Utah Continues Early Season Play in San Diego

Thursday, February 19

La Jolla, Calif.

7 p.m.

University of Utah

UC San Diego

Photo by Wyatt Bible

2/18/2026 9:29 PM | Baseball

2026 Utah Baseball Game Notes
Games 4-7 Date // Time (MT)	Utah at UC San Diego // Thursday, Feb. 19 - 7 p.m. (Triton Ballpark) Utah at San Diego // Friday, Feb. 20 - 7 p.m. (Fowler Park) Utah at San Diego State // Saturday, Feb. 21 - 6 p.m. (Tony Gwynn Stadium) Utah vs. Creighton // Sunday, Feb. 22 - Noon (Tony Gwynn Stadium)
Live Statistics	StatBroadcast
Watch	Thursday: ESPN+ Friday: ESPN+
Game Notes	Utah // Big 12 Conference
@UtahBaseball Social Media	Twitter/X // Instagram // Facebook // #GoUtes

The First Pitch: Things to Know

The Utah baseball team plays the second of three straight California weekends to open the 2026 season, heading down to SoCal for the Tony Gwynn Legacy Tournament. Over a four-day span, the Utes will face UC San Diego, the University of San Diego, San Diego State and Creighton.
Utah opened up the new campaign last weekend up at Fresno State, taking two of three games from the Bulldogs. The clubs were scheduled to play a fourth game on Feb. 16, but Mother Nature had other ideas and the game was canceled due to heavy rain.
Daniel Arambula and Cameron Gurney both hit safely for the Utes in all three games at Fresno State. Gurney carries an early .417 batting average into this weekend; both he and Zakye Hawkins contributed a team-leading four RBI in the last series.
On the mound, Colter McAnelly delivered a five-inning start last Friday night and held Fresno State to just one unearned run in an 8-3 victory. Payton Riske left with the lead on Saturday but received a no-decision. Ultimately, Dillon Fine and Seth Graham-Pippin carried the Utes home with 3.2 innings of two-hit, shutout ball to wrap up Saturday's game. Graham-Pippin earned his first save as a Utah Ute during the game.
This weekend will mark Utah's third straight season in the Tony Gwynn Legacy Tournament and fourth appearance since 2022. Last year, Utah defeated San Diego State but fell to UC San Diego in a 9-8 setback.
The Utes have not faced USD since 2019 and Friday's meeting will mark just the second contest between the clubs since 2000. Utah won that 2019 matchup after rallying from an early 3-0 deficit. Creighton and Utah have met just twice, with the Utes winning both games in 2003.
The Utes bring back some key pieces from last season's club while also welcoming a core of new, talented faces. The returners are highlighted in part by McAnelly, a 2025 Big 12 All-Conference First Team selection—who is back as the team's Friday night starter. McAnelly went 4-4 as a sophomore last year and had 92 strikeouts, the fourth-most by a Utah pitcher in history.
McAnelly was listed by D1Baseball.com as the Big 12's No. 17-ranked prospect for the 2026 MLB Draft.
The Utes had their fair share of newcomers earn preseason praise as well. Outfielder Luke Jacobs—a two-year contributor at Salt Lake Community College—was listed as D1Baseball.com's No. 25 prospect for the 2026 draft. Jacobs was the SWAC Player of the Year, Region Player of the Year and a second-team All-American during a decorated 2025 season that was capped off with a national championship for the Bruins.
The 2026 season is also one of great anticipation for the Utes, who in January celebrated the grand opening of Charlie Monfort Field at America First Ballpark. The facility brings an on-campus stadium to the University of Utah and places nearly all of the team's support spaces under one roof for the first time in program history. The ballpark seats 3,000 fans through a combination of chairback seats, standing room areas and a grass berm in the outfield.