Tag: sec baseball

2026 INF/P Trent Vilade has committed to Texas A&M baseball

Texas A&M baseball earns another commitment from a talented 2026 infielder/pitchers out of Frisco, TX.

Texas A&M baseball coach Michael Earley continues to stack pitchers, getting a commitment from a top player in Texas. On Sunday, pitcher Trent Vilade, out of Frisco, TX, announced via social media that he will join the Aggies in Bryan, College Station.

Vilade is a RHP who also gets time in the infield due to having a sure glove. He is one of the top 2-way players in the state of Texas and was No. 5 in ERA (0.75) Top 10 Private school ERA leaders of 2024. At the plate, he hits left-handed and pulls a lot of balls to left field for extra bases.

His ability to give innings on the mound and hit puts him in an interesting box, depending on how the Aggie staff views his role. Pitching depth will be the key to where Vilade might be able to make the most impact once he steps on Olsen Field.

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D1Baseball lists Auburn among top-20 programs ahead of 2025 season

Can Auburn bounce back from last season’s uncharacteristic performance?

Despite a disappointing 2024 campaign, expectations are high for the Auburn baseball team heading into 2025.

With a group of talented transfer portal additions heading to the Plains paired with an above-average recruiting class, head coach [autotag]Butch Thompson[/autotag] is hoping to take his team back to the College World Series for the third time since 2019.

The high expectations are shared by D1Baseball, who placed the Tigers at the No. 20 spot in their college baseball program rankings ahead of the season. The college baseball database described Auburn as a team “capable of making a deep postseason run” this season despite a down year in 2024.

While the ranking system is not a perfect metric for predicting success this season since it takes into account the recent overall body of work, it is still a solid indicator of what to expect from each team heading into the season. Auburn has shown in recent seasons they are capable of making a deep run into the summer, and D1 baseball seems to share the sentiment that last year was more of an outlier than the norm for Butch Thompson’s teams.

The Tigers open up the 2025 season in Arlington, Texas when they’ll face Ohio State in the “College Baseball Series.” Butch Thompson’s squad will take the diamond on Saturday, October 12 in a Fall Exhibition against Florida State as well.

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SEC baseball releases 2025 schedules: Here’s who Kentucky will play

The SEC released the 2025 conference schedules for all 16 baseball teams Thursday afternoon. Here’s who Kentucky will face in conference play in 2025.

The Southeastern Conference announced the 2025 league baseball schedules for all 16 members on Thursday. The Kentucky Wildcats will play five conference series at home and five on the road.

Here’s who the Bat Cats will play.

Kentucky will open conference play on the road against Georgia in Athens, March 14-16, and will also visit Texas A&M, Tennessee, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt in league action. The Volunteers won the 2024 College World Series over the runner-up Aggies. Kentucky will be in Knoxville for Easter Weekend, April 18-20.

Auburn, Ole Miss and South Carolina are three of the more familiar SEC rivals who will visit Kentucky Proud Park in 2025, as will conference newcomers Texas and Oklahoma. Auburn will head to Lexington on March 21-23 for Kentucky’s SEC home opener.

Texas is scheduled to visit Lexington, April 11-13, while Kentucky will host Oklahoma in the second to last regular-season series, May 9-11. The Bat Cats will close the regular season in Nashville against Vanderbilt, May 15-17 before the SEC Tournament in Hoover (Ala.).

Kentucky is coming off its best season in program history. The Bat Cats won a school-record 46 games to finish 46-16 overall and were ranked No. 3 in the final USA TODAY Sports baseball coaches poll behind Tennessee and Texas A&M. Kentucky reached the College World Series for the first time in school history.

After the season, Kentucky had seven players selected in the 2024 Major League Baseball Draft: outfielder Ryan Waldschmidt (No. 31 overall by the Arizona Diamondbacks), second baseman Emilien Pitre (second-round, Tampa Bay Rays), pitcher Trey Pooser (fifth-round, Tampa Bay), first baseman Ryan Nicholson (10th round, Los Angeles Angels), and pitchers Mason Moore (15th round, Chicago White Sox), Travis Smith (15th round, Milwaukee Brewers) and Dominic Niman (18th round, Tampa Bay).

 

The 2025 season will be the ninth for Kentucky under coach Nick Mingione, who recently agreed to a longterm contract extension with the school just last week.

RELATED: Kentucky baseball coach Nick Mingione agrees to contract extension

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Dates, opponents revealed for Auburn Baseball’s weekend at Globe Life Park

The Tigers will face strong competition at the home of the Texas Rangers in 2025.

Auburn baseball will have an opportunity to play at one of Major League Baseball’s newest stadiums in 2025.

As part of its early-season nonconference slate, Auburn will travel to Arlington, Texas to compete in the College Baseball Series benefiting Shriner’s Children’s at Globe Life Park, home of the defending World Series champion Texas Rangers. While there, Auburn will face Ohio State, Oregon State, and Baylor.

The Tigers will begin their weekend in Texas on Friday, Feb. 28 by taking on Ohio State at 3 p.m. CT. The Buckeyes finished the 2024 season with a 29-26 record and missed a postseason bid after dropping two games in the Big Ten Tournament.

Auburn will kick off March by playing Oregon State on March 1 at 6 p.m. CT. The Beavers, known for being a college baseball power, posted 45 wins last season. However, their dreams of reaching the College World Series for the eighth time in program history were cut short after being swept by Kentucky in the Lexington Super Regional.

Finally, Auburn will end its stay in Arlington by taking on Baylor on Sunday, March 2 at 3 p.m. CT. The Bears ended the 2024 season with a 22-31 record.

Auburn baseball will look to bounce back from its disappointing 27-26 campaign in 2024 that resulted in the Tigers missing out on postseason play. The remainder of Auburn’s nonconference schedule, as well as its SEC slate, will be announced at a later date.

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Texas A&M ace Ryan Prager bypasses professional route, returns to College Station

The Texas A&M ace will be back in College Station next spring.

A significant piece of news surrounding the 2025 college baseball season came out Wednesday night when Texas A&M Aggies left-handed pitcher Ryan Prager announced that he would bypassing the professional route to return to play for the Aggies next spring.

This news comes after Prager was selected in the 2024 MLB draft back in mid-July, taken in the third round by the Los Angeles Angels.

A 2024 Second Team All-SEC selection, Prager, who just completed his redshirt sophomore at Texas A&M, is coming off a breakout season with the Aggies in which he made 19 starts for the College World Series runner-up. Across those 19 starts, Prager held a 9-1 record with a 2.95 ERA and 120:24 K:BB ratio across 97.2 IP, while also holding opponents to a combined .226 AVG against.

This season came just a year after the left-hander missed all of 2023 due to an injury, bringing his career totals at Texas A&M to a 10-5 record with a 3.78 ERA and 177:45 K:BB ratio across 157 IP (35 starts) between the 2022 and 2024 seasons.

Looking ahead, Prager will now return to headline what could very easily be a national championship preseason frontrunner in Texas A&M next spring. The left-hander is also a legit candidate for 2025 SEC Pitcher of the Year, if not the preseason frontrunner.

Florida two-way star signs with Kansas City Royals for $7.5 million

Jac Caglianone signed for $7.5 million with the Kansas City Royals, who made the Florida product the sixth pick in the 2024 MLB draft.

Jac Caglianone, the No. 6 overall pick in the 2024 MLB draft by the Kansas City Royals, signed with his new team for $7.5 million according to a team announcement.

Caglianone secured a payday slightly above the slot value of $7.21 million.

The former Florida Gators star is expected to serve as a hitting prospect for the Royals, despite his status as a two-way player while in Gainesville. Most believe Caglianone’s upside resides in his prodigious home run power, especially after he blasted 35 home runs as a junior last year – second only to Georgia slugger Charlie Condon in all of college baseball.

While Caglianone runs his fastball up into the high 90’s, lack of control limits his upside on the mound. With the risk of injury – and now a substantial investment by the team – it makes sense for the Royals to allow the first baseman to focus on improving his bat to ball skills so he can provide more than just home run power at the next level.

Calianone was one of nine SEC players picked in the first round of the MLB draft, a banner day for the conference highlighted by Condon, Arkansas left-hander Hagen Smith, and Caglianone.

Oklahoma secures commitment from dual-sport athlete Alec Blair

Oklahoma secured a commitment from Alec Blair, who plans to compete in both basketball and baseball for the Sooners in 2025.

Porter Moser and the Oklahoma Sooners have had a fantastic week here in July, the program’s third as a member of the SEC.

First the Sooners secured a commitment from Jeremiah Fears, a four-star guard who decommitted from Illinois and reclassified so he can join the team this fall.

Then, the team landed former Oregon State and St. John’s forward Glenn Taylor Jr via the transfer portal, and now the team has another commitment set to join the program next year in Alec Blair.

Blair is a 6’6 forward from Concord, California who is ranked No. 38 in the class of 2025 according to 247Sports, and who had offers from Texas A&M, Cal, Oregon, Clemson, USC, and a few others.

Blair is also a dual-sport athlete who plans to compete for Oklahoma not only on the hardwood but on the baseball diamond as a center fielder as well.

He is considered not only a top 40 recruit in basketball, but a potential MLB prospect as well and should help both Oklahoma programs succeed in what will be the school’s second season in the SEC starting in 2025.

Longhorns baseball signs JUCO slugger Jaquae Stewart

The Texas native recently helped Northwest Florida State College reach the junior college national championship game

On Monday, the Texas Longhorns baseball team continued to improve its roster, adding slugger Jaquae Stewart from the transfer portal. The Texas native recently helped Northwest Florida State College reach the junior college national championship game. Before starting his college career, Stewart was one of the top-ranked first basemen in the state.

During his lone season with Northwest Florida, Stewart was an on-base machine. In 211 plate appearances, he posted a .356 batting average and drove in 62 runs. He also showed off his power as 23 of his 47 hits went for extra bases. With Stewart in the mix, the Longhorns have another dangerous bat to put in the middle of the order.

Additionally, in the playoffs, Stewart thrived when the stakes got higher. At the Florida junior college regional championships, he went 3-4 at the plate and drove in six runs in the title game against Chipola College. Due to his play, Stewart won the Most Outstanding Player award.

Signing a player of Stewart’s caliber should make the Longhorns a better team. They have been busy this week in the transfer portal, adding former Indiana State left-hander Jared Spencer.

While Texas is far from done, they now have a much-needed impact bat to help an offense that recently lost a few pieces, in Peyton Powell and Jared Thomas. Replacing their production will be no easy task, but Stewart will be part of the solution.

When he does arrive on campus, Stewart will be eager to make an excellent first impression and build on his success against more advanced competition.

Former Georgia slugger signs largest draft bonus in MLB history

Georgia Bulldogs third baseman Charlie Condon signed the largest signing bonus in MLB draft history with the Colorado Rockies.

One of college baseball’s most exciting players got himself a nice payday on Friday.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that former Georgia third baseman Charlie Condon signed a deal with a $9.25M signing bonus with the Colorado Rockies, who selected him third overall in the 2024 MLB draft last week.

Condon’s bonus equals the bonus signed by the No. 2 pick, right-handed pitcher Chase Burns out of Wake Forest. It is the biggest draft bonus in MLB history.

Condon was an absolute superstar in 2024, slashing an otherworldly .433/.556/1.009 with 37 home runs, 78 RBI, and 20 doubles – earning SEC Player of the Year honors.

He popped 25 home runs with a .386 batting average his first season with the Bulldogs in 2023, and flashed versatility all over the diamond by playing first base, third base, left field, and right field across his two collegiate seasons.

Condon was one of nine SEC players picked in the first round of the MLB draft, and was joined in the top five by Arkansas left-handed pitcher Hagen Smith.

Auburn RHP Christian Herberholz inks free agent deal with Baltimore Orioles

Herberholz is turning pro after striking out 90 batters over 90 2/3 innings as an Auburn Tiger.

Baltimore has become a hot destination for former Auburn baseball players.

Since 2020, the Orioles organization has either drafted or signed five former Tigers. [autotag]Chase Allsup[/autotag] joined that company earlier this week by being taken in the fourth round of the MLB draft by Baltimore, and his Auburn teammate [autotag]Christian Herberholz[/autotag] is set to join him.

Wednesday, Herberholz signed a free-agent deal with the Baltimore Orioles, joining infielder [autotag]Cooper Weiss[/autotag] by landing an undrafted deal with a Major League club.

Herberholz signed with Auburn after a successful stint in the junior college ranks at nearby Southern Union State Community College, where he struck out 55 batters in 56 1/3 innings as a Bison. At Auburn, he appeared in 33 games in two seasons, where he struck out 90 batters, walked 38, and boasted a 4.76 ERA in 90 2/3 total innings.

The MLB draft period results in five Tigers earning a free agent deal, or being drafted. Auburn RHP’s Chase Allsup (Baltimore Orioles) and [autotag]Will Cannon[/autotag] (Cincinnati Reds), as well as south paw [autotag]Tanner Bauman[/autotag] (New York Yankees) were drafted while Herberholz and Weiss signed free agent deals.

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