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Wehiwa Aloy (9) Arkansas Razorbacks vs Tennessee Vols in a SEC baseball game at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas on Friday, May 16, 2025 (Photo by Eddie Kelly/ ProLook Photos)
The College World Series is here, ushering in one of the best weeks on the baseball calendar. Every year, Omaha plays host to plenty of star power and players who will become fixtures in next month’s MLB Draft.
Below, we’re spotlighting the top draft prospect on each roster. The list ranges from well-known stars and slam dunk first-rounders to 2025 risers, and even a player well-positioned to become the face of college baseball next year.
Baseball America subscribers get full access to our MLB Draft rankings, scouting reports and in-depth player evaluations. So if you’re looking for more than just a sneak peek, check out our full big board of the top 500 prospects in the 2025 MLB Draft.
Arizona
Brendan Summerhill, OF (BA rank: 21)
Summerhill missed a month with a fractured hand this year, but he’s been quite productive when healthy. The outfielder slashed .358/.477/.585 with 36 walks to just 21 strikeouts over 42 games. He may be the best pure hitter in the college class this year and is squarely in first-round range in our latest mock draft.
From his scouting report: Summerhill has a smooth lefthanded stroke with above-average power to the pull side as well as advanced feel for the barrel to the tune of a 90% overall in-zone contact rate. His above-average speed and athleticism translate well to centerfield, where he has a chance to stick long term.
Arkansas
Wehiwa Aloy, SS (BA rank: 17)
With Gage Wood and Zach Root pitching well down the stretch, it’s not impossible that Arkansas ends up with multiple first-rounders. Aloy’s the top prospect of the bunch, though, after a powerful 2025 season where he hit 20 homers and slugged .668 against SEC pitching. He’s a dynamic player with the type of exciting tool set to make him a star in Omaha over the next week.
From his scouting report: Aloy has a physical build at 6-foot-1, 195 pounds and possesses plenty of natural strength. He has an interesting setup at the plate and stands slightly hunched over with a low handset. Aloy uses a toe tap as a timing mechanism and has above-average bat speed. He generates quality contact and can drive the baseball into either gap with authority. Aloy has above-average raw power, especially to the pull side, and posted a max exit velocity of 114 in 2024.
While Aloy’s aggressive approach has worked for him, it also leads to high chase rates across the board. Picking up spin seems to be one bugaboo, and against breaking balls he has both a tendency to swing and miss and expand the strike zone. Aloy’s shortstop defense will need to continue to improve to stick at the position professionally. He has average arm strength, and his overall defensive skill set might be best suited for second base.
Coastal Carolina
Caden Bodine, C (BA rank: 29)
Bodine’s Super Regional power surge helped the Chants take down Auburn and continue their magical run under Kevin Schnall in his first season. Bodine is the team’s star. He hit .332 with impeccable discipline, walking 45 times to just 21 strikeouts. He’s an impressive defender, too. And while power isn’t a major part of his game, he’s shown a penchant for slug at the right time down the stretch. Bodine’s in the conversation for best catcher in the class.
From his scouting report: Bodine is a pest to pitchers. He rarely chases outside the strike zone, and Sun Belt pitchers found it almost impossible to beat him in the zone. Of the more than 200 pitches Bodine swung at in the strike zone this year, he swung and missed just eight times through the end of the regular season, according to Synergy Sports data. Bodine was hitting .326/.470/.451 at the end of the regular season with a 16% walk rate and a 6.8% strikeout rate … He shows below-average raw power and even with a metal bat, he rarely stings the ball. Defensively, he’s a solid receiver with soft and quick hands and good receiving mechanics. Bodine lacks arm strength, but he manages to use anticipation, a quick exchange and throwing accuracy to try to make up for his fringe-average arm.
Louisville
Patrick Forbes, RHP (BA rank: 46)
Forbes has been a popular inclusion at the back of our mock drafts this spring and might be a favorite of analytically-inclined teams. He surged up draft boards early this spring after showing enhanced stuff and bat-missing capabilities. Forbes has 107 strikeouts through 66 innings, but he cooled off in ACC play and can struggle pitch deeper into games because he isn’t particularly efficient with his strikes.
From his scouting report/April update: Forbes has big-time arm strength and a powerful fastball-slider duo. Both have consistently flashed plus. Forbes moves well on the mound and this spring his heater was up to 97…In 2024, Forbes averaged 93.9 mph on his fastball and 78.6 mph on his slider. In 2025, he’s averaging 95.3 mph on the fastball (+1.4 mph) and 82.2 mph on the slider (+3.6 mph). While the slider has gained power, it has backed up in terms of strike rate (64% to 57%), miss rate (41% to 38%) and chase rate (34% to 24%). That said, hitters managed an OPS of .555 against the 2024 slider and have just a .491 OPS against the 2025 version.
LSU
Kade Anderson, LSU (BA rank: 6)
Anderson fronts a Tigers two-headed rotation monster alongside Anthony Eyanson, which will make LSU an extremely tough out this week. Anderson has taken a massive leap forward this year. His 163 strikeouts over 103 innings leads all of college baseball. In our latest mock draft, BA’s Carlos Collazo noted Anderson is increasingly being mentioned by evaluators as the top college pitcher in the class, even drawing comparisons to Max Fried.
From his April arsenal update: Anderson moved from a reliever role in 2024 and has completely redefined himself as a starter in 2025 while pushing up draft boards as LSU’s Friday night ace. Scouting directors raved about his curveball entering the year. In 2024, he was largely a two-pitch pitcher who threw his fastball 70% of the time and his curveball—which generated a 50% miss rate—23% of the time.
Anderson this spring has cut both his fastball (-23 points) and curveball (-12 points) usage significantly and is now throwing a four-pitch mix with at least 10% usage for all offerings to keep hitters off-balance. The slider has been a key development. The pitch gives Anderson a much more consistent in-zone breaking ball that he can land for strikes more frequently than his hammer curve—though the slower breaking ball remains his better chase and whiff getter. Against righties, his changeup has generated a 50% miss rate and .472 opponent OPS.
Oregon State
Aiva Arquette, SS, Oregon State (BA rank: 4)
Like Anderson, Arquette is at least in the conversation to potentially go 1-1 next month to the Nationals. At 6-foot-5, 220 pounds, he’s a striking figure at shortstop and has been on a steady upward trajectory since he emerged as the top prospect on the Cape last summer. That only continued once he transferred to Oregon State, where he hit .354/.466/.658 with 18 homers through 62 games this year. The Beavers’ offense will go as far as Arquette and Gavin Turley can take them.
From his scouting report: Arquette has a free and easy swing with bat speed that leads to huge raw power and the ability to drive the baseball with authority to all fields. After playing mostly second base with Washington, Arquette handled shortstop capably in the Cape Cod League—a position he hadn’t played regularly since 2022 in the West Coast League. Arquette transferred to Oregon State for the 2025 season and between his projectable frame, power and defensive profile has a chance to become a first-round pick.
Murray State
Jonathan Hogart, OF (Unranked)
Murray State doesn’t have a prospect ranked on our BA 500, which is fitting for Omaha’s Cinderella. Don’t let that fool you—the Racers can rake and Hogart sets the tone. The center fielder hit 22 homers this season to go along with a 1.162 OPS through 59 games. He leads the nation in leadoff homers and has gone deep eight times over his last 11 games. The righthanded hitter has an aggressive approach and loves to ambush pitchers early in the count. The 23-year-old Kentucky native has emerged as the face of Murray State’s improbable run and may have played his way into becoming an intriguing money-saving sign for a big league club in a few weeks.
UCLA
Roch Cholowsky, SS (2026)
UCLA doesn’t have any premium prospects when it comes to this year’s draft class. But you’ll want to familiarize yourself with Cholowsky, the Bruins’ star sophomore shortstop who was arguably the best player in college baseball this spring and is trending toward becoming a premium pick in next year’s draft. Cholowsky terrorized Big Ten pitching this year and hit .367/.494/.742 with 23 homers over 63 games.
From his scouting report: Cholowsky was one of the bigger names to make it to campus last spring. He rose to the occasion and posted a .308/.399/.500 line with 21 extra-base hits and 33 RBIs across 52 games. Cholowsky has a rhythmic swing that includes a noticeable barrel tip, and he has a present feel to hit to go along with a sound approach. Cholowsky has long been praised for his defensive abilities, and at shortstop he boasts smooth actions with an advanced internal clock and arm strength to boot. He appears to have added impact since last season.
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