Arizona Baseball is Going to Vegas

Arizona will be looking to repeat the incredible 2025 season and will be playing in multiple tournaments.
Jun 13, 2025; Omaha, Neb, USA; Arizona Wildcats head coach Chip Hale on the field during the game against the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers at Charles Schwab Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images
Jun 13, 2025; Omaha, Neb, USA; Arizona Wildcats head coach Chip Hale on the field during the game against the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers at Charles Schwab Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images | Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images

Arizona baseball was able to shock teams during the 2025 season by making it to the College World Series led by a high-powered offense and head coach Chip Hale guiding the ship. It was the first trip to the CWS for Hale as a coach after being the leader of the program the past three seasons.

This marked the first time since the 2021 season when then-head coach Jay Johnson took the team to Omaha before leaving for LSU after the season.

Last year, Arizona opened everything up in Texas from globe life field. Things got off to a tough start for the Wildcats as they went 0-3 with losses to Ole Miss, Clemson and Louisville.

Ironically enough, Arizona's season came to an end with an 8-3 loss to Louisville, which beat UA in the Shriners Children's College Showdown at the start of the year.

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Jun 8, 2025; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Arizona outfielder Brendan Summerhill (4) prepares to hit the ball during the seventh inning of the Super Regionals game against North Carolina in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Mandatory Credit: Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images | Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images

When looking at the 2026 season, Arizona has already announced that it will be opening things up in an in-state tournament. The Wildcats will be in Surprise, Ariz., where they will participate in the tournament that will feature Michigan, Oregon State, Stanford and UA. 

The games will go from Feb. 13 to the 15 and give Arizona the chance to face two former Pac-12 foes in the Beavers and Cardinal, which are two powerhouse that UA is very familiar with.

Now, Arizona has been announced as one of the four teams that will be playing in the Las Vegas College Baseball Classic.

The field includes Arizona, Oregon, Vanderbilt and UC Irvine with games being played Feb. 27-March 1, where the Wildcats will have a chance to face off against a former Pac-12 foe, an SEC powerhouse and a mid-major power.

Arizona is 29-27-1 all-time against Oregon and the last time the two programs faced off against each other was during the 2024 season when the Ducks took two of three at home in a Pac-12 Conference series.

Arizona and Hale have been working to get the roster ready for the 2026 season with addition through the transfer portal and have landed 12 prep commitments for the 2026 recruiting class and will be looking to add more to the class.

Arizona will need to fill the offensive holes left behind from White, Sumerhill, Walton and Guzman, which were the heartbeat of the Wildcats offense that led the team into the postseason and the CWS.

Please be sure to share your thoughts on the tournaments the Wildcats will be opening the 2026 season in. To do so, follow us on our X account by clicking on the link


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Troy Hutchison
TROY HUTCHISON

Troy Hutchison grew up attending Arizona athletic events, which gave him a unique perspective and knowledge of the athletic department's rich history. He attended UA and began covering the Wildcats in 2018. As the Arizona Wildcats Beat Writer on SI, he is set to deliver wall-to-wall coverage to give fans an in-depth perspective.

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