FLORENCE, Ala. (January 12, 2026) – The University of North Alabama baseball team announced the 2026 season schedule on Monday. The Lions open with eight straight home games at Mike D. Lane Field at Bank Independent Stadium.
 
In 2025, the Lions finished their historic season with their first journey to the Atlantic Sun Conference postseason tournament and their first win in said tournament.

"Our non-conference schedule was built on preparing our team for conference games and playing at home as a priority," said head coach Jad Prachniak. "We are looking forward to playing 30 home games at the new Mike D. Lane Field at Bank Independent Stadium. Our group is excited to showcase the ballpark and the product on the field to our fans.
 
"After playing 11 of our first 12 games at home, we will have the opportunity to go on the road and face two nationally respected programs in Ole Miss and Southern Miss. Playing in those environments will be a challenge our guys will embrace. Our midweek games throughout the season will force us to stay sharp leading up to conference play and when we get to the heart of our league schedule. To have success in ASUN play you have to earn it; every weekend is highly competitive, with the balanced home-and-home schedule and playing each conference opponent six times. Everyone is familiar with one another."

Date                            Opponent
Feb. 13-15                   SIU Edwardsville
Feb. 17                        UAB
Feb. 18                        Murray State
Feb. 20-22                   Saint Louis
Feb. 24                        @ Samford
Feb. 27-March 1         Southern Indiana
March 4                       @ Ole Miss
March 6-8                   @ Southern Miss
March 10                     Jacksonville State
March 13-15               @ Lipscomb
March 17                     Tennessee Tech
March 20-22               Eastern Kentucky
March 27-29               @ Bellarmine
March 31                     @ UAB
April 2-4                      Central Arkansas
April 7                         UT Martin
April 10-12                  @ Austin Peay
April 14                       UT Martin
April 17-19                  Lipscomb
April 22                       @ Tennessee Tech
April 24-26                  @ Eastern Kentucky
May 1-3                      Bellarmine
May 5                          Samford
May 8-10                     @ Central Arkansas
May 12                        @ Murray State
May 14-16                  Austin Peay

*Home
*Away

NOTES

2025 UNDER REVIEW: The 2025 season goes down in the history books for the monumental season the team had. Yes, the Lions made the postseason for the first time during the Division I era, but the journey there was just as remarkable. North Alabama eclipsed 20 wins with 16 conference wins, both landmarks during a single season in the Division I era. There were also seven series wins for the year with six coming in conference — again, both bests for a single season in the Division I era. Luke Davenport and Petey Craska were named to the ASUN All-Freshman Team while Matthew Delgado and Craska were honored with All-ASUN second and third team selections, respectively.
 
PRANCED TO THE POSTSEASON: For the first time during the Division I era, the Lions made their way into the ASUN Postseason tournament after a 24-31 finish to the season. This was the first time UNA played in the postseason since their Division II days of 2017. In 2025, North Alabama was allotted three games in the ASUN tournament, winning a bat out with North Florida, 14-11 in their second game of the week. Eventually, the Lions fell to No. 2 seeded Jacksonville on a 3-2 walk-off to end their season.

HOME IS CALLING: The Lions spent 34 straight games away from Mike D. Lane Field and Florence, Ala. to start the season last year. During that span, they played six games against top-25 opponents and went 13-21 across those games. On April 17, Mike D. Lane Field opened for play while the stadium continued construction. In the final 21 games, UNA finished with an 11-10 record while winning three conference series with a series sweep over Central Arkansas to secure the No. 3 seed in the ASUN Tournament. Now, Mike D. Lane Field at Bank Independent Stadium is fully operational to begin the 2026 season. 

NATIONAL RECOGNITION: Alongside an always-stout Atlantic Sun Conference schedule, the Lions get a look at three teams that made the NCAA Regionals last year in Murray State, Ole Miss and Southern Miss. The latter, Ole Miss and Southern Miss, both hosted Regionals in Oxford and Hattiesburg, respectively. However, Murray State, who played in Ole Miss' Regional, went the farthest in the tournament before falling in the College World Series to UCLA and Arkansas among the final eight teams. North Alabama hosts Murray State on Feb. 18 before returning to them on May 12/ Ole Miss is a midweek game that leads into a weekend series against Southern Miss in early March. 

COME IN, TAKE A SEAT: Mike D. Lane Field at Bank Independent is fully operational for the 2026 season and the schedule displays it. Eleven of the first 12 games see four different opponents at home to get the season going. The Lions will host 30 total home games for the year in Florence with 14 different teams to grace the tremendous turf of "The Mike."
 
RIVALRY REFRESH: Longstanding rival, Jacksonville State, takes the trip to Florence this season for the first time since 2022. The last meeting came in 2023 between the two programs before the Gamecocks leveled up to Conference USA. North Alabama looks for its first win over Jax State since 2019 and their first at home during the Division I era.   

For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.