It’s a new year for the Big 12, a conference that experienced significant re-alignment after the 2024 camapaign. Baseball powers Arizona and Arizona State, replacing Oklahoma and Texas, now in the SEC. However, the preseason favorite to win the conference may very well be the school that won it in 2024. Here’s our 2025 Big 12 college baseball season preview.
Arizona
We’ll start our Big 12 season preview with Arizona, a school that wasn’t in the conference in 2024. The Wildcats move over to the Big 12 after the collapse of the Pac-12. Arizona won the final Pac-12 baseball title — for now, at least — after beating USC in the final. The team was buoyed by a formidable pitching duo of Clark Candiotti and Jackson Kent, both of whom are now in pro ball.
All eyes will be on Brendan Summerhill, ranked by MLB.com as the 10th-best prospect in the 2025 MLB Draft. Summerhill hit .324 with eight home runs and 32 extra-base hits with Arizona last year. He also showed a fair amount of pop in the Cape, with a .441 SLG over the summer.
Summerhill will have familiar faces around him this season. Mason White and Maddox Mihalakis return for 2025. Notable newcomers include freshmen Mason Russell, Smith Baile, Anthony Lira, and Jackson Forbes. Former Rutgers star Christian Coppola, a standout freshman in 2023, also joins the Wildcats.
Arizona State
The Arizona State Sun Devils ended their run in the Pac-12 by losing to Oregon State in the conference tournament. It ended a 32-26 campaign for Arizona State, one that saw significant progress from Willie Bloomquist‘s group.
Outfielder Brandon Compton, a Golden Spikes Watch List player, is one of three Sun Devils to make it. Compton earned the Pac-12 Freshman Player of the Year award in 2024 after he hit .355 with 14 home runs, months after he tore up the Northwoods League. He’ll be joined by staff ace Ben Jacobs, potential 2026 early pick Wyatt Halvorson, and transfer Kyle Walker. Walker hit .384 with Grambling State last year.
Arizona State also had a strong recruiting class, landing nine players in Perfect Game‘s Class of 2024 top-500. Those names are Jake Neely, Landon White, Eli Buxton, Landon Hairston. Gian De Castro, Max Arlich, Easton Barrett, Easton Davies, and Chase Wagner.
Baylor
Baylor did poorly in the Big 12 last season. The Bears finished with a 10-20 record in the Big 12, finishing with the third-worst record in the conference. It came despite strong hitting seasons from Enzo Apodaca, a redshirt senior who transferred from Gonzaga two years earlier, and Ty Johnson. Both return for 2025.
On the mound, the Bears will need to recover after losing arguably their two best arms from 2024. Mason Marriott, who struck out 65 over 69 frames, was picked by the Diamondbacks in the sixth round last July. Collin McKinney, who struck out 60 for the Bears in 2024, joined conference rival Arizona.
Baylor snarred two notable freshmen, in Brayden Bergman and Carson Bailey.
BYU
It was a tough 2024 for the BYU Cougars, the school that finished last in the Big 12 last season. No regular hitter had an average above .300 for BYU, while their top-two starters in 2024 had ERA figures north of 6.00.
It wasn’t a clean season for BYU and odds are the school will be in for a tough one again in 2025. Notable newcomers include former Cal State Bakersfield pitcher Ryan Reynolds and ex-Utah Ute pitcher Jaden Harris.
Cincinnati
The Cincinnati Bearcats didn’t make the 2024 NCAA Tournament. However, the school created a lot of chaos in the Big 12 last season. Cincinnati went 17-13 in Big 12 regular season action but couldn’t win the conference title to secure a birth in the Big Dance.
Redshirt senior Kerrington Cross led the Bearcats last season and returns for 2025. Cross will be joined by a rotation that did well in 2024, led by returning pitchers Nathan Taylor and Tommy Boba, plus reliever Carson Marsh. Boba and Taylor led the team in strikeouts last year, while Marsh finished fourth with 52 over 44 frames.
Notable newcomers to Cincinnati include former Indiana INF/OF Cal Sefcik and and Rutgers catcher Jack Natili. Both hit well in 2024 summer ball.
Houston
The Houston Cougars didn’t do well in their first season as part of the Big 12. Houston went 7-21 in Big 12 action, finishing with the second-worst record, ahead of only BYU. Two-way player Justin Murray didn’t have as strong of a season, compared to 2023, in what was his fifth season in the NCAA. Tre Jones, who came over from A&M-Corpus Christi after a strong run there, hit just .271.
The Cougars will have a vastly different-looking team, headlinded by several newcomers. Houston landed PG top-500 recruit Jackson LaLima, plus former Georgia Tech infielder Carsten Sabathia. Sabathia, the son of CC, was a big-time high school recruit three years ago out of New Jersey. However, he’s yet to hit in his college career.
Kansas
The Jayhawks had several notable perfomers on their team last season, one that finished with a 15-15 record in Big 12 play. Hawaiian Kodey Shojinaga hit .335 for Kansas after a strong summer a year earlier, to get picked in the sixth round by the Phillies. Shojinaga paced the Kansas offense in 2024, leaving a hole to fill in 2025.
Kansas does have senior Michael Brooks, who hit .331 on 2024, back for 2025. However, arguably the biggest name on Kansas’ roster is sophomore pitcher Dominic Voegele. Voegele struck out 80 over 81 frames as a freshman.
Kansas State
The Kansas State Wildcats were a legitimate top-25 team in 2024, a season that saw the school finally break through. KSU made it to the Super Regionals after getting through the NCAA Regionals in Arkansas. However, the Wildcats fell to Virginia, ending the college runs of Tyson Neighbors and Kaelen Culpepper.
Despite losing those two, plus Brady Day and Jackson Wentworth, expect the Wildcats to be competitive. KSU’s pitching staff includes relief pitcher Cole Wisenbaker, plus sophomore stater Blake Dean. Dean struck out 64 last season as a freshman.
KSU has several notable newcomers. Senior pitcher Carson Liggett, who had a great 2023 with Lousiville, comes over as a transfer. The Wildcats also picked up top high school recruit, pitcher AJ Evasco.
Oklahoma State
Last year’s conference champion will look to go for another in 2025. Oklahoma State finished with the second-best record in the regular season, before winning the postseason title. However, the Cowboys couldn’t join Kansas State or West Virginia in the Supers after being eliminated early.
Oklahoma State is the highest-ranked Big 12 heading into 2025 — and for good reason. The Cowboys bring back power-hitting outfielder Nolan Schubart, a potential 2025 first-round pick. Schubart hit a career-high 23 home runs. He’s re-joined by Colin Brueggemann, Aidan Meola, and Avery Ortiz.
As for the newcomers, freshman Garrett Shull will look to become the next great Cowboy bat. Shull was ranked the 76th-best MLB Draft prospect in 2024, per MLB.com. He’ll be joined by pitcher Matthew Brown (#202 per Perfect Game) and shortstop Brock Thompson #230 per Perfect Game).
Texas Tech
Texas Tech will begin 2025 with a mammoth series against North Carolina, part of what will be a gauntlet-like schedule for the Red Raiders. The school will look for better results in 2024 after Texas Tech finished with a record below .500 in Big 12 play, a down season for what is a strong baseball school.
The Red Raiders lost several notable players, including Gavin Kash (Texas A&M), Kevin Bazzell (Nationals), and 2024 strikeout leader Kyle Robinson (Athletics). However, Texas Tech retained two key bats, Damian Bravo and TJ Pompey. The former hit .379 for Texas Tech last season, while Pompey, a sophomore, hit .279 as a freshman.
There are some notable newcomers in Lubbock. Peyton Schulze, a standout from Cal-Berkley, comes to the Red Raiders. He’ll be joined by freshmen Jorden Espinoza and Jace Souza.
TCU
It’s hard to argue the 2024 campaign wasn’t a disappointment for TCU. The Horned Frogs began the year ranked fifth-best in the coaches’ poll. That was thanks to a deep team, one that got even better with the addition of Payton Tolle. However, TCU didn’t have one hitter post double-digits in home runs last year. The school finished with the fifth-worst conference record at 14-16.
A down season from Anthony Silva means he’s back in TCU, as he went undrafted as a draft-eligible sophomore. Silva will be re-joined by a relatively deep pitching staff, one that includes Ben Abeldt, Kole Klecker, and Louis Rodriguez. Abeldt made the Golden Spikes Preaseason Watch List.
The Horned Frogs also had themselves a tremendous freshman recruiting class. landing six top-200 prospects on Perfect Game’s Class of 2024 list. Those names were Noah Franco, Mason Brassfield, Trevor Baumler, Sawyer Strosnider, Nolan Traeger, and Tommy Bridges. Franco, a two-way player, is arguably the standout of the bunch, as he ranked 92nd overall in MLB.com‘s 2024 draft list.
West Virginia
The West Virginia Mountaineers didn’t have JJ Wetherholt, the 2023 NCAA batting champion, for a healthy chunk of 2024. However, Wetherholt came on late and played a key role in WVU’s run to the Supers. Unfortunately, West Virginia didn’t have enough to get past the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill.
The Mountaineers’ 2025 roster will look different, especially on the mound. David Hagaman, Derek Clark, and Aidan Major all went pro, joining Wetherholt as MLB Draft picks in 2024. The good news is that their offense should be very good.
Grant Hussey and Sam White come back to Morgantown, while WVU welcomes freshman catcher Gavin Kelly and USC Upstate transfer Jace Rinehart. Rinehart was one of the better players in the transfer portal, as the outfielder hit .366 with 17 home runs as a junior.
UCF
UCF had a big 2024, despite finishing with a record below .500 in the Big 12. The Knights had a strong non-conference stretch and did well early on in the conference schedule, getting into the top-25 midseason. UCF made the 2024 NCAA Tournament and won two games in the Tallahassee Regional
The Knights are well-positioned heading into 2025, as many of their top perfomers are back. Lex Boedicker and Matt Prevesk, the latter of whom was a Florida Gator transfer, finished in the top-three in hits last season and return. Pitchers Dominic Castellano and Dom Stagliano, two of their top-three strikeout leaders, are also back for 2025.
Pitcher Drew Bellis, a Perfect Game top-500 player, headlines the freshman adds alongside Mateo Gray.
Utah
Our Big 12 season preview will end with Utah, also coming over from the Pac-12 in 2025. Utah did well in the Pac-12 during its final season, going 16-14 in conference action and a 33-22 record overall. Their offense was paced by now-Padres infielder Kai Roberts and Ontario native Core Jackson.
Jackson hit .363 last season for the Utes, a strong season for the 21-year-old who didn’t play much collegiately over his first two seasons. He’s back for 2025, joined by fellow senior Drake Digiorno and junior outfielder Kaden Carpenter.
On the mound, Merit Jones is back after he decided not to sign with the Twins, who drafted him in the final round last July. Sophomore pitcher Colton McAnelly, who struck out 45 over 51 innings last year for Utah, is also back.