Homestand wraps with BYU, Arizona

PROBABLE PITCHERS
Monday at 1 p.m.	RHP Tyler Ball (1-1, 7.50)	RHP Billy Gregory (1-0, 8.78)
Tuesday at 7 p.m.	TBA	TBA

Grand Canyon concludes a 10-game homestand with a Monday matinee against BYU and a Tuesday night battle against Arizona. The Lopes had a rare off weekend from games with six days since their last matchup. Monday will begin a busy stretch that sees GCU play games in seven of its next 10 days.

Both games from GCU Ballpark will be televised on Arizona's Family Sports and stream on the Mountain West Network.

3 THINGS TO KNOW

AT THE PLATE IN APRIL: GCU is hitting .307 in April, a significant jump from .240 in February and .255 in March, marking its best offensive month of the season. The Lopes have already hit 14 home runs in 11 April games, nearly matching their 16 homers in 18 March games. April slugging sits at .497, up from .370 (Feb.) and .410 (March), driven by 26 extra-base hits. GCU has scored 79 runs in 11 April games (6.9 per game) after averaging 4.7 in February and 4.5 in March.

BIG 12 TOUR: GCU's tour of nonconference play against Big 12 foes continues. The Lopes have three games remaining against teams from the conference, including these two midweeks and one more game against Arizona State. GCU has faced nearly half of the Big 12 this season (six of 14).

CAN'T K MITO: GCU graduate catcher Mito Perez is dynamic behind the plate, but his best asset nationally has been his ability to put the ball in play with the bat. Perez is the 12th-toughest batter to strike out in the nation, doing so just seven times in 118 at bats this season. That rate of one strikeout per 16.9 at bats leads the Mountain West.

SCOUTING BYU

BYU enters Monday's game with a 22-20 record and 11-10 mark in Big 12 play, carrying a two-game winning streak after taking the final two games of a road series at Arizona (5-1, 8-4). The Cougars are 14-11 on the road and have gone 1-5 vs. ranked opponents. Offensively, BYU is hitting .280 with 59 home runs and a .475 slugging percentage, ranking top 65 nationally in doubles (92) and slugging (No. 62). Ezra McNaughton (.347, 11 HR, 42 RBIs) and Easton Jones (.309, 10 HR) anchor the lineup, while the staff owns a 6.30 ERA and allows opponents to hit .282. Recent results include a 7-3 stretch in mid-April highlighted by a sweep at Houston and a 19-9 win over No. 23 Arizona State, but also series losses to Arizona State and a midweek loss to Utah Tech prior to the Arizona series.

At a macro level, BYU is in its third season competing in the Big 12. The Cougars have made 15 NCAA tournament appearances (most recently 2017) and two College World Series trips (1968, 1971). The program has historically produced sustained success under coaches like Gary Pullins (913 wins) and Vance Law, and is currently led by Trent Pratt (fourth full season). BYU has transitioned from WAC/Mountain West/WCC success into a more competitive Big 12 landscape, where it is looking for its first top-10 conference finish.

SCOUTING ARIZONA

Arizona enters with a 16-26 record and 7-14 mark in Big 12 play, riding a two-game losing streak after dropping the final two games of a home series against BYU. The Wildcats are 4-7 on the road. Offensively, Arizona is hitting .256 with 35 home runs and a .392 slugging percentage, ranking near the bottom of Division I in batting average (No. 252), scoring (5.2 runs per game, No. 276), and on-base percentage (.345, No. 284). Tony Lira leads the lineup at .351 with 60 hits. The pitching staff has been competitive (5.35 ERA, No. 102 nationally) with a strong strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.55, No. 26), but opponents are hitting .274 and have outscored Arizona 250-217 this season.

Arizona is having a rare down season following a 2025 College World Series appearance, with four national championships (1976, 1980, 1986, 2012), 44 NCAA tournament appearances, and a top-10 all-time win total (3,068 wins, .646 winning percentage). In their second season in the Big 12, the Wildcats are led by head coach Chip Hale (fifth season).

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Lopes visit San José State in a return to MW play before playing at Oregon for a Tuesday-Wednesday series.

For more GCU baseball news, notes and numbers, click here to view game notes.

3 THINGS TO KNOW

SCOUTING BYU

SCOUTING ARIZONA

WHAT'S NEXT?

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Billy Gregory

Mito Perez

Grand Canyon University Athletics