UAB Baseball Hosts Cincinnati For First Home Series of 2026

By Steve Irvine

BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - February 19, 2026

Casey Dunn didn’t choose to have his UAB baseball team dip their toes in the water to start the 2026 season. Jumping in with both feet was the plan.

UAB opened the season by beating Florida in the first game of a three-game series before dropping a Saturday doubleheader to the 12th-ranked Gators. On Thursday, UAB begins a four-game series at Young Memorial Field against a Cincinnati team that opened this season with a series win at Jacksonville State and a shutout victory at 9th ranked Auburn.

A year ago, Florida and Cincinnati played in the NCAA Regionals. The Bearcats played in the Knoxville Regional, beating Wake Forest in the first game before being eliminated with losses to Tennessee and Wake Forest.

“We've got to be able to play and compete against good people,” Dunn said.

So, what did he learn from the first step in playing good teams?

“I think the team we learned on Friday, we've got a little competitiveness in us,” Dunn said. “I was really pleased with the way that we kind of came out, and then when they responded back and took the lead, we answered. You know, a lot of times when you play in that environment and a team that's obviously more talented, once they take the lead, you kind of just roll over. But our guys fought back and I was encouraged by that.”

UAB won the Friday night game, 9-7, in 10 innings with redshirt freshman Riley Miller earning American Conference Pitcher of the Week honors after throwing the final three shutout innings, allowing two hits and a walk and striking out a batter. Centerfielder Kevin Hall Jr., who bats leadoff, tied the game in the 8th inning with a two-run single and had the go-ahead RBI in the 10th inning.

Florida scored nine first inning runs in the second game of the series and the Gators won the deciding game, 6-1.

“I thought we even did some good things in game two offensively,” Dunn said. “It didn't really show up in the box score. But against a guy that'll be a first rounder in another year, I thought we had some really good at-bats. We didn't strike out. He averaged, I think, a strikeout and a half (per inning) in the SEC last year and he struck out less than one an inning against us. And, you know, we hit a lot of balls hard that just didn't get results. So I was pleased that we didn’t get overmatched by some good arms.”

He was also encouraged at three freshmen pitchers – Miller, Christian Helmers and Carter Samuelson – pitched well in their first appearance at UAB. The three young pitchers combined for 9.2 innings, nine strikeouts, two earned runs, two walk and an opponent batting average of .222.

After a 15-3 win at UNA on Tuesday, which featured home runs by Hall and Max Price and another good outing by Samuelson, the Blazers face Cincinnati, which beat Auburn, 8-0, in a midweek game.

“I mean, honestly, it'll be a tougher team to play than Florida, believe it or not,” Dunn said. “Florida's more talented. They've got the bigger prospects and all that, but Florida plays a very professional style. They're going to go up there and get their swings. They're going to attack you on the mound and just kind of play the game. Cincinnati is a lot more aggressive. They're going to challenge us in some different ways than Florida did it in terms of putting pressure on us defensively with the bunt game, the run game. I think last year they were like top five in the country in bunt singles plus stolen bases. So, you know, when you factor in just the way they play, it's going to be a challenge for us because they do a really good job of putting pressure on you.”

The expected starting rotation for UAB in the series is Mason Steele on Thursday, Braxton Shelton on Friday and Chase Ingram on Saturday with Sunday’s starter yet to be determined. The four-game series will test UAB’s pitching depth.

“One of my good buddies in coaching, he says all the time, when you do this, it makes you pitch guys you don't want to pitch,” Dunn said of the 4-game series. “And the positive of that is, usually there's one good surprise. That’s the thing, sometimes you run guys out there and it is what you expect. But other times, it's like, ‘Oh, man, he's a little better.’ I told our kids before we went to Gainesville, you know, I believe in this game, there's something to being a gamer. You know, there are guys that are better when it matters than they are in practice, when the compete factor kicks in. Sometimes that's the case with pitchers. You've got guys that are okay in bullpens, okay in scrimmages, yet when you get them in a competitive nature, they're better.”

Offensively, the Blazers aren’t a team that will sit back and look for a three-run home run. The Blazers had 26 hits in the first four games with only four of those – the two home runs against UNA and a pair of doubles by John Paul Head at Florida – going for extra bases. They have put pressure on the opposition by stealing 11 bases without getting caught in the four games. Hall has a team-high four stolen bases and second baseman Alex Cheeseman has a pair.

“We're going to have to push the envelope,” Dunn said. “I think that's what our kids have to embrace. Sometimes we may get thrown out. We may look stupid doing some stuff. But I just think that's who we have to be this year.”

Cheeseman is expected to be a big part of that but he could be out for several weeks with a hand injury. Dunn said the offense needs to be led by Head and Landon Beaver.

“They're the two guys that have potential to do some real damage and carry you if they can get hot,” Dunn said. “That's the positive, we've been okay offensively, and those two guys haven't got it going yet. But I think they're our guys. We've got a lot of pieces around them that can do some things.”

The four-game series against Cincinnati begins Thursday at 2 p.m. with games scheduled for Friday at 2 p.m., Saturday at 1 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.