LOS ANGELES – The UCLA baseball team will begin the 2017 season this weekend when it hosts San Jose State for a three-game series at Jackie Robinson Stadium. The series was originally set to start on Friday but was shifted to begin on Saturday at 6 p.m. (PT) because of inclement weather predicted in Southern California.

Probable Starters
Saturday, Feb. 18 - 6:00 p.m. (PT)
UCLA – Griffin Canning, RHP, Jr. (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
SJSU – Josh Nashed, RHP, Jr. (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

Sunday, Feb. 19 - 1:00 p.m. (PT)
UCLA – Jake Bird, RHP, Jr. (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
SJSU – Matt Brown, RHP, Jr. (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

Monday, Feb. 20 - 1:00 p.m. (PT)
UCLA – Jon Olsen, RHP, So. (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
SJSU – Graham Gomez, LHP, Sr. (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

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2016 at a Glance
UCLA finished 25-31 overall with a record of 12-18 in the Pac-12 Conference, ranking 10th in 2016.

• Head Coach John Savage captured both his 500th win as a Division I head coach and 400th win at UCLA this season.
• RHP Griffin Canning finished second during Pac-12 play with 61 strikeouts.
• Christoph Bono and Trent Chatterton became just the 14th and 15th players since 1975 to play in 200 career games at UCLA.
• Five players were selected in the 2016 MLB Draft, including Grant Dyer going in the eighth round to become the 30th player under Savage to be selected in the first 10 rounds.
• Kyle Molnar named a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American.
• Eric Filia earned All-Pac-12 honors after hitting .295 with three home runs, 36 runs and 32 RBIs.

Opening Day Notes
UCLA will open the season at home for the seventh season in a row and 14th time in the last 15 seasons. Under John Savage UCLA has gone 7-5 on opening day, including winning five straight from 2007-11. Since 1981, the year Jackie Robinson Stadium opened, UCLA has gone 17-7 on opening day at home.

Scouting San Jose State
First-year head coach Jason Hawkins takes over the SJSU program that finished 17-39 last season, including 7-23 during Mountain West play. The Spartans return Shane Timmons who hit a team-high .328 with four home runs and 26 RBIs. Josh Nashed returns as the team's ERA leader last season at 4.79 in 14 starts on the mound for San Jose State last season. Nashed also hit .246 in 138 at-bats in 2016.

The Bruins vs. The Spartans
UCLA has faced San Jose State seven previous times, posting a record of 5-2 against the Spartans. The Bruins have not played the Spartans since 2011 when SJSU took two out of three games from UCLA at Jackie Robinson Stadium. Prior to 2011, UCLA was 4-0 against San Jose State. The first game between the two schools took place in 1956 at Joe E. Brown Stadium on UCLA's campus.

Savage to Lead USA Baseball
UCLA Head Coach John Savage was named the manager for the 2017 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team. Savage previously served as an assistant coach on the 2000 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team. The 2000 team finished the summer with a 27-3-1 record that won a gold medal at Haarlem Baseball Week in the Netherlands. The U.S. will host three international friendship series against Chinese Taipei, Cuba, and Japan in 2017.

Preseason Rankings
The Bruins were tabbed to finish fifth in the Preseason Pac-12 Coaches Poll. UCLA received 54 points overall. Prior to the season, D1Baseball.com ranked the top position players in the country and several Bruins made the positional lists:
Griffin Canning - SP - No. 16
Sean Bouchard - 1B - No. 24
Nick Valaika - SS - No. 38
Ryan Kreidler - 3B - No. 39
Chase Strumpf  - 2B - No. 39
Brian Gadsby - RP - No. 39
Michael Toglia - OF -  No. 50
Jake Bird - SP - No. 85
Daniel Amaral - OF - No. 149
Jon Olsen - SP - No. 165
Justin Hooper - SP - No. 200

Canning Effect
Griffin Canning made the jump last season to UCLA's Friday starter and has excelled on the bump for the Bruins. Earlier this season, he was selected to the Golden Spikes Preseason Watch List and named a Preseason All-America third team selection by Baseball America. Last season, he totaled 95 strikeouts good for fourth in Pac-12, including 61 during conference play, the second most in the Pac-12. He lasted at least 5.0 innings in all 15 starts in 2016, including throwing 7.0 or more innings in eight starts. He was also named a Freshman All-American in 2015.

Baby Bruins
The Bruins welcome 14 newcomers to Westwood for the 2017 season. The recruiting class was ranked No. 16 by Baseball America. Three newcomers had been previously selected in the MLB draft as Ryan Kreidler, Michael Toglia and Jeremy Ydens were each 2016 MLB Draft selections. Over the summer, Toglia was named the MVP of the West Coast League in 2016 after hitting .306 with a league-best seven home runs and 40 RBIs. Toglia (No. 8), Kreidler (No. 22) and Chase Strumpf (No. 85) were named to D1Baseball's Top Freshman Prospects list. Incoming catcher Will McInerny was named the 2016 CIF-SS Division 4 Player of the Year, while Gavin Johns transferred from Yavapai College and was named an All-NJCAA Region second team selection.

It's a Family Affair
UCLA has bred a strong athletic tradition and many current players are following in the footsteps of their notable family members.

• Daniel Amaral's father Rich and brother Beau played baseball at UCLA, while his sister Jessica played softball.
• Jordan Myrow's father John and godfather Dave Roberts played baseball at UCLA.
• Jake Pries' father Jeff played baseball at UCLA.
• Nick Valaika's brother Pat played baseball at UCLA and was a member of the 2013 National Championship.

Watch Live
UCLA is scheduled to be featured on television at least 16 times in 2017 with 15 of those contests being carried by the conference's Pac-12 Networks. The Bruins first TV game will be the Dodger Stadium College Baseball Classic matchup with USC on March 5.

Listen Live
This season all 56 regular season games and any potential postseason games will be broadcast live online at uclabruins.com. UCLA radio veterans John Ramey and Tim Wilhelm return to call all of the action at home and on the road.

Follow UCLA Baseball
Follow UCLA Baseball all season long on their various social media platforms.
Twitter: @uclabaseball
Instagram: @uclabruinsbaseball
Facebook: UCLA Baseball
Snapchat: ucla.athletics