LA JOLLA, Calif. – The UC San Diego baseball team begins their long-awaited Division I era this weekend when they take on San Diego State. The Tritons will travel to the Aztecs on Friday and Saturday before returning home to host them in a double-header on Sunday.
 
UC SAN DIEGO AND COVID-19
UC San Diego's nationally renowned Return to Learn program was created to return to in-person teaching, learning, conducting pioneering research and serving our communities in the safest way possible. The program has three adaptive pillars that are central to our strategy to resume on-campus activity: risk mitigation, viral detection, and intervention.

For the latest information on UC San Diego and COVID-19, please visit the University's Return to Learn site.
 
DETAILS
Games 1-2
UC San Diego (0-0) At San Diego State (2-1) 
Friday and Saturday, February 26-27
1:00 p.m. each day
At Tony Gwynn Stadium, San Diego, Calif.
Game 1 | Game 2 | Live Stats
 
Games 3-4
San Diego St (2-1) at UC San Diego (0-0)
Sunday, February 28 
1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. (DH)
Triton Ballpark, La Jolla, Calif.
Watch on ESPN3 | Live Stats 
 
PROBABLE SERIES ROTATION
Friday: SDSU Troy Melton vs UC San Diego Cameron Leonard
Saturday: SDSU Kohl Simas vs UC San Diego Chris Gilmartin
Sunday (1): SDSU Michael Paredes vs UC San Diego Brandon Weed
Sunday (2): SDSU TBA vs UC San Diego TBA
 
ATTENDING THE GAMES
Per the current COVID-19 guidelines set by the state of California, the County of San Diego and the Big West Conference, fans are not permitted to attend home games at Triton Ballpark. For more information on UC San Diego ticket policies, visit UCSDTritons.com/tickets.
 
COVERING THE TRITONS
Media members wishing to cover a UC San Diego game in-person at Triton Ballpark this season must notify a member of the Athletics Communication staff no later than 24 hours before the first pitch. All media members will need to complete a UC San Diego symptom screening form on the day of game prior to arriving on campus.
 
Following the conclusion of each home series, a video highlight melt and video postgame interviews will be made available for media members to download.

ON THE MOVE
After 20 seasons playing as an NCAA Division II team, the entire athletics program has begun a four-year transition to NCAA Division I, culminating in full DI status as a member of the Big West Conference for the 2024-25 academic year. At that time, all sports will be eligible for conference and NCAA postseason play.
 
2020 IN REVIEW
The UC San Diego baseball team went 17-4 in the shortened 2020 season. They were ranked as one of the top teams in Division II and were ranked number one by Collegiate Baseball right before the season ended. The Tritons did not drop a single series and swept their first conference series of the season against Cal State San Marcos right before the season ended.
 
BACK FOR MORE
Brandon Weed, Luke Mattson, Everett Lau and Mark Quinby return for one more season after taking advantage of the NCAA's COVID eligibility ruling.

WHAT'S NEW
The Tritons add 13 new players to the 2021 roster. This incoming group includes three infielders, two catchers, three outfielders, three right-handed pitchers and two left-handed pitchers.
 
PITCHING PROWESS
The pitching staff brings back nearly the entire staff including every starter from a year ago. They combined to post a 2.86 ERA and three shutouts. Michael Mitchell had a 0.75 ERA through 12 innings while Luke Mattson had a 0.78 ERA through 23 innings.

HISTORY OF SUCCESS
During UC San Diego's Division II era, the Tritons were consistently one of the top teams in the nation. In their 20 year history of Division II baseball, the Tritons played post season baseball 11 times and made the World Series five times. They were back-to-back-to-back NCAA West Regional Champions from 2017-19 and finished runner-up at the World Series in 2010 and 2017. 

TRITONS IN THE PROS
In the 2020 MLB draft, the Tritons were one of three Division II teams with a player drafted when Shay Whitcomb was selected by the Houston Astros in the fifth round and 160th. The Tritons have had 23 former players drafted by the MLB and five sign free agent contracts.
 
BIG WEST PRESEASON COACHES POLL
1.             UC Santa Barbara – 119 (10)
2.             Long Beach State – 96
3.             UC Irvine – 95
4.             Cal Poly – 94
5.             Cal State Fullerton – 78
6.             CSUN – 64 (1)
7.             Hawai'i – 61
8.             UC Davis – 39
9.             UC San Diego – 33
10.           UC Riverside – 29
11.           CSU Bakersfield – 18
      () First place votes
 
 
SCOUTING THE AZTECS
The Aztecs opened their season last weekend against University of San Diego. San Diego State took the first two games 14-7 and 19-18 with the latter going into the 10^th inning. They dropped the final game of the series 16-14. Right fielder Jaden Fein was. Named Mountain West Player of the Week after leading the team with eight hits and tying the team lead with seven RBIs.
 
RECORD WATCH
Several Tritons will look to break into the career top ten or improve upon their standings in the record book. Here's a rundown:

• Blake Baumgartner sits in tenth in career home runs with 21. Two more will put him in a tie for ninth with Chris Franco.
• Brandon Stewart has 30 stolen bases and will need 12 to crack the top ten. He had 14 in 2020.
• Michael Mitchell proved to be one of the best closer options for the Tritons a season ago and finished with four saves, giving him a total of five career saves. Five more will crack the top ten.

 
UC SAN DIEGO ON THE WORLDWIDE LEADER
Most UC San Diego home baseball, softball, men's and women's basketball games and men's and women's volleyball matches are broadcast live on ESPN3. For more information on where to watch UC San Diego basketball, visit UCSDTritons.com/live.
 
UC SAN DIEGO ATHLETICS LAUNCHES WEEKLY PODCAST
As part of UC San Diego's transition to Division I, the Athletics Department launched a weekly podcast, Tritoncast. Produced by UC San Diego Athletics Communications, Tritoncast features in-depth interviews with UC San Diego personalities including scholar-athletes, alums, coaches, and administrators. Triton fans will get an inside look at the UC San Diego Athletics Department as the program transitions to NCAA Division I and the Big West Conference. New episodes of Tritoncast are available each week on the most popular podcasting apps, including Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Audible, iHeartRadio, Pandora, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, and Vurbl. In addition, each episode can be heard and downloaded on UCSDTritons.com. For individual show information and listen links, follow Tritoncast on Twitter @Tritoncast.
 
FOR THE YOUNGER CROWD
Got some young Triton fans in your family? If they are eighth grade or under, check out the Junior Triton Club. Membership includes a free t-shirt, admission to over 100 UC San Diego home athletic events, and much more!
 
GEAR
For the latest Triton apparel and accessories, visit the official team store of the Tritons here.
 
UP NEXT
The Tritons will split hosting duties with University of San Diego next weekend. UC San Diego will host USD on March 4 and 7 while they will take the short trip south on March 5 and 6.
 
About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program has begun a new era as a member of the Big West Conference in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 37 have garnered prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.