San Diego Stars trek set to visit 49th state

By Nick Pellegrino
Updated: June 12, 2026

2026 SAN DIEGO STARS Summer Collegiate Baseball

Special to East County Sports

FAIRBANKS, Alaska — The Alaska Goldpanners, which annually hosts the Midnight Sun baseball game under natural light each summer solstice, announced their entire 2026 schedule with the addition of the San Diego Stars, based in Santee, Calif.

The Stars, an annual participant in the National Baseball Congress World Series, will play a five-game series at Broden Memorial Field, giving the Panners a full 30-game slate.

Other key opponents include the arch-rival Anchorage Glacier Pilots, the Bay Area Force (located midway between San Francisco and San Jose), the expansion Utah Yaks, and many more.

This season, the Midnight Sun game opponent will be the
Yaks on Fri., June 19, starting at 10 p.m. AD (midnight Pacific Time).

The ballgames with the San Diego Stars are slated over Independence Day Weekend on Thurs.-Mon., July 2-6, with free admission to members of the military for the Saturday night and Sunday afternoon contests.

Note: since Stars arrange for group savings on air travel and accommodations, yet players and coaches cover their own expenses. Since not all members of the Stars will be traveling, the ballclubs seeks other qualified players to join the trip.

Good news — If you were “forced” to sign a contract to play for a single ballclub during the summer, that team is allowed to place you “on loan” to the Stars for the week, allowing you to be watch by major college coaches and scouts, along with scouting staffs from Major League Baseball (not local “bird dog” scouts) to be officially reviewed — especially since MLB to slowly getting rid of expensive minor league baseball teams and allowing colleges to do costly development work for them.