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College | Story | 7/8/2020

8 For Omaha

Mike Rooney

Photo: Doug Nikhazy (Ole Miss Athletics)

Let’s be frank: it feels incredible to be thinking about the 2021 College World Series right now! These way too early predictions are precarious at best but anything that gets us visualizing Omaha is a win right now. So let’s take our annual run at predicting next year’s Eight for Omaha.

Arkansas

The lineup screams strength up the middle with centerfielder Christian Franklin, middle infielder Robert Moore, and catcher Casey Opitz. Braydon Webb and Matt Goodheart make for an excellent “tier two” in this position player group. On paper, this pitching staff offers tremendous depth yet the rotation is unsettled. Connor Noland appeared to be making a jump but missed his final start due to a mild oblique strain. Lefthander Patrick Wicklander struggled in 2020 and his rebound will be a key. Newcomer Nate Wolgemuth is a righthander who probably wouldn’t make it to campus in a normal draft year. His upper 90s fastball should make an immediate impact.

Florida

The Gators utterly demolished the draft this year and they were already the reigning No. 1 ranked team in the country. A rotation of Tommy Mace, Jack Leftwich, and Hunter Barco grabs the headlines but the depth on this pitching staff is obscene. Returning freshmen Josh Rivera (shortstop) and Nathan Hickey (catcher) established themselves in short order in 2020 and centerfielder Jud Fabian is a five-tool athlete with first round upside. On paper, this roster has no holes.

Louisville

It seems crazy that the Cardinals could lose two first rounders on the mound (Reid Detmers, Bobby Miller) and still have pitching be a strength of this club. But that is the case because Luke Smith has returned along with bullpen aces Adam Elliott and Michael Kirian. Smith has a Friday night mentality if not quite the usual stuff for that role and the rest of the rotation is a question mark. The position player group looks like an Olympic Decathlon team as it might be the most athletic group in the country. Alex Binelas adds a pure and proven middle of the order bat.

Ole Miss

The Rebels made a loud statement in 2020 and that team had Omaha written all over them. Anthony Servideo and Tyler Keenan are huge losses but the entire rest of the roster returns. The rotation matches up with anyone. Lefthanded gunslinger Doug Nikhazy is a proven commodity and vastly improved righthander Gunnar Hogland might be the best Saturday guy in the SEC in 2021. What the lineup lacks in star power, it makes up for with depth and versatility. Returning freshman Peyton Chatagnier and Hayden Dunhurst are middle of the field defenders who could emerge as top of the league offensive pieces.

Texas Tech

It is amazing to observe the frequency with which the Red Raiders have made this list under Tim Tadlock. It is easy to forget that Texas Tech’s first ever CWS appearance occurred in 2014. This club returns the makings of an elite pitching staff starting with Micah Dallas, Hunter Dobbins, Mason Montgomery, and Jakob Brustoski. The position player group will be typically athletic and tough-minded led by Jace Jung, Dylan Neuse, and Cal Conley. Returning freshman Nate Rombach is the most unique player in this lineup as he offers 20 plus homerun potential.

UCLA

Ace Zach Pettway’s stuff made a jump in 2020 and he already offers elite pitchability. The bullpen remains a huge strength despite the loss of Holden Powell to the draft as veterans Kyle Mora and Michael Townsend bring over 130 career appearances to the party. Matt McLain shows signs of becoming the star his pedigree suggests and this is a deep position player group. In fact, this may be the deepest roster in College Baseball.

Vanderbilt

Never before have two college teammates gone first and second overall in the MLB Draft. Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter could conceivably change that in 2021, thus forming the Commodores’ Omaha case for next season. The pitching staff also shows great depth as Ethan Smith, Thomas Schultz, Michael Doolin, and Sam Hliboki all turned in outstanding performances in 2020. While this should be one of the nation’s best run prevention outfits, the offense is a real concern with no proven middle of the order bats returning.

Virginia

After a very brief departure, the Cavaliers are back to being a national factor in College Baseball. The returning sophomore duo of Nic Kent and Zack Gelof play with the competitiveness of the old school Virginia teams that frequented Omaha. Getting high leverage reliever Andrew Abbott back was a surprise that changes the equation. And the rest of the roster is littered with high end talents like centerfielder Chris Newell and lefthander Nate Savino. Rotation arms Griff McGarry and Mike Vasil appear to be right on the verge of making a big jump.

8 for the Supers

Arizona: The Wildcats are a trifecta of a draft gone well, a returning pitching staff on the rise, and their signature explosive offense.

Georgia Tech: Luke Waddell started for the 2019 College National Team and Kevin Parada might be the best true freshman hitter in America next year.

Mississippi State: Rowdey Jordan and Tanner Allen are the signature lineup pieces here while Christian MacLeod has solidified himself as a bona fide Friday night arm.

South Carolina: The draft literally could not have gone any better for the Gamecocks and returning freshman third baseman Brennan Milone is a star in the making.

TCU: The Horned Frogs return an outrageously experienced club as both the entire lineup and rotation are back. Lefthander Russell Smith broke out in 2020 and righthander Charles King has excelled in a variety of roles.

Texas: Veteran middle of the order bat Austin Todd will lead a young but very talented position player group while Ty Madden and Pete Hansen front a pitching staff with a depth of premium arms.

Tulane: The Green Wave ran out to a 15-2 record in 2020 and the majority of that squad is back. This is a high-scoring, veteran offense and ace Braden Olthoff posted an astounding 47:3 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

UCSB: The Gauchos went 13-2 in 2020 and return the entire roster including a weekend rotation (Rodney Boone, Michael McGreevy, and Zach Torra) that pitched to a combined ERA of 1.22.

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College | Story | 2/10/2026

Conference Preview: America East

AJ Denny

2026 College Preview Index | Preseason Top 25 | Preseason Collegiate All-Americans For all of Perfect Game's conference previews as part of the 2026 college baseball preview content, the 2025 records and all-conference teams are available for free. The conference top prospects and individual team breakdowns can be viewed with a subscription. 2025 Records Teams are listed in alphabetical order* Team W L W L Binghamton 13 11 28 26 Bryant 18 6 36 18 Maine 13 11 20 31 NJIT 14 10 27 26 UAlbany 10 14 22 32 UMass Lowell 8 16 18 35 UMBC 8 16 18 28 Preseason All-Conference Team Pos. Name School Stats/Notes C Levi McAllister UAlbany 2025 2nd Team America East All-Conference; hit .310 last season w/ 9 HRs and 25 XBH. Do-it-all guy for UAlbany, reliable behind dish w/ ability to hit for both AVG + power offensively 1B Sean O'Leary UMass...

High School | Rankings | 2/10/2026

Texas Region Top Teams

Tyler Russo

Texas All Region & Top Tools Rk Texas Record 1 Grapevine 36-3 2 Memorial 28-6-1 3 Lake Travis 28-12-3 4 Kingwood 39-4 5 Aledo 31-8 6 Atascocita 33-12-2 7 Calallen 35-2 8 Pleasant Grove 36-6 9 Prestonwood Christian 25-5 10 The Bennett School N/A 11 Lovejoy 30-9 12 Allen 16-16-1 13 Prosper 33-10-1 14 Flower Mound Marcus 30-13 15 Tomball 34-7-1 16 Waco Midway 35-8 17 Dallas Jesuit 23-9-1 18 Flower Mound 21-12 19 Buda Johnson 26-13 20 The Woodlands 29-6-1 21 Katy Taylor 26-13-1 22 Rockwall Heath 15-9 23 Rockwall 29-10 24 Lutheran South 34-3-1 25 Keller 29-11

Softball | Softball Tournament | 2/9/2026

Perfect Game Softball Winter Warm Up 18U Division

Erica Beach

Perfect Game Softball Winter Warm Up Burlington, IA Jan 30-Feb 1, 2026 BURLINGTON, IOWA- 23 teams across two age divisions converged onto Fun City Turf last weekend to compete to be the Winter Warm Up champions. In the 18U division, the Iowa Nationals 18U came out on top in a hard-fought game, defeating the Iowa Gold Prospects 2-1. On the weekend, several athletes stepped up big for their teams and below we highlight some of the top performers of the tournament. 18U Division Julia Roth (2026, Dubuque, IA) of the Lady Expos Blue was one of the most effective hitters of the weekend. She finished her weekend batting .583, tallying seven hits, four of them being home runs. Her power was on display, and she came in clutch multiple times, driving in nine runs for her team. This right-handed hitter showed great composure in the box, working counts, and making defenses earn...

High School | General | 2/9/2026

Deep South Region Top Teams

Tyler Russo

Deep South All Region & Top Tools Rk Deep South Record 1 Magnolia Heights (MS) 39-5 2 Barbe (LA) 35-7 3 Catholic (LA) 37-5 4 The Baylor School (TN) 22-8 5 Nolensville (TN) 20-14 6 Hoover (AL) 22-20 7 Sam Houston (LA) 36-8 8 Christian Brothers (TN) 26-13 9 Hartselle (AL) 35-8 10 Lipscomb Academy (TN) 28-9-1 11 Lewisburg (MS) 21-10 12 Farragut (TN) 32-11 13 Tuerlings Catholic (LA) 36-5 14 Tuscaloosa County (AL) 33-13 15 Petal (MS) 18-10 16 West Monroe (LA) 26-9-1 17 Brandon (MS) 24-14 18 Auburn (AL) 21-18 19 Oak Ridge (TN) 36-9 20 Bob Jones (AL) 37-12 21 Thompson (AL) 30-15 22 University Lab (LA) 29-12 23 Knoxville Catholic (TN) 23-16-1 24 Sumrall (MS) 25-9 25 Benton (LA) 35-6

College | Story | 2/10/2026

Conference Preview: Horizon

Scott Rankin

2026 College Preview Index | Preseason Top 25 | Preseason Collegiate All-Americans For all of Perfect Game's conference previews as part of the 2026 college baseball preview content, the 2025 records and all-conference teams are available for free. The conference top prospects and individual team breakdowns can be viewed with a subscription. 2025 Records Teams are listed in alphabetical order* Team W L W L Milwaukee 22 35 16 13 Northern Kentucky 31 25 18 12 Oakland 18 41 10 20 Wright State 40 21 25 5 Youngstown State 15 42 11 19 Preseason All-Conference Team Pos. Name School Stats/Notes C Jake Paulick Northern Kentucky Slashed .265/.404/.518 with 8 homers and 41 RBI in ‘25 1B Jp Peltier Wright State 1st team All-Horizon playing OF in ’25 and hit 20 homers with a 1.019 OPS 2B Hunter Warren Wright State 1st team All-Horizon in ’25...

High School | General | 2/9/2026

Deep South All Region & Top Tools

David Rawnsley

DEEP SOUTH REGION (AL, LA, MS, TN) The Deep South Region is absolutely loaded with position talent and would certainly have a chance to outscore any of the other Regions in a straight offensive battle. And this trend doesn’t look like it’s going to change soon looking at the 2027 and 2028 classes for the Region. All the starting lineup, for instance, is made up of Perfect Game All-Americans if you excuse the recently re-classified Will Brick. That leaves a pair of Louisiana All-Americans, Miller Sheets and Braylon Montgomery, out of the starting lineup. Also missing is another re-classified player, Alabama shortstop Rocco Maniscalco, who has been talked about as a potential Day One draft in 2026. A strange twist in the Region is that it is abnormally well supplied with catchers, more so than any other region in the country really. Nowhere does that...

College | Story | 2/9/2026

Conference Preview: Ivy League

Jason Phillips

2026 College Preview Index | Preseason Top 25 | Preseason Collegiate All-Americans For all of Perfect Game's conference previews as part of the 2026 college baseball preview content, the 2025 records and all-conference teams are available for free. The conference top prospects and individual team breakdowns can be viewed with a subscription. 2025 Records Teams are listed in alphabetical order* Team W L W L Brown 7 14 11 28 Columbia 16 5 30 19 Cornell 7 14 12 22 Dartmouth 8 13 11 25 Harvard 9 12 14 28 Penn 13 8 21 20 Princeton 8 13 12 31 Yale 16 5 31 14 Preseason All Conference Team Pos. Name School Stats/Notes C Owen Estabrook Columbia 9 HRs in 109 ABs, Buster Posey Award Midseason Watchlist 1B Giovanni Colasante Harvard .314-10-33, 7 2Bs/ 31.2 IP, 36 SO, 2025 1st Team Ivy League UTL/P INF Jack Kail Columbia .312-7-45, 14 2Bs, 2025 1st Team Ivy League INF Davis Baker...

High School | General | 2/8/2026

California Region Top Teams

Tyler Russo

California All Region & Top Tools Rk California 2025 Record 1 St. John Bosco 30-4 2 Orange Lutheran 23-7 3 De La Salle 29-4 4 Corona 28-3 5 Huntington Beach 24-5 6 Harvard-Westlake 19-10 7 Mater Dei 19-15 8 Aquinas 25-3 9 Norco 22-9 10 Cathedral Catholic 19-12 11 Sierra Canyon 16-13 12 St. Mary's 26-9 13 Santa Margaraita Catholic 20-14 14 La Mirada 21-7 15 Notre Dame 15-14 16 Gahr 17-13 17 JSerra Catholic 17-10 18 Eastlake 21-11-1 19 Patrick Henry 23-11-2 20 Ganesha 23-3 21 St. Ignatius College Prep 17-10-2 22 Mira Costa 28-3 23 Cypress 18-11 24 Redondo Union 16-13 25 Oaks Christian 20-9

College | Story | 2/6/2026

Conference Preview: Ohio Valley

Kyler Peterson

College | Story | 2/9/2026

Conference Preview: Summit

Jay Vossler

2026 College Preview Index | Preseason Top 25 | Preseason Collegiate All-Americans For all of Perfect Game's conference previews as part of the 2026 college baseball preview content, the 2025 records and all-conference teams are available for free. The conference top prospects and individual team breakdowns can be viewed with a subscription. 2025 Records Teams are listed in alphabetical order* Team W L W L Northern Colorado 18 33 9 21 North Dakota State 21 34 13 15 Omaha 20 30 12 16 Oral Roberts 37 22 21 9 South Dakota State 16 36 12 18 St. Thomas 29 21 21 9 Preseason All-Conference Team Pos. Name School Stats/Notes C Wailele Kane-Yates Oral Roberts .341/.425/.576 12 HR, 50 RBI. Big time power bat with pro looks. 1B Jackson Trout Omaha .328/.404/.451 5 HR, 37 RBI. One of better athletes in the League. Versatile defender. 2B Tanner Recchio St. Thomas .324/.418/.415 30...

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8 For Omaha

Conference Preview: America East

Texas Region Top Teams

Perfect Game Softball Winter Warm Up 18U Division

Deep South Region Top Teams

Conference Preview: Horizon

Deep South All Region & Top Tools

Conference Preview: Ivy League

California Region Top Teams

Conference Preview: Ohio Valley

Conference Preview: Summit