CHICAGO (Nov. 16, 2023) – The UIC baseball team announced its 2024 schedule on Thursday, highlighted by nine games against Power Five opponents and the always-tough Missouri Valley Conference slate.
 
"We're excited to be playing a unique and challenging schedule in our second season in The Valley," said head coach Sean McDermott. "As a staff, we are eager to see how a team with several new faces will handle adversity and how that will prepare us for Power Five opponents, as well as a difficult Missouri Valley Conference schedule."
 
The Flames will open the 2024 season in the state of Texas, squaring off with Big 12 Conference opponent Kansas in a three-game series Feb. 16-18 in Corpus Christi. Following a Feb. 21 game at Incarnate Word in San Antonio, UIC will play three games from Feb. 23-25 in Sugarland, Texas at Constellation Field, the home of the Sugarland Space Cowboys, the Triple-A affiliate of the 2017 and 2022 world champion Houston Astros. This highlight of this event comes Feb. 25 when UIC battles Creighton, a Big East foe that finished with a winning record last year.
 
The Fire Engine Red and Navy Pier Blue open its home schedule Feb. 27, playing host to North Park in a 4 p.m. (CT) contest at Curtis Granderson Stadium. The Flames open the month of March with a three-game series at Ohio University (March 1-3) before the first of three matchups against Chicagoland rival Northwestern on March 5 in Evanston, Ill. St. Thomas then comes to Chicago for the first home series of the year March 8-10.
 
After a non-conference home series against SIUE March 15-17, the Flames head to West Lafayette, Ind., on March 20 for the front end of a home-and-home series with Big Ten Conference member Purdue. Two days later, MVC play begins with a trip to Nashville, Tenn., March 22-24 to square off with Belmont. Former Horizon League foe Milwaukee will return to Chicago for a mid-week contest March 26 before the Flames go back on the road for a three-game set March 29-31 at 2023 MVC champion and NCAA Regional host Indiana State.
 
UIC opens the month of April with another road trip, visiting Northern Illinois on April 3 before its first home conference series April 5-7 against Southern Illinois. Following another trip to Northwestern on April 9, the Flames head to Springfield, Mo., April 11-13 for a three-game series at Missouri State. The following week will consist of an April 17 non-conference contest at Milwaukee and a three-game MVC home series against Murray State (April 19-21).
 
Coach McDermott's group closes out its home-and-home series by welcoming NIU to campus April 24 before Valparaiso comes calling for a three-game series April 26-28. UIC and Northwestern then finish their season series April 30 when the Wildcats make their lone trip to Curtis Granderson Stadium.
 
After opening the month of May with a three-game road series at Bradley (May 3-5), UIC completes its home-and-home series with Purdue on May 7, as the Boilermakers become the second Big Ten school in a week to visit Granderson Stadium. MVC play will wrap up in mid-May with a home series against Illinois State (May 10-12) and a road series at Evansville (May 16-18), bookending a trip to Iowa City, Iowa, to take on the Hawkeyes on May 14.
 
The 2024 MVC Championship, featuring the league's top eight teams, will take place May 21-25 in Evansville, Ind., hosted by Evansville.
 
In its first season of competition in the Missouri Valley Conference, the UIC baseball team finished the season with 28 wins. It was the Flames' 22^nd consecutive season with 20 or more wins and fifth in a row with at least 28 wins, excluding the 2020 season that was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Third baseman Charlie Szykowny (Palos Heights, Ill./Wisconsin-Stout) was named ABCA Second Team All-Region before being drafted in the ninth round of the 2023 Major League Baseball Draft by the San Francisco Giants. Catcher Cole Conn (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles East) was also selected in the 2023 MLB Draft, a 12^th round selection by the Oakland Athletics after he had been named to the 2023 MVC All-Tournament Team.