2024 College Baseball: 5 Things to Watch for During Opening Weekend

After long last, baseball will be played on February 16 — and a lot of it. The opening weekend of the 2024 NCAA college baseball has arrived and here’s a look at five things to watch out for when the season begins across the country.

1. Aces Wild During First Weekend

We’ll start with the aces of college baseball, as several highly touted arms are set to take center stage during opening weekend.

Iowa phenom Brody Brecht will pitch for the Hawkeyes on February 16 down in Charleston, South Carolina against the Seton Hall Pirates. One day later, Marcus Morgan, who’s a potential 2024 Day 1 pick like Brecht, will pitch for Iowa against Ball State.

Meanwhile, in the Shriners Children’s College Showdown, potential 2024 first-round pick Drew Beam will pitch on February 16 for Tennessee, a day after A.J Russell goes for UT. Russell pitched extremely well (47 K over 30.1 IP) for the Vols last season in the bullpen and now he’ll get his chance to move to the rotation.

Other pitchers to watch out for during opening weekend include Duke left-hander Jonathan Santucci and East Carolina righty Trey Yesavage, both of whom will pitch on the 16th.

2. Can Wake Forest and Florida start strong?

Both Wake Forest and Florida failed to win it all last year but will look to right some wrongs in 2024.

The Gators open up at home against St. John’s and boast a loaded lineup and rotation. 2024 Golden Spikes candidate Jac Caglianone will go on February 17, right after Cade Fisher and freshman Liam Peterson go for the Gators.

As for the Demon Deacons, Wake Forest finished first in the USA Today/Coaches poll to begin the 2024 season. A deep team, headlined in part by standout pitchers Josh Hartle and Chase Burns, Wake Forest may very well make a return trip to Omaha in 2024. Wake Forest begins 2024 at home against Fordham.

3. How will LSU respond?

The LSU Tigers won it all last season after what was a wild run in Omaha. But heading into 2024, LSU will look very different.

LSU lost Paul Skenes, Dylan Crews, and Ty Floyd, among others, after the 2023 season. Still, the team from Baton Rouge should be a force to be reckoned with.

The Tigers, who start the year per the coaches poll at #2, will have two potential first-round picks, Thatcher Hurd and Luke Holman, go during the first two games of their 2024 campaign on February 16-17. Offensively Jared Jones and Paxton Kling returned, as did slugger Tommy White.

4. Which 2024 MLB Draft prospects to watch out for?

Much of the attention for the 2024 NCAA college baseball season — and also, the 2024 MLB Draft — will be on the likes of West Virginia infielder JJ Wetherholt and Oregon State infielder Travis Bazzana. The duo have two of the best hit tools in this year’s upcoming draft and both are middle infield prospects.

That last point is interesting, as the consensus upper echelon of hitting prospects available is filled with bats like Tommy White, Jac Caglianone, and Nick Kurtz, all of whom could wind up at first base in the pros.

Aside from that bunch, outfielders Vance Honeycutt (UNC), Seaver King (Wake Forest), and Mike Sirota (Northeastern) are among the key names to watch for in the early goings.

5. What about 2025?

Yes, it might be a little early to start talking about 2025 and the 2025 MLB Draft. However, several sophomores have a strong chance to cement their status as potential top picks during the 2024 campaign.

South Carolina outfielder Ethan Petry, a 6’4” power hitter with plus strength, batted .376 with 23 home runs last spring as a freshman and will look to do roughly the same, if not better, in 2024. Oklahoma State outfielder Nolan Schubart is another name to watch.