Cullowhee, N.C. – Nine combined games against four Power Five conference opponents including a pair of three-game weekend series at Florida State and College World Series participant Wake Forest are among the highlights of Western Carolina's 55-game 2024 schedule unveiled today by second-year head coach Alan Beck. The slate includes 26 home dates at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium including seven of its season's first 11 and features four different teams that qualified for the NCAA Tournament a season ago with two that advanced to the College World Series.
 
WCU's schedule includes teams from 10 different conferences as the Catamounts will face four from the Big South and two opponents from both the Atlantic Coast Conference, Mid-America Conference (MAC), and a pair from the Sun Belt Conference.
 
Opening with a three-game nonconference home series against Iona in mid-February, WCU's schedule culminates with the 2024 Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases at Fluor Field at the West End in Greenville, S.C.  The tournament champion earns the league's automatic bid into the NCAA postseason field.
 
"Our team put in a lot of work this fall and we are looking forward to the spring season. Our guys know they will have to show up every day to be successful with this schedule and they are excited for that opportunity," said WCU head coach Alan Beck.
 
The Catamounts have six nonconference three-game weekend series including three at home beginning with the curtain-raising three-game set against Iona on Feb. 16-18. The Catamounts and Gaels meet for the first time since 2012. Georgia State comes to Cullowhee for three games March 1-3 with first-time opponent Harvard venturing south for a three-game series March 15-17.
 
WCU's three-game weekend road series includes a trio of early-season games in Tallahassee, Fla., against Florida State on Feb. 23-25. The series against the Seminoles marks the first meeting in the series since 2002. The Catamounts also face Akron with a three-game set to be played on a neutral field at beautiful Prasco Park in Mason, Ohio April 5-7. The Catamounts and Zips split a four-game season-opening series in Cullowhee to open the 2023 season. WCU also visits Wake Forest, which advanced to Omaha last season, in Winston-Salem for three games over two days May 4-5.
 
The Catamounts also return to Fluor Field in tournament action hosted by Michigan State. The three-day event includes four neutral field games played March 8-10. WCU is slated to face first-time opponent Western Michigan on Friday and VCU led by former WCU assistant coaches Bradley LeCroy and Andrew Cox on Sunday. The Catamounts have a scheduled Saturday doubleheader against the host Spartans.
 
Along the way, WCU plays a combined 12 midweek games spread between traditional home-and-home matchups and three one-off games. WCU's three home-and-home sets including match-ups against USC Upstate (Spartanburg, S.C., Feb. 21; Cullowhee, May 1), mountain-rival UNC Asheville (Cullowhee, Feb. 27; Asheville, March 19), Presbyterian (Clinton, S.C., April 9; Cullowhee, May 14). WCU will also play a three-game mid-week set against Gardner-Webb that includes two games in Boiling Springs (March 26 and April 2) and the third in Cullowhee on April 3.
 
The one-off midweek matchups include a road trip to Charlotte to face the 49ers on March 5 as the Catamounts put a two-game series winning streak on the line. WCU also renews the rivalry with Appalachian State with the first meeting since 2020 when the Mountaineers come to Cullowhee in the midweek on April 16. WCU also travels to Knoxville, Tenn., to face the Tennessee Volunteers on April 23 in nonconference play.
 
Western Carolina's seven-series Southern Conference schedule includes four series at home and three on the road. The Catamounts host mountain rival ETSU (March 22-24), in-state league foe UNCG (April 12-14), defending SoCon champion Samford (April 19-21) and perennial contender Mercer (May 10-12). WCU visits The Citadel in Charleston, S.C., at the end of March, with a three-game series against Wofford in Spartanburg, S.C., April 26-28. The Catamounts close the regular season with a three-game series on post at VMI in Lexington, Va., May 16-18.
 
A listing of game day promotions and a complete broadcast schedule including plans for Catamount Sports Network audio and ESPN+ (paid subscription required) will be made available closer to the season.
 
Season tickets for the 26-game 2024 home baseball schedule at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium are on sale now through the first-floor Athletics Ticket Office in the Ramsey Center, by phone at (828) 227-2401, or online at CatamountSports.com/BuyTickets. Season ticket prices start at just $51 for adult general admission or $26 for youth general admission. Additional seating options include field-level chair back seats and upper-reserved chair backs under cover beneath the press box.
 
Single-game tickets will go on sale to the public in mid-January ahead of the mid-February opening weekend.
 
Western Carolina returns 21 letter winners including seven players who saw multiple starts a season ago and four pitchers who made four or more starts on the mound.
 
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