Dick Howser Trophy
Prediction: Jace LaViolette, Texas A&M
Winner: Alex Lodise, Florida State
Jace was the #2 prospect in the 2025 MLB draft going into the season. After his 2025 campaign, he fell down to #15. Jace saw a decrease in production from his 2024 season, most notably his 18 homers in 2025 compared to his 29 in 2024. LaViolette batted .258/.427/.576 with a strong 1.003 OPS over 56 games played. None of this is to say that Jace had a “bad” season, his numbers were obviously solid, but still a disappointment compared to his 2024 and 2023 seasons. The winner of the award, shortstop Alex Lodise from Florida State, batted .394/.462/.705 with a 1.167 OPS.
National Pitcher of The Year
Prediction: Jamie Arnold, Florida State
Winner: Jake Knapp, North Carolina
Arnold put up strong numbers in 2025. He had an 8-2 record, a 2.98 ERA, and 119 strikeouts. He was not named as a finalist for National Pitcher Of The Year, but that didn’t stop him from being projected by ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel to go #3 overall to the Seattle Mariners. North Carolina’s Jake Knapp was 14-0 in 2025 with a 2.02 ERA and 88 strikeouts.
Most disappointing team: Texas A&M
“Disappointing” was an understatement. My idea of disappointing for the Aggies was a super regional loss, not them becoming the most disappointing team in the history of college baseball. A&M became the first preseason #1 to not qualify for regionals, joining all of the other A&M disappointments out of College Station.
Overachievers: Texas
Texas went out sad in the regionals, but don’t let that overshadow the Longhorns overachieving in 2025. Texas was #19 in the preseason poll. They finished at #4, jumping 15 spots, peaking at #1 overall in April. Texas made progress towards becoming a top program and I expect them to be a strong contender for the National Championship in 2026.
National Champions
Prediction: Tennessee
Winner:LSU
Tennessee played well in 2025, dominating regionals before ultimately falling to Arkansas in supers. The LSU Tigers, riding great outings from Kade Anderson in game 1 and Anthony Eyanson in game 2, would claim the 2025 NCAA Division 1 championship. The Tigers outscored their opponents this postseason by a combined score of 86-44, only losing one game over the course of the tournament (4-10 Little Rock). This marks the Tigers 2nd National Title in 3 seasons, but more importantly, LSU also claimed their second Rocco’s Charity Jell-O shot challenge championship, which I would say is more prestigious than the National Championship. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, this article by USA Today’s Craig Meyer explains the tradition well. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/baseball/2025/06/13/roccos-jello-shot-challenge-college-world-series-record-2025/84173990007/
On to the best moments from Omaha!
“No Cinderella story”
Chanticleers manager Kevin Schnall made it known in a postgame interview that, while Coastal is considered an “underdog” in other sports, baseball is not one of them. After they swept Auburn in super regionals, Schnall let the media know that just because Coastal isn’t a SEC powerhouse doesn’t mean that they aren’t a force in their own right. “This is no Cinderella. I wanna make sure that’s known. This is no Cinderella. Coastal Carolina the past century, only eight teams have made the regionals more than us. During that same period we have the sixth-best win percentage and the ninth-most wins. This is not a Cinderella story. We’re one of the most premier, most successful college baseball programs in the entire country.” The Chanticleers backed up the talk, winning 26 straight games. They ultimately were swept out by LSU in the championship series, but the statement has been made. Coastal Carolina is the real deal, and you can either accept it or be heartbroken when they beat your favorite team.
Louisville’s 6 run 8th inning to avoid elimination
Let’s set the scene. It’s the bottom of the 8th inning in an elimination game between the Arizona Wildcats and the Louisville Cardinals. Arizona has held the lead since their two run 1st inning, and were up 3-2. With the bases loaded, outfielder Zion Rose singled to right, scoring 2 runs and giving Louisville the lead. After that, the Cardinals didn’t look back, scoring 4 more runs and closing out the game with a final score of 8-3. Louisville followed up this run of clutch hitting by walking off 8 seed Oregon State, before finally being defeated by 13 seed Coastal Carolina, closing out an unforgettable run.
Gage Wood’s elimination game no-no
I’m not even going to describe this game. Go watch it.
https://youtu.be/r-7eqVb4XK4?si=zO3bC_Zr_xjLnIZ8
If you need convincing, here are some stats:
3rd no hitter in MCWS history
7 perfect innings
First MCWS no hitter since Oklahoma State’s Jim Wixon in 1960
19 strikeouts
The Miracle of the 2025 Murray State Racers
To the untrained eye, Murray State’s Omaha performance seems irrelevant. They didn’t win a game in Omaha, losing 4-6 to UCLA and 0-3 to Arkansas. But, if you followed college baseball, you would know how shocking it was that the Racers made it this far. Murray State had been mostly irrelevant since the 70s. Their field looks more similar to those of high level prep schools instead of a D1 college. That didn’t stop them from taking out 10 seed Ole Miss in regionals, then following that up by taking down Duke in supers.
Omahogs collapse in the 9th
Arkansas and the 9th inning in Omaha already had a legacy in Fayetteville before their showdown with the LSU Tigers, and let’s just say it isn’t positive. 2018 College World Series Championship vs Oregon State. Game 2. 2 outs. A miscommunication leads to a dropped fly ball that sparks a Beavers rally that costs Arkansas a National Championship. Well, the 2025 Razorbacks saw that and got inspired. Bottom 9th, 1 out. Runners on 1st and 2nd. Groundball to Golden Spikes winner Wehiwa Aloy. Aloy inexplicably throws to third to get the lead runner. On the next at bat, Luis Hernandez hits a line drive to left field that is missed by the defender that ties the game. Superstar Jared Jones walks it off with a line drive off the glove of the second baseman, LSU moves on, Arkansas goes home. Nothing short of a disaster for the Omahogs.
