2026 Baseball Preview Part 3: Maestri Classic, New Turf Add to Changes in '26

The New Orleans Privateers have a lot of exciting additions that go beyond just the roster. This season, there will be the inaugural Maestri Classic to be played the second weekend of the season. Fans will also see a new turf infield that was installed after the conclusion of the fall season and new lights.
 
The Maestri Classic highlights a non-conference schedule that includes the typical cast of tough mid-week opponents. New Orleans will host Northern Kentucky, Alabama A&M and ULM in the classic named after legendary former head coach and athletic director, Ron Maestri who won 543 games and took the Privateers to two College World Series.
 
"I'm so excited we were able to get to put this together," said Head Coach Andrew Gipson. "Coach Maestri reminds me a lot of my former boss, Hill Denson. I'm excited we get to host that tournament and I really want us to play well but it's also an exciting thing for the city. You've got Backyard Baseball, partnering with the Miracle League and with everything ahead it will be a fun weekend."
 
Coach Gipson relishes the opportunity for his teams to compete against the best possible and with the strength of the region combined with fierce competition in the Southland Conference, there will be plenty of tests for the 2026 squad and beyond.
 
"I love the challenge of playing against competition we have in midweeks. I like to stretch ourselves and figure out what we're made of in terms of what our competitive character looks like. You get that opportunity week in and week out with the teams we play. Our midweeks are full of those types of games."
 
The Privateers join a trend after the installation of a turf infield, a switch from the all-natural surface. There are now just three teams remaining in the Southland with all grass fields (UTRGV, HCU, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi).
 
"It was awesome. We had to finish fall ball early so they can get everything on time and it worked out about as perfectly as it could. The headache of trying to figure out tarp pull goes out the window. It's more comfortable to slide on and the hops are consistent. There's been more of a buzz around practice and the turf is a game changer."
 
As the Privateers also prepare to compete through a 30-game Southland schedule that starts in the third week of the season, they have made several deep runs in the Southland Tournament including the 2018, 2023 and 2025 team making it to the championship game.
 
Coach Gipson is no stranger to the Southland after being part of three NCAA Regional teams at Southeastern and he'll be one of the first to tell people about the strength of the league.
 
"The Southland is a good league. It was a decade ago we were upset that we didn't get three teams in. There's no easy games in the conference. Energy and consistent play win on Sunday. Everybody's ready to go for Friday and Saturday is a swing game but Sunday, regardless of the outcome of the first two days it becomes a grind and I think the most consistent thinking teams do the most damage on Sundays and we're preaching those things to our guys."
 
The season starts for the Privateers on Friday, Feb. 13 when they will take on Georgia State. It's the third series they have ever played against the Panthers (2013 and 2024).
 
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