BEAUMONT, Texas — The wait is over.

College baseball is back under the lights at Vincent-Beck Stadium as Lamar University opens the 2026 season this weekend, welcoming Oakland University.
OPENING DAY: Dating back to 1952, the Cardinals are 41-21 on opening day … LU has won its last seven since 2019 … Since 2000, the Cardinals are 22-4.

HOME COOKING: Since 1967, the Cardinals have gone 54-18-1 in home openers … LU has won its last seven since 2019 … The Cardinals are 24-2 in home openers since 2000 and 30-2 since 1994 … This marks the 57th year at Vincent-Beck Stadium since the first season in 1969 … LU has gone 1,002-531-6 (.647) at The Beck during that span … The Cardinals have gone 51-6 the last two seasons at home … Last season's 27-2 home record was not only the second-best home record in Division I, but it was also the highest winning percentage at home since going 25-3 in 1993 … LU finished 2025 with an 11-game home winning streak, the third longest streak in Division I.

WINNING TRADITION: LU has posted 45 winning seasons since 1952 … The Cardinals have tallied five-straight winning seasons since 2021 … LU has gone 84-32 the last two seasons after recording back-to-back 40-win campaigns for the first time since 2003-2004 … LU is 1,808-1,392-10 (.564) all-time in program history and 733-571 (.562) all-time in conference play.

MIDWEEK SUCCESS: Since 2010, LU has gone 88-72 in midweek contests … In 2025, the Cardinals went 13-3 (8-0 at home and 5-3 on the road) while outscoring their opponents, 159-95 … This season there are 13 midweek contests on the slate.

LU VS. TOP 25: The Cardinals take on four top 25 programs this season — No. 3 Texas, No. 10 TCU, No. 12 Oregon State and No. 25 Texas A&M … The last time LU took on four ranked opponents in a season was in 2016.

TRANSFER PORTAL: LU signed 20 players out of the portal … The recruiting class ranked 23rd in the nation, according to 6-4 Analytics … The Cardinals brought in players from 16 schools across the NCAA Division I, II and III levels.

ROSTER BREAKDOWN: The Cardinals welcome 32 newcomers which also includes seven junior college transfers and four high school freshmen … LU returns 11 lettermen … The roster contains players from Arizona, Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri and Texas as well as Venezuela and Puerto Rico.

RETURNERS: LU returns six pitchers and five position players from last season's roster … Brayden Evans (.303 average / 71 hits / nine home runs / 11 doubles / 56 RBIs), Tab Tracy (.309 average / 55 hits / 39 RBIs) and Reese Beheler (.302 average / 52 hits / 30 RBIs) are some notable offensive players to watch … Chris Olivier (6-3 overall / 66.1 innings pitched / 62 strikeouts) and Fabian Ramirez (2-1 record / one save / 34 innings pitched / 31 strikeouts) are some of the notable arms returning to the staff.

TIES TO THE GOLDEN TRIANGLE: Five players have ties to the area: Reagan Weiblinger (Beaumont), Ethan Oceguera (Bridge City), Daniel Midkiff (Buna), Gage Driskell (Nederland) and Ayden Sunday (Nederland).

FOLLOWING IN HIS FATHER'S FOOTSTEPS: Jarret Williams is the son of Randy Williams who played at LU from 1995-1997 … Randy was a 12th round selection by the Chicago Cubs in 1997 … He went on to play for five years in the major leagues with five different teams.
  LU vs. Oakland: The Cardinals are 4-0 vs. the Golden Grizzlies since 2023 … This is the second time LU is hosting Oakland for its season opener … The Cardinals swept the Golden Grizzlies in 2023 in three games to start the season … LU met Oakland in 2025 for a single game, coming away with a 15-2 victory in eight innings.

LU vs. the state of Michigan: LU is 11-4 vs. schools from Michigan having faced three programs which also includes Michigan State and Michigan.