Former Wildcats Brendan Summerhill, Mason White return to Tucson with Arizona Fall League

For Tucson baseball fans, Saturday brought a rare chance to watch several hometown and former Arizona Wildcats players compete in the same place where many of them developed their games. The Arizona Fall League returned to Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium for a doubleheader, featuring former Wildcats Mason White and Brendan Summerhill, Salpointe Catholic graduate Cade McGee, and Nogales native Demetrio Crisantes. The event gave local fans an opportunity to see some of baseball’s promising young professionals before they potentially reach the major leagues.

The return was meaningful because professional baseball has endured a string of disappointments in Tucson. The Arizona Fall League was scheduled to come back last year, but a tropical storm forced the cancellation of a planned tripleheader. A separate effort to move a Mexican Pacific Winter League team to Tucson also failed after visa problems prevented the plan from moving forward. This year’s doubleheader remained on the schedule despite concerns about the weather, allowing Kino to host four teams and giving the community its first AFL games in Tucson in years.

The first game matched the Peoria Javelinas against the Mesa Solar Sox, with White and McGee providing the strongest local connection. Both players grew up in Tucson, attended Salpointe and have known each other since elementary school. Their baseball relationship began with youth competition and continued when they became teammates in high school. They also trained together during the COVID era, including workouts at a friend’s garage gym. On Saturday, they finally shared a professional field in their hometown, something neither had expected would happen.

White played three seasons at Arizona and established himself as one of the most productive hitters in Wildcats history. He finished his college career with 111 extra base hits, the most in program history, and 49 home runs, second on Arizona’s all time list. The Boston Red Sox selected him in the fourth round of the 2025 draft. During his first professional season, White played at both the high A and double A levels, batting .251 with an on base percentage of .353, 18 home runs and 55 runs batted in over 350 at bats. He is ranked Boston’s No. 26 prospect.

McGee took a different route to professional baseball. After Salpointe, he played at Gonzaga and later transferred to Texas Tech. The St. Louis Cardinals selected him in the ninth round of the 2024 draft. Like White, he spent the past season in high A and double A, producing a .232 batting average, a .373 on base percentage, 17 home runs and 51 RBIs in 327 at bats. McGee’s path nearly brought him to Arizona. When he entered the transfer portal, White tried to persuade his former high school teammate to return to Tucson, but McGee ultimately chose Texas Tech.

The hometown reunion drew substantial support in the stands, although White and McGee combined for one hit in six at bats. Fans wearing Peoria Javelinas shirts with McGee’s name on the back came to see the player who had left Tucson for college and now lives in Dallas. White continues to live in Tucson during the offseason and trains at the University of Arizona. The game also gave both players a chance to represent their hometown while playing alongside prospects who could become future major leaguers.

The second game brought another Wildcat connection. Summerhill played with White at Arizona from 2023 through 2025 before the Tampa Bay Rays chose him with the 42nd overall selection in the 2025 draft. His Arizona career ended with a .323 batting average, a .424 on base percentage and a .535 slugging percentage, although an injury interrupted his junior season. In his first full professional campaign, Summerhill batted .251, reached base at a .351 rate and stole 24 bases across three minor league levels. Playing for the Scottsdale Scorpions on Saturday, he went 2 for 2 and scored four runs in a 10 to 2 victory over Salt River.

Salt River featured Crisantes, the Arizona Diamondbacks’ top prospect and the No. 84 prospect in Major League Baseball’s rankings. Crisantes attended Nogales High School, signed with Arizona but chose professional baseball after the Diamondbacks selected him in the seventh round of the 2022 draft. He has hit .312 with a .399 on base percentage through four minor league seasons. Supporters from Nogales, roughly an hour south of Tucson, traveled north for the game, creating another strong Southern Arizona presence at Kino.

The Fall League has been a major proving ground for future stars since it began in 1992. Each of the 30 Major League Baseball organizations sends seven prospects, producing six teams with 35 players apiece. Most games take place at spring training facilities around the Phoenix area, but the Tucson doubleheader featured Peoria, Mesa, Scottsdale and Salt River. The league’s alumni include Derek Jeter, Albert Pujols, Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, Nolan Arenado and Ronald Acuna Jr. Seven players from the four teams in Tucson were listed among MLB Pipeline’s top 100 prospects, including outfielder Zyhir Hope, shortstops Arjun Nimmala, Bryce Rainer and Dax Kilby, catcher Nathan Flewelling, pitcher Jarlin Susana and outfielder and first baseman Ike Irish.

Tucson also has an older connection to the league. The Tucson Javelinas played in the AFL’s Southern Division when the league launched, but relocated to Peoria before the 1994 season. That year, Tucson hosted a special Scottsdale game because the team featured Michael Jordan, who had temporarily left basketball to pursue baseball. Jordan served as Scottsdale’s designated hitter at Hi Corbett Field on November 28, 1994, going 2 for 4 with two stolen bases in front of a sellout crowd. Saturday’s games lacked that global celebrity, but the return of the AFL offered something particularly valuable to Tucson: a close look at local players, former Wildcats and the next wave of professional baseball talent.