Major League Baseball today announced the expansion of its annual, Arizona-based tournament designed to celebrate the traditional start to the college baseball season. The MLB Desert Invitational tournament (formerly known as “MLB4”) will now include six teams from around the country, including three nationally-ranked teams, and will be hosted in three locations throughout the Greater Phoenix area – (1) Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, (2) Sloan Park and (3) Grand Canyon University. The MLB-hosted event will be held the weekend of February 17th-19th, including three exclusive telecasts LIVE on MLB Network and streamed on MLB.com. MLB Network has been the exclusive home of this tournament since its inception in 2018.
The Desert Invitational, which will be the fourth such event hosted by MLB in Arizona, will feature several of the best baseball programs in the nation – all of which are participating for the first time. These include the following:
• University of Tennessee (Knoxville, TN) – No. 4 ranked
• University of Arizona (Tucson, AZ) – No. 33 ranked
• Grand Canyon University (Phoenix, AZ) – No. 36 ranked
• Michigan State University, (East Lansing, MI)
• Fresno State University (Fresno, CA)
• University of California San Diego (San Diego, CA)
The full schedule (all times MT) for the 2023 Desert Invitational tournament is as follows (dates, times and match-ups are subject to change):
Feb. 17, 11 a.m.: Michigan St. vs. Fresno St. (Sloan Park)
Feb. 17, 1 p.m.: Grand Canyon vs. San Diego (SRF at Talking Stick) +
Feb. 17, 6 p.m.: Arizona vs. Tennessee (SRF at Talking Stick) +
Feb. 18, 1 p.m.: Fresno St. vs. Arizona (Sloan Park)
Feb. 18, 6 p.m.: Tennessee vs. Grand Canyon (Grand Canyon University) +
Feb. 18, 6 p.m.: San Diego vs. Michigan St. (Sloan Park)
Feb. 19, 1 p.m.: Fresno St. vs. Grand Canyon (Sloan Park)
Feb. 19, 1 p.m.: San Diego vs. Tennessee (SRF at Talking Stick)
Feb. 19, 6 p.m.: Michigan St. vs. Arizona (SRF at Talking Stick)
+ MLB Network/MLB.com Broadcast
The showcase is set to feature MLB Pipeline Top 100 Draft prospects including:
• No. 2 – Chase Dollander – RHP – Tennessee
• No. 9 – Jacob Wilson – SS – Grand Canyon
• No. 22 – Maui Ahuna – SS Tennessee
• No. 44 – Mitch Jebb – SS – Michigan State
• No. 51 – Chase Davis – OF – Arizona
• No. 71 – T.J. Nichols – RHP – Arizona
• No. 88 – Homer Bush Jr – Grand Canyon
Historically, the tournament has featured Vanderbilt University, University of Michigan, Texas Christian University, California Polytechnic State University (San Luis Obispo), University of Connecticut, University of Virginia and California State University (Fullerton).