PROVO, Utah — BYU will usher in its 2024 baseball season and inaugural Big 12 campaign at the MLB Desert Invitational, Feb. 16-17 and 19 in Mesa, Arizona.
The Cougars are making their first appearance in the MLB’s annual round-robin tournament designed to celebrate the start of the college baseball season. BYU will face USC from the Pac-12 in the opening game slated for Friday, Feb. 16 at 5 p.m. MST at Sloan Park, the spring training home of the Chicago Cubs.
The Cougars’ other two games in the tournament will also be played at Sloan Park. BYU will face Ohio State of the Big Ten on Saturday, Feb. 17 at 5 p.m. and will close out the tournament on Monday, Feb. 19 versus Grand Canyon of the Western Athletic Conference at 1 p.m.
All three BYU games will stream live on MLB.com with the links posted on BYUcougars.com the day of each game.
Eight teams will compete at the Desert Invitational, including Boston College, BYU, Cal, Georgetown, Grand Canyon, Kansas State, Ohio State and USC.
Tickets for the 2024 MLB Desert Invitational are on sale now and can be purchased HERE.
Know the Foes
USC: The Cougars and Trojans meet for the 30th time on Friday with USC leading the all-time series 24-5. The two teams met for the first time at the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, on June 14, 1971. There, USC eliminated BYU from its second College World Series appearance in an 8-6 decision. Each of the last three meetings in the series also came in the NCAA Tournament with USC defeating BYU in two games at the 2002 Los Angeles Regional and in one at the 1988 Fresno Regional. The Cougars are 0-7 all-time versus USC at neutral sites.
The Trojans finished fourth in the Pac-12 in 2023 with a record of 34-23-1 (17-13) after falling to Washington in the second round of the Pac-12 Tournament. USC is led by second-year head coach Andy Stankiewicz. The Trojan headman previously led Grand Canyon to five WAC Championships and an NCAA Tournament appearance during his 2012-2022 tenure in Phoenix.
D1Baseball.com picked USC to finish third in the Pac-12 in 2024 and receive an NCAA Regional bid. The Trojans’ pitching staff is led by Preseason Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year Caden Aoki and Preseason All-America Third Team outfielder Austin Overn.
OHIO STATE: BYU has only faced the Buckeyes at neutral venues and continues that trend in 2024 with the series’ seventh edition. The Cougars are 4-2 all-time versus Ohio State with a 9-6 win in the last meeting at the 2022 Snowbird Classic in Port Charlotte, Florida. BYU topped the Buckeyes 14-11 in the teams’ first meeting in 1967.
Ohio State rode a nine-game win streak to finish 2023 with a 31-25 (9-15) record and 11th-place spot in the Big Ten. Second-year head coach Bill Mosiello leads the Buckeyes into 2024 with two returning Big Ten All-Freshman selections in catcher Matthew Graveline and shortstop Henry Kaczmar. D1Baseball.com picked Ohio State to finish eighth in the Big Ten this season with the aid of Tennessee transfer power hitter Ryan Miller. The Buckeyes will open versus Boston College on Friday before their Saturday showdown with BYU.
GRAND CANYON: President’s Day 2024 sees the Cougars and Lopes renew their 75-game all-time series with its first installment since a 4-1 BYU win in 1998. The Cougars lead the series 42-33 but are 0-3 to GCU at neutral sites.
Second-year Lopes’ head coach Gregg Wallis is fresh off a debut season that saw his team go 37-21 (22-7) and win its third-consecutive WAC Regular Season Championship. Despite the loss of three drafted players, GCU is projected to win the WAC in 2024 with the return of All-WAC honorees in utility player Zach Yorke, infielder Emilio Barreras and outfielder Cade Verdusco. D1Baseball.com named the Lopes’ Daniel Avitia Preseason WAC Pitcher of the Year after Avitia recorded a league-leading 111 strikeouts in 2023.
GCU faces Georgetown and USC prior to BYU on Monday.