Love and baseball are in the air for this Valentine’s Day as NCAA Baseball Opening Day has arrived. This joyous occasion also starts our weekly coverage of the 2025 MLB draft, tracking how the top college and prep prospects are faring. As the Chicago White Sox endure another rebuild without a defined timeline, the draft still serves a significant role in helping general manager Chris Getz accumulate more talent. His amateur scouting department will get two cracks within the Top 50 picks, as the White Sox have picks Nos. 10 and 44.
For college baseball, this upcoming season is filled with uncertainty. Many conferences are closely monitoring what’s transpiring with the federal government and Department of Education concerning Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) standards. Undoubtedly, the amount of NIL money available to the top conferences has been a difference maker. Just ask Tennessee, who enters as the defending College World Series champions. Thanks to the overwhelming investment the University of Tennessee has committed to baseball, coach Tony Vitello has been terrific at working the transfer portal.
It’s hard to say how the NIL pendulum will swing in the upcoming months, but any changes could significantly impact the college baseball landscape. National runner-up and preseason No. 1 Texas A&M just saw the Board of Regents approve a $28.3 million renovation of their player development facilities. That’s a level of investment not many MLB teams make today. Serious investments come with serious pressure, and it’ll be fun to watch how it all unfolds in the college baseball landscape.
NCBWA 2025 PRESEASON TOP 25 POLL
| Rank | School | Conference | 2024 Record |
| 1 | Texas A&M | SEC | 53-15 |
| 2 | Tennessee | SEC | 60-13 |
| 3 | Virginia | ACC | 50-15 |
| 4 | LSU | SEC | 43-23 |
| 5 | Arkansas | SEC | 44-16 |
| 6 | Florida State | ACC | 49-17 |
| 7 | Oregon State | Pac-12 | 45-16 |
| 8 | North Carolina | ACC | 48-16 |
| 9 | Clemson | ACC | 44-16 |
| 10 | Florida | SEC | 36-30 |
| 11 | Duke | ACC | 40-20 |
| 12 | Oregon | Big Ten | 40-20 |
| 13 | Georgia | SEC | 43-17 |
| 14 | Vanderbilt | SEC | 38-23 |
| 15 | NC State | ACC | 38-23 |
| 16 | Wake Forest | ACC | 38-22 |
| 17 | Texas | SEC | 36-24 |
| 18 | Oklahoma State | Big 12 | 42-19 |
| 19 | Mississippi State | SEC | 40-23 |
| 20 | DBU | CUSA | 45-15 |
| 21 | Arizona | Big 12 | 36-23 |
| 22 | UC Santa Barbara | Big West | 44-14 |
| 23 | TCU | Big 12 | 33-21 |
| 24 | Nebraska | Big Ten | 40-22 |
| 25 | Indiana | Big Ten | 33-26-1 |
Sox Machine Preseason Top 50 MLB Draft Prospects
In the first 50 picks of last year’s MLB draft, 32 college players were selected compared to 18 prep players, and the preseason Sox Machine Top 50 prospects for 2025 reflect a similar ratio. Thirty-three college players make up the preseason Top 50, led by Texas A&M slugger Jace LaViolette. In 2024, LaViolette hit 29 HR with a slash line of .305/.449/.726, coming off an impressive first-year campaign where he hit 21 home runs. The Texas A&M school record for most home runs in a career is 56, held by Daylan Holt. LaViolette could break that record before St. Patrick’s Day.
Followed by LaViolette is Ethan Holliday, who is trying to follow in his father and brother’s footsteps and become a major leaguer. Then it’s the top pitchers in this draft, RHP Tyler Bremner of UC Santa Barbara and LHP Jaime Arnold of Florida State.
Regarding schools in the Top 50, Tennessee leads the way with four players, followed by LSU and Corona High. Yes, a high school has as many top-50 prospects as the LSU Tigers and arguably a more impressive group than Tennessee. RHP Seth Hernandez, SS/RHP Billy Carlson, and SS/3B Brady Ebel are ranked inside the top 20, which merits a large group of MLB scouts following them when their prep season starts on Feb. 22.
| Rank | Player | Position | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jace LaViolette | OF | Texas A&M |
| 2 | Ethan Holliday | 3B | Stillwater (OK) |
| 3 | Tyler Bremner | RHP | UC Santa Barbara |
| 4 | Jamie Arnold | LHP | Florida State |
| 5 | Seth Hernandez | RHP | Corona (CA) |
| 6 | Xavier Neyens | 3B | Mount Vernon (WA) |
| 7 | Cam Cannarella | OF | Clemson |
| 8 | Aiva Arquette | SS | Oregon State |
| 9 | Kayson Cunningham | SS | Johnson (TX) |
| 10 | Billy Carlson | SS/RHP | Corona (CA) |
| 11 | Eli Willits | SS | Fort Cobb-Broxton (OK) |
| 12 | Ike Irish | C | Auburn |
| 13 | Devin Taylor | OF | Indiana |
| 14 | Brendan Summerhill | OF | Arizona |
| 15 | Kruz Schoolcraft | LHP/1B | Sunset (OR) |
| 16 | Luke Stevenson | C | North Carolina |
| 17 | Cameron Appenzeller | LHP | Glenwood (IL) |
| 18 | Marek Houston | SS | Wake Forest |
| 19 | Brady Ebel | SS | Corona (CA) |
| 20 | Dean Curley | SS | Tennessee |
| 21 | Kyson Witherspoon | RHP | Oklahoma |
| 22 | Caden Bodine | C | Coastal Carolina |
| 23 | Nick Dumesnil | OF | California Baptist |
| 24 | Trent Caraway | 3B | Oregon State |
| 25 | Max Belyeu | OF | Texas |
| 26 | Tre Phelps | OF/3B | Georgia |
| 27 | Nolan Schubart | OF | Oklahoma State |
| 28 | Ethan Conrad | OF | Wake Forest |
| 29 | Ethan Petry | OF/1B | South Carolina |
| 30 | Wehiwa Aloy | SS | Arkansas |
| 31 | Henry Godbout | 2B | Virginia |
| 32 | Henry Ford | 1B | Virginia |
| 33 | Gavin Fien | 3B | Great Oak (CA) |
| 34 | Sean Gamble | SS/OF | IMG Academy (FL) |
| 35 | Matt Scott | RHP | Stanford |
| 36 | Quentin Young | 3B/OF | Oaks Christian (CA) |
| 37 | Gavin Kilen | 2B | Tennessee |
| 38 | Daniel Dickinson | 2B | LSU |
| 39 | Brandon Compton | OF | Arizona State |
| 40 | Josh Hammond | RHP/3B | Wesleyan Christian (NC) |
| 41 | Gabe Davis | RHP | Oklahoma State |
| 42 | Dean Moss | OF | IMG Academy (FL) |
| 43 | Chase Shores | RHP | LSU |
| 44 | A.J. Russell | RHP | Tennessee |
| 45 | Andrew Fischer | 3B | Tennessee |
| 46 | Landon Harmon | RHP | East Union (MS) |
| 47 | Brock Sell | OF | Tokay (CA) |
| 48 | Tate Southisene | SS/OF | Basic (NV) |
| 49 | Kade Anderson | LHP | LSU |
| 50 | Cam Leiter | RHP | Florida State |
KEY: Prep Players highlighted in blue
Sox Machine Preseason Watch Board
The Watch Board is our tracking tool on who could be targets for the White Sox at pick No. 10. Last year, my number one prospect for the White Sox was Georgia’s slugger Charlie Condon. He went on to win the Golden Spikes Award and Dick Howser Award (which I voted for and did pick Condon), and was taken third overall by Colorado.
Billy Carlson, SS/RHP, Corona High (CA)
Considered the best defensive prospect in this draft class, Billy Carlson has the makings to be a highly touted prep shortstop who gains helium and rises toward the first overall pick. Carlson touched 96 mph off the mound during the summer showcase but hit 99 MPH during infield practice. Carlson ran a 6.68-second 60-yard dash in agility drills, which is 60-grade speed, and a 1.63-second 10-yard split. Add in the max exit velocity of 96 MPH, and Carlson scored good marks on key metrics.
Watching films from the showcases, Carlson’s throwing arm impresses me the most. No matter the angle, Carlson was consistently on target, demonstrating good range and a comfort level of rushing in on a slow roller. Typically, for high school shortstops, I see them have happy feet, which leads to unbalanced throws. Not from Carlson, who has good composure and body control. What will be a factor this spring is Carlson’s hitting ability. It largely depends on who you speak with, but the consensus is Carlson’s approach is more line drive and has shown good strike zone recognition for a prep player.
Eli Willits, SS, Fort Cobb-Broxton High (OK)
A switch-hitting shortstop, Eli Willits gets consideration for being one of the top prep players in this class despite recently reclassifying from the 2026 draft. The metrics are not very different from those of Willits and Carlson. While watching the film, I noticed Willits has similar swings on both sides of the plate. But it works better as a left-handed hitter as he does a better job of getting his lower half through the zone, which helps generate some power. I grade Carlson better defensively.
A key difference, and the most important for some MLB clubs, is that Willits is 16 months younger than Carlson and will be 17 years old come draft day.
Cameron Appenzeller, LHP, Glenwood
Down in Chatham, Illinois, outside of Springfield, is a prep pitcher with the makings of someone the Chicago White Sox could target. A three-pitch mix, Appenzeller is primarily a two-seam and slider offering with a sprinkling of a changeup. In the Perfect Game showcase, Appenzeller’s velocity ranged from 91 to 95 MPH as his slider hovers around 80 MPH. If the White Sox were to draft Appenzeller, I could already see them making him throw a four-seamer more to beat hitters top of the zone and swap out the swooping slider for a cutter.
This is all to say that Appenzeller is the type of left-handed pitcher the White Sox have succeeded in developing. We are still waiting to see what kind of pitcher Noah Schultz will be in the majors, but there’s a great deal of promise. If the White Sox switch their draft philosophy to selecting guys in the first round they are most confident they can develop, Appenzeller would be in that group.
Brendan Summerhill, OF, University of Arizona
Brendan Summerhill, a Whitney Young High School graduate, will draw plenty of eyes this spring. Summerhill played in 22 games in 2023, hitting .259/.419/.414 in just 58 plate appearances, but last year, he was a full-time starter in center field and flourished, hitting .324/.399/.550 in 58 games with 8 homers, 18 doubles and 59 RBIs. Defensively, Summerhill displayed good range in center field last year.
OF Brendan Summerhill (@ArizonaBaseball) has been a steady riser on Draft boards since last spring. Summerhill saw a fair amount of playing time as a Freshman, but broke out last spring to the tune of a .324/.399/.550 slash line with 16 2B, 6 3B, 8 HR, and 59 RBIs in 58 games.… pic.twitter.com/NYHk1GTduV
— Peter Flaherty III (@PeterGFlaherty) November 19, 2024
With a 12.9 percent K rate, Summerhill is a tough guy to strike out, but he didn’t draw many walks last year (11.1 percent). I'm curious if that metric will improve going into his junior year. The groundball and flyball rates were identical at 42.4 percent, but with just a 9.3 percent of his flies leaving the yard, I wonder just how much home run power there is in his swing.
https://t.co/PJpeaHl2K8 pic.twitter.com/xFW98TQIqm
— Stats by Tim (@TimStats) January 31, 2025
Ike Irish, C, Auburn University
Ike Irish has been one of the best Freshmen in the country this spring and continue to prove why with a beautiful inside-out swing on a Brandon Sproat 97mph fastball to give Auburn an early 2-0 lead over #2 Florida. pic.twitter.com/VVC4xL6KYA
— Peter Flaherty III (@PeterGFlaherty) March 31, 2023
Ike Irish had an impressive first year at the plate, serving primarily as the designated hitter for Auburn. In 58 games spanning 273 plate appearances, Irish hit .361/.429/.546 in 2023 with six homers and 24 doubles. Last year, Irish dealt with two injuries that caused him to miss action. First, he dealt with a hand injury in March, and then in April, he sprained his ankle by sliding into first base against Mississippi State.
Irish still played 46 games, batting .319/.403/.627 with 14 HR and 11 doubles. Like Summerhill, Irish is a tough guy to strike out with a 13.3 percent K-rate, but doesn’t draw many walks (10 percent walk rate in two years). The HR/FB rate is impressive at 25 percent, but Irish did have a groundball rate of 46 percent. Something to monitor watching him in 2025 is how he handles pitches up in the zone.
Luke Stevenson, C, North Carolina University
The park will not hold it, and Luke Stevenson put us back on top with a three-run shot.
— Carolina Baseball (@DiamondHeels) March 31, 2024
Carolina 9, Wake Forest 7 (M7) pic.twitter.com/75wg7knHuT
One of the few draft-eligible sophomores, Luke Stevenson, gained believers last year by belting 14 home runs and posting a max exit velocity of 112.2 MPH. It’s a powerful left-handed swing, which is always enticing, but strikeouts were a bit of an issue for Stevenson during his freshman campaign (20.4 percent K-rate). I'm figuring another year of offseason training could lead to Stevenson hitting more than 20 homers in 2025 with better recognition of pitch spin.
Devin Taylor, OF, Indiana University
Since stepping on campus down in Bloomington, Indiana, all Devin Taylor has done is mash. In 114 career games, Taylor is hitting .338/.440/.655 in 529 total plate appearances with 36 homers and 113 RBIs for the Hoosiers. After hitting 20 homers in 2024, don’t be surprised if Taylor takes another jump in his development and challenges to hit 30 dingers in 2025. He’s got a powerful swing that generates a 25.9 percent HR/FB rate, so when Taylor can generate loft, the ball flies off his bat.
OF Devin Taylor (@IndianaBase) is one of the premier college bats in this year's Draft. Made an immediate impact as a Freshman in '23 and hit .315/.430/.650 with 13 2B, 16 HRs and 59 RBIs. Upped his production last year and posted a .357/.449/.660 slash line with 11 2B, 20 HRs… pic.twitter.com/ZcSESEf5AI
— Peter Flaherty III (@PeterGFlaherty) January 9, 2025
I’d like to see Taylor improve in two areas, hitting-wise. First is his pitch recognition. Big Ten baseball is improving in quality but still a step below SEC and ACC, especially on the pitching front. If Taylor continues to strike out more often than draw walks in conference play, that will cause some hesitancy from MLB front offices taking him as high as 10th overall in the draft.
The second would be the ground-ball rate. Last year, Taylor hit a grounder 46 percent of the time. Going back to pitch recognition, if Taylor can better identify which pitches he should lay off (thus improving his walk rate) and those that he can generate lift (line drives, fly balls), he could be considered one of the best bats in this draft class. He’ll need to be a top 15 pick, as Taylor is likely limited to left field defensively.
Devin Taylor is a power hitting for Indiana. The lefty absolutely mashed in 2024 sporting a .357/.449/.660 slash with 20 HR. The lefty will be one of the top bats off the board during the Draft. https://t.co/oeRKPkPzfE pic.twitter.com/d6vnC97wfT
— Stats by Tim (@TimStats) January 31, 2025
Lil Jimmy Prep Player to Watch:
Kruz Schoolcraft, LHP/1B, Sunset High (OR)
As tradition with our MLB Draft Reports on Sox Machine, we always pick one prep player that’s intriguing in memory of our late friend Lil Jimmy. I know he would have been ecstatic that his last guy, Marcelo Mayer, continues to climb up the Top 100 prospect lists and could see time in Boston this season.
This year’s Prep Player to Watch answers a question: “What if you somehow combined Noah Schultz and George Wolkow into one person?”
You would get Oregon prep star, Kruz Schoolcraft.
Standing at 6’8”, Schoolcraft is a Tennessee commit who put up impressive numbers during the summer showcases. Perfect Game recorded a max fastball velocity and hitting exit velocities at 97 MPH. Schoolcraft throws a four-seamer, slider, and changeup as a pitcher. The velocity maintained between 95 to 97 MPH this past August at Chase Field for Perfect Game’s All-American Classic.
Watching film of his batting practice, Schoolcraft does a good job of repeating his swing and staying balanced through the zone. There doesn’t appear to be too much on his front leg as he utilizes a toe tap instead of a common leg kick.
Based on the limited film, early on, I preferred Schoolcraft, the pitcher, to the hitter simply because of fastball data. But he’s a bit of a unicorn, and maybe someone from an MLB organization could try early on to see which side holds more value to the organization. Again, the White Sox have a knack for developing left-handed pitchers and are always in the market for power.
Games I’m Watching this Weekend
Shriners Children’s College Showdown at Globe Life Field
- Clemson vs. Oklahoma State: Feb. 14 - 11:00 AM CT
- Arizona vs. Ole Miss: Feb. 14 - 3:00 PM CT
- Arizona vs. Clemson: Saturday Feb. 15 - 11:00 AM CT
- Clemson vs. Ole Miss: Sunday Feb. 16 - 2:30 PM CT
(All games on Flocollege.com. Link to streams)
Prospects to watch
- Clemson: OF Cam Cannarella
- Arizona: OF Brendan Summerhill, SS Mason White
- Oklahoma State: OF Nolan Schubart, RHP Gabe Davis
