LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV Hustlin' Rebels face the Grand Canyon Lopes for the first time in Mountain West Play Friday, April 10 through Sunday, April 12 at Brazell Field at GCU Ballpark.
Historically speaking, UNLV and Grand Canyon have squared off a total of 41 times dating back to 1967. The Hustlin' Rebels lead the all-time series 22-18-1, with both teams splitting the last six games, 3-3. Moreover, GCU won consecutive games against UNLV in 2018 (April 3-4: 5-3, 10-6).
FOLLOW ALONG: Fans can follow this week's series against Grand Canyon through live stats, live video and social media. Links to stats and live video can be found online at UNLVRebels.com in the "schedule" section of the team's baseball page as well as on the team's official social media channels.
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING: The Hustlin' Rebels will face Grand Canyon Friday-Sunday, with games one and two scheduled for 6 pm, while game three will start at 12 pm. This will be the first time the Hustlin' Rebels and Lopes will face each other since April 4, 2023 in Las Vegas, with UNLV winning 4-3. Additionally, this will be the first road trip to GCU for UNLV since the 2018 season, where the Lopes won both games.
LOOKING BACK: UNLV baseball delivered one of its most impressive wins of the season, taking down No. 20 Arizona State, 7-5, on the road at Phoenix Municipal Stadium. The ranked victory was the first by UNLV over a nationally ranked squad since the 2025 edition knocked off then-No. 25 Indiana twice (Feb. 14/17) and No. 25 Cincinnati (Feb. 22), and it was the highest over a top-20 club since 2019's 2-1 upset of then-No. 5 Stanford (Feb. 23).
After falling behind 1-0 in the opening inning, UNLV (19-14) quickly flipped the momentum in the third. Following a leadoff walk by Reggie Bussey, Marcos Rosales crushed a two-run homer to deep left field, his seventh of the season, to give the Scarlet & Gray a 2-1 lead it would not relinquish. The Hustlin' Rebels broke things open in the fourth inning with a three-run surge. Jayden Hertel and Jack Salmon set the table before Gavin Taylor delivered the big blow, roping a two-RBI double to left to extend the lead. Moments later, an Arizona State (24-10) error allowed another run to score, pushing the advantage to 5-1.
UNLV added insurance in the fifth when a wild pitch brought home Jonny Rodriguez, making it 6-1. Rodriguez played a key role again in the ninth, laying down a sacrifice bunt that scored Rosales for a crucial insurance run, stretching the lead to 7-5. Arizona State chipped away late, scoring once in the fifth and mounting a two-run rally in the seventh aided by a UNLV error and a passed ball. The Sun Devils pulled within one in the eighth after an RBI double, but the Rebel bullpen held firm when it mattered most.
A combination of Colton Sundloff, Tate Foxson, Jacob Gomberg, LJ Manning and Jase Evangelista navigated the middle and late innings, with Evangelista shutting the door in the eighth and ninth inning. Evangelista came in to relieve Manning in the bottom of the eighth inning up 6-5 with one out, and the Riverside, California native struck out the first two batters he faced. After allowing a two-out single in the bottom of the ninth inning, the right-hander induced a game-ending strikeout to secure the upset victory.
Sundloff was credited with his second win of the season after going 2.0 innings where he gave up one hit, one earned run with no walks and two strikeouts. Drew Barragan extended his on-base streak to 17 games. Taylor collected his third two-hit game of the season. Hertel went 2-for-4 and has a five-game hitting streak.
NEWCOMERS MAKE AN IMMEDIATE IMPACT: The UNLV Rebels' 2026 roster features 26 newcomers with 25 transfers and one true freshman; however, two of the transfers will not play this year due to injury, Drew Charney) and Kevin Smith. Seventeen of those newcomers made their Rebel debuts in the season-opening, nonconference series against the Austin Peay Governors. Delving deeper, four of those first-year Rebels have a minimum of 100 plate appearances, while seven more have pitched in at least eight games. Marcos Rosales is the lone Rebel to have appeared in all 33 contests, as he has 32 games starting at second base. Additionally, Drew Barragan, Jack Salmon, Nin Burns II and Jonny Rodriguez have played in 32 games. Ayden Garcia has seen action in 28 games, while Reggie Bussey has seen time in 19 games as well, starting 18 games in center field. On the mound, the Scarlet & Gray has gotten starts from four newcomers - Parker Dillhoff, Felix Ong, Yates Bland and Ryan Marton.
REBELS PICKED SIXTH: UNLV was predicted to finish the 2026 conference season in sixth place (32 points) by the nine head coaches. The Rebels was slotted behind UNR (60 points/five first-place votes), Fresno State (55 points/three votes), conference newcomer Grand Canyon (47 points/one first-place votes), New Mexico (36 points) and San Jose State (33 points), who was picked to finish first through fifth, respectively. San Diego State (30 points), Washington State (17) and Air Force (14) were tabbed to conclude the year in seventh, eighth and ninth.
LANE TABBED TO MW'S PRESEASON TEAM: UNLV baseball's Carson Lane was named to the MW's Preseason All-Conference Team, which was voted on by the league's nine head coaches. The honor marks his first preseason All-Conference selection during his time with the Scarlet & Gray. Lane, a junior right-handed pitcher from Huntington Beach, California, was named to last season's All-MW First Team in his second season with the Hustlin' Rebels where he posted the second-most wins in MW action (5) and the third-most strikeouts in conference play (61). In MW action, Lane registered a 4.45 ERA in 56.2 innings after allowing 28 earned runs (30 total). He posted the fourth best opponent batting average at .230 and his season was highlighted by helping throw UNLV's first no-hitter since 2003 where he went eight innings striking out nine Fresno State batters on three walks en route to winning MW Pitcher of the Week and College Baseball Foundation (CBF) National Pitcher of the Week accolades. The junior led the Rebels with 85 strikeouts, third among MW pitchers and recorded the second-best ERA in the MW (4.23) with a 6-4 record.
REBEL RETURNERS: Including All-Mountain West First Team honoree in Carson Lane, the Scarlet & Gray will see veterans Cooper Sheff and Gunnar Myro make their returns to the starting lineup. Sheff, a redshirt sophomore infielder, played in 53 games and started 49 of them where he batted .281 (fifth on the team) with 54 hits (fourth on the team) including 12 doubles, a triple and six home runs. The Las Vegas native brought in 30 RBI, scored the third-most runs on the team (41) and was named the MW Freshman of the Week three times last season. Myro, a junior from Las Vegas, played in 43 games with 35 starts where he batted .260 with a career-high 32 hits including four doubles and three home runs.
NEW REBEL PITCHERS: The Rebels welcome 26 newcomers, including key starting pitchers in Parker Dillhoff and Felix Ong. Dillhoff, who transferred from Louisiana, made nine appearances with two starts, throwing 7.1 innings with 10 hits allowed along with 11 earned runs. He struck out seven batters and collected a season-high four strikeouts in his Rajun Cajun debut where he threw two innings in a start against San Jose State. Ong, a sophomore transfer out of Florida, pitched in three games out of the UF bullpen as a true freshman. He fanned six batters in 3 1/3 innings pitched.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT: Grand Canyon won two out of threes games last week against Fresno State on the road, falling in the series opener, 10-8, before winning games two (3-0) and three (7-5). Additionally, the Lopes fell to No. 20 Arizona State, 12-8.
Billy Scaldeferri leads the GCU offense with a .331 batting average along with a team-best six home runs and 28 RBI. Jake Sanko is second on the squad in batting with a .330. Junior left-hander Chase Frey racked up national and conference honors following a dominant complete-game shutout in GCU's Friday win at Fresno State. Frey was named the MW Pitcher of the Week, Perfect Game College Baseball Pitcher of the Week and NCBWA Dick Howser Trophy National Co-Pitcher of the Week after a complete-game nine-inning shutout where he struck out eight batters on one walk with two hits allowed. Fellow pitcher JT Guerrero leads the team with 40.2 innings pitched where he has started seven games and has struck out 28 batters.
2026 SEASON: UNLV baseball will play a total of 55 regular season games in 2026, with five of those against two teams that participated in last season's NCAA Tournament. In all, the Rebels will play 32 home contests in Las Vegas with 31 of those on campus at Earl E. Wilson Stadium and one more – a March 23 affair against Arizona State – at the Las Vegas Ballpark in Downtown Summerlin.Â
In addition to the 24 Mountain West contests, the Scarlet & Gray's season slate is highlighted by 30 nonconference games against 15 squads that hail from 10 different leagues. Overall, these 15 teams compiled a .464 winning percentage, and five of those finished with winning records. Delving deeper, four – Austin Peay (ASUN), Cal State Fullerton (Big West), Milwaukee (Horizon) and Southern Illinois (Missouri Valley) finished in the top three of their respective conference standings. Moreover, six of 2026's foes had an end-of-year NCAA RPI that was 125th or better, with six of those in the top 90: Arizona State at No. 49, BYU at No. 62 and Austin Peay at No. 90.
