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Which players will define baseball in 2025?

Published

11 months ago

January 4, 2025

Which players will define baseball in 2025?

Here’s a look forward at 2025 as we try to guess who will define Major League Baseball in the upcoming season. (Again, we’re looking only at players not featured in our 2024 list, linked above.)

But who will be the top names of 2025? Obviously, some will be the same. Who else though?

All right, this is cheating. We said at the top that we weren’t going to include anyone who made our list of the top players of 2024, and Ohtani was, of course, atop that list. But that was Ohtani the DH. He didn’t pitch, but he is going to this year, getting back to his jaw-dropping two-way feats. Man, can’t you just not wait?

The A’s have been a lot more aggressive this offseason than many might have anticipated, and you have to wonder if Butler’s emergence is one of the primary reasons why. After being sent back to the Minors on May 14, Butler returned to the big leagues in June and, thanks to some tweaks to his swing, was simply one of the best hitters in baseball for the next four months. Butler and Brent Rooker look like the new Bash Brothers, and Butler (a perfect 18-for-18 in stolen bases last year) might put up a 30-30 season in 2025.

So his rookie season did not quite turn out the way most of us, least of all the Orioles, thought it was going to. But let’s not forget just how heralded of a prospect Holliday was, just how much raw talent he has, and that he just turned 21. It’s going to break through at some point, and probably soon. While his younger brother, Ethan, is now MLB Pipeline’s No. 1 Draft prospect for 2025, don’t be surprised if Big Brother is the one who makes everyone’s jaws drop this year.

It has been a while — a long while — since we saw deGrom over a full season. In fact, we’ve barely seen him at all lately, with just 41 innings in two seasons since signing with the Rangers. He hasn’t pitched more than 15 games since 2019. But we all still remember who this guy is when he’s healthy, right? deGrom finished ninth in NL Cy Young voting in ’21 despite pitching in only 15 games. (That 1.08 ERA helped.) His cameo at the end of ’24 (1.69 ERA over 10 2/3 innings) sets him up well for a normal offseason and a return to form in ’25, and if he can stay on the hill … well, he might just be the best pitcher in baseball. When deGrom is right, no one else is really all that close. That’s a big if. But it could happen.

The Tigers’ efforts to rebuild around young players have not all quite panned out — though there is still time for the likes of Casey Mize and Spencer Torkelson — but Greene sure has. He put up All-Star numbers in 2024 — he and Kerry Carpenter have been the central drivers of this offense — and, at the age of 24, Greene is only getting better. These are exciting times for Detroit sports right now, and Greene is set up to be a Tigers centerpiece for the next half-decade. He’s also a blast to watch. He might be your favorite player; you just don’t know it yet.

J-Rod has been primed for an MVP season for a couple of years now, but it should be noted that he has taken steps backward since his spectacular debut in 2022. In both of the past two seasons, his batting average, OBP, slugging and WAR total all have dropped. Rodriguez is still the best hitter on the Mariners, though, and no one’s worried. It would be useful if the Mariners could get him a little lineup help, but more than anything else, you wonder if he’s going to make a power jump here in the next year or so after launching only 20 homers in 2024. J-Rod has played three full seasons and he’s still only 23 years old. We’ve seen what he can do when he’s on a hot streak. One of these days, he’s going to put that together for a full season.

The No. 2 pick in the 2023 MLB Draft made it up for 31 games in 2024 and didn’t quite take the Majors by storm, hitting .218 with only three homers. But you don’t have to squint to see Crews’ otherworldly talent. Crews basically does everything well, and now that his plate discipline is coming along, he and fellow Nats outfielder James Wood might be ready to help lead this team back toward serious contention. He’s the No. 1 MLB Pipeline prospect right now. He’ll be an All-Star any minute.

Will he be the best Cub since … peak Kris Bryant? Sammy Sosa? It remains to be seen if Tucker will remain at Wrigley Field beyond this season, but for 2025, he’s the superstar this fanbase has been waiting for. His arrival instantly makes the Cubs the favorites in the NL Central, and the regulars at the Friendly Confines are going to love him. For years we’ve been saying he’s underrated, underappreciated, even under-seen. That’s not going to be a problem when he’s wearing a Cubs uniform.

Mookie is headed back to shortstop this year, though it’s easy to lose track of what position he is even playing anymore. It’s funny how Betts — you know, the 2018 American League MVP, the almost-certain Hall of Famer, the three-time World Series champion — almost got lost this past season in Los Angeles. Shohei Ohtani had his incredible season, Freddie Freeman became a postseason hero, and Betts missed 45 games in the middle of the 2024 season with a fractured left hand and was moving all over the field. There may be no more quintessential ballplayer than Betts, and here’s betting we see him for a lot more than 116 games in 2025. Maybe he’ll just go out and win another MVP Award.

In 2021, Guerrero had an MVP-quality season, and he’d have won the award if Shohei Ohtani hadn’t been out there, doing Ohtani things. But for all the excitement about Vlad Jr., he took steps back in ’22 and ‘23, to the point that many wondered if he’d ever reach those levels again. In ’24, he did: His OPS+ was 166, just below 2019’s 167, and he hit .323 on the season, the highest average of his career. As you have probably heard, he’s going to be a free agent after this year because the Blue Jays never did work out an extension with him. That means we’ll be talking about him essentially every day for eight months, once the season begins. And for good reason.

De La Cruz was an outstanding, but significantly flawed, player in 2023. He was even better, with fewer flaws, in ’24. What in the world is he going to be in ’25? De La Cruz can do anything on a ballfield, and he has shown the ability to improve upon his weaknesses. This makes sense: He is, after all, only about to turn 23 on Jan. 11 and figures to keep evolving and improving every year. I can only assume, by 2028, he’ll be able to fly. (And he’ll still be only 26.)

Chourio started last season as the youngest player in baseball — debuting on Opening Day just 18 days past his 20th birthday — and ended it that way as well. But while he began 2024 a little green and occasionally a little overwhelmed by big-league pitching, he finished it as the best hitter on a division-winning team. Chourio is the sort of superstar you build whole teams around, which is exactly what the Brewers are doing. (Don’t forget, he’s now under club control through 2033, thanks to an extension he signed before that debut.) Chourio may be repping the Brew Crew in the All-Star Game as soon as this year … and he may win an MVP Award before you’re quite ready for him to.

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Arizona State volleyball advances to NCAA Tournament second round

Published

2 minutes ago

December 6, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Dec. 5, 2025, 7:31 a.m. MT

Arizona State volleyball swept Coppin State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
ASU will now face Utah State in the second round for a chance to advance to the Sweet 16.

No. 2 seed Arizona State volleyball completed the first step in the NCAA Tournament, taking care of Coppin State on Thursday, Dec. 4, at Desert Financial Arena with a sweep, 25-11, 25-14, 25-12.

The Sun Devils, ranked eighth in the nation, earned the opportunity to host the first two rounds at home and were all business to start the match. ASU never surrendered a lead against the Eagles and even held them to a negative hitting percentage of -.082 for the night.

TaKenya Stafford led CSU with five kills.

“At the beginning, we talked about going into this game with a lot of energy and that carried over into the game and we could feel it, as well as the fans bringing that to the court as well,” outside hitter Tatum Parrott said.

The Sun Devils have been dominant at home this season, but have struggled with their starts in past games. The key to avoiding the mental lapses came from the service line.

ASU was aggressive with its serving to start the first set, getting a 4-0 advantage in service aces as the Eagles sided out only 36% of the time in that set. ASU also finished both the first and third sets with a 6-0 run.

“I was proud that they came out and did this because we’ve had some lapses this season, especially in the first set and we kind of take our foot off the gas,” coach JJ Van Niel said. “That was my message, everything we’re doing today is preparing us for tomorrow night (second round against Utah State), so we had high efforts today and we’ll have high efforts tomorrow.”

With ASU holding a lead over CSU throughout the match, Van Niel brought in several players who normally don’t see a lot of action. Even with ample rest, star opposite Noemie Glover had a sizable role in ASU’s victory with 14 kills while hitting a blistering .522.

“You never know what will happen. I’ve been in a spot where a key player goes down in the tournament and you got to be ready,” Van Niel said. “I want to get us all in there and get some reps just in case, so you just try a couple of things out and see what happens.”

CSU applied the pressure on ASU midway through the second set and scored two consecutive points to get within three.

But middle blocker Colby Neal responded for ASU with a kill on the next point, and then Parrott blocked CSU’s Ayanna Pharoah for a 16-11 lead.

ASU’s middle blockers were efficient as Neal provided steadiness whenever the Sun Devils would slip up against CSU and finished with five kills on .556 hitting. Ella Lomigora racked up two solo blocks and a team-high six block assists.

The Eagles didn’t go away, as Bailey Miller’s attack error gave them the point, but Neal once again delivered with a kill on the next point for a 17-12 lead for ASU.

Three consecutive errors from CSU gave ASU a 20-12 lead, which then led to the Sun Devils allowing only two more points from the Eagles to win the set.

ASU finished with a relatively clean game with seven errors, while forcing 26 from CSU. However, the second round is going to be much more difficult to get through. Even though there are a few holdovers from last year’s tournament team, the memories of the second-round loss to Texas A&M still linger.

Utah State, the winner of a thrilling five-set match against Tennessee, is a tough matchup. The teams meet in the second round on Friday, Dec. 5, at 6 p.m. MST at Desert Financial Arena. The winner advances to the Sweet 16.

“I still remember what happened last year,” Van Niel said. “But I don’t think my job is to remind them about it. It’s really (focusing on) we just need to come out and play our game of volleyball and see what happens.

“We can’t control our opponent. Utah State did a great job tonight, and I can’t control how well they play. All we can control is our effort and intensity.”

Reach the reporter at jenna.ortiz@arizonarepublic.com, as well as @jennarortiz on X.

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Purdue volleyball vs Baylor NCAA tournament final score, game result, next

Published

19 minutes ago

December 6, 2025

Your Sports Nation

8:25 pm ET December 5, 2025

When is Purdue volleyball’s next game? Purdue volleyball next game in Sweet 16. Who does Purdue volleyball play next?

Aaron Ferguson

Barring an upset, the Boilers are headed to Pittsburgh, the No. 1 seed in their quadrant. Times for next weekend are to be determined, and Purdue will know its opponent late Saturday night. Florida punched its ticket with a sweep of No. 7-seed Rice in an upset, and the Gators will play either No. 2 SMU or Central Arkansas.

It may set up a potential rematch with SMU, which Purdue beat 3-1 on a neutral court.

8:21 pm ET December 5, 2025

Purdue volleyball highlights vs Baylor

Aaron Ferguson

Limited highlights circulating, but here’s how it looked inside Holloway Gymnasium:

8:18 pm ET December 5, 2025

Purdue volleyball stats vs Baylor

Aaron Ferguson

Purdue’s offense was brilliant all night with a .405 clip and three hitters in double figures: Kenna Wollard, 18-3-34 (.441); Akasha Anderson, 17-4-36 (.361); and Lindsey Miller, 10-1-16 (.562). Taylor Anderson spread it around with 45 assists, adding seven digs, three blocks and a kill.

The Boilers block had a 12-5 edge over Baylor, led by Dior Charles (five) and Miller (four) in the middle. Charles added seven kills. And while Grace Heaney struggled swinging early on the right side, she was key in other areas with four blocks, three service aces and three digs to go with her four kills.

Baylor was held to hitting .250 for the match, and began settling in over the final two sets. It played five against Arkansas State on Thursday night, and struggled against Purdue’s block early, and compounded matters with 11 service errors. Though, Purdue had 13 service errors.

Victoria Davis was key with 13 kills (.458), but Baylor began spreading the attack out and used 13 players to wear down Purdue’s block through the middle part of the match.

8:10 pm ET December 5, 2025

Purdue volleyball score, result vs Baylor in NCAA tournament game today

Aaron Ferguson

Taylor Anderson with a solo block on a joust at the net for the four-set win, 25-16, 25-19, 23-25, 25-20. Impressive resolve in what wasn’t a perfect match for the Boilers to close out their Holloway Gymnasium portion of the schedule.

Purdue advances to the Sweet 16 for the third straight season, and fourth in five. An impressive feat for a team that lost 92.5% of its offensive production.

8:05 pm ET December 5, 2025

Coach Dave Shondell not happy with officiating in Purdue volleyball game

Aaron Ferguson

Coach Dave Shondell effectively yelled a variation of, “What are you doing,” as he challenged a potential touch on the last point. He was probably more upset over what appeared to be a possible carry. He lost the challenge as it goes out, thus making it 19-17 Purdue in the fourth set.

Shondell is out of challenges for the fourth set. He’ll get an extra should it go to a fifth set.

7:58 pm ET December 5, 2025

Score of Purdue volleyball game vs Baylor

Aaron Ferguson

The Bears have spread out their attack to keep Purdue’s block off balance. The Boilers have 10 blocks but none in the fourth set. They led 16-10 but Baylor is on a 4-0 run to force a Dave Shondell timeout.

7:53 pm ET December 5, 2025

Purdue volleyball score vs Baylor in NCAA tournament second round today

Aaron Ferguson

The Boilermakers have three straight points to take a 14-9 lead in the fourth set, leading 2-1. Baylor takes a timeout to try and halt matters. Purdue is hitting .538 in the set as Kenna Wollard (15), Akasha Anderson (15) and Lindsey Miller (10) all have at least 10 kills.

7:44 pm ET December 5, 2025

Purdue volleyball score vs Baylor tonight in NCAA tournament

Aaron Ferguson

Baylor takes the third set, 25-23, and trails Purdue 2-1 after three sets. The Bears hit .371 in the set and are led by Victoria Davis with 12 kills (.524).

Purdue hit .333, its worst of the match so far, in the set, and even with three service aces, it couldn’t overcome passing issues late in the set.

7:31 pm ET December 5, 2025

Baylor scoring run takes set lead against Purdue volleyball

Aaron Ferguson

That’s four straight points for the Bears, forcing Dave Shondell to take a timeout, as overpasses continue to be an issue for Purdue. Baylor challenged that setter Taylor Anderson went over the net and won. It’s 21-20 Bears, needing to keep their season alive in Set 3.

7:22 pm ET December 5, 2025

Purdue volleyball timeout needed as Baylor charges back

Aaron Ferguson

The Boilers take a timeout as their passing has taking a toll on this third set, seeing their lead trimmed to 17-15 after a pair of overpasses.

7:17 pm ET December 5, 2025

Purdue volleyball score vs Baylor tonight in NCAA tournament

Aaron Ferguson

The Boilers win the race to the media timeout, leading 15-10 at the break. They continue their hot hitting in the third set at .438. It’s been Baylor’s best set in efficiency so far at .263 but it also has three service errors.

7:13 pm ET December 5, 2025

Purdue volleyball score vs Baylor tonight in NCAA tournament

Aaron Ferguson

Sienna Foster checks in to serve for the Boilers, who lead 11-8 looking for a sweep in Set 3.

7:00 pm ET December 5, 2025

Purdue volleyball score tonight vs Baylor

Aaron Ferguson

Baylor had a nice 6-1 run to pull within 17-16, but seemingly ran out of steam. The Boilers take a 2-0 lead after a 25-19 edge in Set 2. The Boilers hit .452, and are at .466 for the match. They’re led by an errorless Kenna Wollard with 10 kills (.714). Purdue also has an 8-1 advantage in blocks.

After 70 swings in Thursday night’s five-set win, Baylor’s Ksenia Rakhmanchik has five kills on 19 swings and three errors (.105).

6:51 pm ET December 5, 2025

Baylor run forces Purdue volleyball timeout

Aaron Ferguson

How about three straight points for the Bears after trailing 16-9? Baylor has rolled through substitutions searching for answers and Brielle Warren hitting 2-0-3 with sister Bailey Warren at 6-3-14.

6:46 pm ET December 5, 2025

Purdue volleyball score vs Baylor

Aaron Ferguson

Defense has been the name of this second set. Purdue is out to a 15-7 lead, forcing a second Baylor timeout. The Bears have a sideout percentage of 53.8%. Purdue’s? Boilers are at 91.7%, meaning a lot of one-and-dones for Baylor’s offense, which is hitting .050 in the second set and .130 for the match.

6:39 pm ET December 5, 2025

Purdue volleyball score vs Baylor in NCAA tournament

Aaron Ferguson

After taking the first set, running away with it, Purdue kept running. Its out to a 9-3 lead in the first to force a Baylor timeout. The Bears are hitting minus-.111 with three errors and two kills on nine swings. Purdue is up to .625 to start the set.

6:29 pm ET December 5, 2025

Score of Purdue volleyball game today vs Baylor

Aaron Ferguson

Purdue takes the first set 25-16 after the Bears led 2-1, but then never settled in offensively. Purdue hit .481 and held the Bears to .176 — perhaps the five-setter last night catching up to Baylor. Just one error for the Boilers, who were led by Akasha Anderson’s five and Kenna Wollard’s four. It was a 5-1 blocking set for the Boilers, too.

6:23 pm ET December 5, 2025

Baylor coach has conversation with setter Harley Kreck

Harley Kreck directed an aggressive offense in a five-set win last night, but is getting encouragement from her coach as Baylor takes a timeout, trailing Purdue 19-13 in the first set.

6:20 pm ET December 5, 2025

Purdue volleyball run forces Baylor to take timeout

Aaron Ferguson

The Bears needed a timeout as Purdue scored twice more after the media timeout, a 3-0 run, despite Baylor hitting .409. It does have three service errors, though. It’s 17-12 Purdue.

6:18 pm ET December 5, 2025

Score of Purdue volleyball game vs Baylor in NCAA tournament today

Aaron Ferguson

Purdue wins the race to the media timeout, taking a 15-12 lead. It’s been an errorless set so far for Purdue, 9-0-13 (.692), with Kenna Wollard (three kills) and Lindsey Miller (two) perfect, and Akasha Anderson pacing the match with four kills (.800).

6:10 pm ET December 5, 2025

Purdue volleyball loses challenge in first set

Aaron Ferguson

Dave Shondell’s challenge failed, thus it is 8-5 Baylor and the Boilers have one fewer challenge for the night.

6:09 pm ET December 5, 2025

Purdue volleyball picks it up after slow start against Baylor

Aaron Ferguson

Baylor took an early lead, so early that this match was tied 3-3, and then the Boilers scored five of the next six points to take an 8-4 lead.

Coach Dave Shondell is challenging there was no touch and Baylor’s attack sailed out without help.

6:01 pm ET December 5, 2025

First serve on deck for Purdue volleyball vs Baylor in NCAA tournament

Aaron Ferguson

Starting lineups are wrapping up and the match will be underway in minutes.

5:45 pm ET December 5, 2025

Akasha Anderson comes up in clutch time for Purdue volleyball

Aaron Ferguson

Akasha Anderson transferred most recently from Michigan State, where she spent her lone postseason at home. After arriving in West Lafayette, “Kash” has earned her nickname as she showed Thursday night.

5:15 pm ET December 5, 2025

How Purdue volleyball advanced in NCAA tournament vs Wright State

Aaron Ferguson

The Boilermakers went out to a sweep in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Here’s a look back at how it happened:

5:00 pm ET December 5, 2025

Kenna Wollard leaves lasting impression on Purdue volleyball coach Dave Shondell

Aaron Ferguson

Sitting behind Chloe Chicoine and Eva Hudson, or standing opposite them on the court, was Kenna Wollard. An AVCA player of the year semifinalist, she has clearly restored hope into coach Dave Shondell as he was emotional in talking about her earlier this season.

4:45 pm ET December 5, 2025

How Grace Heaney developed into Purdue volleyball’s efficient hitter

Aaron Ferguson

A native of Nebraska, Grace Heaney stuck with Purdue even through injuries. The redshirt sophomore has been incredibly efficient this season. Here’s more from earlier in the year:

4:30 pm ET December 5, 2025

How transfers found their way into Purdue volleyball culture

Aaron Ferguson

The Monon Spike match was a test of sorts for Akasha Anderson, Dior Charles and several other Purdue transfers. It’s a rivalry, in coach Dave Shondell’s eyes, and allowed a pair of newcomers to see his competitive side. Here’s what it meant to them:

4:15 pm ET December 5, 2025

Dave Shondell considered retirement but Purdue volleyball reenergized him

Aaron Ferguson

Dave Shondell spoke candidly about the transfers of Chloe Chicoine and Eva Hudson, to the point he was considering retiring as the new age of player empowerment and movement hit his program — hit Purdue. So what did this season’s team leave as an impression on him? It’s in their motto, “Ever grateful,” he said.

From my exclusive conversations with the 67-year-old Shondell:

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Live updates, how to watch

Published

34 minutes ago

December 6, 2025

Your Sports Nation

The Longhorns celebrate after winning the game against Florida A&M during the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Gregory Gymnasium in Austin, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025.

Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman

Texas volleyball, with its first No. 1 seed in three years, began what coach Jerritt Elliott hopes is a three-week journey through the NCAA Tournament Friday with a resounding sweep over Florida A&M Friday at Gregory Gymnasium.

But the competition will significantly stiffen Saturday when the Longhorns (23-3) face defending national champion Penn State in a second-round meeting. The eighth-seeded Nittany Lions (19-12), which beat South Florida 3-1 in the first game Friday at Gregory Gymnasium, have endured a rocky season that included the September departure of All-American setter Izzy Starck because of mental heath concerns.