Tag: d1baseball

Kendall Rogers of D1Baseball ranks pair of Texas A&M transfers in top 5 with rave reviews

“As if the Aggies needed more big-time bats in their lineup for the upcoming season, Henseler is another big-time playmaker at the plate.”

The Texas A&M baseball team will be on a revenge tour in 2025 and head coach Michael Earley has loaded up in the NCAA Transfer Portal.

Two of Earley’s additions have caught the attention of many, including Kendall Rogers from D1Baseball. On his “Top 50 Impact Transfer Hitters” list, Rogers ranked two Aggie seniors in the top five.

Third baseman Wyatt Henseler was slotted at No. 3 in the countdown.

“As if the Aggies needed more big-time bats in their lineup for the upcoming season, Henseler is yet another big-time playmaker at the plate,” Rogers stated. “The first thing that stood out about Henseler this fall was his physical 6-foot-1, 210-pound frame. He certainly looks stronger than the measurables would suggest.

“Henseler is coming off four decorated seasons with the Quakers. He hit .365 and .385, respectively, his first two seasons before hitting .321 and then .360 his final two seasons at Penn. Henseler hit 14 or more home runs in each of his final three seasons while also accumulating more than 50 RBI in each of those campaigns as well.”

First baseman Gavin Kash was ranked fifth.

“It’s a one-scrimmage sample size, but Kash, a 6-foot-3, 210-pound, left-handed hitter, looked more like his old self in the Aggies’ scrimmage against Houston earlier this fall,” Rogers wrote. “Kash had a monster 2023 campaign at Texas Tech, hitting .326 with 26 home runs and 84 RBI.

“He also had strong power production for the Red Raiders last season, hitting 17 doubles, 15 home runs and knocking in 51 runs.”

Texas A&M will begin the regular season with a three-game series versus Elon at Blue Bell Park, beginning Valentine’s Day at 6 p.m.

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Florida ranked among top five college baseball programs

The Florida Gators have never finished outside of the top 5 in D1Baseball’s top-100 rankings, and that’s not changing heading into 2025.

Every two years, D1Baseball attempts to capture the current landscape of college baseball by ranking the top 100 programs. Florida has never finished outside of the top five and continued that trend by placing third in the 2024 rankings.

“Kevin O’Sullivan has created an absolute monster during his tenure in Gainesville, and the Gators moved up one spot from No. 4 to No. 3 in our latest ranking of the nation’s premier programs,” D1Baseball co-owner Kendall Rogers wrote.

“To give you an idea what kind of culture the Gators have, look no further than last season. UF entered the 2024 campaign with high expectations. But for a myriad of reasons, they didn’t reach their full potential until the tail end of the season. Not only did the Gators squeak into a Regional, they won a Super Regional and made yet another trip to the College World Series.”

Finishing in the top five takes more than one season of success, though. The Gators have been “the epitome of consistency in the modern era of college baseball,” under Sully, and making it to Omaha is expected at this point. Coming up short of the College World Series isn’t just a disappointment for his club, it’s a failure.

Florida also has the advantage of recruiting one of the most talent-rich areas in the country. The state of Florida might be the best in the country when it comes to producing college talent. Floridians have the advantage of playing year-round, and the Gators pull players from all four major areas of the state — North (Jacksonville), South (Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach), Central (Orlando) and West (Tampa).

The changes to the transfer portal have only strengthened Florida’s grip on the college baseball world. Look no further than the players O’Sullivan has brought in over the past two seasons.

Southern Miss transfer Hurston Waldrep pitched his way to a first-round selection in Gainesville, Colby Shelton had the best power season ever in Florida history after transferring from Alabama and Miami star Blake Cyr appears to be the next high-profile player to join the Gators.

There are very few places college baseball players would rather be than the University of Florida. In fact, only Tennessee and LSU rank ahead of Florida on this list.

The rest of the top 5

The Tigers beat the Gators in the College World Series two years ago and have gone from good to great in the recruiting world, following the success of homegrown talents (Dylan Crews) and transfer talent (Paul Skenes).

The Volunteers have rapidly moved up the rankings, going from unranked in 2017 to No. 69 in 2019 to No. 17 in 2022 and No. 2 this season. Tony Vitello has made Rocky Top a premiere destination in the sport and climbed to the top of the SEC alongside Florida and LSU.

Vanderbilt and Arkansas check in at No. 4 and 5, respectively, proving that the Southeastern Conference is the most dominant in the country. It’s the first time that Vandy has finished outside of the top two, which says a lot about the teams ranked ahead of it. Arkansas consistently finishes near the top of the conference, but not claiming a national title hurts the Razorbacks ever so slightly.

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D1Baseball ranks the Blue Devils as a top-30 program in the country

D1Baseball moved the Duke Blue Devils within their top 30 programs this week, the latest step in a meteoric rise.

With each passing year, the Duke baseball team moves closer and closer to the national forefront.

D1Baseball ranked the Blue Devils as the No. 28 program in the country this week, a far cry from being left off the rankings just nine years ago.

“It wasn’t too long ago that Duke was a proverbial punching bag in the ACC,” D1Baseball co-owner Kendall Rogers wrote. “Now, it is routinely one of the league’s best programs.”

Duke hired head coach Chris Pollard for the 2013 season, and the progress has been steady over the 11 years since. After just two 30-win seasons in the 14 years before Pollard’s arrival, the Blue Devils have reached that threshold in nine of their last 10 full seasons.

The growth culminated with a 40-win 2024 season that included Duke’s second ACC Tournament title in four years. Six different members of the team averaged at least .300 at the plate with more than 10 home runs, and closer Charlie Beilenson finished with a 2.01 ERA in 34 appearances.

The Blue Devils climbed up to 82nd in the 2017 D1Baseball rankings, broke into the top 50 as the No. 39 team in 2019, and finished 33rd in the 2022 edition of the rankings.

D1Baseball names 5 Florida Gators to top-100 MLB prospects list

After a couple of star-studded draft classes in Gainesville, which Florida baseball players are likely to hear their name called in 2025?

The Florida Gators have seen more than 100 players selected in the MLB draft since [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag] took over, and that number is only set to grow in the upcoming cycle.

D1Baseball included four returning Gators — [autotag]Jake Clemente[/autotag], [autotag]Brody Donay[/autotag], [autotag]Cade Kurland[/autotag] and [autotag]Colby Shelton[/autotag] — and incoming Miami transfer [autotag]Blake Cyr[/autotag] on its list of the top 100 MLB draft prospects at the college level heading into 2025.

Although the list came out in the days after the draft, Shelton only made his return official at the end of July. He’s now officially the highest-ranked Gator on the list at No. 34 overall and fifth among shortstops.

Right-hander Jake Clemente is next at No. 51 and should be a scout favorite after tearing it up in the Cape Cod League over the summer. He should get a chance to start in Gainesville this year, potentially as the third piece of the weekend rotation.

Which Gators are on the bubble?

The other three mentioned above are all in the 94-98 range. Cyr and Donay are both bat-heavy prospects who don’t really have a position.

D1Baseball lists Donay as an outfielder instead of a catcher, but he only played five summer ball games in right to seven games behind the dish and 10 at first. Donay’s height makes him a nice fit at first base, but he’s still looking for ways to utilize his arm strength on the field.

Cyr is another SEC-caliber bat with no clear position heading into 2025. He started off at second base with Miami but moved to left field last year. The only conference in college baseball tougher than the ACC is the SEC, so it’s unlikely we see Cyr move back to the infield but remains an option.

Both Cyr and Donay have 20-homer potential going into next season, but scouts are going to limit the ceiling of any prospect who doesn’t have a future at a coveted position on the field. That’s the reason for Shelton’s high ranking, even though numbers took a dip.

Finally, there’s second baseman Cade Kurland, who has a position but struggled to field it at times during his sophomore season. A bounce-back season defensively could vault him up from the No. 95 spot without much resistance. Bringing his strikeout rate back down five points to his freshman-year numbers would also help.

Who could join the list?

It’s always hard to predict which players will break out coming into a season, but a few proven names in Gainesville were left off this list.

Left-hander [autotag]Pierce Coppola[/autotag] might end up being the most impressive piece of the weekend rotation if his strikeout rate stays above 30%. Then there’s catcher [autotag]Luke Heyman[/autotag], who went through the same sophomore slump Kurland did but has a chance to stick at catcher.

A longshot to make the top 100 would be outfielder [autotag]Ty Evans[/autotag], who was on fire for most of 2024 before suffering a season-ending injury. He’ll lose most of his draft leverage as a senior, but there’s still a shot at being selected in the first five rounds.

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Texas A&M third baseman Gavin Grahovac named to another All-American list

Texas A&M third baseman Gavin Grahovac received another post season accolade

With all the chaos surrounding Texas A&M’s baseball program over the last two weeks, things took a positive turn after Jim Schlossnagle’s surprising exit. New head coach Michael Earley is looking toward the future and capitalizing on Aggie’s 2024 success.

After Schlossnagle’s exit, 14 players, including star freshman third baseman Gavin Grahovac, entered the transfer portal. Still, just days after Earley’s hire became official, Grahovac joined incoming junior star outfielder Jace LaViolette as the first Aggies to withdraw their names, leading to half of the entries announcing their return to the program.

As one of the top players in the portal, Grahovac’s return after setting the program’s freshman home run record is paramount for Earley’s transition to head coach. The California native has received another post-season accolade, being named to D1Baseball’s freshman All-American team.

During the year, Grahovac ended with a .298 batting average, 85 hits, 66 RBIs, and 23 home runs. Heading into his 2025 sophomore campaign, these numbers are expected to be shattered, as a year of SEC experience should only improve his ability at the plate.

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Aggies third baseman Gavin Grahovac shares message for 12th Man while playing for Team USA

“Here with Team USA, looking forward to next year with y’all. The 12th Man has been awesome, looking forward to being back at Olson Field.”

Freshman third baseman Gavin Grahovac became one of several Texas A&M Aggies to announce their respective return to College Station this past week after briefly entering the transfer portal following the departure of former head coach Jim Schlossnagle to the Longhorns.

As the nation celebrated Independence Day on Thursday, Grahovac is representing his country by playing for the United States on the diamond. After his return was announced, Grahovac shared a message with Aggies fans.

“What’s up, Aggieland! Out here with Team USA, looking forward to next year with y’all,” Grahovac foretold. “The 12th Man has been awesome, looking forward to being back at Olson Field.

“Gig ‘Em!”

During his first year in College Station, the underclassman star was named the D1Baseball Preseason SEC Freshman of the Year. He followed that by earning SEC Freshman of the Week in back-to-back fashion during April.

Grahovac previously played for the 2022 18U U.S. national team.

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Jac Caglianone earns consensus All-America First Team nod

As expected, Jac Caglianone is once again a First Team All-American following a record-breaking season with the Florida Gators.

For the second year in a row, Florida first baseman and left-handed pitcher [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] is a unanimous First Team All-American.

D1Baseball was the final of the five major college baseball publications to name their All-America team on Wednesday, following the American Baseball Coaches Association, Baseball America, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and Perfect Game.

“Caglianone somehow upstaged his epic 2023 season,” Baseball America wrote. “He has thunderous bat speed and double-plus raw power. On the bump, he is armed with an upper-90s fastball.”

Caglianone slashed .419/.544/.875 with 35 home runs and 72 runs batted in. He also walked twice as much (58) as he struck out (26) at the plate, in addition to serving as Florida’s Sunday starter every weekend. He went 5-2 on the mound with a 4.76 earned run average over 73 2/3 innings. He struck out 83 and walked just 50 while holding opposing bats to a .225 batting average.

Caglianone is the only repeat member of the first team; however, several players were promoted from second-team finishes last season. Despite finishing as one of the last four teams standing in Omaha, Caglianone is the only Gator to make an All-America Team.

Nearly every draft expert in the country has the Florida two-way star coming off the board within the first five picks this year. Several more postseason honors are expected between now and the start of the draft on July 14.

2024 D1Baseball All-America First Team

Catcher: Walker Janek, Jr., Sam Houston State
First Base: Blake Burke, Jr., Tennessee
Second Base: Travis Bazzana, Jr., Oregon State
Third Base: Charlie Condon, So., Georgia
Shortstop: Kyle DeBarge, Jr., Louisiana
Outfield: Vance Honeycutt, Jr., North Carolina
Outfield: Jace Laviolette, So., Texas A&M
Outfield: James Tibbs, Jr., Florida State
Designated Hitter: Christian Moore, Jr., Tennessee
Utility: Jac Caglianone, Jr., Florida
Starting Pitcher: Jamie Arnold, So., Florida State
Starting Pitcher: Chase Burns, Jr., Wake Forest
Starting Pitcher: Ryan Johnson, Jr., Dallas Baptist
Starting Pitcher: Hagen Smith, Jr., Arkansas
Starting Pitcher: Trey Yesavage,Jr., East Carolina
Relief Pitcher: Evan Aschenbeck, Sr., Texas A&M
Relief Pitcher: Charlie Beilenson, Gr., Duke

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4 Texas A&M baseball players selected as All-Americans by D1Baseball and Baseball America

Four Texas A&M baseball players were selected as All-Americans over the last week, with an additional upperclassman being chosen Wednesday.

Four Texas A&M baseball players have been selected as All-Americans over the last week, with an additional upperclassman being chosen Wednesday amid the transfer portal madness.

Senior left-handed pitcher Evan Aschenbeck, junior outfielder Braden Montgomery and sophomores, LHP Ryan Prager and OF Jace LaViolette, were honored by Baseball America on Friday. The quartet were joined by junior RHP Chris Cortez on Wednesday as members of D1Baseball’s All-American teams. Cortez was selected to the third team.

LaViolette earned a spot on both first teams. Aschenbeck was a first team choice by D1Baseball and second team by Baseball America. Montgomery and Prager received spots on the D1Baseball second team. Montgomery was also chosen for the Baseball America second team while Prager was picked for the third team.

Fivee Aggies on D1Baseball’s squads was the most in the nation, as was the case with four among Baseball America’s teams. This was the fourth time this year that Texas A&M has had at least four players chosen for All-American units.

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2 more Texas A&M baseball players enter NCAA transfer portal, bringing total to 9 thus far

Per D1Baseball managing editor Kendall Rogers, junior shortstop Ali Camarillo and freshman left-hander Kaiden Wilson have enter the portal.

Amid the fallout of head coach Jim Schlossnagle departing Texas A&M for bitter rival Texas on Tuesday, nine Aggies have exercised their right to enter the NCAA transfer portal.

Seven players initially entered the portal on Wednesday afternoon and two more have joined the group as of Wednesday evening. According to D1Baseball managing editor Kendall Rogers, junior shortstop Ali Camarillo and freshman left-handed pitcher Kaiden Wilson have followed suit.

The other seven players are freshman third baseman Gavin Grahovac, outfielder Caden Sorrell and shortstop Jack Bell; sophomore outfielder Jace LaViolette, second baseman Kaeden Kent and catcher Max Kaufer; and graduate student designated-hitter Hayden Schott.

Camarillo and Schott are the only portal entrants that are eligible for the 2024 MLB draft in July. Junior OF Braden Montgomery is likely to be drafted in the top 10 despite suffering a season-ending injury in the super regionals.

Amid the transfer madness on Wednesday, Montgomery’s mom Gretchen shared words of wisdom on her private X account.

“Don’t freak out about the transfer portal!! The players have to protect themselves — A&M doesn’t have a coach or staff,” she stated. “Most will get in the portal but can still stay. They will get NIL!! But nobody has more $ than A&M. Most will come back with a STRONG HIRE! Email the AD!”

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LSU baseball a 2 seed in Tallahassee Regional per latest D1Baseball tournament projections

The Tigers have moved well off the bubble thanks to their showing in Hoover this week.

Any anxiety the LSU baseball team had about making the NCAA Tournament has dissipated in the wake of its showing in Hoover at the SEC Tournament.

The Tigers won their first three games to put themselves in Saturday’s semifinals. Not only is this no longer considered a bubble team, it’s now starting to see projections as a No. 2 regional seed in the NCAA Tournament.

That’s reflected in the latest field of 64 projections from D1Baseball, in which LSU is expected to head to Tallahassee as the No. 2 seed in the regional hosted by Florida State. D1Baseball also has UCF and Florida A&M competing in the Tallahassee Regional.

The Tigers are looking to clinch a spot in the SEC championship as they face South Carolina in a semifinal rematch on Saturday.

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