It felt like coming home.
That feeling was not only about four well-known players with baseball roots in Southern Arizona and at the University of Arizona being part of the occasion.
Nogales High School alum Demetrio Crisantes, the No. 1 prospect in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization, Salpointe grads Cade McGee and Mason White and former Arizona standout Brendan Summerhill were on the field Saturday at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium as part of an Arizona Fall League doubleheader.
Off the field, in the stands, at the concession area, in the gift shop — just the entire atmosphere at the ballpark with professionals to watch — felt like returning home.
The experience brought back the memories of the Tucson Toros and Tucson Padres, spring training with the Cleveland Indians (the nickname back in the day) and Colorado Rockies.
“I grew up coming to the Tucson Padres games,” said McGee, an infielder who ended this season at the Double-A level with the St. Louis Cardinals. “Actually, I have an Anthony Rizzo signed ball and bat. I remember just being above the bullpen and kind of heckling the bullpen catcher, asking him for a ball. There was a home run hit, and it took one bounce and went over the fence.
“He told me to go get it, but fortunately, I was in the stadium. So just cool memories like that.”
Those kind of memories and the community aspect, with family and friends in the stands, made everyone in attendance wish this was a regular occurrence, not a once-in-year (maybe) type of event.
The announced amount of ticket buyers for Saturday’s doubleheader was 705, which might seem like a small figure.
That’s almost double the amount of fans who generally attend AFL games in the Phoenix area. The average annual attendance is approximately 390 fans per game, according to Major League Baseball. Last fall, the total attendance was 31,905 — 384 fans per game.
Of course, more fans will show up for a one-day event than spread over a couple of months, but with promotions and Tucson’s history of supporting baseball, the professional brand can find a home here once again.
Former Toros and Padres general manager Mike Feder authored the phrase “The Fun is Back” when Tucson began challenging for Pacific Coast League titles 30 to 40 years ago.
When will the fun return?
When will families and friends come together on a regular basis to support their player at Kino Veterans Stadium?
More than 50 people from Nogales, including family and friends of Crisantes, were in attendance.
“It was awesome,” Crisantes said. “I got a lot of support and love, and I really felt it today. It was awesome to come back to Tucson and play.
“It was a lot more than what I thought was going to be,” Crisantes added about the contingent behind his dugout. “I thought there were maybe like 20 to 30, but it was definitely more than 50 people here.
“I felt like butterflies in my stomach, kind of like, ‘Wow, like a lot of people are here.’ Just the support system that I’m getting from over there, it’s awesome.”
Crisantes, McGee and White have backgrounds of playing at Hi Corbett Field and the Kino Sports Complex during their high school careers.
Returning to Tucson as a professional player did not come across White’s mind because of the lack of that possibility here.
“No, never really thought about it until they announced the game coming back here,” said White, who was promoted to Double-A by the Red Sox this season. “But it was really cool to play here.”
Contributing to the homely feeling was McGee and Mason recalling their days growing up together in Tucson around the baseball diamond.
They shared the same field Saturday for the first time since their days at Salpointe — Cade was a Class of 2021 graduate and White Class of 2022.
“We grew up together, went to elementary school together, so we’ve known each other for like 15 years,” McGee said. “We played each other in All-Stars but never got to play in Little League. Once we got to high school, I guess his freshman year, we started playing together. So it’s been really cool to push each other along.”
White wanted to rejoin Cade as teammates following the 2023 season when Cade was transferring from Gonzaga. He tried to recruit Cade from the transfer portal to Arizona. Cade instead chose to transfer to Texas Tech.
“I came and watched them in the Pac-12 tournament, and I talked with him when I was going through that process,” Cade said. “I had just gotten hurt, came back home for surgery. He and I sat and talked, and he might still be holding a grudge against me.”
They laughed and White said, “It all worked out.”
A large contingent of family, friends, former Salpointe teammates and members of the Lancers’ coaching staff were in attendance.
Cade’s clan wore Peoria Javelinas t-shirts with his name on the back. He now resides in Dallas with his recently-wed wife, so the opportunity to have a reunion in Tucson with loved ones was special.
“I’d say probably 50 (of his supporters were in attendance) — a lot of my family, obviously here, friends, so really cool,” Cade said. “I haven’t really played that close to home in recent years, so I think they were really excited to come out.”
White believed the occasion had added meaning for Tucson’s youths and baseball fans being treated to watching up-and-coming prospects, something he and Cade enjoyed when they were young and the Padres were playing at the stadium.
Children from yesteryear had that chance when the Indians and Rockies trained here and the Toros were challenging for championships.
“It was cool, all these prospects, future big leaguers, coming to Tucson so the community could see them was really fun,” White said.
Summerhill did not grow up in Tucson, but he is an Arizona Wildcat.
Tucsonans have adopted him. His former coach at Arizona, Chip Hale, highly respects him.
Hale was at the stadium for the second game of the doubleheader. To Summerhill’s surprise, Hale threw out the ceremonial first pitch with Summerhill, an outfielder, as the catcher.
“I knew he was throwing out the first pitch today, but I was assuming it was the first game because we were playing (the) second (game),” said Summerhill, who was promoted by the Tampa Bay Rays to the High-A level late this summer.
“But no, I didn’t (know). I saw him back there. He’s like, ‘You’re catching the first pitch.’ I’m like, ‘Perfect, that’s awesome.'”
In past years, when professional baseball was thriving here, this community could count regularly on stories like this involving Southern Arizona and Arizona Wildcat players playing in Tucson — in addition to prospects and veterans from the entire baseball world.
Now, we don’t know when it will happen again.
The sensation of coming home on Saturday with pro baseball back in Tucson was replaced by the feeling of being homesick by the end of the day.
When will the fun come back?
Southern Arizona’s Minor League Baseball Players: 2026 Summer Recap
Demetrio Crisantes — Arizona Diamondbacks
.@ApacheBaseball1 great Demetrio Crisantes talks about elevating to Triple-A this year with the Arizona Diamondbacks after batting back strong from injuries. He has progressed to the point of becoming the top prospect of the D’Backs, who are playing him at second base during the Arizona Fall League.
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) October 11, 2026
Crisantes had an impressive season offensively despite starting the year on the injured list. After beginning his comeback with rehab assignments, he excelled at Double-A Amarillo (Texas), batting .319 with five home runs and 26 RBIs in 35 games while posting a .961 OPS. His strong performance earned him a promotion to Triple-A Reno (Nev.), where he hit .278 with 12 doubles and three home runs in 50 games. He finished the season with a .292 average, 10 home runs and 53 RBIs across four levels, establishing himself as the No. 1 prospect in Arizona’s system.
Quotable
Q: How would you describe what your adventure in professional baseball has been like?
A: A lot of ups and downs, you know, a couple of injuries along the way, but coming back from them, knowing what I can do and hopefully get to the big-leagues soon and just help the team win.
Q: How did you battle through those injuries? You battled back strong, the way you progressed through the farm system.
A: Yeah, I mean, more mentally, you know, just getting my mind strong. This game’s a lot of mental stuff, so just trying to get ready to go out and perform when my time was coming.
Q: How much did your Nogales background help you with coach OJ Favela and just the tradition they have there?
A: OJ was awesome. You know, a lot of support down there. Like I said, good baseball down there, and there’s been a lot of good players that came out of there.
Cade McGee — St. Louis Cardinals
.@LancerHardball alums and former teammates Cade McGee and Mason White talk with the local media about their experience back home playing in the Arizona Fall League, their background together, and their productive seasons in the minor leagues – Cade with the Cardinals and White with the Red Sox.
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) October 10, 2026
McGee put together a power-filled season with High-A Peoria (Ill.), hitting 14 home runs and driving in 44 runs in 86 games. He also showed patience at the plate, drawing 48 walks, and earned a late-season promotion to Double-A Springfield (Mo.). In 10 games at the higher level, he hit .333 with three home runs and seven RBIs, providing an encouraging finish to his season. He played second base for the Javelinas on Saturday, but he has also played third base and catcher (a new position for him).
Quotable
Q: Power-wise, you had a great season. Is that something that’s developed with you that home run hitting and so forth?
A: Yeah, absolutely. I think. I mean, that’s kind of the name of the game nowadays-is hit the ball in the air. So I think just being able to slug in today’s game is super valuable, especially playing corner infield or catcher. So I think adding that ability to slug is definitely very valuable.
Q: How would you assess your your first full season?
A: Just continue the momentum. I learned a new position of catching, so that was pretty cool to to add to my repertoire. So I think just continuing to to build on that first pro season here in the fall league.
Q: Both you guys (Cade and White) were promoted this year. What’s that feeling like when you’re getting to that next level? You guys did it a couple times. What’s that like to move up like that?
A: Just being able to play on the fly, like you’re pretty much promoted that day or the night before, you get on a flight. Chances are you’re in the lineup that day. So just being able to to kind of just play your game with so many aspects that are out of your control, I think just being able to jump in and play in a different lineup is always a really good kind of chance.
Mason White — Boston Red Sox
Summary: White enjoyed a productive summer in the Red Sox organization, showing significant power at High-A Greenville (S.C.) before earning a promotion to Double-A Portland. He hit .270 with 14 home runs and 42 RBIs in 68 games at Greenville, then faced tougher pitching after moving up, batting .208 with four homers in 33 games at Portland. He finished the season with 18 home runs and 55 RBIs across both levels.
Quotable
Q: How would you assess your your first full season?
A: It was good. I mean, I hit a lot of the goals that I set for myself, and hopefully will continue that into spring training and the next season.
Q: Both you guys (Cade and White) were promoted this year. What’s that feeling like when you’re getting to that next level? You guys did it a couple times. What’s that like to move up like that?
A: Yeah, it’s cool. It’s you kind of become real familiar with your team, wherever you’re coming from. But then when you join a new team, you’re facing new players and older players, and so you’re relearning kind of what you just learned. So it’s really cool, and hopefully you get to do that a few more times.
Q: What are some of the things you’ve worked on since you became a pro ball player?
A: Making more contact and finding better pitches. Pitching obviously is better than college. Pitching is better so you have to make better contact.
Brendan Summerhill — Tampa Bay Rays
Former @ArizonaBaseball standout Brendan Summerhill talks about catching the first pitch from his former coach, Chip Hale, the experience of returning to Tucson playing in the Arizona Fall League with the Tampa Bay Rays and his summer in the minors that ended strong with a promotion to High A.
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) October 11, 2026
Summerhill showed his all-around ability in the Rays organization, contributing as both a hitter and a baserunner. Across three minor-league stops, he batted .251 with five home runs, 45 RBIs and 24 stolen bases in 85 games. After beginning the season at Single-A Charleston (S.C.), he moved up to High-A Bowling Green (Ky.), where he continued to gain experience against more advanced competition. His speed and ability to get on base were important parts of his game. He played in center field in Saturday’s Arizona Fall League game.
Quotable
Q: Did you talk to former Arizona teammate Owen Kramkowski at all after the pitcher got drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in July?
A: Oh, I called him probably 20 minutes after I found out. He was he’s in California, and day two (of the draft) starts really early out there. So he had just woken up and got the news. So it’s really exciting. I haven’t gotten to see him yet because he’s been down in the complex (in Florida), but excited for spring training.
Q: How would you assess your season?
A: Think expectationally, kind of my numbers, result-wise, I don’t think I met my expectation. But, you know, you learn so much over a 132-game season. Obviously, never played that much before, and then you know, you go do it, and there’s nothing that prepares you for it. But I think now I have a much better idea of like what I need, kind of how I got to go about my business, and you know, ultimately take care of it.
Q: The way you finished pretty strong, just talk about how you progressed during the season and finished strong like that.
A: Yeah, I think what goes kind of over everyone’s head is the routine. You know, waking up every day, going to the field, executing what you need to execute, going home, going to sleep, and then doing it for the next seven months. And you know, I think after you kind of get in the groove of that, it’s a lot easier to play, evaluate, and then you know make adjustments.
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon. He became an educator in 2016 and is presently a special education teacher at Sunnyside High School in the Sunnyside Unified School District.
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