Upcoming Event: Baseball versus Northeastern on February 13, 2026 at 6 p.m.
Baseball
6 p.m.
vs Northeastern
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Lopes picked 3rd in MW preseason poll
2/4/2026 1:00:00 PM | Baseball
GCU slots behind last year's MW regular-season, tourney champions
In its inaugural Mountain West season, Grand Canyon was picked to finish third in a preseason polling of the conference's head coaches.
In each of their final seven seasons in the WAC, the Lopes were tabbed as the preseason favorites. But in the program's first season in a new conference, GCU was picked behind reigning regular-season champion Nevada and reigning tourney champion Fresno State. The Lopes also received one first-place vote among eight opposing conference coaches.
The MW has nine baseball members in 2026. The teams picked behind GCU are New Mexico, San José State, UNLV, San Diego State, Washington State and Air Force.
Nevada led the way with five All-MW selections on the 13-man team. No Lopes were selected.
GCU is entering a MW landscape that saw Nevada go 19-11 in 2025 with Fresno State one game back at 18-12. New Mexico went 17-13 and UNLV posted a 16-14 to round out the above-.500 teams in conference action.
The Lopes are set to feature a blend of experienced newcomers, veteran transfers and newcomers stepping into bigger roles. Offensively, junior first baseman Cannon Peery returns from a season in which he hit .317 and led the Lopes with 16 doubles. On the mound, junior Garrett Ahern and senior Elijah Higginbottom each return with 50 or more innings pitched last season.
GCU is set to play a familiarly challenging schedule. Nine of the Lopes' 14 nonconference opponents played in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, and 11 finished in the RPI top 100. The average opponent RPI of GCU's 30 nonconference games is 90.
The Lopes will open this season Feb. 13 against Northeastern as part of the MLB Desert Invitational.
In each of their final seven seasons in the WAC, the Lopes were tabbed as the preseason favorites. But in the program's first season in a new conference, GCU was picked behind reigning regular-season champion Nevada and reigning tourney champion Fresno State. The Lopes also received one first-place vote among eight opposing conference coaches.
The MW has nine baseball members in 2026. The teams picked behind GCU are New Mexico, San José State, UNLV, San Diego State, Washington State and Air Force.
Nevada led the way with five All-MW selections on the 13-man team. No Lopes were selected.
GCU is entering a MW landscape that saw Nevada go 19-11 in 2025 with Fresno State one game back at 18-12. New Mexico went 17-13 and UNLV posted a 16-14 to round out the above-.500 teams in conference action.
The Lopes are set to feature a blend of experienced newcomers, veteran transfers and newcomers stepping into bigger roles. Offensively, junior first baseman Cannon Peery returns from a season in which he hit .317 and led the Lopes with 16 doubles. On the mound, junior Garrett Ahern and senior Elijah Higginbottom each return with 50 or more innings pitched last season.
GCU is set to play a familiarly challenging schedule. Nine of the Lopes' 14 nonconference opponents played in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, and 11 finished in the RPI top 100. The average opponent RPI of GCU's 30 nonconference games is 90.
The Lopes will open this season Feb. 13 against Northeastern as part of the MLB Desert Invitational.
Preseason All-Mountain West |
|||
| Player | Year | Position | School |
| Walker Zapp | Sr. | Catcher | Air Force |
| Griffen Sotomayor | Sr. | Infielder | Fresno State |
| Alessandro Castro | Jr. | Pitcher | Nevada |
| Jayce Dobie | Sr. | Utility | Nevada |
| Jake Harvey | Sr. | Catcher | Nevada |
| Junhyuk Kwon | Sr. | Infielder | Nevada |
| Sean Yamaguchi | So. | Infielder | Nevada |
| Khalil Walker | Sr. | Outfielder | New Mexico |
| Tyler Albanese | Jr. | Pitcher | San José State |
| Kyle Calzadiaz | Sr. | Pitcher | San José State |
| Alex Fernandes | Sr. | Outfielder | San José State |
| Carson Lane | Jr. | Pitcher | UNLV |
| Max Hartman | Sr. | Outfielder | Washington State |
MW Preseason Coaches Poll |
|||
| Rank | Team (first-place votes) | Points | |
| 1. |
 |
Nevada (5) | 60 |
| 2. |
 |
Fresno State (3) | 55 |
| 3. |
 |
Grand Canyon (1) | 47 |
| 4. |
 |
New Mexico | 36 |
| 5. |
 |
San José State | 33 |
| 6. |
 |
UNLV | 32 |
| 7. |
 |
San Diego State | 30 |
| 8. |
 |
Washington State | 17 |
| 9. |
 |
Air Force | 14 |
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