As the 2025 college baseball season nears, the Top 25 rankings offer a taste of the dramas that will likely unfold. With the mix of the usual suspects and the teams rising on the radar, it is shaping up to be a tense year with many unexpected turns. Here are five significant storylines to watch:
1. Texas A&M: A National Championship Contender?
Texas A&M ranked No. 3 in the nation by 64Analytics, starts the season with eyes on Omaha. Head coach Nolan Earley has put together a strong team to build on last season, keeping pitcher Ryan Prager – who declined the Los Angeles Angels’ offer – and bringing in a strong portal class. Newcomers Wyatt Henseler (.360/.465/.755 in 2024) and Gavin Kash (.300/.365/.561) only enhance an already formidable team. Henseler provides stability and power in the batting order, while Kash is a seasoned veteran who has produced runs at the D1 level not matched by many. On paper, the Aggies appear capable of winning it all, but one question remains: Can they finally win a national championship, which eluded Jim Schlossnagle in 2024?
The Aggies’ offseason activity and retention of key players from the madness of the Transfer Portal (Grahovac, LaViolette, & others) make them one of the most intriguing teams to watch this year. If they live up to the preseason hype, they may be ready to make a run in the postseason, but history tells us that hype doesn’t always result in championships. The Aggies’ run through the SEC and into the postseason will be a highlight for fans and analysts.
2. Oregon vs. Oregon State: Talent Meets Transition
The Ducks and Beavers begin 2025 with excitement, but both programs have unique obstacles in front of them. For Oregon, it will be a peculiarity to see the patch on their jersey change from the Pac12 to the Big10. Thankfully, they are returning a talented roster including standout hitter Mason Neville (.254/.355/.669) and bringing in a polished portal class with elite quality at the top. As a new Big10 member, they will face multiple difficult cross-country travel conditions, including a 5,400-mile round trip to Maryland for a weekend series. Such travel presents a logistical challenge and the possibility of fatigue that can be a substantive variable to their 2025 season.
At the same time, Oregon State will enter 2025 as a newly affiliated Division I Independent, which will most assuredly impact their RPI and scheduling moving forward. With no conference competition, do the Beavers change their midweek pitching and hitting game plans to maintain RPI? Can they continue with their recruiting success without a conference affiliation? Would Oregon State consider joining the Big Ten for baseball in 2026? Regardless of the potential impacts this alteration causes, the ‘Civil War’ rivalry remains alive as Oregon visits Corvallis this season.
Both programs face a pivotal year in 2025. Oregon’s move to the Big Ten promises increased national exposure but comes with the challenge of extreme travel. Meanwhile, Oregon State’s independent status opens new opportunities while presenting its own hurdles. The question remains: will opportunity or adversity define their seasons?
3. The Big 12: Depth Without a Clear Frontrunner
As the Big 12 continues to grow in membership, the conference’s depth remains one of the major discussion topics before the beginning of the 2025 season. Oklahoma State and TCU are still very much present in the Top 25, but other programs are rising. For instance, Kansas is building up its program with better recruiting and player development, and the new teams added over the last two years—Cincinnati, UCF, and Arizona—only make the conference more intriguing. This variety of talent, as much as the possibility of its combination, indicates the potential for a very competitive season within the conference. Furthermore, other teams like West Virginia, Arizona State, and Kansas State are not far from breaking into the rankings, thus justifying the Big 12’s depth. 2025 could be a banner year for the Big 12 in terms of NCAA Tournament bids, with the potential to fill seven or more spots. This conference could be a dominant force in the postseason. The fight for the top seat in the Big 12 could be one of the most volatile plots of this season.
4. Mega Conferences and the Selection Process
The growth of mega conferences has posed several problems to the NCAA Selection Committee. Look no further than the inaugural seeding debacle for the NCAAF Playoffs. The Power Four conferences (ACC, Big Ten, SEC, and Big 12) are now so large that conference records are not always a good indicator of the overall strength of the record. For instance, teams like Arkansas and Texas must cope with a demanding SEC schedule that includes 41 combined games against ranked opponents, while others may get the luxury of avoiding some of the conferences pre-season highly ranked teams.
This disparity could lead a team with a 15-15 conference record in the SEC with a potentially better strength of record than a team with a 20-10 conference record—even though they are in the same conference. This potential for varied conference schedules could lead to significant controversy in seeding decisions. Will the committee have to change its evaluation criteria to reflect these differences? Will these criteria be more transparent than they have in the past? College baseball seeks a more open process that utilizes opponent quality and schedule context in its evaluations. What happens with these mega-conference complexities may serve as a reference for the future.
5. Can Anyone Outside the SEC and ACC Break Through?
Last year, the SEC and ACC ruled Omaha, but which team(s) from outside these two conferences could crash the party in 2025? The Ducks are suitable candidates with a young, talented team and a unique Big10 schedule. However, how will their new Big10 affiliation—which has not had a national seed since Illinois in 2015—impact their chances of getting a national seed? If Eugene is a regional and super regional host site, the Ducks’ chances of getting to Omaha look promising.
What about the Big 12? The talent level of power programs like Oklahoma State & TCU could cause problematic discussions for the selection committee in May. Or, a mid-major could leap forward, denying the SEC and ACC their current Omaha dominance? DBU, Lamar, Troy, Southern Miss, and others consistently show they can contend with the SEC and ACC.
However, if 64Analytics Top Eight teams is any indication, the unseating of the SEC and ACC will be an uphill battle in 2025.
Looking Ahead
The 2025 season is looking to be one that will not be forgotten, with giant games, surprise elements, and a lot of tension. These storylines are just the beginning of what will happen as college baseball takes the stage starting February 14th.