The Grand Canyon Antelopes are among the teams participating in the 2026 MLB Desert Invitational, a collegiate baseball tournament at stadiums across the Phoenix area.
The seventh edition of the Desert Invitational will include Air Force, Grand Canyon, Iowa, Kansas State, Nebraska, Northeastern, Penn State and UConn.
Fourteen matchups in a round-robin style tournament will take place at Brazell Field at GCU Ballpark, Goodyear Ballpark, Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, Scottsdale Stadium and Sloan Park from Feb. 13-16.
Air Force, Iowa, Northeastern and Penn State will appear in the tournament for the first time, while Kansas State, Nebraska and UConn appear at the event for a second time.
Grand Canyon will not only compete for a fourth straight year but expose junior infielder Troy Sanders to a national audience. Sanders is one of three alumni from the MLB Develops program playing in the 2026 tournament. Kansas State sophomore utility player Donte Lewis and Nebraska freshman catcher Jeter Worthley also participated in the league’s sponsored youth development program.
Three games in the Desert Invitational will be broadcast on MLB Network, including the Antelopes’ matchup against the Nittany Lions at 1 p.m. on Feb. 14.
Since the expansion of the tournament’s field in 2023, the Desert Invitational has seen at least two participating teams make it to the NCAA Tournament. Kansas State, Nebraska and Northeastern all appeared in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
All eight teams in this year’s event combine for 17 berths and three regional appearances since 2020.
2026 MLB Desert Invitational schedule
*Games in bold will be aired live on MLB Network
Date
Time
Teams
Location
Feb. 13
1 p.m.
Kansas State vs. Iowa
Goodyear Ballpark
Feb. 13
6 p.m.
Penn State vs. Air Force
Goodyear Ballpark
Feb. 13
6 p.m.
Nebraska vs. UConn
SRF at Talking Stick
Feb. 13
6 p.m.
Grand Canyon vs. Northeastern
Grand Canyon University
Date
Time
Teams
Location
Feb. 14
1 p.m.
Grand Canyon vs. Penn State
SRF at Talking Stick
Feb. 14
5 p.m.
Kansas State vs. UConn
Scottsdale Stadium
Feb. 14
6 p.m.
Air Force vs. Iowa
SRF at Talking Stick
Feb. 14
6:30 p.m.
Northeastern vs. Nebraska
Sloan Park
Date
Time
Teams
Location
Feb. 15
12 p.m.
Penn State vs. Kansas State
Sloan Park
Feb. 15
1 p.m.
Northeastern vs. Iowa
SRF at Talking Stick
Feb. 15
5:30 p.m.
Grand Canyon vs. Nebraska
Sloan Park
Feb. 15
6 p.m.
UConn vs. Air Force
SRF at Talking Stick
Date
Time
Teams
Location
Feb. 16
1 p.m.
Air Force vs. Kansas State
Sloan Park
Feb. 16
1 p.m.
Nebraska vs. Stanford
SRF at Talking Stick
Hence then, the article about mlb desert invitational returns to arizona features gcu baseball was published today ( ) and is available on Arizona sports ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( MLB Desert Invitational returns to Arizona, features GCU baseball )
Also on site :