CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois baseball returns to Illinois Field for the first time in 2026, hosting Butler on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. CT for the earliest outdoor home opener in program history. The Illini and the Bulldogs will square off for the 10th time in series history and for the first time since 2022.
The 2026 Fighting Illini squad features a mix of newcomers and returners, with 18 new faces joining the Orange and Blue ahead of the campaign. Illinois also saw 16 players return from its 2025 roster.
The Illini's home opener will be streamed on B1G+, while admission to the contest is free.
Scott Beatty will call the action for the Illini. Streaming, audio, and stats links are available at FightingIllini.com.
ABOUT BUTLER
Butler finished the 2025 season with a 15-39 record, including a 4-17 mark in BIG EAST play. The Bulldogs did not qualify for postseason play after missing out on the four-team conference tournament in May. Butler sits at 1-2 in 2026 after opening the season with a series loss at UT Martin.
INF Alex Christie and 1B Matthew Rhoades each tallied two home runs across the Bulldogs' first three games, while OF Gavin Gilmore went 8-for-14 with four RBI against the Skyhawks.
SERIES INFO
The Illini and the Bulldogs are facing off for the 10th time in program history on Tuesday. Illinois owns an 8-1 edge in series history entering this week's matchup.
The sides will play in Champaign for the ninth time, with Illinois winning each of the previous eight contests. Butler makes its first trip to Illinois Field since 2022, when the Illini secured a 13-4 victory.
Illinois and Butler will play for the third time during head coach Dan Hartleb's tenure with the Illini.
LAST TIME OUT
Illinois began its 2026 season by going 1-2 in its opening series at South Florida. After the Bulls took the opener on Friday (Feb. 13), the Illini responded with a 10-inning victory on Saturday (Feb. 14). USF ultimately claimed a narrow 11-10 triumph in the rubber game on Sunday (Feb. 15).
DAN HARTLEB'S 21ST SEASON
Illinois head coach Dan Hartleb is currently in his 21st season at the helm of the program in 2026.
The winningest coach in Illini baseball history has amassed 598 wins, three Big Ten championships, one Big Ten Tournament title, five NCAA Regional appearances, and one NCAA Super Regional appearance with the Orange and Blue.
Along with being named Big Ten Coach of the Year two times, Hartleb was named Big Coach of the Decade (2010s) by D1Baseball.
As he enters his 36th season overall at Illinois, Hartleb has seen 155 players earn Big Ten All-Conference honors under his watch, with 47 of those players earning first-team selections. He has also coached a total of 27 All-Americans and 110 players who have gone on to play professionally.
Among active Big Ten coaches, Hartleb is one of two coaches who have spent at least 20 seasons as head coach at their current school (John Savage, UCLA, 22nd season in 2026).
DAN HARTLEB, THE WINNINGEST COACH AT ILLINOIS
Illinois head coach Dan Hartleb enters the week two wins shy of 600. The winningest coach in program history, Hartleb earned win No. 519 on April 2, 2023, against Michigan, passing Lee Eilbracht for the most in program history. He heads into the second week of the regular season with 598 career wins.
NEW YEAR, NEW FACES
Illinois has 16 returners and 18 newcomers on its 2026 roster.
Thirteen newcomers are transfers: C Daniel Contreras (Illinois State), OF Cole Crafton (Louisville), INF Michael Farina (Southeastern CC), LHP Tore Indomenico (Notre Dame), RHP Ryan Johnson (Georgia Tech), RHP Richie LaCien (Lawrence University), RHP Olivier Martel (Mineral Area College), RHP Liam McKillop (SIUE), RHP Sam Mommer (Wisconsin-Parkside), INF J.R. Nelson (Ohio), RHP Ryan Ohm (Iowa Central CC), RHP Kyle Remington (Minnesota), and OF/1B Cole Warehime (SEMO).
The Illini roster includes five freshmen, all of whom hail from the state of Illinois: LHP Aidan Flinn (Mokena), INF Lucas Krebs (Edwardsville), INF AJ Putty (McHenry), OF/RHP Foti Rigopoulos (Galena), and RHP Ike Young (Cisco).
NCBWA STOPPER OF THE YEAR WATCH LIST
Two Illini baseball players were selected to the watch list for the 21st Annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award.
Left-hander Zach Bates and right-hander Mitch Dye were both named to the list.
Bates is coming off of a breakout 2025 season, during which he amassed 34 strikeouts in 28.2 innings of work last season over 23 relief appearances. He ended the year with an ERA of 2.83 to go along with a team-high eight saves.
During the 2025 season, Dye put together 23.0 innings of work to go along with 29 strikeouts. He amassed 21 relief appearances and ended the season with an ERA of 7.43. Dye also added one save on the year.
ILLINI TRIO NAMED TO B1G PLAYERS TO WATCH LIST
The Fighting Illini saw three student-athletes honored on the Big Ten Players to Watch list, the conference office announced on Wednesday.
Junior outfielder Collin Jennings, junior left-handed pitcher Regan Hall, and senior outfielder Nick Groves were all recognized with preseason honors for the first time in their respective careers.
Jennings put together a breakout sophomore season in 2025, hitting 16 home runs and driving in 61 runs, the latter of which were the most by an Illini since 2008. Tabbed with preseason All-Big Ten honors from Perfect Game, the Orland Park, Ill., native was also named one of the nation's top 100 collegiate juniors by the organization.
Hall heads into the 2026 season after securing a team-high seven wins on the mound for the Illini as a sophomore. Going 4-0 with a 1.03 ERA in the month of April in 2025, the New Mexico native finished his sophomore season with 67.2 innings pitched across 12 starts and 14 total appearances. He recorded his first complete game against Indiana on April 13.
Groves appeared in 43 games, making 41 starts, for the Illini in his first season with the program in 2025. Tallying a slash line of .324/.493/.385, his .493 on-base percentage ranked fifth in Big Ten last season, while his 15 stolen bases were tied for the seventh-most in the conference. He entered 2026 with an active on-base streak of 13 games.
ONES TO WATCH
Perfect Game Preseason All-Big Ten
OF Collin Jennings
Perfect Game Top 100 Collegiate Juniors
No. 77 - OF Collin Jennings
Perfect Game Top 2026 B1G Draft Prospects
No. 9 - OF Collin Jennings
Perfect Game Top 2027 B1G Draft Prospects
No. 16 - LHP/OF Brayden Mazzacano
No. 19 - C/OF Luke Landrus
Perfect Game Top 2028 B1G Draft Prospects
No. 13 - RHP Ike Young
D1Baseball Preseason Second Baseman Rankings
No. 46 - Jack Zebig
D1Baseball Preseason Third Baseman Rankings
No. 25 - Kyle Schupmann
D1Baseball Preseason Outfielder Rankings
No. 99 - Collin Jennings
D1Baseball Preseason Relief Pitcher Rankings
No. 65 - Zach Bates
D1Baseball Top 2026 B1G Draft Prospects
No. 16 - OF Collin Jennings
No. 53 - 2B Jack Zebig
No. 54 - LHP Zach Bates
D1Baseball Top 2027 B1G Draft Prospects
No. 17 - RHP Ryan Johnson
No. 23 - OF Cole Crafton
No. 26 - LHP/OF Brayden Mazzacano
D1Baseball Top Impact B1G Freshmen
No. 15 - RHP Ike Young
No. 26 - LHP Aidan Flinn
