The Five Most Intriguing Series of Stanford's 2026 Baseball Season

Stanford's fortunes this season may very well depend on how they perform in these key series

Mar 1, 2025; Stanford, CA, USA; Stanford Cardinal manager David Esquer before the game against the Xavier Musketeers at Sunken Diamond. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Stanford baseball season is here, where the Cardinal look to make progress in their rebuild and make their way back to the NCAA tournament, restoring the success the program once had. However, it’s going to be a tricky season, with tough games, tons of travel, and a pitching staff that needs work.

The Cardinal will play 13 series during the 2026 season, with three occurring in the non-conference portion of the schedule, and 10 being a part of conference play. Here are the series that we'll be keeping an eye on during the upcoming season.

Wake Forest

Stanford’s first conference series of the year is on the road against preseason No. 21 Wake Forest beginning on Friday, March 6. Now flash back to last season, the Cardinal had an amazing start to the year, and a road series win at North Carolina propelled them to a top 25 spot.

This series could be very similar this year. Stanford, once again, has to travel to the state of North Carolina, only this time going to Winston-Salem instead of Chapel Hill. If Stanford continues to have a good non-conference slate, which is expected, the Cardinal should roll into Winston-Salem for a crucial series that can make or break their year early.

Clemson

The issues with conference realignment are typically simple. Too many home wins, and too many road losses in conference play due to the amount of travel that each program has to endure over the course of the season. However, last year that was not the case, as Stanford didn't win a single home series in ACC play.

This Clemson series, while not the first conference home series, can be a barometer for if this team can make a true impact in the conference slate this season. In addition, the Tigers No. 19 preseason rank can turn this series into a big weekend for the Cardinal. This one is set to go down beginning Friday, April 3.

Louisville

The Cardinals are typically a strong team, and are ranked No. 8 in this year’s preseason ranking. It’s going to be a tough series, but Stanford absolutely needs to sneak out at least one road win against a tough program, which could potentially prove how good of a team they really are.

Stanford will visit Louisville for the Cardinal vs. Cardinals matchup beginning on Friday, April 10.

Florida State

This one is similar to Clemson in many ways. Florida State is ranked No. 16 in the preseason poll, so they certainly have similar buzz to the Tigers. What makes this one interesting though, is if Stanford can stay strong late in the season. This game will likely determine whether or not Stanford makes the NCAA Tournament this season.

FSU heads to The Farm on Friday, April 24 for a three-game weekend series.

Cal

This series against Cal might be the biggest of them all. Now the Bears aren’t ranked preseason, and they don't have much buzz, but they have put together a sneaky good roster. It’s also important to know that the Bears swept Stanford on their home field just last season, which started to derail the Cardinal's season.

Pair that with ACC Tournament seeding likely on the line in the last weekend of the season, and it’s clear that the Cardinal will want to get back at the Bears, take them down in Berkeley, and bring back bragging rights to the South Bay, while also potentially jumping them in the conference rankings.

Stanford and Cal will meet to wrap up the regular season beginning on Thursday, May 14.