2025 Fall College Baseball Reset: Missouri

It’s been a while since the Missouri Tigers have been a competitive team in the SEC. The last time Mizzou finished with a .500 or better record in conference play was back in 2015. This past season, the Tigers won just three games in SEC play, part of what was a difficult 16-39 season overall. Heading into 2026, the Tigers will look for better, although it will be tough to make hay in a deep Southeastern Conference.

The Returnees

While the Tigers lost several key pieces — and I’ll get to that later on — many regulars from Missouri’s 2025 team are back.

I suppose a good place to start is with Kaden Peer, the junior outfielder who has steadily improved over his two seasons with Mizzou. Peer batted .299 with 49 hits, five of which were home runs. It was an improvement from his freshman campaign, as Peer batted .252 over 39 games in 2024.

Aside from Peer, the Tigers will get back junior catcher Mateo Serna. The switch-hitting Serna finished second on the team in home runs (9) in 2025.

Grad student Pierre Seals, a former transfer from Memphis, batted .291 with Missouri last year. Seals will be joined by fellow grad student, the returning infielder Brock Daniels. Daniels hit .263 last season for Missouri.

As for the pitching staff, the Tigers had to be creative last season. Twelve pitchers made at least one start for the team last season.

Second on the team in starts last season was now-sophomore left-hander Brady Kehlenbrink. Kehlenbrink struck out 40 batters over 34 innings last season.

He’s one of several notable pitchers to come back for 2026. Ian Lohse, now a graduate student, struck out 42 over 33.1 IP. Fellow grad student Kadden Drew struck out 26 over 34 innings last season. Drew, Loshe, and Kehlenbrink amassed 22 combined starts last season for the Tigers.

The Newcomers

The Tigers lost Jackson Lovich, Missouri’s team leader in hits (66) and home runs (12), last season. Lovich was selected by the Yankees in the 16th round last July, three years after the Mets picked him out of high school.

Missouri lost other notables, as Cayden Nicoletto, now playing for Perth in the Australian Baseball League, is done. Sam Horn, drafted by the Dodgers last July but did not sign, is also not on the 2026 roster.

Horn isn’t the only notable pitcher not back in Columbia. Wil Libbert, the Tigers’ strikeout leader from 2026, is now with Ole Miss after transferring this past summer.

As for who is new on the team, I’ll start with the freshmen. Mizzou’s roster includes two redshirt freshmen, former Texas outfielder Donovan Jordan and ex-Tennessee pitcher Dane Bjorn. There are 13 true freshmen.

For a program that can’t afford to lose premier talent to keep up in the SEC, the Tigers did when commit Camden Lohman signed with the Mets as an eighth-round pick.

Luckily, the Tigers were able to get Richie Swain, a pitcher who was pumping mid-90s velocity as a high schooler. Other notables include hard-throwing Michigan recruit Keagan Kolhoff and Long Island left-hander Todd Fertaudo.

As for the transfer portal, Missouri landed 6’4” junior outfielder Sam Parker from Chipola JC. Parker only batted .259 last season but cracked six home runs and walked 34 times over 50 games.

Former Wichita State infielder Kam Durnin is on the 2026 roster. Durnin hit seven home runs in his freshman season two years ago with the Shockers before taking a step back in 2025. However, Durnin had a big summer in 2025 with Kingsport in the Appalachian League, as he batted .407 with six home runs and 23 extra-base hits over 40 games.

Redshirt sophomore Jackson Sobel struck out 26 over 21 innings in the Northwoods League this past summer. Sobel was previously with Georgia Tech.

Summary

The Missouri baseball program has been in this weird spot for a decade. Mizzou’s program is good enough to attract good talent. However, the problem is that the Tigers are not in the same echelon as Texas, Texas A&M, LSU, Florida, Georgia, etc.

That is what this current coaching staff must overcome.

Given the talent level right now in the SEC, it may be another tough year for the Tigers. Missouri’s pitching staff doesn’t have the same type of depth or starpower that other programs in that conference have. The same can be said for their lineup.

However, anything can happen in sports.