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The 2025 College World Series field is anything but ordinary. Top overall seed Vanderbilt and 2-seed Texas did not make it out of their regionals. The #4 national seed Auburn was swept by Coastal Carolina over the weekend. After North Carolina's shocking upset defeat yesterday at the hands of Arizona, just one top five seed remains in the tournament. A remarkable six different conferences, plus an NCAA independent, will be represented in Omaha.
Louisville
After surviving a thrilling Super Regional against Miami, Louisville is heading to Omaha for the third time in eight years. While they are solid at the plate, the Cardinals' main strength comes from their bullpen, as Louisville relievers have allowed just five runs in 21.1 innings pitched this postseason. Offensively, Louisville is led by senior outfielder Eddie King Jr., who is batting .362 with 17 home runs.
Arizona
Entering postseason play unranked, the Big 12 tournament champs have put on a show thus far in the NCAA tournament. After cruising through the Eugene Regional, the Wildcats shocked the country by eliminating No. 1-ranked (D1baseball.com) North Carolina in the supers. The Cats are led by Brendan Summerhill, a projected first-rounder who is hitting .358 with a .477 on-base percentage. Arizona's main weakness is starting pitching, and the Wildcats will need strong bullpen performances and run support in the College World Series.
Coastal Carolina
After sweeping fourth-ranked Auburn in the super regionals, the Chanticleers have proven they are a national title contender for the first time since winning their only title in 2016. Coastal Carolina holds a team ERA of 3.19, and they have three strong starters in their rotation. The Chanticleers haven't lost since April, and will be eyeing a national championship in coach Kevin Schnall's first year at the helm.
UCLA
After more than decade away from Omaha, UCLA is heading to the College World Series for the first time since they won it all in 2013. Though their strength of schedule hasn't been particularly difficult, the Bruins swept their way through the first two rounds, and have won ten of their last 11. Sophomore Roch Cholowsky is one of the best pure hitters in college baseball, batting .367 with 23 homers.
Oregon State
After surviving five elimination games in the past ten days, the Beavers are going to the College World Series for the first time since 2018 (when they won the national championship). Mitch Canham's squad is loaded with power throughout the lineup, blasting 19 home runs thus far in the NCAA tournament. Overall offensive consistency will be the X-factor for this team, and if the Beavers' bats are working, they could find themselves competing for another national title.
Arkansas
The highest remaining seed in the field, Arkansas once again enters the College World Series with high expectations. The Razorbacks boast a stacked lineup from top to bottom, and have seven players who've hit more than ten home runs. This talent was on display this weekend when they swept reigning national champion Tennessee, and chased projected top-five draft prospect Liam Doyle out in less than four innings.
LSU
The always formidable Tigers will be on the hunt for their second national championship in three years. After receiving a scare against Little Rock in the regionals, LSU cruised by West Virginia in the supers, putting up 28 runs across those two games. With a starting rotation that consists of both Kade Anderson and Anthony Eyanson, who are both expected to be higher MLB Draft picks, this is a team that will be difficult to beat.
Murray State
The shoe fits for the Racers! After climbing back from an 0-1 series deficit and eliminating Duke in the Super Regional, Murray State has become just the fourth No. 4-seed to make the College World Series since 1999. While the Racers will once again find themselves as underdogs, this is a team that shouldn't be taken lightly (just ask #10 Ole Miss). Murray State will come at you in waves, as they've put up a lot of crooked numbers in the postseason, including six contests where they scored at-least ten runs since their conference tournament began.
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USC Trojans Commit Breck Kolojay Announces Update In Recruitment
The USC Trojans landed a big commitment on Friday from IMG Academy (Fla.) four-star interior offensive lineman Breck Kolojay over Miami and Georgia. Several schools were still pushing to get Kolojay on campus this fall for an in-season visit, but the new USC commit has shut down his recruitment. Kolojay has built a strong relationship with the Trojans personnel staff and offensive line coach Zach Hanson, and then of course, he has multiple relationships with other members of the Trojans 2026 class. Kolojay is roommates with five-star offensive tackle Keenyi Pepe at IMG. Pepe, who was born and raised in Long Beach, announced his pledge to USC in May. The two visited campus together in April, where they were able to interact with future Hall of Famer Aaron Donald. USC began picking up some buzz for the 6-foot-5, 320-pound offensive lineman after his trip to Los Angeles in the spring. Pepe had been pushing for Kolojay to continue their careers together in Southern California and he wasn’t the only one. Kolojay is originally from Colorado and played youth football with a pair of USC commits, Mater Dei (Calif.) five-star tight end Mark Bowman and Valor Christian (Colo.) three-star offensive tackle Kannon Smith. Bowman and Kolojay took their official visits together in June. It was a midweek visit, so it was just the two of them on campus. They spent time with a couple of offensive linemen on the team and five-star freshman quarterback Husan Longstreet. Those were the only two trips Kolojay made out to Los Angeles, but they both made a lasting impression, and he jumped at the opportunity to join the Trojans impressive 2026 recruiting class. USC headed into official visit season at the beginning of the summer with a majority of its recruiting class filled up after going on a heater in the spring. They landed three big commitments in June from Duluth (Ga.) four-star cornerback Peyton Dyer, Kahuku (Hawaii) four-star linebacker Talanoa Ili and Hun School (N.J.) five-star EDGE Luke Wafle after they visited campus for their official visits. And then DeSoto (Texas) four-star receiver Ethan “Boobie” Feaster chose the Trojans over a plethora of SEC schools in July, including Texas A M, LSU and Alabama. USC is now up to 32 commitments, the most in the country, and 22 of which are blue-chip recruits (four or five-stars). They own the No. 1 class in the Rivals Industry rankings and No. 2 in the 247Sports rankings. The Trojans are not done adding to its 2026 class. The goal has been to sign 35 high school recruits. They will specifically target adding another tight end and safety. USC holds a commitment from four cornerbacks but only one safety, Sierra Canyon (Calif.) three-star Madden Riordan.
Knee operation: Kirby Dach not yet back on his feet
Two years ago to the day, Canadiens fans were optimistic about Kirby Dach’s future in Montreal: the 6’4 forward had just collected 38 points in 58 games – in his first campaign in Quebec – and many wondered whether Dach had a better chance of establishing himself as a first NHL center than captain Nick Suzuki. The past 730 days have proven otherwise, but that’s not the point this morning. Since joining the Canadiens, Dach has earned a reputation as a fragile player. Virus, shoulder, upper body (concussion?), lower body, knee(ACL and MCL), knee again… Let’s just say that injuries haven’t spared Dach since he arrived in Montreal. In fact, injuries haven’t spared Dach since he started playing hockey. He has never played more than 70 games in a single season, and has only broken the 60-game barrier three times in nine junior or pro seasons. Last February, Dach underwent a second operation on his right knee in the space of 18 months. Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes may tell us that Kirby Dach is fine,but we still have our doubts. Especially whenyou consider that, with the Canadiens’ recent additions and departures, Kirby Dach is still the team’s second center on the organizational chart. content-ads]Last week, I wondered where Kirby was ? We’ve seen plenty of Habs players skating at the CN Complex this summer, but not Kirby Dach. And I had to work like a monk to catch a glimpse of him in a video filmed at Nick Suzuki’s wedding! Yesterday, I was told that Kirby Dach was spending the summer in Edmonton with Kaiden Guhle – Dach is from Saskatchewan and Guhle is from Alberta – and that Dach was still in rehab. I repeat: five months after his most recent knee operation and some 40 days before the start of practice camp, Kirby Dach is still not recovered and ready to play. Good informants spotted him in an Edmonton gym doing squats with loads that look like the ones I used to take when I went to Econofitness, not the ones an NHL player uses [content-ads]This explains it: when he came to Montreal for his captain’s wedding, Kirby Dach couldn’t – or wouldn’t – skate with his teammates in Brossard. It’s worth noting that Dach is also very quiet on social networks – his last post was in November 2024 – probably in an effort to be forgotten… to go unnoticed. Spending the summer in Alberta, rather than in Montreal (with his chums at Osheaga), makes sense, when you think about it…Let’s just say that the chances of Dach starting his season at the same time as everyone else in two months’ time are pretty slim, which is cause for concern for those hoping to see the Canadiens in the playoffs in 2026. Yes, the Kirby Dach problem would be solved if a guy like Mason MacTavish-good offensively, defensively, physically and in the face-off circle-came to Montreal, but let’s just say that the odds of that happening this summer are very low. And you can’t make plans with very improbable things![spacer title=’Prolongation’]Matthew Tkachuk, who was injured last winter while throwing down the gloves at the 4 Nations tournament, underwent surgery last month (hernia and adductor). According to the latest information from Elliotte Friedman, Tkachuk could return to action just before the Olympic Games. Let’s hope Kirby Dach doesn’t have to wait as long as Tkachuk.
Illegal tackle causes Colts RB to suffer 'severe leg injury'
The Indianapolis Colts had a scary moment on Sunday when a running back went down during an 11-on-11 team period. Per James Boyd of The Athletic, practice had to be stopped for 10 minutes while trainers attended to running back Salvon Ahmed, who suffered a "severe leg injury" after he was brought down via an illegal tackle by safety Trey Washington. "The injury occurred when Ahmed broke a long run during an 11-on-11 period," Boyd wrote. "He was tackled from behind by undrafted rookie safety Trey Washington, but when Washington grabbed Ahmed, who kept his legs churning, Washington used a hip-drop tackle to bring Ahmed down and landed on his lower right leg. Ahmed immediately grabbed his lower right leg and screamed in agony. "Steichen said the players in the developmental periods (essentially third-stringers and players lower than them on the depth chart) were instructed to tackle during 11-on-11. However, Steichen emphasized, Washington’s hip-drop tackle was obviously the wrong way to bring Ahmed down." Steichen said the coaching staff doesn't encourage hip-drop tackles, and claimed Washington is "down in the dumps" after his tackle led to Ahmed's injury. The unfortunate incident highlights how difficult it can be for NFL defenders to make a tackle. The league made the hip-drop tackle illegal to try and curb injuries, as offensive players thought it was a dirty hit. In Washington's case, the undrafted rookie free agent from Ole Miss wasn't trying to make a dirty hit but trying to make a football move in a competitive environment to keep his job. Before the injury, Ahmed was trying to make a case for the practice squad, where he spent time on during 2024.
UDFA ready to carry Dallas Cowboys offense on his back
The Dallas Cowboys ground game has gotten a lot of attention this offseason. Following their struggles to run the ball in 2024, Dallas signed Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders in free agency. They also added two rookies in the 2025 NFL draft, taking Jaydon Blue from Texas in the fifth round and Phil Mafah from Clemson in the seventh. While all the attention seems to be focused on their new additions, the coaching staff has been spending time working with one of the returning backs, Hunter Luepke. According to The Athletic’s Jon Machota, coaching staff has been thoroughly impressed with Luepke, and they’re using him at multiple positions. His role has become so versatile that Luepke claims he plays “everything” on offense, while adding that he will do whatever is asked of him. “Any way I can be on the field, I’m going to try to do it. Whatever they ask me to do, I’m going to do it. … Coach is trying to be as multiple as possible out there, so I just think me being able to play multiple positions and being able to shift and move around and see different IDs, or go in on pass pro for running backs, run routes with tight ends, the more you can do, the better for this offense. And I think I can do that.” — Luepke, via Machota Undrafted out of North Dakota State in 2023, Luepke has been used sparingly on offense through two seasons. He has just 57 yards and one touchdown on 18 attempts and 129 yards receiving on 15 receptions. Despite the small sample size, his versatility stands out every offseason. That said, it appears new head coach Brian Schottenheimer might be willing to put more on his plate in 2025.
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