It’s the last weekend before conference play starts in college baseball, and it’s a good one. While some teams are still playing “tuneup” opponents, several of the nation’s most prominent programs will be facing stiff challenges. Here’s a look at what to watch for this weekend. All rankings are from d1baseball.com.

Shriners College Classic: The field at the Shriners Children’s College Classic at Minute Maid Park is absolutely stacked. No. 1 Texas, No. 7 LSU, No. 17 Tennessee, Oklahoma, Baylor and UCLA play over the three-day event, with some delicious individual matchups.

Every day features three games, at noon, 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. ET, and all nine games will air on MLB Network, MLB.com and Astros.com. If you’re picking one marquee matchup of the weekend, it has to be Saturday night’s battle between the No. 1 Longhorns and No. 7 LSU, two schools that are sure to travel well. The Tigers feature star infielder and top-5 Draft prospect Jacob Berry, while the Horns trot out quite possibly the nation’s best pitching staff top to bottom.

Friday is highlighted by an all-orange clash between Texas and Tennessee, where you can keep an eye out for Vols reliever Ben Joyce. The right-hander has been topping 100 mph regularly, and you don’t see that every day in pro ball, never mind college.

If you’re looking for a sleeper team to keep an eye on, though, it’s the Bruins. Regarded as a bit of a question mark before the season started, UCLA is 6-3 behind brilliant starting pitching. The Bruins’ three weekend starters, Jake Brooks, Max Rajcic, and Kelly Austin, have allowed a combined two earned runs in 34 innings.

Rivalries, part 1: The weekend features two ranked-on-ranked series, and they’re both between in-state rivals.

Down in South Florida, they play a traditional weekend series. No. 22 Miami hosts No. 14 Florida for three games at Mark Light, starting at 7 p.m. ET Friday, 7 on Saturday and noon on Sunday. The Canes are 7-1, with their only loss a shocker to Harvard last Friday, while the Gators are 8-2. Florida has won seven straight since dropping its opening weekend series at home to Liberty.

Gators righty Hunter Barco, ranked as MLB Pipeline’s No. 53 Draft prospect, has been absolutely dazzling early. He’s amassed 23 strikeouts against two walks in 12 innings, with one run allowed through two starts. He’ll face another Top 100 Draft prospect on Friday night in Miami lefty Carson Palmquist. The first two games will stream on ACC Network Extra, while Sunday’s contest will be televised on ACC Network.

Rivalries, part 2: It’s a slightly more unconventional structure to the weekend in North Georgia, but it should be good fun just the same. No. 15 Georgia and No. 18 Georgia Tech also play a Friday-Saturday-Sunday set, but they’ll play in three different locations.

The 8-1 Yellow Jackets will host on Friday at 6 p.m. ET on ACC Network Extra. The Dawgs, 8-0 on the young season, are home on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET, streaming on SEC Network Plus. And the rubber match takes place on Sunday at Coolray Field in Lawrenceville, home of the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers. That one is set for 2 p.m. and will stream on ACC Network Extra.

For a fun matchup, don’t miss Friday night’s game in Atlanta. Tech’s star catcher, Kevin Parada, has been absolutely wrecking shop in the early going, with a .514/.581/1.135 batting line through two-plus weeks. He’ll try to keep that up against Georgia righty Jonathan Cannon, who has allowed five hits, no runs, and no walks through 14 innings over two starts. Parada is Pipeline’s No. 12 Draft prospect, while Cannon rates No. 83.

More tournaments: The weekend features plenty of tournaments and tournament-like events, not just the headliner in Houston. The next two biggest take place in Frisco, Texas, and Greenville, N.C.

In Greenville, preseason top-15 team East Carolina hosts a challenging slate of opponents. Maryland, off to the best start in school history, joins Michigan and a sneaky-hot Indiana State in descending from cooler climes to visit the Pirates. All three games featuring ECU – Friday at 4:30 p.m. ET vs. ISU, Saturday at 4:30 vs. Michigan, and Sunday at 3:30 vs. Maryland – will be on ESPN+.

In Frisco, it’s a very nice assortment of name brands. Texas A&M, Iowa, Wichita State, and Washington State will play a round robin, with all six games streaming on FloBaseball.

Assorted pings: It’s been a slightly rocky start for Florida State at 5-3, but they’re 4-0 when one of their top two starters takes the hill. The brilliant Parker Messick (2-0, 0.71, 24 K/2 BB) and Bryce Hubbart (2-0, 0.00, 22 K/1BB) face Cal on Friday and Saturday respectively. … Tommy Tanks just keeps raking. North Carolina State freshman first baseman Tommy White is up to nine homers and 29 RBIs on the year – in eight games! The Wolfpack take on Northeastern in Raleigh this weekend. … Reigning national champion Mississippi State is also off to a relatively slow start at 5-4, and it doesn’t get any easier with a trip to Tulane. The Green Wave are 8-1 after winning a series at Louisiana Tech last weekend.