Watsonville native Luke Keaschall opened plenty of eyes and gained plenty of fans after making his MLB debut last season.

His successful first season in the majors, abbreviated by a pair of injuries, spanned just 49 games with the Minnesota Twins, but hinted at a long, bright future.

So much so, that one respected baseball analyst, Matt Vasgersian, co-host of Hot Stove on MLB Network, predicted great things for the former Arizona State University talent, a second round selection (49th overall) in the 2023 MLB Draft.

Vasgersian believes greatness will come sooner rather than later for the versatile 23-year-old infielder. On a recent episode of Hot Stove, co-host Lauren Shehadi asked Vasgersian and co-host Harold Reynolds to predict the top five players in 2026 AL MVP voting.

Vasgersian gave a ringing endorsement for Keaschall, an Aptos High alum.

“I love Luke Keaschall,” said Vasgersian, when listing his top five, which also included outfielder Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees, a three-time winner; third baseman Junior Caminero of the Tampa Bay Rays, first baseman Nick Kurtz of the Athletics, and outfielder Jarren Duran of the Boston Red Sox

It was a bold prediction, for sure. But analysts, fantasy baseball managers, and the Twins and their fans are high on Keaschall.

“He’s clearly a big fan of Keaschall,” said Joey Mistretta, of Roundtable Network, in an article posted on Yahoo.com. “And, look, I don’t blame him. Like, this is a young Twins player with a lot of potential. Really, all he’s done since getting to professional baseball is swing the bat well. The guy just hits.”

Mistretta didn’t endorse Vasgersian’s selection as an AL MVP finalist, “but I will say, I would not be surprised at all if he ends up representing the Twins at the All-Star Game.”

Keaschall finished 2025 batting .302 (55 for 182) with 14 doubles, four home runs, 28 RBI, and 25 runs scored. He also drew 19 walks and stole 14 bases.

The Twins open spring training against Boston on Saturday, and they play at Baltimore to open the regular season on March 26.

Keaschall and the Twins are slated to be in Sacramento to take on the Athletics in a three-game series Aug. 24-26.

Men’s volleyball

At Milwaukee School of Engineering 3, UC Santa Cruz 0: The No. 7 Banana Slugs, playing their fourth match in three days, were upset by the Raiders 25-15, 25-21, 25-22 in Milwaukee on Sunday.

It was the first time this season that the nationally ranked Banana Slugs (11-2) have been swept.

Junior middle blocker Kyle Ownbey made a team-high nine kills for UCSC. Senior outside hitter Riley Norman had seven kills and seven digs, and junior setter Logan Taylor made 12 assists.

Senior outside hitter Seth Thomas had 11 kills, three aces, and six digs to lead the Raiders (7-4). Junior setter Parker Rings made 38 assists and seven digs.

UCSC faces Wentworth Institute of Technology (8-2) to open play in the Cal-Lu-fornia Classic at Cal Lutheran in Thousand Oaks on March 6 at 6 p.m.

Women’s tennis

UCSC 7, at Schreiner 0: The Banana Slugs earned a sweep in Kerrville, Texas, on Sunday.

Freshmen Lucy Yung, Alicia Dewitt, and Meleja Horelick didn’t drop a game in their straight-sets victories. Senior Chloe Wu, freshman Chloe Khachadourian, and sophomore Adeline Lai also won singles match for the youth-laden Banana Slugs.

The Banana Slugs also swept the three doubles matches to earn the point.

UCSC faces the Concordia Tornados at Austin Tennis Academy in Texas on Monday at 9 a.m.

Reporting Scores

Coaches are encouraged to report scores and highlights to sports@santacruzsentinel.com following games. Please include your name and contact number in the email.