Podcast: 2025 NCAA Postseason Preview with Mike Ferrin

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Episode Notes

Guest: Mike Ferrin - ESPN, MLB Network Radio, College Sports Sirus XM

Rundown

• [Intro] Mike Ferrin joins the show and he shares his thoughts on this year's class of college draft eligible players
• [5:49] Personal observations of Florida State LHP Jamie Arnold
• [8:59] Who is the college baseball player of the year?
• [17:15] Thoughts on the bracket structure
• [19:58] Our favorite Regionals to watch
• [26:56] Which Top 8 seed is most at-risk of being knocked out in Regionals?
• [32:12] Our Upset Picks to Click

Players to Follow - NCAA Regionals Edition

While compiling the updated Sox Machine Top 100 2025 MLB Draft Prospects, I had a list of 185 players for consideration. From that group, I’ve parsed out which of those prospects will be playing this weekend. Most of these players could be targets after the fourth round, and more will be added as postseason play progresses. Especially the need to track college seniors. The White Sox have targeted that group to help save on draft bonuses to afford to go over slots in the early rounds. Think Tim Elko in 2022 when he signed for $35,000 in the 10th round. 

It’s hard for one person to tackle this endeavor alone. So feel free to use the comments section of this post to suggest draft-eligible players to track. Let’s get started with the Regionals having the most prospects to follow. 

Knoxville - 10 Prospects

Quick Preview: Tennessee is going to dominate draft day as they have at least eight players who could be selected in the first five rounds. What makes this Regional fun is adding Wake Forest shortstop Marek Houston. Fingers crossed we get a Liam Doyle vs. Marek Houston game for film purposes. 

Hitters

Pitchers

Baton Rouge - 8 Prospects

Quick Preview: LSU has a strong pitching staff led by LHP Kade Anderson. Their best draft eligible position players are on the right side of the infield with second baseman Daniel Dickinson and first baseman Jared Jones. Dallas Baptist can’t be overlooked as pitchers James Ellwanger and Micah Bucknam can keep the Patriots in games. 

Hitters

Pitchers

Fayetteville - 7 Prospects

Quick Preview: Arkansas has one of the most talented rosters in the country, but that was also the case in 2023 and 2024 when they failed to win their own Regional. To buck the bad trend, the Razorbacks will lean on Wehiwa Aloy and Charles Davalan to lead the offense. Pitchers Zach Root and Gage Wood have been an effective starter 1-2 punch. 

Hitters

Pitchers

Los Angeles - 6 Prospects

Quick Preview: The UCLA hosted Regional could be chaotic. Keep an eye on Bruins shortstop Roch Cholowsky as he’ll be one of the top ranked prospects for the 2026 MLB Draft, but UCLA will have their hands full. UC Irvine is a popular sleeper to reach Omaha and Arizona State is led by outfielder Brandon Compton. 

Hitters

Pitchers

Chapel Hill - 6 Prospects

Quick Preview: North Carolina is a veteran loaded squad with seniors Jake Knapp and shortstop Alex Madera, but catcher Luke Stevenson and outfielder Kane Kepley are the draws. Oklahoma will have a tough pitching decision to make in which Witherspoon twin they want to start against Nebraska. If they feel confident that Malachi Witherspoon can hold his own against the Cornhuskers, we could see a primetime matchup with Kyson Witherspoon against the Tar Heels lineup. 

Hitters

Pitchers

Corvallis - 4 Prospects

Quick Preview: Aiva Arquette is expected to be the first college hitter selected in the upcoming MLB Draft. He’s not the only talented hitter for the Beavers as outfielder Gavin Turley helps support the lineup. On paper, the Beavers should win the Regional handily but TCU has always been a pesky squad. 

Hitters

Pitchers

Athens - 4 Prospects

Quick Preview: Georgia is notoriously a hitter's haven and has the makings to be many high scoring games in this Regional. Oklahoma State’s Nolan Schubart had a great 2024 season, but has taken a considerable step back this year. The Bulldogs are another senior loaded offense with lots of power. While draft prospects are limited in this Regional, runs shouldn’t be. 

Hitters

Pitchers

Tallahassee - 4 Prospects

Quick Preview: Florida State has the offense and starting pitching to carry them to Omaha. How they close out games with their bullpen could be an Achilles heel. Northeastern is carrying a 27 game winning streak with them to this Regional. It won’t be a cake walk for Seminoles. 

Hitters

Pitchers

Hattiesburgh - 4 Prospects

Quick Preview: Top draw in the Hattiesburgh Regional is Alabama shortstop Justin Lebron, who will be a contender for preseason #1 prospect in the 2026 MLB Draft. While we wait for Lebron, this Regional does feature good pitching led by Southern Miss right-hander JB Middleton. 

Pitchers

Conway Regional - 3 Prospects

Quick Preview: Florida started SEC play with a 1-11 record and looked dead in the water. But the Gators overcame many injuries to get hot late and find a way to make Regionals. Coastal Carolina is a strong team led by catcher Caden Bodine but the Chanticleers should be on upset alert. Talented southpaw Pierce Coppola and shortstop Colby Shelton are expected to be back for the Gators this weekend.

Hitters

Pitchers

Nashville Regional - 3 Prospects

Quick Preview: #1 overall seed Vanderbilt is playing their best baseball entering the postseason. The SEC Tournament champions lack a superstar position player, but JD Thompson leads the pitching staff, but the best draft prospect is Louisville ace Patrick Forbes. We’ll see how each coaching staff handles the opening games. If it’s Thompson and Forbes in the second game, it could be electric. 

Hitters

Pitchers

Eugene - 3 Prospects

Quick Preview: Welcome to the Regional of Death. Oregon, Arizona, and Cal Poly all are ranked in the Top 30 in RPI. This Regional does feature two talented outfielders in Arizona’s Brendan Summerhill and Oregon’s Mason Neville. Expect late drama from this group. 

Hitters

Oxford Regional - 3 Prospects

Quick Preview: Georgia Tech enters this Regional with a big chip on their shoulder. As the ACC regular season champion, the Yellow Jackets thought they secured a Regional Host. The committee didn’t see it that way and handed that spot to Ole Miss, who reached the SEC Tournament final before falling to Vanderbilt. 

Hitters

Pitchers 

Austin, Auburn, Clemson - 1 Prospect

Quick Preview: Lumping three Regionals together because the 2025 MLB Draft talent has been impacted by either underwhelming seasons or injuries. Texas doesn’t enter Regionals as the most healthy team. Without starter Jared Spencer, the Longhorns are searching for someone to pitch like an ace. Max Belyeu missed April but returned for the Oklahoma series and SEC Tournament. He’s 2-for-18 in those four games, and there are questions about his timing. 

Ike Irish is Auburn's leader and will be a contender for player of the year awards. He’s getting Top 15 consideration and, with a strong postseason, could be taken higher. For Clemson, outfielder Cam Cannarella has made highlight catches in center field and has overcome a shoulder injury that impacted his power numbers early in the season.

JOSH'S REGIONAL PICKS

Sox Machine NCAA 2025 Challenge Pick'em

I created a group on D1Baseball if you would like to submit your own NCAA Baseball bracket. Link: https://bracket-challenge.d1baseball.com/group/641/join