The Illinois baseball team is in search of the program's second straight trip to the NCAA tournament, and on Wednesday, the 2016 schedule for the Illini was released.
Illinois, which finished a program-best 50-10-1 last season en route to a Big Ten regular season title, will open the season Feb. 19, 2016 at Tulane in the first of a three-game series against the Green Wave.
Other early nonconference opponents include a three-game series at Florida Gulf Coast (Feb. 26-28) and tournaments at Stetson (March 4-6) and Coastal Carolina (March 11-13).
Illinois opens Big Ten play at home on March 25 with Penn State coming to Illinois Field for the first game of a three-game series.