TUCSON, Ariz. — The Arizona Wildcats open their 2023 season this weekend at the MLB Desert Invitational with games in both Scottsdale and Mesa. Opening Night is set for Friday, Feb. 17 against No. Tennessee at Salt River Fields with a national television broadcast slated for MLB Network.

The Wildcats games against Fresno State on Saturday, Michigan State on Sunday, and UC San Diego on Monday will all be exclusively streamed on MLB.com.

All four games for Arizona at the MLB Desert Invitational will take place in Major League Spring Training facilities, with the Friday opener and Sunday game taking place at Salt River Fields (home of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies) and the contests on Saturday and Monday taking place at Sloan Park (home of the Chicago Cubs).

For more, a complete weekend preview is below.
 

Date	Opponent	Time (MST)	Arizona Pitcher	Opponent Pitcher
Friday, Feb. 17	#2 Tennessee	6:00 PM	RHP TJ Nichols (0-0, -.--)	RHP Chase Dollander (0-0, -.--)
Saturday, Feb. 18	Fresno State	1:00 PM	RHP Anthony Susac (0-0, -.--)	LHP Jake Dixon (0-0, -.--)
Sunday, Feb. 19	Michigan State	6:00 PM	LHP Bradon Zastrow (0-0, -.--)	RHP Noah Matheny (0-0, -.--)
Monday, Feb. 20	UC San Diego	1:00 PM	TBA	TBA

Leading Off...

• The Arizona Wildcats kick off their second season under head coach Chip Hale at the MLB Desert Invitational this weekend. They will face #2 Tennessee, Fresno State, Michigan State, and UC San Diego.
• Head coach Chip Hale, a distinguished alumni and Arizona's all-time leader in games played, hits, and total bases, enters his second year leading his alma mater after steering the Wildcats to a 39-25 record and an NCAA Regional appearance last season.
• Associate Coach Dave Lawn (8th year), assistant coach Trip Couch (2nd year), volunteer assistant coach Toby DeMello (2nd year) all return as well.
• The Wildcats have enjoyed recent success in regular season tournaments the last three years, posting a record of 9-1 across participation in the State Farm College Baseball Showdown (3-0, 2022), Frisco College Baseball Classic (4-0, 2021), and the Tony Gwynn Legacy (2-1, 2020).
• Arizona has won 14 consecutive season-opening games. Their last opening day loss came against Georgia in 2008 (7-9).
• Friday marks the Wildcats second consecutive neutral site opening day matchup after opening the previous five seasons at home.
• Junior outfielder Chase Davis was unanimously selected as a Preseason All-American by Collegiate Baseball (2nd Team), Perfect Game (2nd Team), Baseball America (3rd Team), D1Baseball (3rd Team), and the NCBWA (3rd Team). He was also named to the Pac-12 Preseason All-Conference team and the Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List.

SOME SERIES THEMES: Arizona Baseball kicks off their 2023 season this weekend at the MLB Desert Invitational, an event formerly known as the MLB4 Tournament...The Wildcats will face No. 2 ranked Tennessee, Fresno State, Michigan State, and UC San Diego at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale and Sloan Park in Mesa...Arizona is led by second-year head coach Chip Hale, who steered the Wildcats to a 39-25 record and an NCAA Regional in his first go-around leading his alma mater...Hale returns his entire coaching staff from last season; associate head coach Dave Lawn is back for his eighth season with the Wildcats while assistant coach Trip Couch, volunteer assistant coach Toby DeMello, and director of player development Tyler Coolbaugh all return for their second seasons in Tucson...Arizona holds an 11-4 all-time series edge over Fresno State, has never beaten Michigan State (0-3), and is facing Tennessee and UC San Diego for the first time...Friday's game will be televised nationally on MLB Network, while games 2-4 this weekend will be exclusively live streamed on MLB.com...Junior outfielder Chase Davis has picked up a multitude of honors and was unanimously tabbed as a Preseason All-American by Collegiate Baseball (Second Team), Perfect Game (Second Team), Baseball America (Third Team), D1Baseball (Third Team), and the NCBWA (Third Team)...Davis was also picked as one of 55 players on the Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List...The Wildcats enter the season unranked according to D1Baseball, but earned No. 33 rankings from both the NCBWA and Collegiate Baseball.

LID LIFTER: Arizona boasts a long run of success in season openers, having won 14 consecutive lid lifters dating back to the 2009 season. Arizona's last opening day loss was a 9-7 decision at Georgia in 2008. This is the second consecutive season that Arizona will open the year away from Tucson after kicking off five straight seasons at home at Hi Corbett Field. This weekend marks the second time in program history that Arizona will open a season in a neutral site tournament; the Wildcats also began the 2022 season at a neutral site tournament, the State Farm College Baseball Showdown at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. Finally, the Wildcats have won or tied 25 consecutive season-opening series/weekends — the last time Arizona had a losing record after their first weekend of the season came all the way back in 1994, when they went 1-2 at home against New Mexico. During that two and a half decade stretch, the Cats have collected 14 series sweeps.

CATS COACHES: The Wildcats are led into the 2023 season by second-year head coach Chip Hale — he was hired by Arizona Vice President and Director of Athletics Dave Heeke on July 5, 2021. Hale, the Wildcats all-time leader in games played, hits, and total bases during his time in Tucson from 1984-87, brought nearly two decades of professional coaching experience to Arizona. During his collegiate career Hale helped steer the 1986 Arizona Wildcats to their third NCAA National Championship. His professional coaching career was highlighted by a stint as the manager for the Arizona Diamondbacks (2015-16) and a World Series championship with the Washington Nationals in 2019. Hale is once again assisted by associate head coach Dave Lawn, in his eighth season with the Wildcats, and second-year assistant coaches Trip Couch and Toby DeMello. Lawn has made four College World Series appearances with three different Pac-12 programs, sent 24 players to the Major Leagues, and won five conference championships. Couch, one of the nation's top recruiting coordinators, joined the Wildcats in the same role after splitting the last 11 years between Houston and South Carolina. Across his decades of collegiate coaching experience, Couch has made 12 NCAA postseason appearances, developed 13 All-Americans, and directly coached 39 MLB Draft selections. DeMello, the Wildcats volunteer assistant, will continue to work with Arizona's hitters and catchers after serving in a similar role at Sacramento State, where he helped guide the Hornets to an NCAA Regional appearance in 2019. Arizona's staff is rounded out by director of baseball operations Will Gaines and director of player development Tyler Coolbaugh, both of whom are in their second seasons with the program.

OPENING NIGHT ACES: For over a decade, the Wildcats have enjoyed dominant starting pitching performances on Opening Night. Since 2010, Arizona starting pitchers have posted nine quality starts and struck out 96 opposing batters across 81.1 innings. All but one starter has pitched at least five innings, with six going seven or more — none have allowed more than three runs.

DAVIS NAMED TO GOLDEN SPIKES WATCH LIST: Arizona Baseball outfielder Chase Davis picked up another prestigious honor, earning a spot on the Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List as announced by USA Baseball. The 55-player watch list is the first step in USA Baseball's process of identifying the nation's greatest amateur baseball player in 2023. The Golden Spikes Award, college baseball's equivalent of the Heisman Trophy, has been presented annually since 1978. Davis, a unanimous Preseason All-American, is the 11th Arizona player to earn a spot on the award's Preseason Watch List since they began issuing one in 2008. Catcher Daniel Susac, who went on to be a Golden Spikes Award Semifinalist and a first round pick in the 2022 Major League Baseball Draft, was the most recent Wildcat to earn a spot on the Preseason Watch List. He is no stranger to USA Baseball, having participated in the Collegiate National Team's training camp last summer in Cary, North Carolina. Previous winners of the Golden Spikes Award include the likes of Kris Bryant (2013), Bryce Harper (2010), Stephen Strasburg (2009), Buster Posey (2008), Tim Lincecum (2006), Terry Francona (1980), and many more.

FIRST ANNUAL PAC-12 ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM: Arizona Baseball outfielder Chase Davis, infielder Nik McClaughry, and right-handed pitchers Trevor Long and TJ Nichols all earned spots on the first-ever Pac-12 Preseason All-Conference team as announced by the league in early February. The Preseason All-Conference team, in its first year in existence, is voted on by the conference's head coaches. The Wildcats four players honored is tied for the third most in the conference — Stanford leads the way with seven players on the team, followed by UCLA with six, while Arizona and Oregon are next with four each. The Pac-12 also released their annual Preseason Coaches Poll with the Wildcats selected to finish fourth in the conference standings. The top five ranked teams in the 2023 poll all competed in the 2022 NCAA Tournament — the complete 2023 Preseason Coaches Poll can be found on page three.

1986 CALLED, THEY WANT THEIR UNIFORMS BACK: Arizona Baseball has added a fifth option to their uniform set for the 2023 season, an all-white option modeled after the uniforms worn by the 1986 National Championship squad. The all-white uniforms feature a classic block letter Arizona script across the chest, eye-catching red numbers on the front, and — for the first time in program history — player names on the back. Arizona Baseball head coach Chip Hale donned nearly identical uniforms as a key member of the 1986 National Championship team and took a lead role in designing the new white uniforms for 2023. The Wildcats icy white look will be incorporated into their already-iconic uniform set that includes red, blue, pinstripe, and gray uniforms.

STATE 48: The Wildcats 2023 roster features 10 players hailing from the state of Arizona. Other states represented on Arizona's roster include California (15), Illinois (5), New Mexico (2), Minnesota (2), Texas (1), Virginia (1), and Colorado (1). The Wildcats 10 Arizonans represent over 27% of the roster. Among the 10 Arizona natives on the roster, four current Wildcats also played their high school baseball in Tucson: George Arias Jr. (Tucson HS), Chris Barraza (Sahuarita HS), Mason White (Salpointe Catholic HS), and Kiko Romero (Canyon Del Oro HS).

ALFA ROMERO: Junior outfielder Kiko Romero, a transfer from Central Arizona College, is expected to play a large role for the Wildcats in 2023 after three seasons with the Vaqueros. He returns to Tucson, where he played his high school ball, after leading Central Arizona to an NJCAA World Series Championship in 2022. As a sophomore last year he hit 366 with 95 runs scored, 22 doubles, five triples, 25 home runs, and 84 RBI. His six-home run performance, tied for a tournament record, at the NJCAA World Series earned him tournament MVP and Outstanding Hitter honors. Romero prepped at Canyon Del Oro HS in Tucson where he was a three-year letterwinner in baseball and a one-time letterwinner in golf.

EXTRA EDITION: The Wildcats finished the 2022 season with 222 extra-base hits, the third-best mark in the Pac-12 behind only Oregon State (223) and Stanford (273). Of those 222 extra-base knocks, 119 (53.6%) return to the roster in 2023. Junior outfielder Chase Davis, who led the team and tied for third in the conference with 18 home runs last year, paced Wildcat returners with 32 extra-base hits last year. Arizona's 53.6% return rate on extra-base hits from last season ranks fifth-best in the Pac-12, while their raw total of 119 returning XBH ranks second.

DOUBLE TROUBLE: Arizona finished the 2022 season having turned an astounding 57 double plays, the best mark in the Pac-12 and the fourth best mark among all 293 Division I programs. The Wildcats return both of their middle infielders from last season: shortstop Nik McClaughry and Garen Caulfield. McClaughry led the Pac-12 last season with 189 defensive assists and played a role in 40 of Arizona's 57 double plays; Caulfield was close behind, having played a part in 39-of-57 twin killings.