INDIANAPOLIS – The UIndy baseball team heads south for its opening games of the 2026 season against Mississippi College, with a four-game schedule slated for this weekend.

The Greyhounds open their campaign ranked in multiple national polls including being No. 3 in the NCBWA Midwest Region Poll, No. 20 the D2 Baseball Poll, and No. 30 in the ABCA Preseason Poll. Along with multiple recognitions in the national polls, UIndy was also selected as the top team in the GLVC Preseason Coaches Poll.

In 2025, the Hounds once again found themselves in the NCAA Midwest Super Regional for the third year in a row, following a 34-24 overall record and a 20-11 record in the GLVC. 

Al Ready is entering his eighth season with the program, and is 23 wins short of 600 in his all-time coaching career. Ready returns a veteran led group this season, including two Preseason All-Americans on both the NCBWA and D2 Baseball lists, Austin Bode and Chase Mason. 

Bode was a vital piece of Hounds' offensive successes in 2025, producing a .392 batting average, a .665 slugging percentage, and a .484 on-base percentage, while also leading the GLVC in doubles (24) and hits (83), while ranking in the top 10 in the conference in OPS (1.148), RBIs (48) and runs scored (56). While Mason his first season with the Greyhounds ranked first on the team in walks (40) and on-base percentage (.486), while also racking up a .346 batting average, 48 runs, 34 RBIs, 12 doubles, and eight home runs.

Along with strong hitting likes of Bode and Mason, Brayton Bowen, Bret Perry, and Luke Smock all return for the 2026 season. Bowen had stellar 3-for-5 with a home run in the team's first game of the Midwest Regional Final against Davenport, while both Smock is the top returner in stolen bases from 2025 with 20. Perry enters his second season in a Greyhound uniform, and came on late last season, including a seven game hit streak in the team's final seven games of the regular season.

The bullpen will look a little different this year with five of the team's top arms graduating in 2025, leaving Bennett Rogers to head the mound for UIndy in 2026. Rogers accumulated six outings last year of eight strikeouts or more, while also having six quality starts, including his Super Regional cementing performance against Davenport in the Midwest Regional. Along with Rogers, Drake Downing and Ryan O'Born both return in the bullpen for UIndy, with 15 appearances combined between the two.

UIndy also added new faces to replace some old faces including; Ayden Tran (Dayton), Austin Pokley (Lansing Community College), Carter Thomas (Wright State), Gavin Duran (John Wood Community College), Jeryn Shortt (Lambton College), and Nathan Pemberton (Olney Central College). 

The Hounds will remain away from home until March 20 when the Hounds take on Rockhurst.