Wake Forest Baseball to Open Season in Puerto Rico

The Demon Deacons' quest for the postseason will begin in the Caribbean.

Wake Forest pitcher Blake Morningstar (4) pitches during a NCAA regional baseball game between Cincinnati and Wake Forest at Lindsey Nelson Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., on May 30, 2025. | Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The college baseball season is finally here. Well, almost. Less than 24 hours separate the Wake Forest Demon Deacons from commencing their quest for Omaha. It’s exciting, to say the least.

Wake Forest enters the 2026 campaign with fairly high expectations. Despite being picked to finish seventh in the ACC by D1Baseball, pretty much every national media outlet agrees the Demon Deacons are good enough to make a regional. After that, who knows what’s in store, but a postseason appearance does appear to be on the horizon.

The Opening Weekend rotation 🔄 pic.twitter.com/7XYXumNHZb

— Wake Forest Baseball (@WakeBaseball) February 10, 2026

Of course, the only way to reach the NCAA Tournament is to win baseball games, and the only way to win baseball games is to play baseball games. Luckily for Wake Forest, it’ll have an opportunity to do just that at the Puerto Rico Challenge from Feb. 13-15.

Morningstar to Kick the Season Off for the Deacs

Wake Forest pitcher Blake Morningstar (4) pitches during a NCAA regional baseball game between Cincinnati and Wake Forest at Lindsey Nelson Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., on May 30, 2025. | Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Right-handed pitcher Blake Morningstar will toe the rubber for the Demon Deacons to begin the season against Houston on Feb. 13. It’s an honor that’s well-deserved. Morningstar emerged as a bona fide ace last season when he posted a 3.87 ERA over 79 innings of work spread out over 16 appearances, 14 of which were starts. He’s also a strikeout machine — he punched out 93 hitters while walking just 32. It’ll be his job to shut down the Cougars and get Wake Forest off to a good start in 2026.

Given Morningstar’s capabilities, as well as the limited upside of Houston — the Cougars are projected to finish 13th in the Big 12 — it’s safe to assume Wake Forest should come out on top in the opening game of the season. Of course, baseball is weird, random and unpredictable, but Morningstar is good enough to upend any of that.

Wake Forest’s contest against Houston will start at 9:30 a.m. EST at Estadio Francisco Montaner in Ponce, Puerto Rico, on Feb. 13. It’ll be televised on Victory+.

Washington Will Test Levonas in Game Two

In a somewhat surprising twist, right-hander Chris Levonas was awarded the Saturday start over UNC Wilmington transfer Cameron Bagwell. Nonetheless, the Demon Deacons will hope to pick up a win over the Huskies behind Levonas’ fantastic stuff.

In order to take down the Huskies, Levonas will have to put away Casen Taggert. A fifth-year senior from Everett, Washington, Taggert put together a fantastic season in 2025. He slashed .326/.469/.494, hitting six home runs and driving in 32 runs. He walked more than he struck out and also stole 10 bases. He’s a stud, and the Demon Deacons are going to have to do their best to stop him.

Wake Forest’s contest against Washington will start at 7 p.m. EST at Estadio Francisco Montaner in Ponce, Puerto Rico, on Feb. 14. It’ll be televised on Victory+.

A Bout With Indiana State Rounds Out the Weekend

The team’s final game in Puerto Rico comes against the Indiana State Sycamores. The Sycamores are a program that has seen relative success in recent seasons — they hosted a regional in 2023 and would’ve hosted a super regional had there not been a conflict in Terre Haute with the local Special Olympics — but the highs might be tapering off just a bit. They finished 24-31 in 2025 and are projected to finish sixth in the Missouri Valley Conference this season.

Indiana State won’t be a pushover, though. There are still players, like outfielder Carter Beck, who can put up a good fight against Wake Forest starting pitcher Matthew Dallas. But if Beck is contained and the rest of the Deacs rise, then this contest shouldn’t be a problem. It’s all a matter of execution.

Wake Forest’s game against Indiana State will start at 2:30 p.m. EST at Estadio Francisco Montaner in Ponce, Puerto Rico, on Feb. 15. It’ll be televised on Victory+.