The UTRGV Department of Intercollegiate Athletics has announced the schedule for the 2025 Vaqueros Baseball Season.
The season will begin at home with the Al Ogletree Classic Feb. 14-16, a three-game set against the Southern Illinois University Salukis, according to a Nov. 19 news release.
This season will also be the first Vaqueros Baseball campaign as a member of the Southland Conference, as the university announced its intention to join last spring after leaving the Western Athletic Conference.
UTRGV Baseball skipper Derek Matlock was an assistant coach for the Texas State University Bobcats when they were in the Southland Conference, where he coached 2022 National League MVP Paul Goldschmidt.
Matlock told The Rider he is “honored” to return to the Southland, saying the Vaqueros will face “quality” competition in 2025.
“[The Southland has] a bunch of great, quality teams,” he said. “And then the nonconference schedule that we were lucky enough to put together is one of the toughest schedules we’ve ever played here.”
Matlock also said the Southland is a “blue-collar type conference that plays hard,” and that how the Vaqueros do will come down to how they play when the time comes.
“It comes down to us more than anyone else,” he said. “It doesn’t matter who we play, it’s how we play. If we play like we’re capable of playing, we have an opportunity to win.”
UTRGV’s nonconference opponents in the upcoming season include Texas, Texas Tech, Rice, Houston, Texas Southern, Louisiana, TCU and Baylor.
“It’s about as fun of midweeks as you can ask for,” he said. “[It’s] very challenging, but it’s not about your record. It’s about how you learn to get better throughout the year and you’re definitely gonna have a chance to see what you’re made out of ’cause everybody we’re playing is really, really good.”
Redshirt senior pitcher Angelo Cabral said he is “excited” about the upcoming schedule. Cabral is 11-3 with a 3.74 ERA as a Vaquero and is seeking a return to the pitching staff after missing most of last season with an elbow injury.
“All of our Tuesday games are pretty huge and we’re joining into the Southland Conference,” Cabral said. “We’re pretty confident coming into this. We have a pretty old group and we’re pretty excited to get things going.”
Cabral said the pitching staff’s approach to facing hitters will be similar to those of years past, as he expects the offensive environments in the SLC to be similar to those in the WAC.
“[We’re] going in there with the same game plan,” he said. “I know all of our pitchers are going in there [with the] same mentality, throwing strikes [and] getting guys out.”
Redshirt senior infielder Isaac Lopez said this season has “one of the best schedules we’ve had” in his time at UTRGV.
“I’m actually very excited for this group of guys to just go out and compete,” Lopez said. “These guys have been working hard all fall, and we look pretty promising in my eyes. So, I’m excited.”
The Robert Vela High School alum slashed .286/.408/.435 last season, setting a single-season high in walks (25). This year, he will take over at shortstop following Kade York’s senior season.
The Vaqueros will open the 2025 season at 6:30 p.m. Valentine’s Day, opening a three-game series at home against Southern Illinois in a Friday night contest.
