college baseball heats up: watch out for these eight future stars

By: Jacob Miles

With the 2025 playoffs right around the corner, there have been a few standout players who you should look out for. From seniors who have been dominating the league to freshmen who have been in the view of scouts since the beginning of the season. This year, in particular, there are a handful of players in the younger draft class who are standing out more than others.

From top left to bottom right:

Alex Lodise, a Junior shortstop for Florida State, has a batting average of .405 and 92 hits in the ‘25 season. Lodise also has a great glove as a shortstop, finishing the year with a .976 fielding percentage. He also was a golden spikes award finalist for top overall player. 

Andrew Fischer, a Junior corner infielder for Tennessee. This is the third team he has been on in the last 3 years. From Duke to Ole Miss to now Tennessee. He is in the top 3 for the most home runs in the ‘25 season. Fischer has been recently known for his character and energy on the field.

​Brian Curley, a Junior pitcher for the Georgia Bulldogs, was drafted by the Pirates in the 16th round but decided to play for Georgia in college instead. His fastball has been clocked at 100 mph and his curveball has a lot of movement. He has had a pretty good season with an ERA of 3.55 and 85 recorded strikeouts. 

Derek Curiel, a freshman outfielder for LSU. Curiel doesn’t lead the league in average or homeruns but, as a freshman, his stats are unheard of. In the pre-season of this year he was named the SEC freshman of the year.  Of the eight players, only LSU’s Curiel is left in this year’s Men’s College World Series. LSU will take on Arkansas on Saturday, June 14 at 6pm.

Drew Burress, a Sophomore outfielder for Georgia Tech. At 5’9” and 182 pounds Burress won over 10 awards during his freshman year in ‘24 including freshman of the year award. With a college career batting average of .357 and reaching the 40 homerun club, he is a must watch. 

Juan Cruz, a Junior first baseman for Alabama St. Is leading the league in hits with an outstanding .420 average. Cruz also has a very good fielding percentage of .981. He has been a big part of Alabama State’s positive record in the ‘25 season.

Liam Doyle, A junior left- handed pitcher for Tennessee who has most definitely made his mark. Standing at 6’2” and 220 pounds Doyle is a dominant pitcher who is leading the league in strikeouts. With a fastball peaking at 99.5 mph he uses it in almost 66% of his strikeouts. He played for Ole Miss his sophomore year with an era of 5.73 which improved to 2.17 after transferring to Tennessee this year.  

Mason Neville, a Junior outfielder for Oregon, has the most home runs in the SEC. Neville earned the honorable mention for All-Pac-12 conference honors after finishing the season with a 1.033 OPS.