Division I college baseball action returns in less than a month, and Baseball America is looking ahead with a preview of the 2025 campaign.
Here are our preseason projections for national Player of the Year, Pitcher of the Year and Freshman of the Year, as well as those same awards at the Power 4 conference level:
Player of the Year: Jace LaViolette (Texas A&M)
Michael Earley said one of his first priorities upon being named head coach at Texas A&M over the summer was to ensure that outfielder LaViolette would spend his junior season in College Station. It was a task that he quickly accomplished.
Why the rush?
“Because that kid’s special,” Earley told Baseball America. “I have not seen a player in college baseball—me personally, I’m sure other people have arguments for other players—who is that big, that strong, the fast, has a plus arm. I go back to his speed. I’m not sure people know just how fast he is. He’s the fastest guy on this team and maybe the fastest player I’ve ever coached. He stole 18 or 19 (bases) his freshman year, and he didn’t steal a ton last year just because we were trying to keep him healthy. But, the point is, he’s a real five-tool player.”
LaViolette slashed .305/.449/.726 with 29 home runs, 78 RBI and 64 walks against 81 strikeouts en route to BA First-Team All-American status as a sophomore last year. He enters 2025 as our preseason pick for Player of the Year and stands a great chance to be the first player off the board in this year’s draft.
Pitcher of the Year: Jamie Arnold (Florida State)
Florida State’s run to the College World Series in 2024 was accomplished in large part due to its offensive firepower, with back-to-back first-round picks James Tibbs and Cam Smith in the heart of the batting order.
This year, however, the Seminoles are expected to lean more heavily on their mound presence to return Omaha, something they feel well-positioned to do with Arnold at the forefront of the effort.
The lefthanded Arnold was dominant as a sophomore, pitching his way to a 2.98 ERA with 159 strikeouts against just 26 walks in 105.2 innings. He returns this season with an improved changeup, according to head coach Link Jarrett, who said his ace is a rare luxury.
“He gives your team a chance to settle and calibrate what’s going on as the weekend starts, and that’s big,” Jarrett said. “If you’re not in that position, it starts to stress your bullpen. When you have to pick up that walkie talkie in the fourth inning on a Friday night, it’s not a great feeling. You can do it, but it’s much more productive if you can ease in. We know we’re going to have someone who gives us a competitive crack at it every Friday.”
Freshman of the Year: Rintaro Sasaki (Stanford)
One of the most fascinating stories in college baseball this year, Sasaki opted to forego the Japanese professional baseball path and move to the United States to play college baseball.
Sasaki did historic damage with his bat as a high schooler, slashing .413/.514/.808 and punishing a Japanese preps record 140 home runs. Trained by his father at Hanamaki-Higashi High School, the same school that produced Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, Sasaki has some of the best raw power in the college ranks, especially among freshmen, and his advanced feel to hit should allow him to contribute immediately at Stanford.
The NCAA single-season freshman home run record currently belongs to Tommy White, who clubbed 27 as a first-year player at NC State in 2022. Sasaki has the juice to challenge that and is our preseason pick for Freshman of the Year for that reason.
A 6-foot, 195-pound righty entering his sophomore season in Fayetteville, Gaeckle is set to make the huge jump from high-leverage reliever to Friday-night ace. It’s a transition he seems particularly well-suited for after a dominant showing in 2024 in which he earned a 2.32 ERA, seven saves, 57 strikeouts and 19 walks in 42.2 innings, all of which came from the bullpen.
Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn said Gaeckle consistently wowed onlookers throughout the fall, and that he has the potential to join a long list of former Razorback arms to be selected early in the 2026 draft.
Johnston might not have been the hottest name on draft boards last year, but he certainly demonstrated his readiness to compete at the college level when he participated in the Appalachian League and hit .284/.351/.479 with six doubles, six triples, five home runs and 47 RBIs across 43 games against college arms.
Johnston, who was a summer ball all-star in 2024, stayed scorching hot in the fall and played his way into the Commodores’ starting third base job, which is where he’ll open the 2025 season. He brings an intriguing blend of offensive tools at the plate and athleticism to a Vanderbilt team that has its sights set on returning to national dominance.
- Player of the Year: Cam Cannarella (Clemson)
- Pitcher of the Year: Jamie Arnold
- Freshman of the Year: Rintaro Sasaki
While Georgia Tech sophomore Drew Burress owns a seriously compelling case for preseason ACC Player of the Year after an award-winning freshman season last year, Cannarella edged him out thanks to a one of the top active hit tools in college baseball, as well as a plus-plus glove in center.
The 2023 ACC Freshman of the Year put together an outstanding sophomore season, hitting .337/.417/.561 with 16 doubles, 11 home runs and 60 RBI in 58 games, while making some of the best defensive plays of the campaign along the way.
Cannarella is a top prospect in this year’s draft and is firmly at the forefront of Clemson’s offense.
Two of Oklahoma State’s top three offensive producers from 2024 moved onto the professional ranks this offseason but the Cowboys are still quite confident that their offense will click, thanks largely to the return of Schubart, the outfielder and first baseman who left little to the imagination last year in terms of his capabilities.
With a scorching 111.6 mph 90th percentile average exit velocity, Schubart led the Big 12 in home runs (23), on-base percentage (.513), OPS (1.351) and RBI (68), becoming the 13th Oklahoma State player ever to earn all-America honors in multiple seasons. Schubart is one of the Big 12’s most powerful and productive returnees in 2025.
Abeldt, a lefthander, has been masterful over two seasons out of TCU’s bullpen, pitching to a 2.81 ERA with 10 saves, 125 strikeouts and just 40 walks over 99.1 innings. Those marks include a career-best season as the Horned Frogs’ closer in 2024 in which he posted a sterling 1.83 ERA with eight saves, 54 strikeouts and 16 walks in 44.1 innings while holding opponents to a career-low 5.9 hits per nine innings.
It appears that Abeldt will try his hand at starting games this season, an experiment that at least seems positioned to go well seeing as though he’s familiar with the Big 12 and has dominated over 58 appearances. Abeldt’s track record and projected role propelled him to this pick.
A 6-foot-1, 185-pound lefty who has already shown off a smooth, repeatable delivery, as well as a reasonably advanced feel for spin, Russell has the makings of a future weekend rotation star.
He backed up his lofty projectability with a standout first fall in Tucson in which he produced a 0.82 ERA with 12 strikeouts to three walks across 11 innings. Russell has the potential to give hitters fits as a first-year player.
- Player of the Year: Devin Taylor (Indiana)
- Pitcher of the Year: Joseph Dzierwa (Michigan State)
- Freshman of the year: Hogan Denny (Indiana)
Taylor last year became the first Indiana player ever to earn first-team all-Big Ten honors in each of his first two college seasons. He also finished the campaign ranked second all-time in total home runs hit by an Indiana player in his first two campaigns.
The 2025 first-round hopeful led the Big Ten in home runs (20), runs scored (67) and total bases (159) last season and also produced a .357 batting average and nearly as many walks (37) as strikeouts (38). With an advanced approach and plenty of pop, Taylor enters his junior season as one of the top bats in the country, let alone in his conference.
Things progressed on schedule for Dzierwa in his first two years with the Spartans. After finishing his freshman season in 2023 with a 4.67 ERA and 48 strikeouts in 52 innings, the 6-foot-8 southpaw found his swing-and-miss stuff and put up a much-improved 4.07 ERA with 91 strikeouts in 84 innings. Dzierwa ranked second in his conference in innings and strikeouts, third in WHIP (1.19) and ninth in ERA, which earned him a spot on the all-Big Ten second team.
Dzierwa also made a brief but impressive stop in the Cape Cod League over the summer, not allowing a run in 12 innings spread over four outings. The lanky lefty could be in for a huge year if he stays on his positive trajectory.
Named 2023-24 Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year in Indiana, Denny made a real case for immediate playing time upon arrival in Bloomington in the fall and should find his way into the Hoosiers’ lineup early on this season as a result.
A catcher by trade, Denny is also a capable corner outfielder and righthanded pitcher. He entered the state playoffs round of 16 with a .473 batting average, 10 home runs and 37 runs scored while also compiling a 2-0 record on the mound with 10 saves, posting a 0.94 ERA and 52 strikeouts in 29.2 innings pitched.
Denny is another weapon for an Indiana team that has no shortage of talent at the plate.
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