LA JOLLA, Calif.—UC San Diego baseball will open its 2023 season this weekend on the national stage at the MLB Desert Invitational taking place in the greater Phoenix area. Formerly known as "MLB4," the Desert Invitational will feature seven collegiate programs from around the country, facing off in 13 contests over a four-day span. 
 
The Tritons' (0-0) season opener against Grand Canyon will be broadcast live nationally on MLB Network on Friday at 12 p.m. (PT). UC San Diego will face Michigan on Saturday at 12 p.m. (PT), No. 2 Tennessee on Sunday at 11 a.m. (PT) and wrap up the event on Monday against Arizona at 12 p.m. (PT).
 
Friday and Saturday's contests will be played at Salt River Fields—spring training home of the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks—and Sunday and Monday's matchups will take place at Sloan Park—spring home of the Chicago Cubs. 
 
All four games will be streamed on MLB.com and live statistics will be available via UCSDTritons.com.

DETAILS

Game 1	Game 2
UC San Diego (0-0) vs Grand Canyon (0-0)	UC San Diego vs Michigan (0-0)
Friday at 12 p.m. PT	Saturday at 12 p.m. PT
Salt River Fields | Scottsdale, Ariz.	Salt River Fields | Scottsdale, Ariz.
All-time series: 35-22 (0-1 in D-I)	All-time series: 0-0
Last meeting: UCSD 6, GCU 9 (3/1/22)	Watch on MLB.com | Live Stats
MLB Network | MLB.com | Live Stats

 

Game 3	Game 4
UC San Diego vs No. 2 Tennessee (0-0)	UC San Diego vs Arizona (0-0)
Sunday at 11 a.m. PT	Monday at 12 p.m. PT
Sloan Park | Mesa, Ariz.	Sloan Park | Mesa, Ariz.
All-time series: 0-0	All-time series: 0-0
Watch on MLB.com | Live Stats	Watch on MLB.com | Live Stats

PROBABLE STARTING ROTATION
Friday: LHP Zack Ernisse vs GCU LHP Zach Thornton
Saturday: RHP Ryan Forcucci vs MICH TBA
Sunday: RHP Michael Mitchell vs TENN RHP Drew Beam
Monday: RHP Anthony Eyanson vs ARIZ TBA
 
ABOUT THE TRITONS
Roster | Schedule | Stats
2022 Overall: 24-32
2022 Big West: 13-17
2022 Home: 14-16
2022 Away: 10-14
2022 Neutral: 0-2
2022 Vs. Ranked Opponents: 1-1
Streak: W1
 

ABOUT GCU	ABOUT MICHIGAN	ABOUT TENNESSEE	ABOUT ARIZONA
Roster | Sched | Stats	Roster | Sched | Stats	Roster | Sched | Stats	Roster | Sched | Stats
2022 Overall: 41-21	2022 Overall: 34-28	2022 Overall: 57-9	2022 Overall: 39-25
2022 Conf: 25-5	2022 Conf: 12-12	2022 Conf: 25-5	2022 Conf: 16-14
2022 Home: 17-10	2022 Home: 14-9	2022 Home: 38-5	2022 Home: 20-11
2022 Away: 21-6	2022 Away: 12-15	2022 Away: 13-2	2022 Away: 12-10
2022 Neutral: 3-5	2022 Neutral: 8-4	2022 Neutral: 6-2	2022 Neutral: 7-4
2022 vs Ranked: 5-4	2022 vs Ranked: 1-6	2022 vs Ranked: 16-6	2022 vs Ranked: 5-1
Streak: L4	Streak: L2	Streak: L1	Streak: L1

   
NEWMAN JOINS TRITONCAST FOR SEASON PREVIEW 
With the 2023 season set to get underway shortly, Triton head coach Eric Newman joined Tritoncast—the official podcast for UC San Diego Athletics—this week. Coach Newman chatted with Ted Mendenhall about the tough schedule UC San Diego will face right off the bat this weekend at the MLB Desert Invitational, new faces on the roster, what the rotation might look like, how The Big West is shaping up, and so much more. Listen to Episode 73 here.
 
EXPERIENCED ROSTER
The Tritons return 25 scholar-athletes from the 2022 roster, including six starters from a team that finished 13-17 in The Big West a season ago. UC San Diego's 2023 roster includes 2022 All-Big West second team honorees Emiliano Gonzalez and Jalen Smith, along with 2021 Big West second team selections Michael Fuhrman and Michael Mitchell (who returns to action after sitting out the 2022 campaign due to injury).
 
FRESH FACES
UC San Diego will add 14 newcomers to its roster for the 2023 season, including nine true freshmen, four junior college/college transfers. The Triton additions include six pitchers and eight position players. 
 
JALEN SMITH NAMED TO BIG WEST PRESEASON TEAM
Senior Jalen Smith was selected to The Big West's first-ever Baseball Preseason Coaches' Team. It was the first preseason honor for Smith, who is also a two-time All-Big West Second Team selection. The infielder was recognized in 2022 for his performance with UC San Diego and in 2021 while a member of the UC Davis program.
 
Smith was exceptional in his first season at UC San Diego, appearing in a team-high 54 games and making 53 starts at third base. The junior transfer finished with a .305 average with seven homeruns and 34 runs batted in.
 
Smith led the Tritons in almost all statistical categories, including OPS (.921), at bats (203), hits (62), doubles (16), triples (3), total bases (105), slugging percentage (.517), walks (30), on-base percentage (.404) and stolen bases (7-10). Smith also ranked among the top hitters in the Big West in doubles (6th), hits (12th), triples (3rd), homeruns (10th), walks (12th), and stolen bases (12th).

TRITONS PICKED 8TH IN PRESEASON POLL
UC San Diego was picked to finish eighth in the Big West Preseason Coaches Poll with 33 total points.Defending Big West champion UC Santa Barbara was picked to finish first in the preseason coaches' poll with 96 points and eight of the 11 first-place votes. UC Irvine was tabbed to finish second (84 points), followed by Long Beach State (79), Cal Poly (71), Cal State Fullerton (68) and Hawai'i (66). LBSU, CSUF and UH all received one of the remaining first-place votes. 
 
Rounding out the group was CSUN (45), UC San Diego (33), UC Davis (28), CSU Bakersfield (23) and UC Riverside (12). 
 
HOME SWEET HOME
After spending opening weekend on the road in Arizona, the Tritons will return to La Jolla to play their next 18 games inside Triton Ballpark. UC San Diego will open its home season with the Tony Gwynn Legacy against UNLV on Feb. 24 and remain home until March 28 when the Tritons face crosstown rival San Diego State for the first of four midweek contests with the Aztecs.

TRITONS SIGN EIGHT TO NLIS
UC San Diego signed eight incoming freshmen who will join the Tritons for the 2023-24 season. The Tritons will welcome Michael Crossland (Seattle, Wash.), Julian Custer (San Diego, Calif.), Nathan Huy (Yorba Linda, Calif.), Devon King (San Diego, Calif.), Steele Murdock (Herriman, Utah), Kerim Orucevic (Park Ridge, Il.), Anthony Potestio (Brentwood, Calif.) and Landon Runyan (Huntington Beach, Calif.) for the 2024 season.
 
The 2023 signing class includes four pitchers, two outfielders, one infielder and one utility player. Five scholar-athletes join the Tritons from California, while Illinois, Washington and Utah were also represented. Four of the eight signees ranked among the top-11 or above for their position in their state by Prep Baseball Report (PBR), including Crossland, Huy, Murdock and Orucevic.
 
ON THE MOVE
After 20 seasons playing as an NCAA Division II team, the entire athletics program is in its third year of a four-year transition to NCAA Division I, culminating in full DI status as a member of the Big West Conference for the 2024-25 academic year. At that time, all sports will be eligible for conference and NCAA postseason play.

A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE
While at the Division II level, UC San Diego baseball experienced great success for 20 years as a member of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). The Tritons amassed six regular season titles in arguably the toughest conference nationally in the NCAA Division II. UC San Diego made five appearances in the NCAA D-II World Series, and most recently appeared in the NCAA Tournament in 2019.
 
During his nine seasons coaching the Tritons at Division II, Eric Newman was named ABCA/Diamond West Region Coach of the Year for three consecutive seasons (2017-2019) and also twice recognized as CCAA Coach of the Year (2012, 2019).

WHY THE TRITONS
The Triton is described as the offspring of Poseidon and Amphitrite, a demigod of the sea with a lower part of the body like that of a fish. It is known as a mighty and fierce sea warrior. Given UC San Diego's close proximity to the Pacific Ocean and its connections with the world-famous Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the Triton became our mascot in 1964.

EXCELLING IN THE CLASSROOM
UC San Diego baseball had seven current scholar-athletes named to the 2022 Big West Spring Academic All-Conference Team. Those Tritons earning academic recognition were Cole Dale, Michael Fuhrman, Brock Kleszcz, Izaak Martinez, Luke Saunders, Joe Soberon and Noah Sudyka. 
 
In order to qualify for the Academic All-Conference Team, scholar-athletes had to carry a minimum 3.00 cumulative institutional grade point average (GPA), must have completed one full academic year at the member institution prior to the season for which the award is being received, and must have competed in at least 50 percent of the institution's contests in the student-athlete's respective sport.

GET SOCIAL WITH UC SAN DIEGO BASEBALL
Keep up with the Tritons all season long on social media through Twitter and Instagram. The team's handle is @ucsdbsb.
 
FOR THE YOUNGER CROWD
Got some young Triton fans in your family? If they are eighth grade or under, check out the Junior Triton Club. Membership includes a free t-shirt, admission to over 100 UC San Diego home athletic events, and much more!

GEAR
For the latest Triton apparel and accessories, click here.
 
About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program began a new era in 2020 as a member of The Big West Conference in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have garnered prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.