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2025 college baseball ace rankings

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2025 college baseball ace rankings

  • Kiley McDanielApr 18, 2025, 07:45 AM ET

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    • ESPN MLB Insider
    • Kiley McDaniel covers MLB prospects, the MLB Draft and more, including trades and free agency.
    • Has worked for three MLB teams.
      • Co-author of Author of ‘Future Value’

Who are the best starting pitchers in college baseball? I normally approach this question from a scouting perspective — in consultation with scouts — focusing on who will be the best players years from now.

But the aim here is to rank college starting pitchers based on who I would want starting a game in Omaha with the highest stakes, against the best lineups. I do this regularly for MLB’s best pitchers, and this is essentially the college equivalent.

So, this isn’t a prospect list — I lean more on current ability rather than in the future, but obviously there is some overlap. And I’m not ranking purely on statistics; otherwise, St. Joseph’s lefty Colton Book — with his 85-89 mph fastball, 1.70 ERA and 87 strikeouts — would be on here.

These are the 20 collegiate starting pitchers I would want to give the ball in a do-or-die game against one of the top lineups in the country in the Men’s College World Series. Due to the portal (and a number of other reasons), this list is SEC-heavy (seven of the top 10 players), and the pitchers are mostly draft-eligible for the first time this year. But there are some intriguing exceptions. Let’s get to it.

1. Liam Doyle, LHP, Tennessee

Junior, 20 years old, 51.0 IP, 2.47 ERA

Doyle has been a dominating presence in the SEC this season, pepping the top of the zone with his 94-97 mph heater that peaks at 99 mph, used 71% of the time. There are still some long-term questions about the consistency of his secondary stuff, what he looks like deeper in games and his command, but in college, relying on this direct approach is working quite well.

2. Kade Anderson, LHP, LSU

Sophomore, 20 years old, 57.1 IP, 3.92 ERA

Anderson is a classic crafty lefty with four pitches and lots of strikes, but he also looks ready to go in the top half of the first round this summer, because his stuff is above average by pro standards. He’s susceptible to a bad start since his fastball works at the top of the zone, but he’s arguably the best bet in college baseball when the stakes are highest.

3. Kyson Witherspoon, RHP, Oklahoma

Junior, 20 years old, 52.0 IP, 2.08 ERA

Witherspoon continues the SEC flavor at the top and comes with the most velocity, sitting 95-98 mph and also peaking at 99 mph. There’s a whiff of Dylan Cease in the delivery and shapes in his arsenal, using three different breaking balls and the occasional changeup.

4. Jaime Arnold, LHP, Florida State

Junior, 21 years old, 41.1 IP, 2.40 ERA

Arnold is the top prospect for the 2025 draft and has performed well this year, but he hasn’t quite dominated like some of the top college prospect arms of the past. One of his issues is that his lower slot creates so much horizontal movement (with both his sinker and sweeper) that he has some trouble hitting his spots reliably and staying in the zone.

5. Pico Kohn, LHP, Mississippi State

Senior, 22 years old, 49.2 IP, 3.26 ERA

Kohn is our first pitcher who isn’t a projected first rounder. He was eligible for last year’s draft, but he was still coming back from Tommy John surgery, so this is his first full healthy season since 2022. He has solid stuff — a 91-93 mph fastball and an 80-84 mph bullet slider — but relies mostly on those two pitches.

6. Cade Obermueller, LHP, Iowa

Junior, 21 years old, 53.2 IP, 2.18 ERA

Obermueller was also eligible for last year’s draft due to his age, and he is the son of former big league righty Wes Obermueller. Cade had some command issues last year, but he has righted the ship this season and should be an early pick. Like Arnold, he’s a lower slot lefty who gets into the mid-90s, and he has a knockout sweeper.

7. Liam Peterson, RHP, Florida

Sophomore, 19 years old, 39.2 IP, 3.63 ERA

Peterson isn’t eligible until the 2026 draft, and he was one of the top prep arms in the 2023 draft to get to campus. Peterson was solid as a freshman, but now his numbers match his big stuff, which has improved since high school: 94-97 mph heater that has hit 99 mph and an 83-87 mph slider that’s his best secondary.

8. Joey Volini, LHP, Florida State

Junior, 22 years old, 52.2 IP, 2.39 ERA

Volini attended the same high school as fellow Noles rotation mate Arnold — Jesuit High School in Tampa, which has also produced Lance McCullers, among others. Volini was a draft-eligible sophomore last year at USF, but he pitched mostly in relief with middling numbers. This year, he’s dealing as starter despite similar 88-92 mph velocity.

9. Zach Root, LHP, Arkansas

Junior, 21 years old, 49.2 IP, 3.62 ERA

Root was a high-profile transfer from East Carolina who was one of the best prospects to hit the portal. He has posted as expected this season and should land in the back half of Round 1 of the MLB draft. Root has lively stuff (92-94 mph, touching 97 mph along with a solid slider, curveball and changeup) and a solid feel.

10. Anthony Eyanson, RHP, LSU

Junior, 20 years old, 47.2 IP, 3.78 ERA

Eyanson was another high-profile transfer (coming from UC San Diego) after a solid showing in the summer where his stuff was a bit livelier in short stints. There’s still plenty of raw stuff here, sitting 92-94 mph, peaking at 96 mph, with strong miss rates on his slider, curveball and splitter. He’s the clear second-best starter on a loaded LSU pitching staff behind Anderson.

The next 10

11. Trey Beard, LHP, Florida Atlantic
12. Joseph Dzierwa, LHP, Michigan State
13. Dax Whitney, RHP, Oregon State
14. Aidan Knaak, RHP, Clemson
15. Marcus Phillips, RHP, Tennessee
16. Patrick Forbes, RHP, Louisville
17. Cole Gilley, RHP, Indiana
18. Ethan Norby, LHP, East Carolina
19. Logan Lunceford, RHP, Wake Forest
20. Tyler Bremner, RHP, UC Santa Barbara

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Serve receive dooms Arizona Wildcats volleyball 2nd rd NCAA Tournament

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December 8, 2025

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Arizona Wildcats volleyball players Haven Wray (8), Carlie Cisneros (12), and Brenna Ginder (3) smile during a Second Round NCAA Tournament match against Stanford on Dec. 6, 2025

Arizona Wildcats volleyball players Haven Wray (8), Carlie Cisneros (12), and Brenna Ginder (3) smile during a Second Round NCAA Tournament match against Stanford on Dec. 6, 2025
Photo courtesy of Arizona Athletics

The Stanford Cardinal didn’t have their starting setter against Arizona on Saturday evening, but they did have a powerful serve. The Wildcats couldn’t handle or match it in a 3-1 (25-16, 25-27, 25-17, 25-20) loss in the second round of the 2025 NCAA Volleyball Tournament.

It wasn’t a disappointment for Arizona head coach Rita Stubbs, who was making her first appearance in the tournament as a head coach and leading the program to its first since 2018. The Wildcats won a match, giving them their first win in the tourney since 2016. They just couldn’t make it to the Sweet 16 for the first time since the same year.

“We took each day and the challenge that was before us, and we just gave it everything we had, which is exactly what you want,” Stubbs said. “You know, you want to battle and compete the entire time. And I like to think we exposed some issues that Stanford has, so that’s exciting.”

But that serve and pass game wasn’t one of them. Stanford had eight aces against nine service errors. The Wildcats committed 10 errors without serving a single ace.

“Before I went in, I was like, it’s all about the serve and pass,” Stubbs said. “And we were missing too many balls to the libero when we did serve it in, and then the serves just weren’t tough enough. And so I told them in the fourth set before we started, I was like, I don’t care if we miss a serve, we just got to be aggressive. And we missed the serve and wasn’t aggressive.”

The Wildcats still fought through it despite starting just one senior and one junior. The starting group of four sophomores and a freshman, along with the three seniors and one junior who subbed in, never let go of a set even when they looked to be buried by the Cardinal.

“It wasn’t for lack of effort,” Stubbs said. “It was just you got to be used to it,and then what I shared with them is that we have to go through things like this to get to our next. So much of this is still new for us with this group. The difference is your seniors are finished, and so now it’s about competing and doing better than we did this year next year to honor the seniors. That’s the direction we’re going.”

Stanford led wire-to-wire in the first set. The Cardinal never went on a big run. The biggest run was four points, but by that time they had put enough small runs together to build a nine-point lead at 22-13. It was the largest of the set and ended as the final margin.

Arizona didn’t fold despite Stanford running out to a 4-0 lead in the second set. The Wildcats used their own 4-1 run to tie the set at five points each. It stayed tight throughout, but Arizona got to set point at 24-23.

The Cardinal wiped away two set points, but they couldn’t string two points together to earn one of their own. The Wildcats put their third one away to even the match with a 27-25 second set.

Arizona never really bothered Stanford in the third. The Cardinal were able to put together larger runs and eventually led by 10 at 22-12. The Wildcats cut into the lead a bit, but they still dropped the set by eight and were one set from ending their season.

Things were tight early in the fourth set, but a critical call went against Arizona and seemed to turn the tide. At 7-5, Stanford’s Elia Rubin hit an attack that was called out. The television replay didn’t appear to show a touch by Arizona. It certainly didn’t appear to show anything definitive enough to overturn the call on the floor.

Stanford challenged and won the challenge. The call was overturned and the point went to the Cardinal. A one-point gap became three points. From there, they went on an 8-2 run to take a 16-7 lead.

The Wildcats knew it was their last chance. They continued to fight. The teams traded points for a while, then Arizona started to string a few together. A 5-1 run cut the lead to four points at 23-19.

The service errors raised their ugly head again. Giorgia Mandotti’s error gave Stanford several match points. Jordan Wilson’s final kill of her college career saved one, but that’s as far as it went. Jordyn Harvey put the next point away to win it for the home team.

Wilson finished her college career with a match-high 17 kills, seven digs, and two total blocks (one solo). That gave her 499 kills, 269 digs, 26 aces, 10 assists, and 44.0 total blocks in 108 sets this season. The outside hitter took over 9th place in total kills in a season, surpassing Kendra Dahlke’s 496 in 2016, the last year Arizona won an NCAA Tournament match. She also grabbed 10th in kills per set in a season with 4.62, knocking out Barb Bell’s 1994 season (4.51 k/s).

In her three years as a Wildcat, Wilson had 1,191 kills, 593 digs, 55 aces, 27 assists, and 127 total blocks in 310 sets over 86 matches. Her 3.84 kills per set (minimum of 200 sets played) over her Arizona career place her fifth in Wildcat history, surpassing the 3.82 of Tiffany Owens (2007-10).

Carlie Cisneros had 12 kills on .275 hitting, committing just one hitting error in four sets. Her nine digs kept her just shy of a double-double. It was the third straight match with 10 or more kills for Cisneros and the eighth in the last nine matches.

The development of Cisneros as a regular scoring threat was huge for the Wildcats in the tournament and down the stretch of the regular season. It also gives Stubbs hope for next season when Wilson is gone.

“That happened at Kansas, as well,” Stubbs said. “When Jordan struggled, she stepped up. It happened against Texas Tech when Jordan didn’t play. So, you know, she definitely wants to be the go-to player, and has shown that she’s capable of doing it.”

As has so often bee the case this season, it was a true team effort. Twelve members of Arizona’s 17-player roster made an appearance in the match, including all four seniors. Six players had at least two kills. Seven had at least one block. Eight had at least one dig.

“I was pleased with us and how we competed and how people that went in tried to make a difference and did a good job,” Stubbs said.

Journey Tucker once again showed that she can be a dominant force in the middle. The junior had four kills on .400 hitting and led the team with five total blocks.

Fellow junior MB Sydnie Vanek didn’t start, but she also made an impact when she came in. Vanek also had four kills. She tied for second on the team with three total blocks.

The match may have ended the season and the college careers of Wilson, Haven Wray, and Ana Heath; Mandotti still has a year of eligibility left either at Arizona or elsewhere. There were still a lot of positives to walk away with.

“I’m just grateful,” Stubbs said. “I’m grateful for the fact that Haven did it five times, and that Jordan transferred in, and that Ana stuck with it through the ups and downs of not having a position, per se. After her setting years, made the commitment to say, ‘Hey, I’m going to do this and commit to it.‘ It just says a lot about who they are as people, and you just always want the best for them, which is why I told them not to hang their heads. The best thing we can do to honor them is to be good from here on out, so that this was not for naught.”



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How to watch Nebraska volleyball’s Sweet 16 match vs. Kansas

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December 8, 2025

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NCAA Volleyball Regional Schedule Set

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December 8, 2025

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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The fourth-seeded Indiana volleyball team (25-7, 14-6 B1G) will play in the Sweet 16 for just the second time in program history. The NCAA announced start times and dates for next week’s regional semifinals on Sunday (Dec. 7) afternoon. The Hoosiers will play top-seeded Texas at Gregory Gymnasium on Friday (Dec. 12) afternoon at Noon ET on ESPN.

 

Following the greatest regular season in program history, IU was awarded a top-16 national seed and the chance to host the opening two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. The Hoosiers made quick work of their first two matchups, sweeping Toledo and fifth-seeded Colorado in Bloomington to advance to the Sweet 16.

 

IU is one of five Big Ten programs remaining in the NCAA Tournament. Of the 16 schools left in the big dance, IU is one of two teams (Cal Poly) that didn’t make the big dance last year. The Hoosiers have already set a single-season program record for wins (25) and will attempt to advance to the regional final for the first time in program history.

 

The other matchup in the Austin Regional will pit second-seeded Stanford and third-seeded Wisconsin against each other. Their match will begin 30 minutes after the conclusion of IU’s. The winners of both regional semifinals will meet on Sunday (Dec. 14) afternoon for a spot in the national semifinals in Kansas City.



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Louisville volleyball NCAA Tournament bracket, Texas A&M vs UofL game

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December 8, 2025

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Dec. 6, 2025Updated Dec. 7, 2025, 6:08 a.m. ET

After defeating Marquette 3-2 in the second round of the NCAA Volleyball Tournament on Saturday night, No. 2 Louisville will travel to Lincoln, Nebraska, and take on No. 3 Texas A&M in the Sweet 16 at 7 p.m. Friday.

This will be the Cardinals’ seventh consecutive regional appearance but first with Dan Meske as head coach.

Here’s everything you need to know to keep up with the match from home:

No. 2 seed Louisville versus No. 3 seed Texas A&M will be broadcast live on ESPN or ESPN2.

Authenticated subscribers can access ESPN2 via TV-connected devices or by going to WatchESPN.com or the WatchESPN app.

Those without cable can access ESPN2 via streaming services, with Fubo offering a free trial.

Buy Louisville volleyball tickets here

After defeating Marquette, UofL will play Texas A&M in the Lincoln, Nebraska, Regional Friday at 7 pm. Here’s a look at the tournament schedule:

  • First and second rounds: Dec. 4-6
  • Regionals: Dec. 11-14
  • Semifinals: Dec. 18 at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri
  • Championship: Dec. 21 at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri



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The Omaha World-Herald’s Nebraska All-Class volleyball teams

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December 8, 2025

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Men’s T&F Opens Season at Diplomat Open

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December 7, 2025

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Lancaster, PA (December 6, 2025) – The DeSales University men’s track & field team opened the 2025-26 indoor T&F season competing at the Diplomat Open at Franklin & Marshall College on Friday.

The Bulldogs posted 10 MAC qualfying times/marks in the meet.

Among the qualifying times were junior Bryce Guthier taking second in the 400-meters with a time of 52.08. It is the fifth fastest time in indoor history.  Senior Davis Trump also qualified in the 5K with a time of 16:20.32.

In the field events, DSU posted eight qualfying marks. Junior Weston Simak qualified for the MAC Championships in both the long jump (6.52m) and triple jump (13.72m). His triple jump mark was the second best in team history.  First-year Luke Heimann also qualfied in the triple jump (11.86m).

Junior Jonathan Castronovo took home first place in the long jump with a mark of 6.58m, the second best long jump in team history.

First-year John Amoretti qualified in the shot put (12.33m), seniors Jonathan Eudja and Giovanni Wellington qualified in the weight throw with marks of 14.85m and 14.23m. First-year Ryan Rodriguez also quallified in the weight throw (11.89m).

The Bulldogs won’t return to action till the New Year at the Blue and Grey Invitational on Jan. 17th.

 



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