, who was born and raised in France, is the lone player on the Wildcats roster from outside the United States. With assistance from Jeff Duda (@INTLBaseball24 on Twitter) and the French Baseball and Softball Federation it has been confirmed that, upon his Wildcat debut on opening weekend in Arlington, Meurant became the first French player at the Power Conference level in NCAA history. Meurant originally hails from Vaires-sur-Marne, a small town just east of Paris. Following a breakout performance in week two against San Diego in which he posted a 2.200 OPS, Meurant was selected as the Big 12 Co-Newcomer of the Week, making him the first Arizona Baseball player to receive a Big 12 weekly award.