Major League Baseball today announced the teams that will compete in the 2026 MLB Desert Invitational and the Andre Dawson Classic. Each collegiate baseball tournament will feature eight Division-I universities and will be held in February to celebrate the nationwide start of the college baseball season.
First-time teams participating in the MLB Desert Invitational include Pennsylvania State University, Northeastern University, University of Iowa and U.S. Air Force Academy. Grand Canyon University will make their fourth appearance at the Invitational, while Kansas State University, University of Connecticut and University of Nebraska will make their second appearances. MLB’s annual Arizona-based tournament will be hosted February 13th-16th throughout the Greater Phoenix area across five locations – (1) Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, (2) Sloan Park, (3) Grand Canyon University, (4) Goodyear Ballpark and (5) Scottsdale Stadium.
Now in its 18th year, the Andre Dawson Classic serves as MLB’s annual collegiate baseball tournament highlighting Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and their baseball programs. The Classic features seven returning teams, led by Southern University who have participated every year of the Classic. Joining Southern University will be Alabama State University, Bethune-Cookman University, Florida A&M University, Grambling State University, Jackson State University and Texas Southern University. Yale University will make their first appearance in the Classic, marking the first time an Ivy League school has participated. Members of the MLB Voices will participate on the broadcast during the Andre Dawson Classic. The Classic continues to feature Nike RBI and MLB Youth Academy alumni and will be hosted the following weekend, February 20th-22nd at the Jackie Robinson Training Complex in Vero Beach, Florida.
Both tournaments will take place in a round-robin format, and all games will stream live on MLB.com, while MLB Network will exclusively air three matchups from the Desert Invitational and two from the Andre Dawson Classic.
The Desert Invitational and the Andre Dawson Classic will feature some of the most outstanding baseball programs in the nation. The participating teams and game schedules include the following:
Desert Invitational:
- U.S. Air Force Academy (Air Force Academy, CO) – 1st appearance
- Grand Canyon University (Phoenix, AZ) – 4th appearance
- Kansas State University (Manhattan, KS) – 2nd appearance
- Northeastern University (Boston, MA) – 1st appearance
- Penn State University (State College, PA) – 1st appearance
- University of Connecticut (Mansfield, CT) – 2nd appearance
- University of Iowa (Iowa City, IA) – 1st appearance
- University of Nebraska (Lincoln, NE) – 2nd appearance
