Collegiate teams across the country concluded their regular season schedules on Saturday. Many still have conference tournaments before underclassmen disperse to fulfill summer league commitments.

The top teams across the country still have the postseason to play, when the field is narrowed to 64 schools before the regionals and super regionals eliminate contenders until only eight remain. Those final eight teams will be invited to Omaha for the College World Series (June 11-22).

In 2025, the final eight schools included Oregon State, Coastal Carolina, Arizona, Louisville, Murray State, LSU, Arkansas, and UCLA. The LSU Tigers would defeat the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers in the best-of-three finals (2-0) to win the national championship.

Before games began, virtually every major outlet had LSU and UCLA at the top of their rankings for the 2026 season in some order. The two schools went on to have wildly opposite seasons.

The defending champion Tigers endured a thoroughly disappointing season, marred by injuries to several key players (losing RF Jake Brown and RHP Cooper Moore in mid-April, while LF Chris Stanfield missed most of the year), subpar results from the roster’s transfer additions (Zach Yorke, Trent Caraway, Brayden Simpson, and Seth Dardar), and ultimately resulting in a school-record 21 losses in conference play (9-21 vs. SEC opponents). The Tigers, who finished 29-27 overall, will miss the NCAA postseason for the first time since 2011 unless they win the conference tournament (winning five times in six days).

LSU’s pitching staff was the cause of many of the team’s struggles in conference play, allowing an SEC-high in runs allowed (231), walks (183), and wild pitches (53). The group was fourth in strikeouts (318), but that was mitigated by all the free passes.

Outfielders Derek Curiel (No. 15) and Brown (No. 45) are the only Tigers ranked among MLB Pipeline’s Top 150 draft-eligible prospects. Curiel, a draft-eligible sophomore, slashed .345/.424/.511 in 56 G (264 PA) while leading the team in runs (60), hits (75), doubles (15), and triples (2). Brown, before his season was cut short due to a broken hamate bone, hit .309/.404/.642 in 42 G (194 PA) and was second on the team in homers (16) and RBI (49).

Sophomore catcher Cade Arrambide took over starting duties behind the plate this year, while emerging as the Tigers’ best offensive threat. Arrambide slashed .326/.425/.669 in 50 G (214 PA) while leading the team in homers (18) and RBI (51). Within conference play, his 1.178 OPS and 12 HR ranked second among SEC hitters.

Meanwhile, the UCLA Bruins won a school-record 48 games (finishing 48-6 overall) during a season in which they were the No. 1-ranked team in the country from start to finish.

For the Bruins, the records didn’t stop there. The program was 28-2 against the Big Ten, setting a conference record for wins. The team had a 27-game winning streak against other conference opponents dating back to last season, a mark that had stood since 1911.

UCLA has five players (all juniors) ranked among MLB Pipeline’s top draft-eligible prospects, including the presumptive first-overall selection in July, shortstop Roch Cholowsky, who hit .330/.465/.684 in 54 G (269 PA) while leading the Bruins in runs (70) and homers (21).

Those rankings also include RHP Logan Reddemann (No. 20; 8-0 with a 2.87 ERA, 11 BB, and 84 SO in 59.2 IP before “arm fatigue” set in), 1B Mulivai Levu (No. 93; .339/.440/.618 in 53 G/259 PA with a team-leading 74 hits), OF Will Gasparino (No. 98; .305/.405/.645 in 53 G/242 PA with 19 HR and a team-leading 61 RBI), and 3B Roman Martin (No. 118; .340/.458/.533 in 54 G/262 PA while leading the team with 16 2B and 40 walks).

Before touching on the statistical leaders, there is some consensus about the top players in the country. USA Baseball announced the 25 semifinalists for the 48th Golden Spikes Award on Thursday, which is given annually to the top amateur player in the country.

Finalists for the award will be announced on June 10. The winner will be revealed on June 29.

University of Arkansas shortstop Wehiwa Aloy was the 2025 winner after hitting .350/.434/.673 with 21 HR and 68 RBI in 65 G (311 PA). Aloy, who was also the SEC Player of the Year, was then selected with the 31st overall pick in July’s draft by the Orioles. He’s already advanced to High-A Frederick this season, where he’s hitting .326/.375/.612 in 144 PA.

There are some notable highlights included in the announcement:

The semifinalists, in alphabetical order:

MLB Pipeline’s latest ranking of draft prospects features many of these players: Cholowsky (No. 1), Emerson (No. 2), Lackey (No. 3), Flora (No. 4), Burress (No. 8), Helfrick (No. 16), Dietz (No. 18), Townsend (No. 21), Sorrell (No. 25), Robbins (No. 26), Advincula (No. 31), Grahovac (No. 32), Edwards (No. 36), Jackson (No. 55), Kennedy (No. 75), Dempsey (No. 91), DeCaro (No. 121), and Ritchie (No. 130).

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RBI

Stolen bases

Pitching wins

ERA (IP)

Strikeouts

Lehigh University set two NCAA records in a 38-6 April victory over Coppin State. The Mountain Hawks scored 20 times in the first inning, topping the previous mark of 18. Third baseman Aidan Quinn walked seven times in the game (incl. three in the first inning).

Georgia Tech hit .358 as a team and scored 578 runs in 54 games (10.7 runs per game), the best team offensive output from any power-conference school since at least 2003.

Louisville 1B/INF Tague Davis set the ACC single-season home run record (34).

Univ. of Mississippi INF Judd Utermark broke the school record for career home runs (49).

The Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles finished the season with a 40-14 record, the 10th consecutive season the program has won at least 40 games (the longest active streak in college baseball).

The Kansas Jayhawks finished the year at 39-16 overall. Their 22-8 mark in conference play earned them the Big 12 Title for the first time in 77 years.