As players from Kansas State took off their hats and met behind the pitching mound to shake the hands of their opponents Monday, the U.S. Air Force Academy, it marked the conclusion of the 2026 MLB Desert Invitational. The Wildcats are the lone program to have run the table this go-round, mashing en route to four consecutive wins that set the tone as they eye a third consecutive Regional appearance this summer.
2026 Draft:
Elsewhere across the country, there were booming home runs from many of the 2026 Draft’s top collegiate prospects. There was a historic THREE grand slam night for Baylor’s Tyce Armstrong. But for the seventh consecutive year there was also the Desert Invitational, which saw more than 4,000 fans pack into Grand Canyon’s home ballpark, Nebraska well-represented away from home and an eight-team field that delivered one emphatic statement in mid-February: college baseball is back.
Here are a handful of the top performers from this weekend’s event:
Kansas State’s offense
It was a relentless attack from the Wildcats bats over the course of four games, plating 57 runs in total. Dee Kennedy – who clobbered a pair of grand slams – was responsible for 15 RBIs, giving him the Division I lead through the first weekend of play. Freshman All-American A.J. Evasco kicked off his sophomore campaign in style, going 10-for-18 with four extra-base hits and three balls in play at 109 mph or higher. Shintaro Inoue, Grant Gallagher and Chandler Murray also homered. Factor in the 14-run, 18-batter seventh inning Sunday against Penn State, which led to a run-rule victory, and it’s hard to fathom a group that had a better weekend 1-9 than head coach Pete Hughes’ squad.
Nebraska’s offense
Much in the same vein as Kansas State, nearly the entirety of the Nebraska starting nine merited consideration for this space. Middle-of-the-order bats Jett Buck, Joshua Overbeek and Dylan Carey collected four consecutive multihit games to begin the year, with Case Sanderson hitting .500 to go along with a 1.293 OPS. Outfielder Will Jesske jolted a pair of home runs in back-to-back games on Sunday and Monday, while Mac Moyer (son of 25-year MLB vet Jamie) went 4-for-4 in his lone start of the weekend.
Garrett Ahern, RHP, Grand Canyon
In front of a packed house, Ahern answered the bell to open the year for the ‘Lopes. After taking the ball all 15 weekends in 2025, the 6-foot-6 junior notched 11 whiffs across five scoreless frames with five strikeouts Friday to shut down Northeastern in his first start of ‘26. Having delivered an MLB Draft selection each year since 2014, the Gilbert, Ariz., native fits the bill for this GCU club, potentially as early as Day 1 if he continues on his current upward ascent.
Cayden Suchy, LHP, Connecticut
After an elbow injury cut his freshman season short in 2025, Suchy returned to the hill Valentine Day night with a six-inning, nine-strikeout performance to open his year for the Huskies. After allowing back-to-back hits to begin his outing, the southpaw enjoyed a stretch of retiring 11 batters in a row. He recorded at least one strikeout in each frame, an appearance compounded in its impressiveness by virtue of Kansas State’s tenacious offensive attack throughout the weekend that delivered an average of 13.3 runs per game.
Robert Fortenberry, LHP, Kansas State
The Wildcats tabbed the southpaw as the first man out of the bullpen Monday vs. Air Force and he retired all 11 batters he faced to stabilize the club’s fourth victory of the weekend. The 2024 JUCO Pitcher of the Year with Weatherford College (Texas), Fortenberry peppered the top of the zone in particular, collecting eight whiffs en route to three strikeouts.
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Joey Nerat, OF, Iowa
After entering the season opener as a late-game pinch-hitter Friday, Nerat played his way into the starting nine and delivered back-to-back three-hit showings for the Hawkeyes. He particularly impressed during Saturday night’s MLB Network contest when he interrupted head coach Rick Heller’s interview with a Superman-esque diving grab in left field, his second consecutive night going all-out to take a hit away.
Carmelo Musacchia, INF, Northeastern
The senior infielder from New York City was a spark plug atop the Huskies’ order, collecting at least one hit and stolen base in each of the program’s three games during its debut at the Desert Invitational. While outfielder Harrison Feinberg has earned considerable notoriety as the 2025 Co-CAA Player of the Year and as part of the Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List, Musacchia hit his way into the spotlight by going 7-for-14 with four stolen bases. His best performance came in Northeastern’s 13-run output Sunday when he tied his career high with four hits and four runs scored.
Kyle Alivo, RHP, Iowa
The freshman right-hander turned in a collegiate debut to remember for the Hawkeyes, retiring the final seven batters he faced en route to locking down the save against Air Force on Saturday night on MLB Network. One of the top shortstops in the Wisconsin prep ranks during his high school days, Alivo flashed an electric arm with a fastball that averaged 94 mph and a pair of breaking balls that generated between 2700-2900 RPMs.