ANN ARBOR, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Michigan Wolverines new head baseball coach Tracy Smith will start off his tenure in 2023 with the MLB 4 Tournament in Arizona in February. The Wolverines will play four games in the tournament at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale, Ariz. This will be the first of three straight weekends of traveling facing top tier teams.

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After the MLB 4 Tournament, Michigan will head to the West Coast to face Cal State Fullerton in a three-game series an then a game against both UC Irvine and UCLA. The next weekend travel to Houston, Texas, for three games in the Shriner’s College Classic at Minute Maid Park against Texas Tech, TCU, and Texas A&M. Michigan will be on the road for 17 of their first 18 games of the year.

With the early season traveling, Michigan will have 25 home games on the year starting on March 8 against Oakland in their home opener at the Wilpon Complex. This will be the earliest home game played in Michigan baseball history. This will be the last home contest until March 17-19 against Bradley University. Other non-conference home series are vs. Akron, Central Michigan, Oklahoma State, Butler, Toledo, Kent State, and Xavier.

March 24-26 will be the first Big Ten series at home vs. Penn State. They will also host Nebraska, Michigan State, and Northwestern.

They will defend their Big Ten Tournament Championship from May 24-28 in Omaha, Neb.

This season will feature a new feature for fans in weekday games (Monday-Thursday) as they receive free admission against non-conference opponents. The weekend games and all games against conference opponents will remain ticketed. You can also purchase season tickets now at mgoblue.com/tickets.

Michigan finished last year at 34-28 winning the Big Ten Championship and collecting two wins in the NCAA Regional Tournament over Oregon and Louisville.

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Smith said when he was hired as the new head coach in July, “My family and I are proud to join the University of Michigan family, and this storied Michigan baseball program. The standards in the Big Ten Conference and the University of Michigan are set high, and I am honored to lead our next group of champions. Go Blue!”