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2025 college baseball ace rankings

Kiley McDanielApr 18, 2025, 07:45 AM ET Close 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’ Open Extended Reactions Who are the best starting pitchers in college baseball? I normally approach this question […]

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1 month ago

April 18, 2025

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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.

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

Related Topics:bad baseball big college high school mlb pro rankings season sports usa working

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Lobos Win First MW Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Team Title in Program History – University of New Mexico Lobos athletics

CLOVIS, Calif. – New Mexico Track & Field completed a sweep of 2024-25 Mountain West Women’s Cross Country, Indoor and Outdoor Championships with their first outdoor MW team conference title in program history on Saturday night, scoring 153 team points in total. The Lobo men came just shy of an outdoor title of their own […]

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May 19, 2025

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CLOVIS, Calif. – New Mexico Track & Field completed a sweep of 2024-25 Mountain West Women’s Cross Country, Indoor and Outdoor Championships with their first outdoor MW team conference title in program history on Saturday night, scoring 153 team points in total.

The Lobo men came just shy of an outdoor title of their own after scoring 30 points in the 5,000m and holding off Colorado State in the 4x400m final, finishing second in the team score with 171.50 points – the highest-scoring team outing at conference championships since 2011 (177).

The women put some distance between themselves and the second-place Rams in the final two events of the night, scoring 30 points in the women’s 5,000m final before the Lobos won the Women’s 4x400m Relay by nearly two seconds (3:35.54) to tack on 10 more in the final event of the night.

Darren Gauson was named MW Women’s Coach of the Year for the third time this season after leading the Lobos to their first-ever outdoor title, with Mathew Kosgei earning MW Men’s Track Performer of the Meet honors after shattering the steeplechase meet record with a 8:25.56 finish yesterday and contributing five more points on Saturday night with a fourth-place finish in the men’s 5,000 final (13:39.35). Along with teammates Ishmael Kipkurui (1st, 13:26.84), Habtom Samuel (2nd, 13:30.49), Collins Kiprotich (5th, 13:40.93) and Vincent Chirchir (7th, 13:32.09), Kosgei was one of five Lobo men to finish under the previous 5,000m meet record of 13:46.67 set in 2021.

This story will be updated.

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Boys Will Bully Boys in a Stylish if Schematic Summer-Camp Psychodrama

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10 minutes ago

May 19, 2025

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The idea of adolescence as a horror story is not new, but it’s given a splashy workout in Charlie Polinger’s queasily stylish debut feature, in which the swimming pools, lockers rooms and bunk-bed dormitories of a boys’ water polo camp are a puberty petrie dish livid with sinister bacteria. Drawn from experience and benefiting from some standout performances among its well-selected young cast, “The Plague” has a familiar coming-of-age narrative, but stranger, subtler undercurrents of creeping dismay at the men these boys will become when, at this formative age, cruelty chlorinates the water they swim in.

Sensitive, 12-year-old Ben (Everett Blunck) comes to the Tom Lerner Water Polo Camp in the summer of 2003 as an outsider twice over. He’s not only joining after the second session has started, he’s also a new arrival to the area. And, as we understand from an early conversation with his affable but ineffectual coach (Joel Edgerton, who also produces) a reluctant one: there’s hurt in the studied neutrality of his tone when he describes how his mother uprooted their lives to be with her new lover. Perhaps the wrenching change-up of father figure fuels Ben’s anxiety to fit in, but also maybe that’s just the way he is. When one of the kids’ endless games of would-you-rather makes him choose between “not fucking a dog but having everyone think you did, or fucking a dog and no one knows,” Ben opts for, well, screwing the pooch.

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In any wolf pack, the Alpha is obvious and even among these cubs, Jake (a superb Kayo Martin) is easily identifiable as the ringleader. Deceptively cherubic beneath a shock of tousled strawberry blonde hair, and wearing a surprisingly adult expression of skeptical watchfulness, Jake is initially friendly enough to the newcomer — at least once Ben begins answering to the nickname “Soppy,” devised after Jake picks up on his very minor speech impediment.

There’s an easier target for Jake’s lazy but keen-eyed ridicule. Eli (Kenny Rasmussen) was presumably already an oddball — into magic tricks and solo flailing dance moves and lurching non-sequitur conversation — even before he developed a disfiguring skin complaint. The angry-looking rash that covers his arms and torso is probably some sort of eczema or contact dermatitis, but the boys are still of an age to be fascinated by lepers and curses and so Jake declares it “the plague.” Eli is ostracized, to the point that all the kids dive for another cafeteria table if he so much as pulls up a chair.

Good-natured Ben, in the throes of a panicky uncertainty that from the outside is sweetly poignant, if only because it will be gone in a year or a month or a minute, feels for Eli’s predicament— possibly more than the quite contentedly peculiar Eli does for himself. But as he barely has enough social capital to guarantee his own acceptance into Jake’s circle, Ben befriends the outcast cautiously, away from prying eyes. It’s fine to make taboo transgressions if nobody knows about it.

DP Steven Breckon punctuates “The Plague” with interludes of woozy underwater photography, in which the boys’ bodies dagger into the pool and then tread water, resembling so many headless sea horses. Sometimes, while Johan Lenox’s excellent, ’70s horror-inflected, nightmare-choir score reaches a bombastic crescendo, the girls of the synchronized swimming class who share the pool and fire the boys’ crude erotic imaginings, are shown inverted, so they appear to be dancing floatily across the water’s underside surface. These subaquatic symphonies give a touch of the phantasmagoric to a milieu that’s otherwise cleverly recreated from the banal remembered details of an early noughties childhood: the Capri-Suns, the pop tunes, that brief phase where kids believe that smoking kitchen-cupboard nutmeg will get them high.

Perhaps too the subjective nature of Polinger’s memory of a time when the peer-group dynamic was so much more influential than any peripheral authority figure, accounts for why these kids are so often unconstrained by adult supervision. Jake naturally takes advantage of that freedom to continue his offhand reign of terror, one he can maintain without ever really lifting a finger. Almost all of the violence in “The Plague” is self-inflicted and therefore easily disavowed by this tweenaged tyrant – a character so vivid that it’s tempting to imagine a more provocative movie told from the bully’s perspective. But as “The Plague” ramps up to an impressively eerie, body-horror-styled finale, it takes a rather more expected turn toward a significant, if hardly triumphal moment of personal growth for unhappy camper Ben. Teetering on the brink of adult society with its own bewilderingly insidious notions about masculinity and conformity, you can dive in or you can be pushed, and it’s only then you can know if you’ll sink or swim.

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University of Colorado Athletics

LAWRENCE, Kan. — The University of Colorado wrapped up competition at the 2025 Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday at Rock Chalk Park. The Buffaloes earned five All-Big 12 honors on the final day, with top-eight performances from Ava Goetz, Drew Costelow, Cole Romig, and both the men’s and women’s 4×100-meter relay […]

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May 19, 2025

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LAWRENCE, Kan. — The University of Colorado wrapped up competition at the 2025 Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday at Rock Chalk Park.

The Buffaloes earned five All-Big 12 honors on the final day, with top-eight performances from Ava Goetz, Drew Costelow, Cole Romig, and both the men’s and women’s 4×100-meter relay teams.

The CU men finished with 18 team points to place 13th, scoring in the 4×100, 1,500, 10,000, 400-meter hurdles, steeplechase, javelin and decathlon. The women placed 16th overall, scoring in the 4×100, 10,000 meters and high jump.

Texas Tech swept the team titles on both the men’s and women’s sides.

Men’s Discus Throw

Lucas Williams – 50.42m (Personal Best)

Men’s Pole Vault

Nick Bianco – 5.06m (Personal Best)

Women’s High Jump

Ava Goetz – 1.74m (Personal Best) – 8th place – All-Big 12

Riley Ward – 1.74m – 10th place

Women’s Discus

Elena Opp – 42.07m

Amanda Opp – 41.62m

Men’s 4×100-Meter Relay – 41.11

Danny Tragarz, Cade Vanhout, Joshua Johnson, Nick Gehring

All-Conference

Women’s 4×100-Meter Relay – 45.19 (Season Best)

Aubrey Leneweaver, Emma Pollak, Myla Wilkes, Nylah Perry

All-Conference

Men’s 800 Meters

Drew Costelow – 1:47.56 – 8th place – All-Big 12

Men’s 5,000 Meters

Charles Robertson – 13:51.41

Lukas Haug – 13:52.85

Grady Rauba – 13:53.50 (Personal Best)

Ethan Edgeworth – 14:05.46

Women’s 5,000 Meters

Jessie Secor – 15:58.73

Men’s 4×400-Meter Relay – 3:15.68

AJ Glavicic, Danny Tragarz, Cole Romig, Nick Gehring

Women’s 4×400-Meter Relay – 3:38.28 (Season Best)

Aubrey Leneweaver, Emma Pollak, Myla Wilkes, Nylah Perry

As of Sunday, 19 Buffs rank among the top 48 in the West Region, with final rankings set to be released Monday. Nick Bianco and John Swabik have qualified for the NCAA Championships in the decathlon.

The NCAA West First Round will be held May 28–31 in College Station, Texas, hosted by Texas A&M. The top 48 individuals in each event, and the top 24 in the multis, will advance to NCAA postseason competition.

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Winter Park repeats as Florida boys volleyball state champs, takes Class 3A crown

WINTER HAVEN –The rematch turned out to be a repeat. No. 2 seed Winter Park (22-5) overpowered top-seed Miami Southwest in three straight sets to win back-to-back boys volleyball state championships on Saturday at Polk State College. This time, Winter Park won the Class 3A crown. It was also the second straight year the Wildcats […]

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May 19, 2025

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WINTER HAVEN –The rematch turned out to be a repeat.

No. 2 seed Winter Park (22-5) overpowered top-seed Miami Southwest in three straight sets to win back-to-back boys volleyball state championships on Saturday at Polk State College. This time, Winter Park won the Class 3A crown.

It was also the second straight year the Wildcats beat Southwest in the title game. Southwest won the state championship in 2023. In past years, there was only one boys volleyball classification, but this season the FHSAA expanded and created three classes.

“We always worry about (a team wanting revenge). They are coached well,” Winter Park coach Jesse Day said. “They have a real blue-collar culture. We knew they were going to come in prepared and willing to adjust. I think we also had a bad taste in our mouths from last year even though the results were in our favor.”

The dominant Wildcats never lost a set in the seven postseason matches this year, posting an incredible 21-0 mark in sets.

Winter Park was strong out of the gate, winning the first set 25-15, the second 25-20 and then edged a tough-and-talented Southwest squad 25-23 in the final set.

The Wildcats were led by Tristan Guitton with 21 kills and 11 digs while junior outside hitter Aidan Fontaine had 10 kills and nine digs.

“Both championships feel amazing. It’s a feeling like none other getting that win,” Guitton said. “I just love the game more than anything. To accomplish these goals twice in a row is unreal for me.”

Guitton said he visualized hanging a second state championship medal next to the one hanging in his room all year long.

“I had the game-winning kill last year and I already knew what was going to happen again. I played that through my mind the whole time,” Guitton said. “Both titles are nice, but this one is more impressive because we faced a lot of adversity as a team.”

Additionally, 2024 Florida Dairy Farmers Player of the Year Jacob Little-Phillips posted three kills and five digs while senior middle-hitter John Williams recorded seven kills and one dig, and senior outside hitter Mason Barberree had eight kills and three digs.

“It was very difficult to repeat. We really struggled and had a rough time in the regular season,” Little-Phillips said. “We sat down as a team and talked and we decided to take on the postseason really hard.”

Southwest (25-6) was led by junior Kevin Munoz with 10 kills and two digs while Juanmarco Diaz delivered eight kills, dished out 12 passes and handled seven digs. Additionally, senior Dereck Ocasio had eight kills, eight passes and two digs.

“Our team turned the corner this year and is a lot more disciplined, and we had our shots and opportunities,” Southwest coach Joshua Perez said. “No one wanted to see this rematch more than me.

“They are a great group and they are fun to coach against. Winter Park has a great coaching staff. It’s always a chess match which makes it nice. We gave ourselves a shot and an opportunity, and that was our goal the entire season.”

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NSU women earn second consecutive indoor/outdoor championship sweep – Bossier Press-Tribune

12 By Jonathon Zenk, Northwestern State Assistant Director of Communications; featured photo courtesy of the Southland Conference HOUSTON—Is two consecutive Southland Conference outdoor championships and five out of six indoor/outdoor championships a dynasty? The Northwestern State women’s track and field team dominated the field en route to rolling to the second straight indoor championship after […]

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May 19, 2025

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By Jonathon Zenk, Northwestern State Assistant Director of Communications; featured photo courtesy of the Southland Conference

HOUSTON—Is two consecutive Southland Conference outdoor championships and five out of six indoor/outdoor championships a dynasty?

The Northwestern State women’s track and field team dominated the field en route to rolling to the second straight indoor championship after not winning it at all up until that point.

“Each group is special each year,” head coach Mike Heimerman said. “This group bought into everything. There are a lot girls who this is their third, fourth or even fifth championship, which is great, They are all a little different and very special. This one, they worked for it and took directions from day one and didn’t take their foot off the gas. It was phenomenal.”

Despite the team having the win in the bag, the women’s 4×400 relay race was a microcosm of the entire meet. The Lady Demons were in a fight early, but Samari Finney took control of the race in the third leg and Maygan Shaw took it home, defeating the field by more than six seconds, as the Northwestern State rolled to 180.5 points, winning the meet by 63, the largest point difference between Nos. 1 and 2 since 2019 when Stephen F. Austin won by 72 points.

The 4×400 relay was one of five gold medals won by the Lady Demons on the final day of competition, four of which involved Shaw, who leaves Natchitoches as one of the most decorated athletes to ever don a Lady Demons uniform.

The senior from Pineville not only was a member of the 4×400 relay team, she also won gold as a member of the 4×100 relay and won individual races in the 200 and 400.

In the 400-meter dash, she and Finney each found the podium, placing first and third, respectively. Shaw was in a dogfight for the title, but ultimately pulled away with an SLC meet-record 52.10, edging out Southeastern Louisiana’s Onyah Onyinye Favour (52.54) for the gold, while Finney ran a 54.05 to capture the bronze.

Margaret Conteh (56.04) and Tranasia Jones (57.19) placed fifth and seventh in the finals, respectively, to earn points for the Lady Demons.

Shaw also collected the gold in the 200, edging out UTRGV’s Jizzale Davis (23.70) with a 23.47. Finney also earned the bronze in the 200 as well (23.98), eeking out a podium spot over SLU’s Marvellous Asemota.

To start the running events, Shaw, along with Finney, Dynia Lewis and Sileena Farrell, won the 4×100 with a 44.88, edging out Stephen F. Austin (45.11).

The other gold on Saturday came from Jaslyn Smith, who not only won gold, but a spot in regionals with a final jump 42-0.5 in the triple jump.

“It was so exciting,” Smith said. “I even cried, and I don’t ever cry. It was a lot to take in. I have so much support from my team and my family, encouraging me to keep my head up high. It is just happy moment in a really happy day.”

While she didn’t win the gold, Shakera Kirk brought home the silver in the women’s discus, leading three Lady Demons who earned points. She was joined by Tahisha Thompson (156-08) in sixth and Shanice Hutson (153-04) in eighth.

Silet Gray (400 hurdles), Farrell (100-meter dash) and Raven-Symone Jarrett (100 hurdles) also found the podium for the Northwestern State women.

Gray (1:01.80) and Farrell (11.58) each grabbed silvers as the lone Lady Demon running in the events.

“There were so many people who stepped up and that is what it takes to win,” Heimerman said. “These girls did just that. Between Coach (Adam) Pennington and myself talking to them in the meetings on what they needed to do, they executed it almost perfectly.”

Jarrett (13.81) collected the bronze in the 100 hurdles with a 13.81. Lewis finished sixth in the finals with a time of 14.25.

On the men’s side, both relays as well as Dishaun Lamb (110 hurdles), William Achee (400-meter dash) and Tavis Wilson (100-meter dash) made the podium.

Each relay lost close battles for the gold. In the 4×100, the Demons clocked a 39.53, only bested by East Texas A&M’s SLC meet record time of 39.36.

ETAMU again edged out the Demons in the 4×400, running a 3:06.86 to Northwestern State’s 3:07.01.

Lamb clocked a 14.14 to earn the silver, while Achee came from way back in the pack to fight to earn the silver with a time of 46.91. Desmond Duncan ran a 48.61 to finish in eighth.

Wilson collected the bronze in the 100 with a time of 10.39.

Elijah Rowe placed eighth in the 200, clocking a 21.41.

Over on the field, Randy Kelly finished fourth in the high jump (6-8.25), while Justin Craft placed eighth in the discus (154-05).

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Bear Lake’s Brynlee Birch signs with Central Wyoming for volleyball and future in nursing | Game

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