COLLEGE BASEBALL ’25: Ten players to watch
Ten players to watch in college baseball in 2025, listed in alphabetical order:
Jamie Arnold, Florida State
The junior lefty made himself a high first-round draft prospect after finishing third in the country with 159 strikeouts in 105 2/3 innings. He pitched 24 1/3 shutout innings to begin last season, and he finished 11-3 with a 2.98 ERA. His 17 strikeouts against Pittsburgh were most by an FSU pitcher since 1987.
Aiva Arquette, Oregon State
Scouts are high on the 6-foot-5 Arquette, who excelled under the radar at Washington. He played second base but will be the Beavers’ shortstop. He’s trending toward being a high first-round pick after showing excellent range in the field and batting .325 with 12 homers.
Tyler Bremner, UC Santa Barbara
The junior right-hander was 11-1 over 19 appearances, including nine starts, and struck out 104 in 88 2/3 innings. Opponents batted .182 against him, and he had a 2.54 ERA. He became a starter the second half of the season and could be a top-five pick with his mix of a mid-90s fastball and wicked changeup.
Cam Cannarella, Clemson
Cannarella goes into his junior season as one of the top all-around players in the country. He’s a career .363 hitter with 18 homers, 107 RBIs and 24 stolen bases. He has a .988 career fielding percentage with just three errors in 117 games.
Henry Ford, Virginia
Ford was one of the nation’s top rookies in 2024, setting Virginia freshman records with 17 home runs, team-best 69 RBIs and 151 total bases. He batted .336 and had a triple and 13 doubles. Known as “Model T” around the program, the draft-eligible sophomore is moving from first base to the outfield.
Jace LaViolette, Texas A&M
The junior outfielder could be the No. 1 overall pick in the Major League Baseball draft after becoming the first player in program history with back-to-back 20-homer seasons. He hit 29 last season, drove in 78 runs and drew a program-record 64 walks.
Tre Phelps, Georgia
The sophomore is primarily an infielder but made a combined 34 starts at five different positions. Phelps batted .353 with 12 home runs and 40 RBIs. His first hit as a collegian was a home run against Northern Kentucky, and he went deep four times in a three-game sweep at South Carolina.
Nolan Schubart, Oklahoma State
The Big 12 preseason player of the year led the conference in homers (23), RBIs (68), on-base percentage (.513) and slugging (.838) despite missing 12 games because of injury. The junior outfielder made headlines last season when he homered a school-record four times against Wichita State.
Devin Taylor, Indiana
The Big Ten preseason player of the year hit a conference-best 20 homers, most by an Indiana player since 2010, and batted .357 with 54 RBIs. The outfielder goes into his junior season needing 12 homers to break the program career record of 47.
Tanner Thach, UNC Wilmington
Thach’s only Division I offer out of high school was from the Seahawks, and now the junior first baseman is a projected first-round draft pick after he hit a school-record 27 homers and stood out in the Cape Cod League. His 42 career homers are the school record. He committed just one error in 553 chances.
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AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports
By The Associated Press
