COLLEGE PARK, MD --University of Maryland baseball head coach Matt Swope announced the schedule for the 2024 season ahead of his first year at the helm. The Terrapins are playing yet another loaded schedule, which features five teams that played in last season's NCAA Tournament and seven that finished the 2023 season in the RPI Top 75.
Maryland is coming off one of its most successful campaigns in program history a season ago. The Terps brought home their second consecutive Big Ten regular season championship and won their first Big Ten Tournament title in program history. The Terps secured their third-straight NCAA Tournament appearance in 2023, marking the first time in program history that the team had advanced to three consecutive NCAA Tournaments.
"Our schedule this year is a good challenge for our guys", said Swope. "In my first year as a head coach we wanted to make sure our guys knew that they would consistently compete against top level talent and I think our schedule this year reflects that. We get to play in some great college environments both in conference and non-conference. We are just looking forward to having our guys go out and compete".
The Terrapins return several key contributors from a season ago, including Third Team All-Big Ten selection Elijah Lambros, 2022 First Team All-Big Ten Kevin Keister, and Kenny Lippman. The Terps also bring in an impressive list of newcomers, led by transfers Sam Hojnar and SWAC Pitcher of the Year Omar Melendez.
Maryland won all eight of its Big Ten series in 2023, continuing a streak of 22 consecutive conference series wins. The Terps have won all eight of their conference series in back-to-back years, with their last conference series loss coming in April 2021.
The Terps open the season on the road with a three-game series at Georgia Southern in Statesboro, GA (Feb. 16-18), before returning home for a meeting with Mount St. Mary's (Feb. 20).
The Terrapins travel to Corpus Christi, Texas, for the 2024 Kleberg Bank College Classic Feb. 23-25. The Terps will face off against Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Pittsburgh, and 2023 NCAA tournament team Washington over the three days. The Terps then close out the month of February with a home contest against Georgetown (Feb. 27) before traveling to face VCU (Feb. 28).
The Terrapins begin March with their first home series at Bob "Turtle" Smith Stadium as they welcome Bryant (Mar. 1-3). After a midweek home game against Delaware (Mar. 5), Maryland travels to the Tar Heel State for a three-game set against Charlotte (Mar. 8-10). The Terrapins then battle Mount St. Mary's on the road (Mar. 12) and before heading out west to face Portland (Mar. 15-17). The Terps return home for a midweek battle against James Madison (Mar. 19)
The month of March also starts Big Ten play. The Terps begin their conference title defense with a home series against Michigan State (Mar. 22-24). After a non-conference road game at Georgetown (Mar. 26), the Terps close out the month with their second conference series on the road against Michigan (Mar. 29-31).
Maryland begins April in Baltimore as it faces UMBC (Apr. 2) before another home Big Ten series against Indiana (Apr. 5-7). The Terrapins then travel to the Windy City for a series with Northwestern (Apr. 12-14) followed by another road series within the Big Ten as they face Nebraska (Apr. 19-21).
The Terps final conference matchup of April sees Illinois come to "The Bob" (Apr. 26-28). The Terps also host a midweek contest with UMBC (Apr. 9) and play midweek road games at Delaware (Apr. 16), James Madison (Apr. 23), and Towson (Apr. 30).
The Terrapins start May with a trip to Piscataway, New Jersey, for a duel with Rutgers (May 3-5). The Terps have a short two-game weekend series on the road as they face former ACC foe Boston College in Chestnut Hill (May 11-12), which is followed by a midweek road contest with West Virginia (May 14). The Terrapins close the regular season by hosting Penn State in their final Big Ten conference series (May 16-18).
The Big Ten Tournament will take place at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska, May 21-26. Game times and television broadcast designations will be announced in the near future.
