Back to School: Top-100 Freshmen on Campus
August 19, 2025
The recently graduated high school Class of 2025 is arriving on college campuses across the country right now. Upon their arrival, there's a select number who should be able to integrate themselves into the squad and compete for innings and at-bats almost instantly. Below are our Top-100 'On Campus' Rankings, a compiliation of the true freshmen we feel are set to make an enormous contribution to their new homes as soon as fall exhibitions begin.
Before we arrive at our top-100 board, here's some big picture highlights regarding this class as a whole.
- Unsurprisingly, the SEC dominates in the amount of high-profile players it's pulling in from the prep ranks, and even more so in the fall of 2025 as compared to a year ago. Last year, the SEC carried 47 of our top-100 'On Campus' rankings, and this fall they're bringing on over half of the names ranked below, 51 total. That's over twice as many as the ACC, which has 22 of the top-100.
- For the second straight year, Tennessee lands at the top of this list for the number of top-100-ranked recruits
it'swelcoming to Knoxville this fall with eight total. It brought on 10 total top-100 freshmen a year ago, including No. 9-ranked freshman Brayden Krenzel who made 21 appearances on the mound for the Vols. For the 2025-26 season, another freshman left-hander seems poised to make a huge impact on the mound: No. 4-ranked Cameron Appenzeller (IL), who was one of the top-ranked pitchers in the country and he ultimately did not get drafted. After Appenzeller, the Volunteers had four more players ranked inside the top-50: C Trent Grindlinger (No. 24; CA), RHP Ethan Baiotto (33; TX), CIF Nathan Eisfelder (42; TN), and OF Taylor Tracey (45; TX). - And just like last year, it was LSU who closely trailed the Vols' freshmen haul. The Tigers
had six players on this same list last year, and they're bringing in another five this fall, led by a power arm from Texas, RHP Marcos Paz (No. 7), who is one of the most college-ready right-handers in this incoming class. He felt like a surefire draft before an untimely elbow injury cost him last year's key summer and fall circuit, as well as this past spring, though he got healthy just in time to pitch in front of pro scouts in June, less than a month out from the 2025 MLB Draft. In the end, Paz is headed to Baton Rouge as a potential frontline arm capable of earning innings right away. Paz will also get a fellow Texan and a battery mate joining him at LSU: C Omar Serna (15), the No. 2-ranked catcher to reach campus from the Class of '25. Homegrown athlete OF William Patrick (34; LA) is the third other top-50-ranked freshman to reach LSU this fall, meaning the program will bring in the top-ranked player from its own backyard as well. - LSU's five top-100 recruits is tied for the second most alongside three other programs, though just one of those programs comes from outside the SEC: Oklahoma State.
Though none are ranked inside the top-40 overall, all five are pretty special talents equipped with some of the most tools from their home states. OF Remo Indomenico (No. 38; FL) is the top-ranked incoming freshman, with 6.51 speed and left-handed bat speed and strength. Indomenico graduated from a Florida high school, but he has Illinois roots, as does fellow incoming backstop Quinn Schambow (51; IL), who was the Prep Baseball Illinois Player of the Year in 2025 after helping his high school program win state from both at the plate and behind it, operating as one of the top defenders in the country at his position. These two Oklahoma State recruits are joined by OF Danny Wallace (73; NE), UTL Terrance Bowen (84; GA), and 3B Sebastian Norman (85; MO) this fall, making up an exciting freshman class in Stillwater. - And here's the two other programs with five freshmen ranked on this top-100, both of which represent the SEC: Arkansas and Texas. The Razorbacks are getting three top-40-ranked players: SS Carson Brumbaugh (No. 26; OK), SS Landon Schaefer (27; AR), and RHP Jordan Martin (39; MO). Meanwhile, the Longhorns have three in the top-50 overall: RHP Michael Winter (30; KS), OF Anthony Pack (43; CA), and RHP Brett Crossland (50; AZ).
- Mississippi State has a case to be called the biggest winners following the 2025 MLB Draft's final results.
The triple-digit southpaw from Illinois, LHP Jack Bauer (No. 1; IL), is the top overall freshmen hitting campus this fall. It was quite surprising to see this one-of-a-kind prep talent go undrafted, and Mississippi State must feel like they hit the jackpot twice after Bauer flipped his commtiment from Virginia to the Bulldogs late following the hiring of new head coach Brian O'Connor, and even then the odds of him slipping through the draft felt slim. And you don't have to look far down the list to find Mississippi State's top-ranked position player heading to school either: OF Jacob Parker (MS), the No. 9-ranked player on this 'On Campus' list. The Bulldogs' two other recruits are also ranked inside the top-50, filling out a stellar collection of talent: RHP Parker Rhodes (36; IN) and LHP Maddox Miller (44; MS). - Though they have just two names on the top-100, both of Notre Dame's
top recruits are ranked inside the top-15: OF Brandon Logan (No. 12; IN) and LHP Caden Crowell (14; IN). Logan was one of the highest rated safeties in the country for football during his time in high school, and he's one of the few elite athletes in the country who will be afforded the opportunity to play both football and baseball at a program of the Fighting Irish's caliber. Crowell is Indiana's top-ranked southpaw and he, too, sticks close to home where he can become an instant boost to Notre Dame's pitching staff. - Three top-25 prospects coming on board this fall has TCU
feeling pretty good, too, including two inside the top-12.From Texas, No. 6-ranked 3B Lucas Franco leads this group as an exciting left-handed hitter with exciting upside to unlock on campus. Midwestern arm LHP Uli Fernsler (No. 11; MI) is their top freshman pitcher hitting campus, coming off a spring in which he named his state's Prep Baseball Player of the Year after punching out 89 batters (5 BB) in 44.2 innings. Joining these two is C Brady Dallimore (25; NV), Nevada's top-ranked catcher.
Top Incoming, By Conference:
+ SEC: 51 (players ranked in the top-100)
+ ACC: 22
+ Big XII: 11
+ Big Ten: 7
Top Incoming, By Program:
1. Tennessee (8 players ranked in the top-100)
T-2. Arkansas (5)
T-2. LSU (5)
T-2. Oklahoma State (5)
T-2. Texas (5)
T-3. Alabama (4)
T-3. Mississippi State (4)
T-3. Texas A&M (4)
TOP-100 'ON CAMPUS' RANKINGS
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