The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics

UAB Opens American Baseball Championship on Thursday
5/20/2026 3:53:00 PM | Baseball
CLEARWATER, FL – UAB Baseball returns to the American Baseball Championship for the first time since 2024 as the Blazers open tournament play on Thursday against the winner of (8) Charlotte vs. (5) Memphis on Thursday afternoon.
Who: UAB (31-24, 15-12 - American) vs. TBA
Where: BayCare Ballpark – Clearwater, Florida
Watch: ESPN+
On The Call (Crew 1): Jeff Brightwell (PxP), Patrick Murray (Analyst), Maria Trivelpiece (Reporter)
On The Call (Crew 2): AJ Ricketts (PxP), Sean Salisbury (Analyst), Savanna Collins (Reporter)
Listen: Varsity Sports Network (streaming)
On The Call: David Crane (PxP)
In Clearwater: UAB is 0-2
Last Game in Clearwater: May 22, 2024 (Rice defeated UAB, 9-0)
Thursday (approximately 3:45 p.m. CT)
Probable Starters
UAB: TBA
CLT/MEM: TBA
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: Varsity Sports Network
Game schedules, live stats, and broadcast information can be found at uabsports.com/baseball/schedule as the tournament progresses. Probable starting pitchers can be found on UAB Baseball's X account one hour prior to first pitch of each game. Game notes will be posted before each individual game throughout the tournament at https://uabsports.com/sports/2025/12/30/2026-game-notes.
Wednesday, May 20
Game 1: No. 6 Florida Atlantic vs No. 7 Wichita State | 1 p.m. | Live Stats | ESPN+
Game 2: No. 5 Memphis vs No. 8 Charlotte | 47 minutes following Game 1 | Live Stats | ESPN+
Thursday, May 21
Game 3: No. 3 Rice vs Game 1 Winner | 1 p.m. | Live Stats | ESPN+
Game 4: No. 4 UAB vs Game 2 Winner | 47 minutes following Game 3 | Live Stats | ESPN+
Friday, May 22
Game 5: No. 2 East Carolina vs Game 3 Winner | 9 a.m. | Live Stats | ESPN+
Game 6: No. 1 UTSA vs Game 4 Winner | 47 minutes following Game 5 | Live Stats | ESPN+
Game 7: Game 4 Loser vs Game 5 Loser | 4:30 p.m. | Live Stats | ESPN+
Game 8: Game 3 Loser vs Game 6 Loser | 47 minutes following Game 7 | Live Stats | ESPN+
Saturday, May 23
Game 9: | Game 5 Winner vs Game 6 Winner | 10 a.m. | Live Stats | ESPN+
Game 10: | Game 7 Winner vs Game 8 Winner | 47 minutes following Game 9 | Live Stats | ESPN+
Game 11: | Game 10 Winner vs Game 9 Loser | 47 minutes following Game 10 | Live Stats | ESPN+
Sunday, May 24
Game 12: Game 9 Winner vs Game 11 Winner | Noon | Live Stats | ESPNEWS
THINGS TO KNOW
- UAB went 5-4 in weekend series this season, but two sweeps catapulted the Blazers into the number 4 seed for the tournament.
- The Green and Gold are searching for their first ever home run at BayCare Ballpark. UAB did not leave the yard in the two games played in 2024.
- The Blazers need two home runs to break the single season school record. The 80 homers UAB has hit are the second-most in school history, just one behind the 1998 team.
- UAB has also been busy on the base paths this season. The Blazers have stolen 92 bases in 2026. The total is the fifth-most in program history. UAB is the only team in The American with six players totaling 10+ stolen bases.
- Altogether, the Green and Gold have put together one of the best offensive seasons in program history, crossing the plate 412 times. That total is sixth best all-time.
- UAB is 30-7 this season when scoring at least five runs and are 18-0 when scoring 10 runs or more.
- The Blazers had seven total members honored by the American Conference on Tuesday. Led by Coach of the Year, Casey Dunn, UAB had two First Team selections in John Paul Head (OF) and Max Price (UTL), Second Team honoree Landon Beaver (UTL), and All-Freshman selections Baylor Roberts (INF), Austin Pierzynski (C), and Carter Samuelson (P). The seven members named were the most in a single season since 1995.
- Dunn was named Coach of the Year for the second time in his career (2019, Samford - Southern Conference). He is the third head coach in UAB history to win Coach of the Year.
- On May 16, Head became the fourth player in American Conference history to hit 20 home runs in a single season.
- Head has also reached in 19 straight games. Kevin Hall Jr. and Andrew Hunt have each reached in 15 consecutive contests.
- Brady Waugh is the active leader for hit streaks, tallying at least one hit in each of the last eight games.
- Waugh and Landon Beaver are the lone Blazers with 20+ multi-hit games. Beaver leads the team with 21 multi-hit games while Waugh has multiple knocks in 20 games.
FOLLOW THE BLAZERS
To keep up with UAB Baseball, follow @UAB_Baseball on Instagram and X.
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