Welcome to the Prospects Live Weekly College Baseball Roundup! Each week we’ll bring you highlights and stories from the college baseball series happening over the weekend, MLB Draft prospect performances to note, and a recap of our analysts' incredible work across the nation!
Highlights From the Week/Weekend
Hagen Smith’s Incredible Outing vs. Oregon State: I don't think I or anyone has seen a better outing than what Hagen Smith did against #7 Oregon State on Friday night. It was damn near immaculate. The Arkansas lefty struck out 17 batters in six innings. If you are good at math… that’s 17 of 18 batters. Our very own Tyler Jennings and Patrick Bauer were live on the scene to witness one of the greatest pitching performances we have ever seen in college baseball. Smith’s stuff was electric throughout the game, and his command was on point. He was touching 99 mph and sat at 95-97. His slider was beautiful; as Tyler mentioned, it was the reason for 15 Ks alone. The fact Hagen Smith did this is incredible, but he did it against one of the best college baseball lineups, highlighted by Travis Bazzana, is insanity. I think it is safe to say that Smith’s draft stock will rise after this one.
YouTube: LHP Hagen Smith, Arkansas - 2/23/24 (17 K Game)
https://x.com/TylerJennings24/status/1761228144025956597?s=20
UNCG Upset #1 Ranked Wake Forest in a Mid-Week Game: You look forward to these moments as a mid-major, regardless of whether they are a mid-week game or not. The opportunity to take down one of the top-ranked teams in the nation is one you look forward to. This past week it was UNC Greensboro’s chance to make history. They took down #1 ranked Wake Forest for the program's first win over a top-ranked team in history. Starter Julien Peissel was incredible for the Spartans, going five innings pitched while holding the Demon Deacons to one run and only two hits. Reliever Noah Chapman won as the Spartans didn’t take the lead until the 6th, thanks to an RBI double from catcher Mitchell Smith. Third baseman Jake Ogden solidified the win by crushing an RBI single up the middle for two RBIs in the 7th. Wake Forest almost returned in the 8th, but reliever Luke Thomas shut them down to grab the save. What an awesome moment for the Spartans.
https://x.com/NCAABaseball/status/1760089657038049475?s=20
Travis Bazzana Keeps Showing Why He’s a Top Prospect in Baseball: It seems as though no matter who Travis Bazzana faces, he can’t be stopped (unless it is Hagen Smith). Bazzana got off to a slow start this weekend in the College Baseball Series, but man, he capped it off with an incredible Sunday. He went 3-for-4 with two home runs, a double, and three runs scored. He posted insane exit velocities with those hits as well. I am not sure there is a better all-around player in college baseball. The work ethic combined with the talent at the plate and on the field makes you feel like Bazzana is almost a shoo-in to go 1-1 in the 2024 MLB Draft. It is still a long season, but you must love what Bazzana is doing on the field early on.
https://x.com/TylerJennings24/status/1761903839806931040?s=20
MLB Draft Prospect Updates
Trey Yesavage Dominates No. 15 North Carolina: A Tar Heels squad with a lineup highlighted by Vance Honeycutt was no match for Trey Yesavage. Unfortunately, ECU ultimately lost the game, which was far from Yesavage’s fault. He struck out eleven batters over six innings, giving up only one earned run. He was an absolute animal on the mound. The stuff looked fantastic on top of it. He’s a guy we could quickly see rise up the ranks very soon.
https://x.com/hayudi18/status/1761198866215456897?s=20
Campbell’s Derek Vartanian Strikes Out 11 Over Six Innings: Derek Vartanian played a key part in helping the Campbell Camels make their way into the top 25 after a sweep of Ohio University this weekend. He spun six beautiful scoreless innings while striking out 11 on Friday night. He struggled a bit in his first outing, where he was 92-95 in the first and then sat 89-91 in the second. It was good to see this draft prospect bounce back and expect many more starts like this for Vartanian.
LSU’s Luke Holman Cruises Against Northern Illinois: Luke Holman transferred to LSU from the University of Alabama and hasn’t missed a beat to start the season. He had an incredible start against Northern Illinois this weekend going seven innings while only allowing two hits with no runs and striking out eight. Overall, Holman has compiled 12.1 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, and 18 K on the season. Holman looks like he could become LSU’s Friday night ace and see himself getting drafted relatively high this year.
West Virginia’s JJ Wetherholt (#1) was Pulled Due to a Hamstring Injury: In unfortunate news, the Prospects Live #1 draft prospect for 2024 was pulled from the lineup due to an injury last Monday. Kendall Rogers of D1Baseball did report that there was some good news for Wetherholt. It was a Grade 1 hamstring strain, and West Virginia believes it won’t be a long-term injury. The hope is that it will just sideline him, at least this weekend.
RHP Tyson Neighbors Out for Close to a Month: A big blow to the Kansas State bullpen happened this past week when it was announced that RHP Tyson Neighbors would be out for around 3-4 weeks with a strained oblique. Neighbors was a big 2024 MLB Draft prospect and comes in at #22 on our Prospects Live Top 100 College Prospects list. He’s got three-plus pitches that are nasty. Hoping he has a quick recovery, but oblique injuries are never fun.
New Prospects Live Content
Podcast:
On The Clock - Interview with OF Prep Prospect Griffin Burkholder
Articles
Live Looks: Shriners College Showdown (Patrick Bauer)
Live Looks: UCSB vs. Campbell (Tyler Jennings)
Video
LHP Hagen Smith, Arkansas (Tyler Jennings/Patrick Bauer)
RHP Aidan May, Oregon State (Tyler Jennings/Patrick Bauer)
RHP Matt McShane, Saint Joseph’s (Jake Bargery)
RHP Will McCausland, Saint Joseph’s (Jake Bargery)
OF Jackson Strong, Canisius University (Jake Bargery)