Here are the top performers from Day 1 of the MLB Desert Invitational
Day 1 of the MLB Desert Invitational was quite the way to kick off the college baseball season as eight programs gathered in the greater Phoenix area. Home runs were flying, players made promising debuts and one pitcher in particular was unhittable.
Here's a look at Friday’s top prospect performers, listed in alphabetical order.
Kuhio Aloy, DH, BYU
Aloy made quite the impression in his first collegiate game as he picked up three hits and three RBIs in his first three trips to the plate. He put the Cougars on the board first with a bases-loaded infield single and showed off his power with a two-run roundtripper to left-center in the sixth.
Beau Ankeney, DH, Grand Canyon University
Beau knows how to start the season strong. After redshirting last season, Ankeney recorded a game-high three hits in Friday's 5-2 win against Georgetown. He knocked in a run in the third inning with a single.
Daniel Avita, Pitcher, Grand Canyon University
After giving up a run in the first inning, Avita responded with lights-out pitching the rest of the way. The sophomore right-handed pitcher finished Opening Night by striking out five and allowing just four hits across six innings.
Rodney Green Jr., CF, Cal
Last season, Green Jr. asserted himself as Mr. Reliable by starting all 52 games for the Golden Bears. The outfielder, who is on the Golden Spikes Award Watch List and ranks as MLB Pipeline’s No. 96 Draft prospect, went 2-for-4 and scored two runs.
Brendan Jones, OF, Kansas State
Not too many college baseball players can say they hit a home run at a Spring Training stadium on Opening Day. Count Jones among one of the few to achieve that feat after the junior slugged a two-run dinger to right-center field in the fifth. The ball traveled a Statcast-projected 388 feet with a 99.1 mph exit velocity.
Easton Jones, 3B, BYU
Jones was the only player on Day 1 of the Desert Invitational to reach base safely four times. His big damage came on a sixth-inning two-run homer, but he also walked in the first, drew a HBP in the fifth and singled in the eighth.
PJ Moutzouridis, SS, Cal
In his first college game, Moutzouridis had a night to remember in the desert. The Golden Bears' No. 9 hitter delivered the tying and go-ahead RBIs in the bottom of the fifth inning with a single to center field.
Tyler Mudd, LHP, Boston College
Mudd impressed in his Boston College debut, throwing five innings of no-hit baseball. He struck out five and retired his last fifteen batters faced en route to a win.
Nick Wang, 3B, Boston College
Following a double-digit home run season, Wang started his 2024 campaign off strong with a 440-foot long ball over the left-field fence. It marked Boston College’s first home run of the year, with the second and third coming from Parker Landwehr and Vince Cimini later in the game.
Zach Yorke, 1B, Grand Canyon University
The left-handed hitter hit a pitch so deep that even the opposing outfielder couldn’t find the ball until he saw it sailing over the fence for a three-run homer. The sophomore first baseman finished 1-for-3 and reached base twice. Read more about his stellar night. More »