The Tigers begin their 125th season of baseball with their first full-squad practice this weekend before they open the season with a three-game series against Indiana at Doug Kingsmore Stadium from Feb. 18-20.

“Our players and coaches worked extremely hard in the offseason to improve in every aspect, and we believe we have a strong group of returning and new players that will get us back on track,” said Head Coach Monte Lee, who brought in the No. 11 recruiting class in the nation according to Perfect Game. “We were able to develop and evaluate most of our newcomers in the fall. I’m excited to see the competition between those new players and our returning players for many positions in the spring.”

Among the returnees is sophomore Caden Grice, who was the team’s top offensive player last year. In 2021, he batted .317 with 15 homers and 53 RBIs in 51 games on his way to earning first-team freshman All-America and Second-Team All-ACC honors.

Sophomore Mack Anglin returns after being drafted in the 13th round by the Nationals in 2021. The righthander was an All-ACC Freshman selection in 2021 who had a 3.99 ERA and team-high 75 strikeouts in 56.1 innings pitched over 13 appearances (eight starts).

Fellow sophomore righty Nick Hoffmann was one of the team’s most valuable pitchers in 2021 as a long reliever and starter. He is 6-2 with four saves and a 3.43 ERA in 60.1 innings pitched over 24 appearances (four starts) in his career.

The 2022 schedule features 33 home games and 25 games against 2021 NCAA Tournament teams. The Tigers play Michigan State and USC Upstate at Fluor Field in Greenville, and they face South Carolina and College of Charleston at Segra Park in Columbia. The ACC Tournament returns to Charlotte, N.C. for the second year in a row as well.