Exciting lineup revealed for MLB Desert Invitational

For the fourth consecutive season, Grand Canyon will open its schedule in the ultra-competitive MLB Desert Invitational. The Lopes' 2026 opponents for the tournament were announced, as an already loaded GCU nonconference slate added three more challenging games.

To open a new campaign, GCU's three-game MLB Desert Invitational schedule includes:

Friday, Feb. 13 at 6 p.m. - vs. Northeastern - Brazell Field at GCU Ballpark
Saturday, Feb. 14 at 1 p.m. - vs. Penn State - Salt River Fields (Scottsdale)
Sunday, Feb. 15 at 5:30 p.m. - vs. Nebraska - Sloan Park (Mesa)

All three of the Lopes' opening-weekend opponents finished in the top 85 of last season's RPI rankings. Two of the three were participants in the NCAA Tournament. One of the three will be a new opponent for the GCU program.

GCU's tradition of hosting a game at its ballpark in the MLB Desert Invitational continues with an opening-day bout against Northeastern. The Huskies, based in Brookline, Massachussets, are coming off of a 49-11 season in which they qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the third time in five seasons. After finishing with the nation's best winning percentage at .817, Northeastern was No. 26 in the 2025 RPI, becoming the Lopes' fourth-highest ranked opponent of the 2026 season behind Oregon, Arizona and UC Irvine.

The Lopes have averaged crowds in excess of 5,000 fans for Opening Day the past four seasons, creating one of the nation's most electric environments. Northeastern joins a list of high-profile opponents in GCU's home openers that have recently included Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Missouri, Oklahoma State and TCU.

For the second and third games of its first weekend, GCU will travel to Salt River Fields and Sloan Park. The Lopes have played one game at both stadiums in their previous three appearances in the MLB Desert Invitational. At Salt River Fields — spring training home of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies — GCU defeated UC San Diego in 2023 and USC in 2024. At Sloan Park — spring training home of the Chicago Cubs — the Lopes beat BYU in 2024 and San Diego State in 2025.

GCU will rekindle series with a pair of Big Ten opponents in Penn State and Nebraska.

The Lopes and Nittany Lions met for one previous series, which GCU swept in 2018 at GCU Ballpark. Led by future third-round MLB Draft pick Jake Wong, the Lopes opened the series with a 19-strikeout effort to beat Penn State 8-1. The Lopes walked off with back-to-back 8-7 victories in Games 2 and 3 of the weekend. Penn State is coming off a 33-23 season and a No. 85 rank in the RPI.

GCU and Nebraska will reunite for the third consecutive season. The teams played a four-game set at GCU Ballpark in 2024 and a single game at GCU Ballpark in 2025. Last year, the Lopes posted a 3-1 win over the then-No. 23 Huskers with a game-winning hit in the eighth inning by sophomore Cannon Peery. The Huskers have qualified for back-to-back NCAA Tournaments and finished 2025 ranked No. 53 in the RPI.

Now complete, GCU's nonconference schedule features nine teams (out of 14) that played in the 2025 NCAA Tournament and 11 that finished in the top 100 of the RPI. The average opponent RPI of GCU's 30 nonconference games is 90.

To read about the rest of GCU's schedule, click here.
To view the full schedule, click here.

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Players Mentioned

Cannon Peery

Grand Canyon University Athletics