What You Need to Know for the 2025 College Baseball Season

Key Storylines to Watch

Texas A&M begins the season ranked as the No. 1 team:

Texas A&M enters the 2025 season as our No. 1 ranked team after making it to the College World Series finals but falling to Tennessee.

Despite a chaotic offseason that saw several top players enter the portal following former head coach Jim Schlossnagle’s departure to Texas, new head coach Mike Earley managed to retain a strong core and reload with key additions.

The Aggies boast one of the most potent lineups in the nation, headlined by Jace LaViolette, a potential first-overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft and the top-ranked player in our 2025 college draft rankings.

They also return SEC Freshman of the Year Gavin Grahovac, a premier 2026 MLB Draft prospect, and added back-to-back Big 12 Player of the Year Gavin Kash from Texas Tech. Their outfield, featuring LaViolette, Caden Sorell, and Hayden Schott, is among the nation’s best.

On the mound, Texas A&M is just as dangerous, led by Dick Howser Award finalist Ryan Prager, who turned down a third-round selection from the Angels to return as the Friday night ace. Lefty Justin Lamkin provides another steady presence in the rotation, with plenty of depth behind him, positioning the Aggies as a legitimate national title contender.

Tennessee will look to repeat the CWS Championship glory

The South Carolina Gamecocks were the last team to win back-to-back College World Series Championships doing so in 2010 and 2011.

Could the Tennessee Volunteers be the next team to do it?

It is tough to say, but they come in as our number two overall team in all of college baseball and are close to being as strong as last year.

While there are some question marks on the mound, the Volunteers still have plenty of options, led by AJ Russell, the No. 38 college prospect for the 2025 MLB Draft, who could be a key piece if he returns strong from a non-invasive Tommy John surgery.

There is a chance he returns at the midpoint of this season. Outside of Russell, Tennessee will look to Liam Doyle, Nate Snead, Brandon Arvidson, and Tegan Kuhns to round out the rotation, with Doyle—an Ole Miss transfer—boasting over 20 inches of vertical carry on his fastball, touching 96-97 MPH, and Snead flashing a nasty sinker that has cracked 100 MPH in shorter stints.

While the rotation has some uncertainty, the lineup is stacked, headlined by shortstop Dean Curley, the No. 10 college prospect for the 2025 MLB Draft, a physical sophomore with strong contact skills and plate discipline.

The Vols also reloaded through the transfer portal, bringing in Louisville’s Gavin Kilen and Ole Miss’ Andrew Fischer—ranked No. 17 and No. 13 in our 2025 college draft rankings—ensuring that Tennessee remains a powerhouse heading into 2025.

New look conferences (ACC, BIG10, Big12) will provide for some complicated schedules

There was a ton of conference shuffling with the PAC12 mostly dissolving. Cal and Stanford joined the ACC Conference, Oregon, UCLA, USC, and Washington joined the Big Ten Conference, and Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah joined the Big 12 Conference.

Many teams will have to take long trips from the west coast to the east coast and vice versa.

For example, Oregon has an 11 AM game on a Monday against Georgetown after playing a weekend series against conference foe Maryland. How teams deal with these long flights and wonky schedules will be interesting.

The battle for the top pitcher in college baseball will be fun

Florida State’s Jamie Arnold vs. UCSB’s Tyler Bremner. These two arms are absolutely nasty and will likely be in a battle all season long for who becomes the best pitcher in the NCAA.

Arnold is our second overall college prospect for the 2025 MLB Draft, and Bremner is the third. Arnold struck out 159 batters in 105.2 innings while posting a 2.98 ERA. He continued that hot streak by dominating this summer for the USA Collegiate National Team.

He misses plenty of bats. Bremner follows a similar story. He went 11-1 with a 2.74 ERA while striking out 104 batters in 88 innings pitched. He’s easily the best mid-major arm in this draft class.

These two have the chance to go back and forth all season long competing for the National Pitcher of the Year.