Valentine's Day may be tomorrow, but today is all about the love of the game. The college baseball season hits the ground running with a multitude of showcase tournaments featuring some of the nation's best teams.
While there's plenty of unknown on Opening Day, we can use that to our advantage, as oddsmakers have not correctly priced several teams on today's slate.
Let's dive into my four college baseball predictions and NCAA baseball picks for Opening Day on Friday, February 13.
College Baseball Predictions, Picks
The team logos in the table below represent each of the matchups that Action Network's Doug Ziefel is targeting from Friday's slate of Opening Day games. Click on the team logos for any of the matchups below to navigate to a specific bet discussed in this article.
| Game | Time (ET) | Pick |
|---|---|---|
  | 4 p.m. | |
  | 5 p.m. | |
  | 6:30 p.m. | |
  | 8 p.m. | |
Specific betting recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. | ||
Vanderbilt vs TCU Pick
We kick things off at the Shriners' Children's College Showdown, where No. 23 Vanderbilt takes on No. 10 TCU.
The Horned Frogs' price here is almost disrespectful, as this may be one of the rare times we see them as an underdog with their ace, Tommy LaPour, on the mound.
LaPour is primed to pick up right where he left off from a dominant sophomore season, where he pitched to a 3.09 ERA over 16 starts while holding opposing hitters to a .231 average.
He'll be supported by a lineup that's littered with talent and much more experience after a very young lineup made an NCAA Tournament run in 2025.
They will need to show their growth, though, because facing Vanderbilt's Connor Fennell is no easy task.
Fennell earned the Friday night role after a stellar 2025 season where he was lights out as a swingman. In 53 innings, which comprised of seven starts, Fennell held a 2.53 ERA and a BAA of .174.
His strikeout rate of 40.8% and SIERA of 0.95 show his upside as the ace of the team.
However, those numbers came from a relatively small sample size, and this first start of the season will be the first in a long time that Fennell will be asked to give length against a quality lineup.
Speaking of a quality lineup, that's what the Commodores lack most. This is a lineup that has one power source in Brodie Johnston and plenty of free swingers around him.
Look for the experience of LaPour and company to loom large here as the Horned Frogs pull off the upset to start their season.
Pick: TCU ML +120
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UC Santa Barbara vs Southern Miss Pick
What's so great about Fridays in college baseball is that aces are wild, and this matchup gives us two of the best arms in the country.
Jackson Flora takes the ball for the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos, and Flora is the guy who has put his school on the map. The No. 14 overall prospect in the upcoming MLB Draft brings electric stuff against a veteran Southern Miss lineup.
On the other side, Colby Allen takes the ball for the Golden Eagles. Allen put together a dominant 2025 campaign as a multi-inning reliever, where he threw 67 innings in 29 appearances and pitched to a 3.63 ERA.
While being thrust into the ace role is a big change, Allen has proven he can maintain his stuff and should have plenty of success against an average Gauchos lineup.
Being that this is the first game of the season, this pitcher's duel may not be as long as we'd like it to be, but Flora and Allen should minimize any scoring for the first half of this game, putting it in a great position to stay under the total.
Pick: Under 10
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UAB vs Florida Pick
After another season of highs and lows, the Florida Gators are primed to begin 2026 with a bang. It starts with the ultra-talented Liam Peterson taking the ball for the first start of his junior season.
Peterson came in so highly touted and struggled mightily as a freshman. However, he made great strides in his sophomore year, pitching to a 4.28 ERA while striking out 96 batters over 69 1/3 innings.
He's in a position to dominate a UAB lineup that's underwhelming, to say the least.
With the Blazers held quiet at the plate, we should see a re-tooled Gators lineup put on a show.
Returning bats Cade Kurland and Brendan Lawson will be right in the middle of the offensive production, but be on the lookout for transfers Ethan Surowiec and Same Miller, who each are high-contact bats with plenty of pop.
This lineup will be a daunting task for UAB's new ace, Mason Steele, who's a junior college transfer from Shelton State.
Back the Gators to win handily on Opening Day.
Pick: Florida -4.5
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Stanford vs Arizona Pick
Lastly, we target an Arizona team that's underpriced with their ace Owen Kramkowski on the hill. Don't let the 5.48 ERA fool you — Kramkowski is the bona fide ace of a deep Wildcats staff and should be sharp against a Stanford lineup that's projected to be below average this season despite Rintaro Sasaki looming in the middle of it.
Last season, pitching was the strength of this Arizona team, and with minimal changes, we shouldn't see a dip there at all. The question lies in the lineup. Only 36% of the Wildcats' plate appearances return this season.
However, there are high hopes around a pair of redshirt freshmen in Nate Novitske and Tony Lira. They, along with a trio of transfers, fill out a lineup that has something to prove this year.
They get a good matchup against this Stanford staff that did not have a pitcher with an ERA under 4.00 last season. The lowest mark belonged to Nick Dugan, who's slated to start this matchup for the Cardinal.
Dugan may be the ace of this team, but he's far from promising. He worked through a bevy of traffic on the bases last season, while striking out just 18.9% of batters.
He's a guy this Wildcats lineup can build momentum against while providing plenty of support for Kramkowski and company on the mound.
Lock in the Wildcats with confidence tonight.
Pick: Arizona ML -160
