CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel baseball team will begin the 2026 season with a home weekend series against the Liberty Flames on Feb. 13-15 at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park. The first pitch on Friday is scheduled for 4 pm, Saturday at 5 pm, and Sunday at 1 pm.
 
Game Notes (PDF)
 
Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday, Feb. 13 | Live Stats | ESPN+
LHP Will Holmes (0-0, 0.00) vs. RHP Ben Blair (0-0, 0.00)
 
Saturday, Feb. 14 | Live Stats | ESPN+
RHP Bryce Coulter (0-0, 0.00) vs. RHP Jaxon Lucas (0-0, 0.00)
 
Sunday, Feb. 15 | Live Stats | ESPN+
TBA vs. RHP Jake Potts (0-0, 0.00)
 
Weekend Weather
Friday will be partly cloudy with highs in the mid-60s and light winds. Saturday remains similar, with mostly cloudy skies, highs again in the mid-60s, and only a slight chance of a passing shower later in the day. Sunday will be cloudy with a high of 65, likely rain, and southeast winds at 12 MPH.
 
ESPN+
The weekend series against Liberty will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
The broadcast team includes:
Friday: RJ Taylor, Travis Lott, and Asher Wojciechowski
Saturday: RJ Taylor and Travis Lott
Sunday: RJ Taylor and Travis Lott
 
Ticket Information
Tickets for all home games are available on CitadelSports.com/tickets or by calling the box office at 843-953-DOGS. Tickets will also be available at the stadium box office one hour before the first pitch.
 
Series History vs. Liberty
The Bulldogs and the Flames have met three times on the diamond, with Liberty holding a 3-0 record over The Citadel. In their last meeting, the Bulldogs fell 9-1 against the Flames in 2017.
 
Scouting Liberty
Liberty finished the 2025 season with an overall record of 30-27 and a Conference USA record of 10-17. The Flames earned the eighth seed in the CUSA Championship but lost both games to Dallas Baptist and LA Tech.
 
Liberty's Ben Blair was named the Conference USA Preseason Pitcher of the Year, and SS Tanner Marsh was named to the CUSA Preseason All-Conference team.
 
SoCon Preseason Honors
Four Bulldogs earn Preseason All-SoCon Second Team honors with Will Holmes, Andrew Stanley, Phillips Daniels, and TJ Anderson. The Citadel was voted to finish fourth in the SoCon Coaches' Preseason Poll, the highest since 2014.

Second Season for Triplett
Russell Triplett begins his second season as head coach for the Diamond Dogs. In his first season with The Citadel, the Bulldogs finished with a 31-26 overall record and a 12-9 mark in conference play, the first time since 2010 they achieved 30 wins in a season.
 
The Citadel achieved multiple milestones both as a team and individually, including recording 105 steals in a season, the most since 2010, when they had 127. Aryan Patel went 22-22 for stolen bases on the season.

Under Triplett's leadership, the Bulldogs earned six Southern Conference honors, with Maddox Webb on the First Team, TJ Anderson on the Second Team, and Phillips Daniels, Garrett Dill, Travis Elliott, and Lane Tobin all named to the All-Defensive team.

Travis Elliott was named an ABCA & Rawlings NCAA Div. 1 Gold Glove Finalist.
 
New Locker Room, Who This?
Off the field, the Bulldogs are now based at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park, which features newly built facilities. The upgraded amenities include renovated locker rooms, coaches' offices, and a state-of-the-art training area, providing the team with a top-quality environment to prepare for the season.
 
On Deck
The Citadel hosts Marshall on Feb. 20 and 21, and then Army on Feb. 22, at Joe Riley Park.