Week Two College Baseball News and Notes

Week two of the college baseball season is all wrapped up! It is time for the first update to the Just Baseball and On The Clock College Baseball Top 25. We dive into the update, the most prominent top 25 upsets, other news and analysis, and MLB Draft updates in this week’s recap:

• College Player and Pitcher of the Week
• Top 25 Update
• Top 25 Upset Alerts
• Other News
• MLB Draft Spotlight Player
• Other Draft Top Performers

College Player and Pitcher of the Week

Player of the Week – OF Paxton Kling – Penn State

• Stats: 7-for-13, 7 R, 1 2B, 4 HR, 6 RBI, 2 HBP, 2 SB  – .538/.600/1.538

Pitcher of the Week  – LHP Trystan Levesque – Rhode Island 

• Stats: 10 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 9 K, 119 PC

Top 25 Update

In: UCSB Gauchos, Ole Miss Rebels, Louisville Cardinals, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Out: Arizona Wildcats, NC State Wolfpack, Oklahoma State Cowboys, Indiana Hoosiers

Read our in-depth article on the latest top 25 rankings here!

Top 25 Upset Alerts (Rankings in Write-Ups Are From Prior to the Top 25 Update)

Weekend Upsets

Cal Poly takes down the #1 ranked Texas A&M Aggies: Cal Poly may have only taken one from the Aggies, but they played them tough all series. They lost Friday night 6-1 but were only down 1-0 until the fifth inning when the Aggies broke out and scored three runs thanks to a Graham Grahovac home run and Wyatt Hensler’s two RBI singles. 

On Saturday, they only lost 4-3 and led the Aggies 1-0 until the bottom of the sixth. On Sunday, Cal Poly finally pulled off the shocking upset, winning 3-2. Lefty Ethan Marime dealt against the Aggies, going seven innings while giving up just five hits and two earned runs. 

Jack Collins hit a massive two-run home run in the top of the 9th to give Cal Poly the lead and, ultimately, the victory. Tough loss for the Aggies.

Oregon State beats #3 Virginia: In the first Top 10 matchup of the 2025 College Baseball season, Oregon State defeated Virginia by a score of 7-2.  Each of the nine Beaver hitters collected a hit in the game, combining for 13 total knocks and drawing eight free passes. Eric Segura was terrific out of the Beaver bullpen, throwing 3 ⅓ shutout innings with eight punchouts.  

Virginia’s lineup struggled to generate runs, with all six hits coming from the top four batters in the order. However, this loss for Virginia is nothing to lose sleep over, as Oregon State is arguably the best program on the West Coast and is anticipated to play well into June.

Oklahoma takes down #8 Oregon State and #3 Virginia: At this point, the Oklahoma Sooners might be hotter than any other team. Maybe Alabama, but Oklahoma is coming away from this weekend with victories over two top 10 teams.

The Sooners went into the Round Rock Classic this weekend undefeated after breezing through Lehigh the weekend before. They were slated to face Minnesota, # 8 Oregon State, and #3 Virginia. They came away with a clean sweep.

Easton Carmichael has been a key factor in that. He is currently slashing .304/.393/.870 with three home runs and 10 RBI. Whenever the Sooners need a big hit, Carmichel is coming through for them.

The Sooners’ lineup has been a problem—in a good way. As a team, they are hitting .323. The pitching has been electric, too, as they’ve posted a 2.50 ERA. Kyson and Malachi Witherspoon have been as disgusting as the Friday and Saturday guys.

Cade Crossland, Cameron Johnson, and Dylan Crooks have also played a pivotal role in the Sooner’s pitching staff as well. This team is just a lot of fun and they are proving they are ready for SEC play.

Kansas State beats Arkansas: This past Friday, the Wildcats also upset Arkansas 3-2. Pitchers Jacob Frost and Blake Dean were incredible for Kansas State, combining for two walks and eleven strikeouts.  

The offense’s performance was scrappy and gritty. The Wildcats put pressure on Gabe Gaeckle throughout his outing, as he surrendered five hits and four walks on 99 pitches.  

The winning run came in the seventh inning when outfielder Micah Dean hit a double to score the third run, David Bishop. Kansas State hasn’t had the best start to the season, but beating Arkansas will be huge for their resume as the season goes on.

Cornell wins their season opener vs #10 Duke: Don’t let the final score trick you into thinking this was neck and neck.  Cornell was three outs away from a mercy rule and a no-hitter going into the seventh inning. Ben Miller hit a solo shot to get the Blue Devils on the board, sparking a five-run inning, followed by three more in the eighth. 

 Cornell’s offense was led by outfielders Jakobi Davis and Max Jensen, who had three of the six extra-base hits of the game. However, Cornell’s top standout was starting pitcher Carson Mayfield, who dominated with six no-hit innings on just 77 pitches.

#19 NC State struggles its way through the weekend: It’s not the weekend you want if you are the Wolfpack. They are headed down to Jacksonville, Florida, for the Jax College Baseball Classic, and they are probably excited to leave. The Wolfpack faced Ohio State, Alabama, and Coastal Carolina and was swept for the entire weekend, scoring only five runs over the three games. 

On Friday, Ohio State got a quick 3-0 lead in the second thanks to a throwing error. They came back to tie it in the bottom of the third, but that would end the scoring for NC State, who would lose 8-3. On Saturday, they got blanked 4-0 by Alabama thanks to a stellar performance from Riley Quick and the Crimson Tide bullpen.

Sunday wasn’t much better as they dropped that game 10-3 to Coastal Carolina. It’s still early in the season, and NC State will have plenty of opportunities to bounce back, but this performance will likely bounce them from the top 25.

Omaha-Nebraska takes down the #4 LSU: This was just a good pitching performance by Omaha-Nebraska. Down 5-0, the Tigers were held at zero runs until the top of the 9th when they started a rally against Oliver Mabee. 

Daniel Dickinson started the scoring with a two-RBI double, which was followed by Jared Jones’s single to score another. Josh Pearson eventually hit a sac fly to make it 5-4, but it wasn’t enough to beat the Mavericks. It’s not too much of a concern as LSU handled Omaha-Nebraska fairly well the rest of the series, winning game one 4-2 and game three 12-1. 

Midweek Upsets to Note

The saying always went that you don’t emphasize midweek wins and losses, but regardless, it’s always interesting to see what teams can pull off some victories. Five ranked teams found themselves in the loss column against unranked opponents. 

• UNC Greensboro shut out #17 Wake Forest 
• Liberty beats #19 NC State
• Cornell beats #10 Duke
• UT Rio Grande Valley ten-run rules #21 Dallas Baptist
• Texas State takes down #23 Oklahoma State

Other News

Jamie Arnold was absolutely electric yet again: To no one’s surprise, Florida State’s Jamie Arnold dominated their opponent in his second start of the season. He threw five innings while striking out eight and giving up just two hits with no runs. He brings his total to 10 innings, 16 strikeouts, three hits, and no walks while giving up no runs thus far. 

Sure, his opponents have been James Madison and Penn, but it is impressive nonetheless. Arnold was knocking on the door as the number one overall prospect for the 2025 MLB Draft, but it might be fair to say he’s that guy already. 

Trystan Levesque throws an absolute gem against #12 Oregon: Have an absolute day on the mound, Trystan Levesque. The Rhode Island Ram dominated the Oregon Ducks for only nine innings but 10! The Ducks couldn’t start anything against Levesque, who gave up just three hits and struck out nine over those 10 innings. He pitched with fire and passion too, putting the Rams on his back. 

Unfortunately, they couldn’t pull off the win, and an error in the eleventh inning helped Oregon win. Either way, it was a fantastic performance for the Rams after beating the Ducks the day before. They lost the series but showcased that they might make some noise at the A10 conference. 

Insane high-scoring games on Saturday: 42 runs…. That’s how many were scored between Florida Atlantic and UConn. FAU took a 15-0 lead over the Huskies after two innings, but UConn came roaring back as they cut the deficit to 19-15 in the sixth inning. 

The first eight batters recorded hits in the sixth, including two home runs. The Owls didn’t give up, though, as they added two more runs in the bottom of the sixth and three more in the seventh. They added one more in the eighth giving them a 25-17 victory. 

Things were even crazier up in Maryland. In a matchup against Western Carolina, the Terps shattered TWO school records in their 35-12 win. They beat the school hit record with 27 hits in nine innings and the run record with 35 runs. Alex Calarco was an absolute force, belting his third grand slam of the year and his second of the weekend. It was just a hit parade for the Terrapins. 

Eddie Hacopian was 3-for-5 with five runs scored and three RBIs, Chris Hacopian was 3-for-4 with six runs scored and three RBIs and Michael Iannazzo was 4-for-5 with five runs scored and three RBIs. Chris Hacopian’s six runs scored were also a school record. Just absurdity. 

Draft Watch: Who’s Making Waves? 

Draft Spotlight Player of the Weekend

RHP Patrick Forbes – Louisville

• Season Stats: 10 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 20 K

No one made more of a case for themselves in the 2025 MLB Draft over the last two weeks than Patrick Forbes. Before the season even started, Tyler Jennings had him as one of the arms that could skyrocket up our 2025 MLB Draft rankings. 

After a stellar performance in week one that helped the Cardinals win over ranked Texas, Forbes came out in week two with more of the same electricity. On a cold day, he was still sitting 93-95 MPH with his fastball and even topped out at 97 MPH. The heater is one of the best in the game. 

Forbes pairs his fastball with two solid breaking balls and a changeup. One breaking pitch is more of a low-80s sweeper that generates solid spin rates. He also flashed a much harder breaker, 87-89 MPH, and had a lot more bite to it. 

He has shown a good feel for all three offspeed pitches. The Friday night Ace for the Cardinals looks to be legitimate, and he’s definitely a guy you should watch this season.

Other Top Draft Performers

Just Released: New Interviews, Reports, & Rankings

Interviews

• Wake Forest Shortstop Marek Houston

Articles

• MLB Draft
  • 2025 MLB Draft Deep Dive: OF Brendan Summerhill by JD Cameron
• College
  • New Top 25 College Baseball Rankings by Jared Perkins

What’s Ahead

Upcoming Games & Draft Watch

• Catch our upcoming interview with Vanderbilt outfielder RJ Austin! 
• Top Matchups This Week
  • #6 North Carolina vs. ECU (Monday, February 24th @ 5:00 PM EST)
  • #23 Dallas Baptist vs. #3 LSU (Wednesday, February 26th @ 8:00 PM EST)
  • #1 Tennessee vs. Oklahoma State (Friday, February 28th @ 4:05 PM EST)
  • #2 Texas A&M vs. Oklahoma State (Saturday, March 1st @ 8:05 PM EST)
  • Arizona vs. #2 Tennesse (Sunday, March 2nd @ 12:05 PM EST) 
  • #10 Clemson vs. South Carolina (Saturday, March 1st – Sunday, March 2nd)

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