TOLEDO, Ohio – The University of Toledo baseball team announced its 2021 schedule today, a 56-game slate that starts Friday, Feb. 19.

The Rockets begin their season at USC-Upstate and also have non-conference trips scheduled for Davidson, Samford, Wofford, and Virginia Tech.

Highlighting the Toledo's season is a 40-game Mid-American Conference schedule that starts Friday, March 19.

"This schedule looks very different than in years past," head coach Rob Reinstetle said. "The COVID-19 pandemic has created some interesting scenarios that we had to work through. But in the end, we still gave our student-athletes a chance to compete in a normal, 56-game season, which was important for us."

Toledo will play four-game weekend series against the other 10 MAC schools, with one game on Friday and Sunday plus a Saturday doubleheader. The Rockets will host conference foes Ohio (April 2-4), Akron (April 16-18), Western Michigan (April 30-May 2), Bowling Green (May 14-16), and Central Michigan (May 28-30). Road conference weekends will take place at Miami (March 19-21), Ball State (March 26-28), Kent State (April 9-11), Eastern Michigan (April 23-25), and Northern Illinois (May 21-23).

Last spring, the MAC made postseason changes to several sports, including baseball, which included the removal of the conference tournament. The winner of the MAC's regular season will earn an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.

The Rockets' non-conference opponents had a combined record of 64-18 in the abbreviated 2020 season, so they will see plenty of good competition before the all-important conference schedule begins in March.

"The schedule itself is really good," Reinstetle said. "We play the first four weekends down south in the Carolinas and Alabama against some traditionally strong baseball programs. We should be battle tested heading into MAC play, with our eyes on being conference champions."

The 2021 campaign will be the second for Reinstetle, and the Rockets will return 24 players from last year's team

"Even with all the changes to the 2021 season, I've never been more excited to get going with a group of guys," Reinstetle said. "They have worked extremely hard to this point, and all of us can't wait for the season to get here on February 19th."