Northwestern Baseball 2026 Schedule Analysis

4 days ago 2

As the college baseball season draws ever closer, Northwestern is hoping for a strong 2026 campaign in Ben Greenspan’s third season at the helm.

While the ‘Cats have not secured an above .5oo record since 2003, last season was the closest they came to snapping that streak, as they finished 25-27 and qualified for the conference tournament with a 13-17 Big Ten record. Sustained improvement has been the hallmark of Greenspan’s tenure. Thus, striving for more wins than losses in 2026 is a reasonable goal and expectation NU will undoubtedly aim to fulfill.

While rosters are still being formulated, the 2026 schedule has been released, providing an opportunity to see what teams Northwestern will be up against this winter and spring. Let’s break it down.

Non-conference games

Northwestern’s 12-10 non-conference record last season was primarily fueled by its strong start to the season. Despite losing the opening game to Long Beach State, NU would go on to win its next five games, its longest winning streak since 2022. However, that accomplishment was significantly offset by a six-game losing streak the ‘Cats would also endure. Simply put, consistent play and avoiding sweeps will be paramount for Northwestern if it wants to improve on that 12-10 record this year.

The good news: much like last season, the ‘Cats will start their season against three teams that should be considered inferior to Northwestern. A three game road series against Rice followed by two games each against Cornell and Boston College should enable NU to once again start the season on a tear, as all three of those schools finished with much lower records than Northwestern did in 2025. Given the importance of last year’s five-game winning streak, it’s important that the Wildcats take care of business against these teams.

NU will face a much more difficult task when it travels to face Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets went 41-19 last season and only lost nine games at home. This series will serve as a solid test for Northwestern to see if it can stay competitive and take a game or two off a more talented team. Single games against easier opponents such as South Dakota State and UNLV follow, but NU will wrap up its opening road trip with another strong team in Omaha.

While that road trip concludes the largest slate of non-conference games, as usual there will be other sandwiched between Big Ten series. Like previous seasons, Northwestern will play three separate games against cross-county rivals UIC that will be scattered across the schedule. Last year, NU took two of three games, including a 2-1 victory in extra innings. Sweeping UIC this year should be an expected goal.

Starting in March, the ‘Cats will also face Portland, Valparasio, Bradley, St. Thomas, Milwaukee and Illinois State in single game matchups spread across the calendar. Aside from Valparisio, who NU thumped 12-4, the ‘Cats did not face off against any of these teams last year. While many of these games should be expected victories and provide a needed break from the Big ten gauntlet, they can also be rather unpredictable. NU must keep its foot on the gas against these opponents.

Conference Games

Despite finishing 13-17 in the Big Ten last year, NU accomplished a pretty remarkable and honorable feat: it did not get swept once by a Big Ten team. While replicating that is an obvious goal, the next step is for NU to simply increased the number of conference series it wins. Ohio State, Maryland and Illinois were the only squads NU took two out of three games from, out of the 10 teams they faced. Trying to win five of the 10 series could be a goal NU shoots for this year.

Northwestern’s Big Ten play will begin with three teams that finished top five in the conference last year. USC placed fourth with an 18-12 Big Ten record, while Oregon placed at the top of the conference with a 22-8 record. Meanwhile, not only was Washington fifth place, but it also pummeled Northwestern by a combined score of 34-8 in two games in 2025. Case in point, all of these matchups will be extremely difficult and by far the toughest part of NU’s schedule. How the ‘Cats fare in these games — not just the wins/losses but the scoreboard and level of competitiveness — will make how big or small the gap is between Northwestern and the conference’s elite.

NU’s next Big Ten foe is Michigan State, who finished with the same record as the 2025 ‘Cats, but won the tiebreaker after winning two of three games against them. Northwestern’s quest for redemption may also be a must-win series, largely dependent on how the previous conference games had gone. NU will then host Purdue, who also won two of three games against the ‘Cats despite finishing with a lower record in 2025. Again, another series that the ‘Cats should absolutely take.

Road games against Michigan and Minnesota follow, with the former placed in the middle pack of the conference last season, while the latter was second to last. The ‘Cats will be seeking stronger play on the road this year as they went just 12-16 in 2025, and games like these provide an opportunity to increase that mark in 2026.

The ‘Cats conference standings and tournament placement can also be bolstered in series against Indiana and Illinois. The Hoosiers themselves struggled mightily on the road last year, and if that pattern continues the ‘Cats should take advantage. After NU won two of three while hosting Illinois in 2025, the meeting will shift to Champaign this year. This marquee rivalry will serve as the penultimate series for NU, as it will close out the season with a homestand against Rutgers, who finished two games above NU the previous season.

The Big Ten tournament is scheduled for May 19-24 at Omaha, Nebraska’s Charles Schwab Field.

Overall, the ‘Cats schedule presents a challenging path. To succeed, NU must capatalize on winnable non-conference games, stay competitive against the Big Ten elite and pickup more wins in rubber matches. If the Wildcats do so, it’s all but likely the program continues its ascension in 2026.

Read Entire Article