University of Memphis Athletics
Photo by: Kelly Ross
Challenging schedule awaits Tigers in 2021
Feb 08, 2021 | Baseball
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Nearing first pitch for the 2021 season, Memphis baseball announced its spring schedule, highlighted by 31 games at FedExPark with select matchups to be broadcast on ESPN+.
The schedule features six non-conference weekend series, four midweek road matchups against preseason Top 10 opponents and a 32-game AAC schedule. The slate also holds 16 games against 2019 NCAA Regional teams, including eight games against teams who advanced to the 2019 NCAA Super Regionals, three against 2019 College World Series participants and one game against the 2019 NCAA College World Series champion.
Attendance will be limited to coach and player guest lists, as no public tickets will be sold to start the season. General admission ticket sales will be revisited in March for conference play. Talent scouts will be allowed to attend and are asked to contact baseball staff for accommodations.
"In these ever-changing and fluid times, we have once again found a way to put a very challenging schedule together to provide opportunities for our 2021 Tigers to attack," head coach Daron Schoenrock said. "I am thankful for the commitment from our athletic administration to allow our 2021 team to experience another season loaded with quality opponents. Playing four-game series during AAC play, along with all of the quality opponents in pre-conference matchups, our team will need to be at our best everyday as we navigate through 2021."
For the fifth straight season, the Tigers will open the season at home when Memphis welcomes Northern Illinois for a series Feb. 19-21. Memphis will then follow with a three-game set in two days against Grambling Feb. 27-28.
The Tigers' first road swing of the season includes six games in eight days at Ole Miss, Baylor and Vanderbilt. The trio each earned a bid to the 2019 NCAA Tournament, with Ole Miss reaching the super regionals and Vanderbilt winning the 2019 College World Series
Memphis will begin the trip with an annual visit to Oxford, Miss., for a March 2 game against Ole Miss. The Tigers will then travel to Waco, Texas, for a four-game series against Baylor March 5-7. To close the road swing, Memphis will visit Vanderbilt for the first time since 2002 on March 9.
Vanderbilt enters the season ranked as high as No. 2 in the Collegiate Baseball poll, with Ole Miss ranked as high as No. 4 in the Baseball America poll.
The Tigers return home for a pair of weekend series, hosting Miami (Ohio) March 12-14 and in-state foe Middle Tennessee March 19-21.
For its final non-conference road trip, Memphis will face Arkansas in a two-game midweek series in Fayetteville, Ark., March 23-24. The Razorbacks, who also reached the 2019 College World series, are ranked as high as No. 8 in the D1Baseball poll
Memphis will close non-conference play hosting Murray State March 26-28.
"These pre-conference midweek matchups, all against SEC opponents ranked in the preseason Top 10 nationally, along with the outstanding weekend matchups, will provide the opportunity for our guys to face opponents' pitching staffs and lineups similar to what we'll face every day in the AAC," Schoenrock added of the non-conference slate. "We have also scheduled a four-game series weekend at Baylor that will enable our coaching staff to navigate our pitching rotation and bullpen like we will have to do in the AAC four-game series."
All conference series will feature a four-game set, including a doubleheader over the three-day weekend. The scheduling of the doubleheader is left at the discretion of the host institution and is subject to change.
Memphis will begin league play on the road for the first two weekends, visiting Tulane on April 1-3 and preseason-No. 25 ECU on April 9-11.
The first home conference series is set for April 16-18 when Memphis hosts Cincinnati, followed by a home matchup against Tulane April 23-25, with two of the four-game set to air on ESPN+.
The Tigers will travel to UCF April 30-May 2, before their final two home series of the season against USF May 7-9 and Houston May 14-16. Two of the four matchups against USF are currently set to air on ESPN+.
To close the regular season, Memphis will travel to Wichita State May 20-22. The American Athletic Conference tournament is slated for May 25-30 in Clearwater, Fla.
The Tigers return 31 players from its condensed 2020 season, including 2021 Preseason All-Conference honorees Hunter Goodman and Ben Brooks.
Goodman, who was also voted the league's Preseason Player of the Year, has been named to three Preseason All-America teams ahead of the 2021 season. Projected as the No. 22 college MLB draft prospect by D1Baseball, Goodman holds a career .333 batting average with 21 home runs, 98 RBI and 13 stolen bases.
The 2021 roster also returns seniors Chris Durham, Takoda Metoxen, James Muse and Alec Trela.
A 2019 All-Conference selection, Durham is set to return to the mound after limited action in 2020 due to injury. Metoxen seeks to build on a strong start to the 2020 season, after the Milwaukee, Wis., native posted a 0.00 ERA in nine innings pitched and two saves. Metoxen also registered 19 strikeouts against one walk.
Named to the 2020 Preseason All-Conference team, Trela returns to a veteran lineup. The Bloomington, Ill., native has started all 186 games the Tigers have played since 2017. Trela holds a .253 career average with 21 homers and 113 RBI.
The 2021 lineup also returns all 13 players who saw an at-bat in 2020. Of the lineup mainstays, the Tigers return a .275 average with 21 doubles, 15 home runs, 81 RBI and 13 stolen bases.
2021 Memphis Baseball Schedule
Date(s) Opponents
February 19-21 Northern Illinois
February 27-28 Grambling
March 2 at Ole Miss
March 5-7 at Baylor
March 9 at Vanderbilt
March 12-14 Miami (Ohio)
March 19-21 Middle Tennessee
March 23-24 at Arkansas
March 26-28 Murray State
April 1-3 at Tulane*
April 9-11 at ECU*
April 16-18 Cincinnati*
April 23-25 Tulane*
April 30-May 2 at UCF*
May 7-9 USF*^
May 14-16 Houston*^
May 20-22 at Wichita State*
May 25-30 AAC Tournament
*Conference series
^ Two games of series to be broadcast on ESPN+
The schedule features six non-conference weekend series, four midweek road matchups against preseason Top 10 opponents and a 32-game AAC schedule. The slate also holds 16 games against 2019 NCAA Regional teams, including eight games against teams who advanced to the 2019 NCAA Super Regionals, three against 2019 College World Series participants and one game against the 2019 NCAA College World Series champion.
Attendance will be limited to coach and player guest lists, as no public tickets will be sold to start the season. General admission ticket sales will be revisited in March for conference play. Talent scouts will be allowed to attend and are asked to contact baseball staff for accommodations.
"In these ever-changing and fluid times, we have once again found a way to put a very challenging schedule together to provide opportunities for our 2021 Tigers to attack," head coach Daron Schoenrock said. "I am thankful for the commitment from our athletic administration to allow our 2021 team to experience another season loaded with quality opponents. Playing four-game series during AAC play, along with all of the quality opponents in pre-conference matchups, our team will need to be at our best everyday as we navigate through 2021."
For the fifth straight season, the Tigers will open the season at home when Memphis welcomes Northern Illinois for a series Feb. 19-21. Memphis will then follow with a three-game set in two days against Grambling Feb. 27-28.
The Tigers' first road swing of the season includes six games in eight days at Ole Miss, Baylor and Vanderbilt. The trio each earned a bid to the 2019 NCAA Tournament, with Ole Miss reaching the super regionals and Vanderbilt winning the 2019 College World Series
Memphis will begin the trip with an annual visit to Oxford, Miss., for a March 2 game against Ole Miss. The Tigers will then travel to Waco, Texas, for a four-game series against Baylor March 5-7. To close the road swing, Memphis will visit Vanderbilt for the first time since 2002 on March 9.
Vanderbilt enters the season ranked as high as No. 2 in the Collegiate Baseball poll, with Ole Miss ranked as high as No. 4 in the Baseball America poll.
The Tigers return home for a pair of weekend series, hosting Miami (Ohio) March 12-14 and in-state foe Middle Tennessee March 19-21.
For its final non-conference road trip, Memphis will face Arkansas in a two-game midweek series in Fayetteville, Ark., March 23-24. The Razorbacks, who also reached the 2019 College World series, are ranked as high as No. 8 in the D1Baseball poll
Memphis will close non-conference play hosting Murray State March 26-28.
"These pre-conference midweek matchups, all against SEC opponents ranked in the preseason Top 10 nationally, along with the outstanding weekend matchups, will provide the opportunity for our guys to face opponents' pitching staffs and lineups similar to what we'll face every day in the AAC," Schoenrock added of the non-conference slate. "We have also scheduled a four-game series weekend at Baylor that will enable our coaching staff to navigate our pitching rotation and bullpen like we will have to do in the AAC four-game series."
All conference series will feature a four-game set, including a doubleheader over the three-day weekend. The scheduling of the doubleheader is left at the discretion of the host institution and is subject to change.
Memphis will begin league play on the road for the first two weekends, visiting Tulane on April 1-3 and preseason-No. 25 ECU on April 9-11.
The first home conference series is set for April 16-18 when Memphis hosts Cincinnati, followed by a home matchup against Tulane April 23-25, with two of the four-game set to air on ESPN+.
The Tigers will travel to UCF April 30-May 2, before their final two home series of the season against USF May 7-9 and Houston May 14-16. Two of the four matchups against USF are currently set to air on ESPN+.
To close the regular season, Memphis will travel to Wichita State May 20-22. The American Athletic Conference tournament is slated for May 25-30 in Clearwater, Fla.
The Tigers return 31 players from its condensed 2020 season, including 2021 Preseason All-Conference honorees Hunter Goodman and Ben Brooks.
Goodman, who was also voted the league's Preseason Player of the Year, has been named to three Preseason All-America teams ahead of the 2021 season. Projected as the No. 22 college MLB draft prospect by D1Baseball, Goodman holds a career .333 batting average with 21 home runs, 98 RBI and 13 stolen bases.
The 2021 roster also returns seniors Chris Durham, Takoda Metoxen, James Muse and Alec Trela.
A 2019 All-Conference selection, Durham is set to return to the mound after limited action in 2020 due to injury. Metoxen seeks to build on a strong start to the 2020 season, after the Milwaukee, Wis., native posted a 0.00 ERA in nine innings pitched and two saves. Metoxen also registered 19 strikeouts against one walk.
Named to the 2020 Preseason All-Conference team, Trela returns to a veteran lineup. The Bloomington, Ill., native has started all 186 games the Tigers have played since 2017. Trela holds a .253 career average with 21 homers and 113 RBI.
The 2021 lineup also returns all 13 players who saw an at-bat in 2020. Of the lineup mainstays, the Tigers return a .275 average with 21 doubles, 15 home runs, 81 RBI and 13 stolen bases.
2021 Memphis Baseball Schedule
Date(s) Opponents
February 19-21 Northern Illinois
February 27-28 Grambling
March 2 at Ole Miss
March 5-7 at Baylor
March 9 at Vanderbilt
March 12-14 Miami (Ohio)
March 19-21 Middle Tennessee
March 23-24 at Arkansas
March 26-28 Murray State
April 1-3 at Tulane*
April 9-11 at ECU*
April 16-18 Cincinnati*
April 23-25 Tulane*
April 30-May 2 at UCF*
May 7-9 USF*^
May 14-16 Houston*^
May 20-22 at Wichita State*
May 25-30 AAC Tournament
*Conference series
^ Two games of series to be broadcast on ESPN+
Players Mentioned
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