Tennessee baseball set to open season with MLB Desert Invitational

After spending the majority of last season as the No. 1 team in the country, Tennessee baseball lost a lot of its talent to the MLB Draft. However, a combination of returning players and newcomers keep the Vols as one of the favorites to win the National Championship.

Heading into the 2023 season, the Vols are ranked as the No. 2 team in the country by multiple publications.

To kick off coach Tony Vitello's sixth season in Knoxville, Tennessee will travel to Arizona to take part in the MLB Desert Invitational.

The event was previously named MLB4 before being rebranded for this season. It has expanded to six teams including Arizona, Fresno State, Grand Canyon, Michigan State and UC San Diego alongside the Vols. The games run from Feb. 17-19 and will air on MLB Network and MLB.com.

Here is who Tennessee is scheduled to face.

To open up the 2023 season, Tennessee will face Arizona at 8 p.m. ET in Scottsdale at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. The game will air on MLB Network and MLB.com.

The Wildcats finished last season 39-25 and 16-14 in the Pac-12 while ultimately being bounced in the Coral Gables Regional by the eventual national champions Ole Miss. Heading into this season, the USA Today Coaches Poll has them outside the top 25 but receiving 37th most votes.

Arizona is headlined by a pair of players who have earned a spot on the MLB Pipeline Top 100 Draft Prospects list.

At No. 51, outfielder Chase Davis enters his third season as a Wildcat. As a sophomore, he started in 62 of his 63 appearances. At the plate, Davis posted a .289 batting average and .414 on-base percentage while raking a team-high 18 home runs and 56 runs scored. He also earned 13 doubles, one triple and 54 RBI.

Alongside Davis, TJ Nichols also cracked the list. The right-handed pitcher earned the No. 70 spot on the rankings. Nichols started in all 16 of his appearances last season as a sophomore. During his time on the mound, he recorded a 6-4 record while tossing for a 5.5 ERA and an opponent batting average of .285. Nichols was the team's Friday starter as he led the team with 49 strikeouts against Pac-12 opponents.

"I know Arizona has probably been looking forward to this game," said Vitello. "I assume our guys have to. We haven't built things up too much but you love when an SEC opponent comes to your place. They're playing in a conference that's comparable to ours anyway. It's a program with a ton of history. It's not like they don't have a lot to stick their chest out about. But when you get an opportunity to beat an SEC team, I'd like to think you get kind of geeked up."

A day following the battle against Arizona, the Vols will move on to face Grand Canyon at 8 p.m. ET. The game will be played at Brazell Field at GCU Ballpark in Phoenix Arizona. The Antelopes play their home games at this stadium. The match will air on MLB Network and MLB.com.

Last year, Grand Canyon posted a 41-21 overall record and a 25-5 record in the WAC. The Antelopes earned a spot in the Stillwater Regional but lost consecutive games to Arkansas and Missouri State leading to their elimination. This year, Collegiate Baseball ranks them as the No. 36 team in its preseason poll.

Like Arizona, Grand Canyon boasts two players within MLB's top 100 prospects list.

At No. 9, shortstop Jacob Wilson sits as the second-highest-ranked player in the event. Tennessee's Chase Dollander at No. 2 is the only higher touted player. As a sophomore, Wilson was named as one of the 31 semifinalists for the Golden Spikes Award going to the nation's best player. As a hitter, Wilson was nearly impossible to strike out. He was beaten just once in every 35.1 at-bats which was the best mark in the country. Wilson also hit for a .339 average and slapped 16 home runs and 94 RBI.

Also making this list is outfielder Homer Bush Jr. The junior is currently ranked the No. 88 prospect. After struggling to find time on the field in his freshman year, he started in 56 of his 59 appearances as a sophomore. Despite his first name, Bush ironically utilized his speed instead of power. Bush was often the Antelopes' lead-off batter where he hit for a .270 average while scoring 58 runs and stealing seven bases. He hit just two home runs on the year.

"Grand Canyon is a program that what they do well is they win a lot of games without everybody in the country knowing it because it's not a huge school," said Vitello. "By now, you've seen YouTube basketball videos. It's a really cool campus. It's completely transformed into the university. It is if you know the history of the school. The baseball program's always been good. But probably because the stadium has become really good, campus, the baseball program has gotten even better. They have a shortstop that can be a first-rounder and a couple other highly touted guys."

To wrap up the season-opening event, Tennessee will face UC San Diego at 2 p.m. ET in Mesa at Sloan Park. The game will only air online at MLB.com.

A year ago, the Tritons finished with a 24-32 record. They failed to make the NCAA Tournament. However, UC San Diego only entered the Division I level in 2020 after years of success at the Division II level.

In 2022, catcher Emiliano Gonzalez led the team with a .312 batting average. He is returning for his senior season after playing in 50 games last year. However, possibly the most consistent bat was Jalen Smith. He is also returning for his senior year after hitting for a batting average of .305, 16 doubles, a .404 on-base percentage and 62 total hits.

"We'll worry about day three when we get there," said Vitello "... Day three for me will be cool because I'll coach against, on the other coaching staff will be a player that I coached at the University of Missouri. Love that kid (Bryson LeBlanc). We'll have to be enemies for a day and then hug it out afterward."

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