The college baseball season is rapidly approaching. However, it may not feel like it with the Polar Vortex dumping snow on the Northeast, but we are less than a month away from opening day. Here are the top five freshmen heading into the 2025 season.
- Rintaro Sasaki, Stanford Cardinal
The first baseman from Iwate, Japan, is ready to make an instant impact for Stanford in 2025.
Rintaro Sasaki is a big power bat who holds Japan’s high school record for home runs with 140. This kind of long-ball production stands out as Sasaki’s father was the coach of Shohei Ohtani.
After his high school career ended, Sasaki has been living in Palo Alto, Calif., since March of last year. He is well-acclimated to the Cardinal baseball program and is set to make his debut.
The Japanese hitting prospect will be a must-watch for all college baseball fans this season.
Rintaro Sasaki's first hit in the U.S. is a home run! ????
Sasaki hit a national-record 140 high school homers in Japan.
(via @MLBPipeline)pic.twitter.com/O0jMzLCGal
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) June 12, 2024
- William Schmidt, LSU Tigers
William Schmidt came into the 2024 MLB draft as a top 20 overall prospect out of high school. Despite that kind of stock, he chose to stay in his hometown of Baton Rouge and play for the LSU Tigers.
The right-handed pitcher should quickly find a place within LSU’s pitching staff. During his senior season at Catholic High School, he put up a 0.44 ERA in 63.2 innings.
Schmidt heads into 2025 as the best freshman arm in college baseball. Head coach Jay Johnson has a weapon in Baton Rouge.
William Schmidt was on the mound today in the #LSU Baseball scrimmage.
The @CurDogBaseball alum turned down Major League Baseball to live out his dream of being a Tiger.
The talented freshman is getting acclimated…here's a look at his two innings of work this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/RnP1gTBhkc
— John Eads WAFB-TV (@JohnEadsWAFB) October 21, 2024
- Arnold Abernathy, Tennessee Volunteers
Much like Schmidt, Arnold Abernathy also turned away from the MLB draft to pursue a college career with the Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville. He was ranked just outside of the top 100 in the 2024 MLB Draft prospects list.
He is a well-known shortstop from Acworth, Georgia, who was a top-ten player in the state and a top-75 player in the country, according to Perfect Game.
The Volunteers have a stud on their hands. Abernathy may be the big name from head coach Tony Vitello’s top-ranked high school class.
Arnold Jay Abernathy is gonna break records at Rocky Top. Speed never slumps and this kid can move. pic.twitter.com/0TRUgL5xrm
— Kerry Williams (@kerrywilliams_) July 16, 2024
- Derek Curiel, LSU Tigers
Derek Curiel is a big left-handed for the LSU Tigers coming in from California. He was the state’s second-best high school player in 2024 and the country’s top ten overall player.
During his senior season at Orange Lutheran High School in West Covina, he batted .314 and was a big base-stealing threat with 19 stolen bags.
The Tigers have a stud on their hands; if Curiel gets playing time, he may be one of the best freshman players in the country.
LSU Freshman OF Derek Curiel had long been regarded the #1 player in the 2024 prep class. ?’s arose into his senior year that may have negatively impacted his draft stalk. Make no mistake Curiel has been one of the top performers in the class for a long time. Good bat to ball… pic.twitter.com/kZTKxBmKXK
— Draft Analyst (@Draft_Analyst_) November 5, 2024
- Hunter Carns, Florida State Seminoles
Hunter Carns turned down the Arizona Diamondbacks to head to Tallahassee and play with the Florida State Seminoles.
He was a top 15 player in the class and is one of the highest ranked high school draft prospects to play college baseball. Carns is also Florida State’s highest-rated recruit since 2018.
The First Coast High School product from Jacksonville, Fla., is the best overall catcher from this 2024 recruiting cycle.
The Seminoles already have Jaxson West at catcher. However, if they can find room for Carns in the lineup somewhere, he will be a weapon on head coach Link Jarrett’s team in 2025.
Hunter Carns was in the lineup for all 15 innings yesterday and produced three hits, including an opposite-field homer. Hammered a two-strike slider on the outer half over the RF fence. Consistently uses the whole field. All three of his knocks: pic.twitter.com/kJwfWmv8vB
— Brett Nevitt (@brettpn) October 27, 2024
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WBN NCAA: https://worldbaseball.com/league/ncaa/
