Baseball Is Back! Major League, College Action Begins

With Seattle Seahawks’ victory in Super Bowl 60 now in the history books, attention shifts this week to another important focus in the sports world: baseball.

This week marks the return of Major League Baseball, as players report to spring training. This week also is the beginning of the college baseball season for teams vying for a shot at the College World Series title in Omaha, Nebraska, this summer.

Major League Action

From Tuesday through Friday, Feb. 10-13, pitchers and catchers show up for spring training, with the first full-squad workouts beginning on Saturday, Feb. 14. Spring games begin the following week.

Major League teams play during spring training either in the Grapefruit League in Florida or the Cactus League in Arizona.

The first spring games begin on Friday, Feb. 20, including a matchup between the New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Florida. The Yankees are No. 7 in mlb.com's 2026 Power Rankings, while the Orioles are No. 9.

The No. 1 team in mlb.com’s 2026 Power Rankings, the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers, open their spring schedule on Saturday, Feb. 21, at Tempe Diablo Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, against the Los Angeles Angels, No. 29 in the preseason rankings.

World Baseball Classic

During spring training, Major League Baseball players are among those who will compete in the World Baseball Classic, representing different countries. Games are scheduled to be played in San Juan, Puerto Rico; Tokyo, Japan; Houston, Texas; and Miami, Florida.

According to a social media post from MLB on Fox, the following is the potential batting order for Team USA.

1. Bobby Witt Jr. SS
2. Kyle Schwarber DH
3. Aaron Judge RF
4. Cal Raleigh C
5. Bryce Harper 1B
6. Alex Bregman 3B
7. Gunnar Henderson 2B
8. Byron Buxton CF
9. Corbin Carroll LF

The USA pitching staff includes Paul Skenes, Clayton Kershaw, Tarik Skubal, Mason Miller and Logan Webb.

Here is the WBC Top 10 Power Rankings list from MLB on Fox:

1. United States
2. Dominican Republic
3. Japan
4. Venezuela
5. Mexico
6. Puerto Rico
7. Canada
8. Italy
9. Korea
10. Cuba

Key Dates

The following MLB and WBC dates are from espn.com:

Feb. 10-13: Pitchers and catchers first workouts

Feb. 14-17: First full-squad workouts

Feb. 20: First spring training games

March 3-4: WBC and MLB teams exhibition games

March 4-17: World Baseball Classic

March 19: Spring breakout games begin

March 25: Yankees-Giants on opening night

March 26: Opening Day

The Road To Omaha

The road to the 2026 College World Series in Omaha for Division I teams begins Friday, Feb. 13. The World Series is set for June 12 - 21/22 at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha.

While Division II and III teams have already begun play, including as early as Jan. 30, the schools vying for the Division I title in Omaha open play on Friday. Among other top collegiate teams, defending national champion LSU opens Friday with a three-game home stand at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge against the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers.

The 2026 preseason No. 1-ranked UCLA Bruins begin play Friday with three weekend games at home in Jackie Robinson Stadium in Los Angeles against the University of California, San Diego Tritons.

Here are the 2026 preseason Top 10 Division 1 teams, according to d1baseball.com:

1. UCLA
2. LSU
3. Texas
4. Mississippi State
5. Georgia Tech
6. Coastal Carolina
7. Arkansas
8. Louisville
9. Auburn
10. TCU

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