Friday, February 20
La Jolla, CA
8:00 PM
Creighton University
at
UC San Diego
Photo by: Creighton Athletics
BSB Preview: Bluejays face UC San Diego, San Diego and Utah in Tony Gwynn Tournament
2/19/2026 6:21:00 PM | Baseball
Omaha, Neb. -- Creighton Baseball makes its second trip to California in as many weeks as the Bluejays play UC San Diego, San Diego and Utah in three different ballparks during the Tony Gwynn Tournament this weekend.
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Bluejays not Blue Jays:
Creighton's mascot is the Bluejays or Bluejay, one word. Conversely the MLB Toronto team is the Blue Jays.Â
Series History: First Meeting with UC San Diego
Creighton and UC San Diego will meet for the first time on Friday.
Series History: Creighton leads San Diego 1-0
The only meeting between Creighton and San Diego came a high profile scene as the Kris Bryant led Toreros fell to the Ty Blach led Bluejays 8-2 in the UCLA Regional in 2012.
San Diego (1-0)
6/2/12  & vs. San Diego  W  8-2
& - NCAA Tournament (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Series History: Creighton trails Utah 2-0
The Bluejays and Utes have met twice, both coming in the Aggie Classic in February of 2003. Creighton fell to Utah in both contests, each game was less than nine innings.
Utah (0-2)
2/23/03  ~ vs. Utah  L  1-2 (8)
2/24/03  ~ vs. Utah  L  0-6 (7)
~ - Aggie Classic, College Station, Texas
Scouting the Tritons (2026: 1-2, 0-0 WCC)
The Tritons ended their three-game series with No. 1 UCLA on a high note with an 8-7 victory in the final contest of opening weekend.
After falling 8-4 in its season opener and 7-2 the following day, a four-home run day helped UC San Diego pull out the close win, 8-7.
Michael Crossland recorded the first home run of the afternoon in the third to get the first mark on the board. UCLA responded in the fourth inning with a run in the fourth, leaving the score tied at 1-1 heading into the fifth.
Crossland struck again to open the fifth, scoring his second homer and an RBI for a 3-1 advantage. UCLA responded quickly with a two-run homer to even the score at three.
UC San Diego's Gabe Camacho and UCLA traded home runs in the eighth inning before Nick Costello sealed the game for the Tritons with a two-run home run at the top of the ninth, handing UCLA its first loss of the season.Â
Pitcher Nathan Ries provided 4.2 innings of relief to stabilize the middle frames before UCSD's late push secured the win for Connor Etnire.
Scouting the Toreros (2026: 3-1)
San Diego claimed the opening weekend series, 2-1, with a pair of victories, 7-4 and 14-4, sandwiched by a 13-0 loss at Charlotte.
In the season opener, a 3-for-4 batting performance, paired with two RBI from Adrian Beltre Jr. helped keep the Toreros out in front from beginning to end, finishing 7-4 on the road.Â
Charlotte limited San Diego to just four hits in the second game of the season, helping the home team race out to a 13-0 victory.
Later that day, San Diego answered with a 14-4 victory to clinch the series. It took five innings before the Toreros got going offensively, but from there, three runs in the fifth inning, five in the sixth inning, and six in the ninth inning helped the Toreros pull away completely.Â
Gabe Springer jump started San Diego with a two-run homer in the fifth inning, while Aden Howard led the charge for the Toreros, going 3-for-6 with three runs, two RBI and two triples.Â
In the 14-4 victory, Kyle Bade threw four innings, recording four strikeouts and allowing just one unearned run. Relievers Porter Rovin and Chaz McRoberts clinched the game in the final frames to secure the 10-run victory.
Scouting the Utes (2026: 2-1)
Utah opened the season with back-to-back road wins, 8–3 and 5–4, over Fresno State before dropping the third game.
In the season opener, Utah's Jake Long opened scoring with a two-run homer in the first to help the Utes jump out to a 2-0 early lead. That momentum never faded, as Utah's offense finished the day with nine hits and nine walks. On the mound, Colter McAnelly pitched five innings, allowing just one unearned run and striking out three Bulldogs.
Utah gave a winning performance the next day with a tough nine-inning battle. An early surge in the second, defined by four runs, helped give the slight advantage to Utah.Â
Utah's bullpen helped propelled the Utes to victory, as starter Payton Riske made his season debut with a five-inning, two-run and three-strikeout performance before Dillon Fine racked up 2.1 scoreless innings and Seth Graham-Pippin closed out the game.
The Utes ended the weekend with a 14-8 loss, where nine runs from the Bulldogs in the opening frame were too much for Utah to overcome, despite five Utah runs in the seventh inning and six different players recording a hit.
Scouting the Bluejays (2026: 2-1)
Bookended wins over Saint Mary's on opening weekend helped the Bluejays clinch the first series of the season under head coach Mark Kingston.
Creighton opened the season with a scoring flurry, as four runs in the first three innings and five more in the seventh secured the 11-3 victory. Teddy Deters recorded Creighton's only home run of the afternoon, while key hits from Connor Capece, an RBI from Ben North and two hits from Lew Rice helped seal the game.
The Bluejays dropped the second game of the season 7-2 thanks to four runs in the fifth and another in the seventh before Creighton responded with a 9-8 victory to take the series.Â
In a slight 9-8 victory to win the opening weekend series, seven runs in the opening frame helped bolster the Bluejays narrow victory. While Saint Mary's clawed back to within two, 7-5, in the third inning, a run in the fifth, sixth and eighth innings helped Creighton hold on.
Jack Pineau led the bullpen with five innings and a win on his record this season, allowing two runs on six hits and throwing three strikeouts. Ian Koosman and Wilson Magers combined for eight innings over the weekend, with Koosman allowing three runs on five strikeouts and Magers giving up six runs and tallying three strikeouts.
Deters Claims First BIG EAST Player of the Week in 2026
Creighton graduate student Teddy Deters collected the first BIG EAST Player of the Week as he led Creighton to a series road win at Saint Mary's last weekend with a .364 average. Deters delivered a pair of home runs, had at least one hit and one walk in each game, posting a .909 slugging percentage and a .500 on-base percentage over the three-game series. Defensively the Bluejay outfielder contributed an outfield assist to help the Bluejays secure the 9-8 win in the series finale.
Bluejays Pick It Clean On Opening Weekend for First Time Since 1998
For the first time since at least 1998, Creighton Baseball was clean during the opening weekend. The Bluejays did not make an error in the field, despite having limited ability to get live reps (due to weather), as the Jays took a three-game series at Saint Mary's from February 13-15.
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Tony Gwynn Tournament
Creighton at UC San Diego
Feb. 20 @ 8:00 pm - ESPN+
Stat Broadcast
Creighton at San Diego
Feb. 21 @ 7:00 pm - ESPN+
SIde Arm Stats
Creighton vs. Utah
Played at San Diego State - No Video Available
Feb. 22 @ 1:00 pm - Stat Broadcast
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Creighton at UC San Diego
Feb. 20 @ 8:00 pm - ESPN+
Stat Broadcast
Creighton at San Diego
Feb. 21 @ 7:00 pm - ESPN+
SIde Arm Stats
Creighton vs. Utah
Played at San Diego State - No Video Available
Feb. 22 @ 1:00 pm - Stat Broadcast
Bluejays not Blue Jays:
Creighton's mascot is the Bluejays or Bluejay, one word. Conversely the MLB Toronto team is the Blue Jays.Â
Series History: First Meeting with UC San Diego
Creighton and UC San Diego will meet for the first time on Friday.
Series History: Creighton leads San Diego 1-0
The only meeting between Creighton and San Diego came a high profile scene as the Kris Bryant led Toreros fell to the Ty Blach led Bluejays 8-2 in the UCLA Regional in 2012.
San Diego (1-0)
6/2/12  & vs. San Diego  W  8-2
& - NCAA Tournament (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Series History: Creighton trails Utah 2-0
The Bluejays and Utes have met twice, both coming in the Aggie Classic in February of 2003. Creighton fell to Utah in both contests, each game was less than nine innings.
Utah (0-2)
2/23/03  ~ vs. Utah  L  1-2 (8)
2/24/03  ~ vs. Utah  L  0-6 (7)
~ - Aggie Classic, College Station, Texas
Scouting the Tritons (2026: 1-2, 0-0 WCC)
The Tritons ended their three-game series with No. 1 UCLA on a high note with an 8-7 victory in the final contest of opening weekend.
After falling 8-4 in its season opener and 7-2 the following day, a four-home run day helped UC San Diego pull out the close win, 8-7.
Michael Crossland recorded the first home run of the afternoon in the third to get the first mark on the board. UCLA responded in the fourth inning with a run in the fourth, leaving the score tied at 1-1 heading into the fifth.
Crossland struck again to open the fifth, scoring his second homer and an RBI for a 3-1 advantage. UCLA responded quickly with a two-run homer to even the score at three.
UC San Diego's Gabe Camacho and UCLA traded home runs in the eighth inning before Nick Costello sealed the game for the Tritons with a two-run home run at the top of the ninth, handing UCLA its first loss of the season.Â
Pitcher Nathan Ries provided 4.2 innings of relief to stabilize the middle frames before UCSD's late push secured the win for Connor Etnire.
Scouting the Toreros (2026: 3-1)
San Diego claimed the opening weekend series, 2-1, with a pair of victories, 7-4 and 14-4, sandwiched by a 13-0 loss at Charlotte.
In the season opener, a 3-for-4 batting performance, paired with two RBI from Adrian Beltre Jr. helped keep the Toreros out in front from beginning to end, finishing 7-4 on the road.Â
Charlotte limited San Diego to just four hits in the second game of the season, helping the home team race out to a 13-0 victory.
Later that day, San Diego answered with a 14-4 victory to clinch the series. It took five innings before the Toreros got going offensively, but from there, three runs in the fifth inning, five in the sixth inning, and six in the ninth inning helped the Toreros pull away completely.Â
Gabe Springer jump started San Diego with a two-run homer in the fifth inning, while Aden Howard led the charge for the Toreros, going 3-for-6 with three runs, two RBI and two triples.Â
In the 14-4 victory, Kyle Bade threw four innings, recording four strikeouts and allowing just one unearned run. Relievers Porter Rovin and Chaz McRoberts clinched the game in the final frames to secure the 10-run victory.
Scouting the Utes (2026: 2-1)
Utah opened the season with back-to-back road wins, 8–3 and 5–4, over Fresno State before dropping the third game.
In the season opener, Utah's Jake Long opened scoring with a two-run homer in the first to help the Utes jump out to a 2-0 early lead. That momentum never faded, as Utah's offense finished the day with nine hits and nine walks. On the mound, Colter McAnelly pitched five innings, allowing just one unearned run and striking out three Bulldogs.
Utah gave a winning performance the next day with a tough nine-inning battle. An early surge in the second, defined by four runs, helped give the slight advantage to Utah.Â
Utah's bullpen helped propelled the Utes to victory, as starter Payton Riske made his season debut with a five-inning, two-run and three-strikeout performance before Dillon Fine racked up 2.1 scoreless innings and Seth Graham-Pippin closed out the game.
The Utes ended the weekend with a 14-8 loss, where nine runs from the Bulldogs in the opening frame were too much for Utah to overcome, despite five Utah runs in the seventh inning and six different players recording a hit.
Scouting the Bluejays (2026: 2-1)
Bookended wins over Saint Mary's on opening weekend helped the Bluejays clinch the first series of the season under head coach Mark Kingston.
Creighton opened the season with a scoring flurry, as four runs in the first three innings and five more in the seventh secured the 11-3 victory. Teddy Deters recorded Creighton's only home run of the afternoon, while key hits from Connor Capece, an RBI from Ben North and two hits from Lew Rice helped seal the game.
The Bluejays dropped the second game of the season 7-2 thanks to four runs in the fifth and another in the seventh before Creighton responded with a 9-8 victory to take the series.Â
In a slight 9-8 victory to win the opening weekend series, seven runs in the opening frame helped bolster the Bluejays narrow victory. While Saint Mary's clawed back to within two, 7-5, in the third inning, a run in the fifth, sixth and eighth innings helped Creighton hold on.
Jack Pineau led the bullpen with five innings and a win on his record this season, allowing two runs on six hits and throwing three strikeouts. Ian Koosman and Wilson Magers combined for eight innings over the weekend, with Koosman allowing three runs on five strikeouts and Magers giving up six runs and tallying three strikeouts.
Deters Claims First BIG EAST Player of the Week in 2026
Creighton graduate student Teddy Deters collected the first BIG EAST Player of the Week as he led Creighton to a series road win at Saint Mary's last weekend with a .364 average. Deters delivered a pair of home runs, had at least one hit and one walk in each game, posting a .909 slugging percentage and a .500 on-base percentage over the three-game series. Defensively the Bluejay outfielder contributed an outfield assist to help the Bluejays secure the 9-8 win in the series finale.
Bluejays Pick It Clean On Opening Weekend for First Time Since 1998
For the first time since at least 1998, Creighton Baseball was clean during the opening weekend. The Bluejays did not make an error in the field, despite having limited ability to get live reps (due to weather), as the Jays took a three-game series at Saint Mary's from February 13-15.
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Players Mentioned
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/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
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RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
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2013 Creighton Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee Dan Smith
Friday, October 30
Jim Hendry & Alan Benes (4/11/11)
Friday, October 30
CREIGHTON BASEBALL
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Ambidextrous Pitcher
Thursday, October 15
