College baseball returns across the country Friday. That’s no different for Indiana baseball, which kicks off its 56-game grind Friday against the No. 11 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Eighth-year head coach Jeff Mercer and the Hoosiers begin their 2026 slate with a 3-game series at Boshamer Stadium.
If the opening series seems daunting, it’s by design.
Historically, Mercer has scheduled challenging opening series, prioritizing early tests over early comfort. Including this weekend’s top-15 matchup against North Carolina, Indiana will have opened four of its last five seasons on the road competing against Power Four competition.
North Carolina fits that mold. The Tar Heels enter opening weekend with a lingering sting following a season-ending loss in the Chapel Hill Super Regional last year to the University of Arizona. North Carolina was just one win short of a trip to the College World Series.
Despite the tall task for Indiana, Mercer said the early season challenge will give the team positive results regardless of the outcome.
“Going and doing hard things together, competing together, learning and having feedback is really important,” Mercer said Feb. 4. “Going and playing difficult teams early on gives you the best feedback.”
Mercer said he believes those early tests provide accelerated development, particularly for a roster featuring several young position players.
“You’re not saving them by not exposing them early on,” he said. “By going and doing it, they’ve seen it. They’ll come through it. And when you leave there, you’re a better team for it.”
Indiana’s confidence entering the 2026 season revolves around its strong sophomore class.
Reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Year first baseman Jake Hanley headlines a group that saw extensive experience last season. Hanley, shortstop Cooper Malamazian, third baseman Will Moore and catcher Hogan Denny each appeared in more than 45 games in 2025 and are expected to anchor the lineup this spring.
But an expanded opportunity comes with heightened expectations.
“We’re going to have to have some production offensively from guys that haven’t done it before,” Mercer said. “There’s three or four guys that are capable of doing it, but they’re going to have to learn quickly how the game is played at a really high level.”
Facing one of the nation’s premier pitching staffs out of the gate offers little time to ease in.
North Carolina returns one of the most respected pitching staffs in the country, placing four pitchers on D1Baseball’s Top 200 Starting Pitchers list.
Junior Jason DeCaro leads the group as the No. 7 pitcher in the nation and a Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List selection after posting a 9-3 record with a 3.78 ERA last season. Sophomore Ryan Lynch, No. 25 in the country, returns after a 3.08 ERA and 73 strikeouts as a freshman, while junior Folger Boaz, No. 86, and highly regarded freshman Caden Glauber, No. 156, add further depth.
The weekend starting rotation for the Tar Heels will be DeCaro on Friday, Boaz on Saturday and Lynch on Sunday.
With an offense filled with transfers and led by key returning contributors from a 46‑win season, the Tar Heels' lineup offers plenty of promise behind a loaded pitching staff.
Indiana, by contrast, will have a fresh look on the mound this season, beginning with its transfer additions.
Graduate left-hander Tony Neubeck, a transfer from the University of Missouri, is slated to start Friday’s opener, while senior right-hander Jackson Bergman, a transfer from the University of Toledo, is expected to take the ball Saturday. Sunday’s starter has yet to be announced.
Mercer expects the combination of Neubeck’s experience and the depth of returning arms -– including redshirt senior Pete Haas, sophomore Brayton Thomas and graduate student Gavin Seebold -– to provide stability as the Hoosiers navigate a demanding opening weekend.
Indiana will look to snap an Opening Day drought that dates back to Mercer's inaugural season as head coach in 2019. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 4 p.m. in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
“If you want to be the program you want to be and compete at a high level, you have to go play against those teams and learn to beat them in those environments,” Mercer said. “And that eventually will become you.”
Follow reporters Elakai Anela (@elakai_anela and eanela@iu.edu) and Will Kwiatkowski (@WKwiatkowski_15 and wdkwiatk@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana baseball season.
