One Player to Watch From All 64 Schools in the 2026 NCAA Tournament

We've got a quick, rapid-fire breakdown with key stats on one player to watch from all 64 schools in the 2026 NCAA Tournament.

Roch Cholowsky of the UCLA Bruins hits the ball during an NCAA baseball game at Bainton Field in Piscataway, United States, on April 12, 2026. (Photo by Dan Squicciarini/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Roch Cholowsky of the UCLA Bruins hits the ball during an NCAA baseball game at Bainton Field in Piscataway, United States, on April 12, 2026. (Photo by Dan Squicciarini/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

It’s officially postseason time. Just 64 teams remain alive in Division I college baseball, and fortunately for every school involved, Mercer is not one of them.

This piece is built around one simple idea, highlighting one impact player from each team in the 2026 NCAA Tournament. That means powerhouse programs like UCLA, Georgia Tech, Georgia, and Auburn will inevitably have some major names left off the list.

The teams still playing this time of year all got here differently, but they share a lot of the same traits within roster depth, strong coaching, player development, good fortune on the injury front, and, of course, star talent. Every one of the 64 teams left standing has at least one player capable of changing a regional on his own.

Rather than going super in-depth, this will be more of a rapid-fire, list-style breakdown with key stats on each player. I’ll go regional by regional, starting with No. 16 national seed West Virginia and the Morgantown Regional.

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#16 West Virginia:

LHP Maxx Yehl — 79.1 IP, 2.16 ERA, 14 GS, 8 W, 95 K — RS Junior

Wake Forest:

RHP Chris Levonas — 68.1 IP, 2.90 ERA, 14 GS, 10 W, 110 K — Sophomore

Kentucky:

INF Tyler Bell — 174 PA, .352 BA, 1.119 OPS, 7 HR, 27 RBI, 9 2B — Sophomore

Binghamton:

OF Matt Bolton — 239 PA, .349 BA, 1.024 OPS, 6 HR, 44 RBI, 16 2B — Sophomore

#15 Kansas:

INF/OF Tyson LeBlanc — 283 PA, .339 BA, 1.099 OPS, 21 HR, 60 RBI, 11 2B — Junior

Arkansas:

2B Camden Kozeal — 270 PA, .322 BA, 1.083 OPS, 20 HR, 70 RBI, 17 2B — Junior

Missouri State:

INF Logan Fyffe — 221 PA, .371 BA, 1.044 OPS, 9 HR, 43 RBI, 21 2B — Sophomore

Northeastern:

OF Harrison Feinberg — 282 PA, .330 BA, 1.042 OPS, 16 HR, 63 RBI, 13 2B, 42 SB — RS Senior

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#14 Mississippi State:

LHP Tomas Valincius — 86 IP, 2.93 ERA, 15 GS, 10 W, 120 K — Sophomore

Cincinnati:

1B Quinton Coats — 276 PA, .346 BA, 1.195 OPS, 28 HR, 78 RBI, 13 2B, 10 SB — Sophomore

Louisiana:

RHP Cody Brasch — 70.2 IP, 2.04 ERA, 7 GS, 21 APP, 6 W, 6 SV, 77 K — Junior

Lipscomb:

INF Cam Pruitt — 228 PA, .356 BA, .901 OPS, 2 HR, 48 RBI, 17 2B, 15 SB — Junior

#13 Nebraska:

RHP Carson Jasa — 81.1 IP, 3.76 ERA, 15 GS, 9 W, 109 K — RS Sophomore

Ole Miss:

INF Judd Utermark — 256 PA, .318 BA, 1.071 OPS, 20 HR, 48 RBI, 10 2B, 11 SB — Senior

Arizona State:

INF Landon Hairston — 276 PA, .413 BA, 1.415 OPS, 28 HR, 79 RBI, 20 2B, 11 SB — Sophomore

South Dakota State:

INF Luke Luskey — 244 PA, .303 BA, .985 OPS, 13 HR, 54 RBI, 9 2B — Junior

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#12 Texas A&M:

OF Caden Sorrell — 246 PA, .341 BA, 1.189 OPS, 23 HR, 74 RBI, 17 2B, 10 SB — Junior

USC:

LHP Mason Edwards — 84 IP, 1.29 ERA, 14 GS, 8 W, 150 K — Junior

Texas State:

OF/C Rashawn Galloway — 277 PA, .375 BA, .969 OPS, 12 HR, 48 RBI, 27 2B — Senior

Lamar:

RHP Chris Olivier — 88 IP, 2.66 ERA, 15 GS, 7 W, 103 K — Senior

#11 Oregon:

INF/OF Drew Smith — 250 PA, .325 BA, 1.009 OPS, 15 HR, 59 RBI, 7 2B — Senior

Oregon State:

LHP Ethan Kleinschmit — 71.1 IP, 3.91 ERA, 14 GS, 9 W, 88 K — Junior

Washington State:

LHP Nick Lewis — 91 IP, 3.07 ERA, 14 GS, 15 APP, 9 W, 65 K — RS Sophomore

Yale:

RHP Jack Ohman — 62 IP, 5.23 ERA, 10 GS, 12 APP, 5 W, 83 K — Sophomore

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#10 Florida State:

LHP Wes Mendes — 104 IP, 3.55 ERA, 18 GS, 9 W, 141 K — Junior

Coastal Carolina:

OF Rex Watson — 241 PA, .295 BA, .934 OPS, 12 HR, 64 RBI, 16 2B, 10 SB — Sophomore

Northern Illinois:

INF Cole Smith — 228 PA, .364 BA, 1.025 OPS, 6 HR, 47 RBI, 17 2B, 9 SB — Senior

St. John’s:

C/1B Adam Agresti — 257 PA, .291 BA, 1.043 OPS, 17 HR, 48 RBI, 14 2B, 8 SB — RS Sophomore

#9 Southern Miss:

3B Kyle Morrison — 272 PA, .313 BA, 1.031 OPS, 16 HR, 47 RBI, 14 2B — Senior

Virginia:

OF AJ Gracia — 255 PA, .338 BA, 1.095 OPS, 14 HR, 42 RBI, 13 2B — Junior

Jacksonville State:

LHP Steven Cash — 82.2 IP, 2.94 ERA, 16 GS, 8 W, 93 K — Senior

Little Rock:

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1B Angel Cano — 255 PA, .299 BA, .880 OPS, 12 HR, 29 RBI, 14 2B — Senior

#8 Florida:

INF Brendan Lawson — 244 PA, .308 BA, 1.197 OPS, 16 HR, 43 RBI, 11 2B, 14 SB — Sophomore

Miami:

INF/OF Derek Williams — 250 PA, 1.139 OPS, 15 HR, 66 RBI, 15 2B — Fifth Year

Troy:

C/3B Jimmy Janicki — 276 PA, .350 BA, 1.086 OPS, 17 HR, 73 RBI, 22 2B — Sophomore

Rider:

RHP PJ Craig — 95.2 IP, 3.39 ERA, 14 GS, 15 APP, 9 W, 88 K — Senior

#7 Alabama:

SS Justin Lebron — 250 PA, .266 BA, .906 OPS, 14 HR, 40 RBI, 11 2B, 38 SB — Junior

Oklahoma State:

OF Kollin Ritchie — 268 PA, .335 BA, 1.305 OPS, 29 HR, 73 RBI, 12 2B — Junior

USC Upstate:

UTIL Wylie Waters — 221 PA, .320 BA, .960 OPS, 12 HR, 50 RBI, 9 2B — Senior

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Alabama State:

INF Miguel Oropeza — 265 PA, .366 BA, 1.084 OPS, 11 HR, 65 RBI, 19 2B — Fifth Year

#6 Texas:

LHP Dylan Volantis — 76.2 IP, 2.00 ERA, 13 GS, 14 APP, 8 W, 109 K — Sophomore

UCSB:

RHP Jackson Flora — 94.1 IP, 1.05 ERA, 15 GS, 11 W, 124 K — Junior

Tarleton State:

INF/OF Rayner Heinrich — 239 PA, .375, 1.133 OPS, 12 HR, 62 RBI, 22 2B, 12 SB — Sophomore

Holy Cross:

INF/OF CJ Egrie — 207 PA, .338 BA, .945 OPS, 3 HR, 22 RBI, 7 2B, 46 SB — Senior

#5 North Carolina:

RHP Jason DeCaro — 74.1 IP, 2.30 ERA, 15 GS, 10 W, 74 K — Junior

Tennessee:

RHP Tegan Kuhns — 77 IP, 3.39 ERA, 13 GS, 14 APP, 5 W, 100 K — Sophomore

East Carolina:

OF Jack Herring — 259 PA, .358 BA, 1.085 OPS, 9 HR, 51 RBI, 17 2B — Senior

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VCU:

C Jacob Lee — 285 PA, .342 BA, 1.110 OPS, 17 HR, 56 RBI, 14 2B, 10 SB — Sophomore

#4 Auburn:

LHP Jake Marciano — 81.2 IP, 2.64 ERA, 15 GS, 5 W, 100 K — Sophomore

UCF:

OF Andrew Williamson — 252 PA, .320 BA, 1.041 OPS, 12 HR, 41 RBI, 13 2B — Junior

NC State:

OF Ty Head — 246 PA, .294 BA, 1.039 OPS, 14 HR, 48 RBI, 8 2B, 26 SB — Sophomore

Milwaukee:

C/OF Dominic Kibler — 248 PA, .317 BA, 1.037 OPS, 11 HR, 59 RBI, 13 2B, 13 SB — Junior

#3 Georgia:

C/OF Daniel Jackson — 274 PA, .391 BA, 1.299 OPS, 27 HR, 79 RBI, 12 2B, 25 SB — Junior

Boston College:

INF/DH Nick Wang — 263 PA, .303, 1.011 OPS, 16 HR, 61 RBI, 11 2B, 11 SB — Fifth Year

Liberty:

RHP Ben Blair — 87.1 IP, 3.61 ERA, 15 GS, 7 W, 106 K — Junior

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Long Island:

SS/2B Elijah Fairchild — 227 PA, .357 BA, .946 OPS, 3 HR, 46 RBI, 9 2B, 30 SB — Junior

#2 Georgia Tech:

C Vahn Lackey — 264 PA, .410 BA, 1.307 OPS, 18 HR, 75 RBI, 16 2B, 14 SB — Junior

Oklahoma:

C Deiten Lachance — 223 PA, .335 BA, 1.029 OPS, 12 HR, 51 RBI, 12 2B — Junior

The Citadel:

UTIL/RHP Michael Gibson — 164 PA, .394 BA, 1.067 OPS, 5 HR, 40 RBI, 13 2B, 12 SB, 48.1 IP — Senior

UIC:

1B Ashton Kampa — 204 PA, .367 BA, 1.161 OPS, 16 HR, 47 RBI, 17 2B — Junior

#1 UCLA:

SS Roch Cholowsky — 284 PA, .329 BA, 1.123 OPS, 21 HR, 59 RBI, 10 2B — Junior

Virginia Tech:

INF Ethan Ball — 237 PA, .310 BA, 1.067 OPS, 16 HR, 51 RBI, 17 2B — Freshman

Cal Poly:

C Ryan Tayman — 263 PA, .355 BA, 1.108 OPS, 16 HR, 53 RBI, 18 2B — Junior

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St. Mary’s:

OF Diego Castellanos — 276 PA, .384 BA, 1.021 OPS, 6 HR, 49 RBI, 20 2B, 8 SB — Junior

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