BERKELEY – 14 televised games, a highly competitive tournament in Texas and 29 home contests highlight a schedule that will both challenge and provide opportunity for the Cal baseball team under new head coach Mike Neu in 2018.

"We're excited about the challenges our 2018 schedule is going to present," Neu said. "Tournaments in San Diego and Frisco, Texas are going to show us where we are as a team right away, the Pac-12 schedule will be as tough as it always is and, with 29 home games, we'll get to see our home fans a lot which should help give us a little bit of an extra edge. We can't wait to get rolling."

Cal's first season under Neu gets started on Feb. 16 when the Bears head to the University of San Diego to play a doubleheader against Cincinnati and one game against the host Toreros. The home opener is set for Feb. 23 at 7:05 p.m. as Cal State Bakersfield visits Evans Diamond to kick off a four-game series.

The biggest test of the early season will come from March 2-4 when Cal travels to Frisco, Texas to compete in the Frisco College Baseball Classic. Baylor, Texas A&M and Louisiana Tech will join the Bears for three days of baseball that should provide a good indication of where Cal sits as it prepares for the Pac-12 season.

A mid-week game against Xavier on March 6 kicks off a stretch in which Cal will play nine local games in a row and Brown pays a visit for four games from March 9-11. The Bears head across the Bay Bridge to take on San Francisco on March 13 and then welcome defending Pac-12 champion Oregon State to Berkeley for three games from March 16-18.

Cal's first road series in conference play comes March 23-25 at Oregon but that gives way to a eight-game homestand that begins March 27 with a mid-week game against UC Davis. UCLA comes to town from March 29-31 and the Bears make their first appearance on Pac-12 Networks from April 5-7 when Utah visits for a three-game series. An April 10 mid-week game against San Francisco wraps up the stretch of home games and will also be televised by Pac-12 Networks.

The Bears take a brief trip north for three games at Washington State from April 13-15, then return home on April 17 to host Santa Clara in mid-week action. Washington visits from April 20-22 in a televised three-game set and Sacramento State makes the drive down Interstate 80 for a game on April 24.

A road-heavy finish to the schedule starts April 26-28 when Cal heads to the Farm for a televised series against rival Stanford. BYU wraps up the mid-week schedule on May 1 with a televised contest at Evans Diamond and Cal heads back on the road from May 4-6 to take on USC. The final home series of 2018 is set for May 11-13 against Arizona and the Bears finish with six games on the road as they travel to Omaha on May 17-19 for a non-conference series against Creighton and then take on Arizona State from May 25-27 in Phoenix.