It might be frigid in Happy Valley, but down in the desert, it’s time for baseball.

Penn State baseball opens its season at the highly-renowned MLB Desert Invitational in Scottsdale, Arizona, on Friday, February 13, against Air Force to start a three-game weekend which’ll see the team also battle Grand Canyon and 2025 NCAA Tournament team Kansas State.

It’ll begin a season that suddenly has more expectations than any other in recent memory. The first two years of the Mike Gambino era have yielded strong results, with the team making the Big Ten title game in 2024 and having its best regular season in a decade in 2016. With a promising recruiting class and another strong transfer portal haul, they’re well-equipped to have a strong year.

And it’s not just us saying it, folks. Baseball America has them on the NCAA Tournament bubble as an at-large. While the consensus is that they’ll finish between sixth and eighth in the conference standings, they’re getting considerably more media attention than they have in the past, being featured by popular baseball YouTuber KingOfJUCO in the fall and making waves with the signing of 2027 Japanese prospect Genei Sato.

Who’s Gone?

The consequences of any strong season in a major collegiate sport where players can leave early are that it’s hard to keep that talent in college. Penn State tied a school record with five drafted players in the 2025 MLB Draft, with four of the team’s best players electing to go pro (Bryce Molinaro, the team’s starting third baseman, returned for his junior year).

The team’s top overall hitter, Paxton Kling, and leadoff hitter, Ryan Weingartner, were both selected in the first eight rounds and signed with their new teams, forgoing their final year of eligibility.

The same can be said about the team’s undisputed ace, Ryan DeSanto, and hard-throwing reliever Chase Renner, who will both begin their journey to the major leagues in 2026 after being drafted by the Cleveland Guardians and Miami Marlins, respectively.

Additionally, the team had several key pieces graduate, including closer Anthony Steele, catcher Matt Maloney, and infielder Joe Jaconski.

Who’s New?

Penn State’s success over the last two seasons has been highly influenced by productive transfers. Four of the five players drafted last June started their collegiate careers elsewhere, with Kling transferring from LSU, DeSanto and Weingartner coming from St. Joseph’s, and Molinaro coming from St. John’s. The portal will continue to be a big part of Penn State’s success.

The Nittany Lions landed two SEC infield transfers, grabbing Michael Anderson from Arkansas and Jayden Davis from Vanderbilt. Anderson was a star at first base for Rhode Island from 2023-24 before a forgettable season with the Razorbacks. Davis, after transferring from Samford in 2023, was a star for the Commodores in 2024 before injuries hampered him in 2025.

Infielder Kevin Karstetter is making the jump back to Division I after winning a D-II national championship with Tampa in 2025, after previously playing at Arizona State in 2024. Incoming outfielders Justin Turcovski (Pitt-Johnstown) and Maddox McDonald (Trinity) additionally transferred from Division II and Division III, respectively.

On the pitching side, Collin Fitzgerald comes in from Maine and figures to be a big part of the pitching staff. Kyle Emmons (Towson) and Greg Minnick (Texas Tech) figure to come out of the bullpen.

Finally, the team signed a pair of transfers from regional rival West Virginia in right-handed starting pitcher Ben Hudson and infielder Spencer Barnett, who will look to replicate the impact of the last pair of transfers to come to Penn State from the same school.

While the transfers are the present, Penn State’s No. 36-ranked recruiting class is the future. According to Perfect Game, Gambino and his staff brought in three top-350 prospects, headlined by right-handed pitchers Ethan Bauerschmidt and Isaiah Shayter. The most likely freshman to contribute right away, however, is shortstop Preston Yaucher, whom Gambino has raved about defensively.

The Schedule

The best news that the Nittany Lions received when their full schedule was revealed in January is that they would not face preseason Big Ten favorite UCLA, which is loaded with future MLB prospects, including projected No. 1 overall pick Roch Cholowsky.

After the MLB Desert Invitational this upcoming weekend, they’ll play a weekend series on the road in Richmond before a weekend series in the Caribbean for the second straight year, facing Indiana State in the Bahamas as the calendar turns to March.

Other non-conference opponents include St. John’s (March 3-4), Texas Tech (March 6-8), Georgetown (March 10-11), West Virginia (March 17, April 15, April 29), UCF (April 1), and Pittsburgh (May 12). The Big Ten schedule begins with a three-game set against Iowa at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park from March 13-15.

The regular season concludes with a series in College Park against Maryland from May 14-16 before the Big Ten Tournament begins on May 18 in Omaha. If Penn State makes it, the NCAA Tournament regionals begin on May 29.

Projected Lineup

C: Nate Voss
1B: Kevin Karstetter/Spencer Barnett
2B: Jayden Davis
SS: Bryce Molinaro/Preston Yaucher
3B: Spencer Barnett/Bryce Molinaro
LF: Jesse Jaconski/Jack Porter
CF: Cohl Mercado
RF: Maddox McDonald/Mike Anderson
DH: Jack Porter/Mike Anderson

The lineup is nowhere close to set as the season opener approaches on Friday. After adding plenty of position player depth in the portal, the Nittany Lions are confident that they’re deep across the board, especially in the outfield, where five different players will rotate through the positions and the designated hitter spot.

Molinaro will split time at shortstop with the true freshman Yaucher, while Barnett will get time at both corner infield positions, and Davis is entrenched at second base.

Projected Pitching Staff

Rotation:
Friday: Colin Fitzgerald
Saturday: Ben Hudson
Sunday: Isaiah Shayter
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Bullpen:
Dimond Loosli
Ben DeMell
Kyle Emmons
Frankie Sanchez
Matthew VanOstenbridge

Fitzgerald and Hudson appear to be the lead options for Penn State in the rotation, but the third starter spot is up for grabs. Shayter will get the first crack at the job on Sunday against Kansas State, but look out for 2025 starters Logan Olson and Mason Horwat to potentially get starts, especially during the week (who’s ready for Dollar Dog Night?).

Sanchez is returning from Tommy John surgery and appears to be heading to the bullpen. He’ll join a group that includes Loosli and DeMell, the team’s two best-producing returning relievers.