This past week, D1 Baseball named LSU outfielder Derek Curiel the National Freshman of the Year.
The young star played a big role in leading the Tigers to their eighth national championship. He was also named second-team All-SEC and was a member of the SEC’s All-Freshman team.
D1 Baseball had named Curiel the preseason SEC Freshman of the Year before the college baseball season began.
In 2025, Curiel had a .345 batting average and a .470 on-base percentage. He led LSU in hitting and ranked 11th in the SEC as a whole.
Along with the great batting average, Curiel also had seven home runs and 55 RBI. He also had 53 walks, which was by far the most on LSU’s 2025 national championship team.
He was third in the SEC in walks behind Tennessee’s Andrew Fischer and Texas A&M’s Jace LaViolette.
Curiel was also a phenomenal defender for LSU. In 98 total chances, he had a fielding percentage of 1.000.
His play in the field allowed LSU to be ranked in the top five in the SEC defensively. The Tigers were ranked right near other elite defensive teams in the SEC, such as Vanderbilt and Arkansas.
The freshman star ended the season red-hot for LSU on offense. Dating back to the first game of the Baton Rouge super regional, Curiel had a hit in every game to end the season. This includs a hit in every game of the 2025 College World Series, where LSU brought home the national championship trophy.
LSU is getting Curiel back for the 2026 season. Heading into next year, the outfielder has a chance to be one of the best players in all of college baseball.
WBN NCAA: https://worldbaseball.com/league/ncaa/
Photo: LSU’s Derek Curiel (6) catches a fly ball hit by Coastal Carolina’s Walker Mitchell in the sixth inning of Game 1 of the NCAA College World Series baseball finals in Omaha, Neb., Saturday, June 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Rebecca S. Gratz)
