SAN FRANCISCO — The University of San Francisco baseball program announced its 2022 schedule today, a slate featuring 29 non-conference games and 26 WCC contests, beginning on Friday, Feb. 18. This year's opponents include four programs who reached the 2021 NCAA Tournament — West Coast Conference champion Gonzaga, Mountain West Conference champion Nevada, Eugene Regional host Oregon and Tucson Regional selection UC Santa Barbara. Nine of USF's opponents this spring finished the 2021 season with a winning record. 

"The 2022 USF Baseball schedule is very competitive," said head coach Nino Giarratano. "The non-conference opponents will be some of the best in the country." 

The Dons will open the 2022 campaign with three consecutive series at home, hosting UCSB (Feb. 18-20) for the season-opener, followed by Utah Valley (Feb. 25-27) and St. John's (Mar. 4-6) at Dante Benedetti Diamond on the Hilltop. The team will remain in the Bay Area with home contests against UC Davis on Feb. 22 and Fresno State on Mar. 9, along with a road contest at San Jose State on Mar. 1. 

The program's first road trip of the year will be Mar. 11-13, when the Dons take on Arizona State in Tempe, Ariz., the first of four Pac-12 schools the team will compete against this spring. USF will also take on 2021 Pac-12 runner-up Oregon for a two-game series Mar. 29-30, while also facing Stanford twice and California once during mid-week matchups. Additional non-conference foes include Sacramento State, Nevada, and Fresno State. 

The West Coast Conference slate kicks off with a three-game home series against Santa Clara Mar. 18-20. USF's first conference road trip will be at Portland Mar. 25-27, before the Dons (25-28, 16-11 in 2021) return home to host last season's No. 2 and No. 1 in the WCC: San Diego (Apr. 1-3) and Gonzaga (Apr. 8-10). 

"The WCC schedule will prove to be an outstanding and exciting conference with Gonzaga returning a great deal of pitching," Giarratano said. "BYU will be a year older and much improved, while San Diego will return a great deal from their second place finish (in 2021). 

I always look for Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount to continue to push at the top of the conference. And never underestimate the Santa Clara and Saint Mary's rivalry."

The remainder of the WCC schedule features road trips to Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount and a Bay Area showdown at Saint Mary's in Moraga. The team will host Brigham Young to close out April and conclude the regular season with a home series against Pacific from May 20-22. The 2022 WCC Baseball championship will be hosted by the University of the Pacific a week later from May 27-29. 

"We are very excited to have the WCC tournament back and look forward to competing in Stockton in May," Giarratano said. "The schedule will prepare us for the best possible chance to compete in the NCAA Tournament. I look forward to seeing the Dons fans again real soon."

Fans can catch the Dons in action next month, as the team takes on Oregon State in a pair of exhibition contests in Medford, Ore. on Oct. 16. Information for tickets and other logistics can be found here. 

All game locations and opponents for the 2022 season are subject to change. Follow the Dons on social media on Twitter @SFDonsBaseball and Facebook for up to the minute updates on USF Dons Baseball. 

To view the full 2022 schedule, click here.