With the college baseball season right around the corner, here are some mid-major teams fans should keep their eyes on this season.
Dallas Baptist moved up from the Missouri Valley Conference to Conference USA in 2023 and did not skip a beat.
Head coach Dan Heefner has led the Patriots to 92 wins and a conference record of 42-12 during the past two seasons.
This success in the first two seasons in Conference USA has led to a 2023 conference regular season title and then a conference tournament title in 2024. Dallas Baptist is taking a championship mentality into the 2025 season.
Ten straight NCAA Tournament appearances and 45+ wins in the last two seasons point to another highlight year for the Patriots. D1 Baseball seems to agree, as Dallas Baptist is ranked 20th in the country.
UC Santa Barbara is coming off a historic season in 2024, resulting in them hosting a regional in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
Head coach Andrew Checketts led the Gauchos to a 44-win season, winning its second Big West regular season title in three seasons.
Unfortunately, UCSB did not advance beyond its regional and has not done so since 2016, when it went to the College World Series.
Despite that, they have a knack for getting to the NCAA Tournament, having been to it four times in the last five seasons.
Like Dallas Baptist, D1 Baseball has the Gauchos ranked 22nd in the country heading into the 2025 season as they look to return to the NCAA Tournament.
Despite missing out on the NCAA Tournament in 2024, Troy is receiving high praise heading into 2025 as D1 Baseball has them ranked 25th in the country.
The Trojans finished third in the Sun Belt last season with a 37-22 overall record, and has a habit of winning since head coach Skylar Meade came aboard.
The key for the Trojans is that they are returning a ton of key players from last season’s team that ranked second in the Sun Belt in offense. Teams that play Troy will have to pitch with a purpose against a potent lineup.
Being the highest-ranked team in the gritty Sun Belt conference heading into this season, Troy will be one of the better mid-majors that fans should watch.
With head coach Cliff Godwin at the helm in Greenville, East Carolina will have winning baseball.
Since becoming the head coach of the Pirates in 2015, he has led the team to eight 40+ win seasons and has led ECU to the NCAA Tournament every season.
In 2024, it was more of the same success for the Pirates. They won their fifth-straight American Athletic Conference regular season title. Unfortunately, East Carolina failed to make it out of a regional in back-to-back seasons.
Godwin and his Pirates clearly have College World Series aspirations in 2025. From 2019 to 2022, East Carolina made it to a Super Regional for three straight seasons.
Can ECU break the barrier keeping them back from Omaha? This question makes them one of the mid-majors to watch this season.
Head coach Chad Holbrook put together his best season yet in his eight years with the College of Charleston. However, a 41-14 overall record and a 21-5 record in Colonial Athletic Conference play were controversially not enough to advance to the NCAA Tournament.
On the bright side, they did bring home their second CAA regular season title in three seasons.
It is safe to say that the Cougars feel they can earn the right to the NCAA Tournament in 2025 after being slighted a season ago. This goal is evident, as they have not been to the tournament since 2015.
The College of Charleston’s hunger and desire to put together a revenge season make them a mid-major that nobody wants to play.
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WBN NCAA: https://worldbaseball.com/league/ncaa/
