10 MLB Draft Prospects Who Shined in The College World Series Regionals

The NCAA College World Series Super Regionals concluded Monday, as Georgia and North Carolina battled for the eighth and final berth in the championship field headed to Omaha, Nebraska on Friday.

The Regional and Super Regional rounds have showcased many of college baseball’s best prospects who will hear their names called at the MLB Draft, to be held July 14-16 in Fort Worth, Texas. What have the last two weeks revealed about the best amateur players in the country?

Here are the 10 names worth watching after the first two elimination rounds of College World Series play.

10. Trey Yesavage, East Carolina

In what was almost certainly his final collegiate game, Yesavage limited Wake Forest to one hit and one run over 7.1 innings on June 1, in the Pirates’ second game of the Greenville Regional. (Evansville ultimately eliminated ECU in the Regional final.) The right-hander was selected as the 2024 American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year and ranked fourth in the NCAA in strikeouts (139), victories (11), fifth in ERA (2.09), and sixth in strikeouts per inning (14.55) and hits allowed per nine innings (5.02). Yesavage had to overcome a partially collapsed lung before being cleared to play in the regional tournament.

9. Chase Burns, Wake Forest

A transfer from Tennessee, Chase Burns made his mark at Wake Forest in his first (and likely only) season in Winston-Salem. The junior right-hander struck out seven batters in the Demon Deacons’ 7-6 elimination loss to East Carolina on June 1. He holds seven of the top 10 single-game strikeout records in Wake Forest history, including a school-record 16-strikeout game. Burns was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year with 169 strikeouts for the season, leading the nation and ranking fifth all-time in ACC history.

8. Nick Kurtz, Wake Forest

Kurtz, who went 1 for 4 with a run-scoring single in the June 1 elimination game, is considered by some scouts the top-hitting collegiate prospect in the 2024 draft pool. The junior first baseman hit at least 15 home runs in each of his three collegiate seasons, and was named a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award in 2023. Even though he started the 2024 season with a shoulder injury, Kurtz would finish the year with a seven-game home run streak and 14 home runs in 10 games.

7. Seaver King, Wake Forest

King, who singled against ECU to spark the Deacons’ five-run ninth inning rally on June 1, was playing Division II baseball (Wingate) this time last year. The third baseman/outfielder transferred to Wake Forest and jumpstarted his draft stock as a junior. He was selected for Third-Team All-ACC after the season, and was one of three players on Wake Forest to start every game this season. He ranked ninth in the ACC in RBIs (65) and eighth in hits (79).

6. JJ Wetherholt, West Virginia

Despite missing 24 games this season due to a hamstring injury, Wetherholt was named First-Team All-Big 12 for the second consecutive season. The junior infielder was selected as the Big 12 Player of the Year and won the Division I batting title in 2023. He led WVU to the Tucson Regional championship, including a 3-for-6, two-run performance in a June 2 win over Grand Canyon.

5. Hagen Smith, Arkansas

The 2024 SEC Pitcher of the Year, Smith led the NCAA in ERA (1.48), strikeouts per nine innings (17.54), and hits allowed per nine innings (4.22). This year, the junior left-hander became the all-time strikeout leader (349) in Arkansas history and came one strikeout shy of tying the Arkansas single-season strikeout record (155). Smith was selected for First-Team All-SEC, making him the second two-time starting pitcher to earn the honors in school history. He was named a semi-finalist for the Golden Spikes Award, the Dick Howser Trophy, and the National Pitcher of the Year Award. In his only NCAA Tournament appearance, Smith allowed six runs in five innings against Kansas State on June 1.

4. Travis Bazzana, Oregon State

The 2024 Pac-12 Player of the Year projects to be the first Australian player in history to be drafted in the first round of an MLB draft. Bazzana broke two Oregon State school records this season: single-season home runs (22) and career hits (239). In March, the junior infielder hit leadoff home runs in four consecutive games. Among all NCAA players, he ranked second in on-base percentage (.581), fourth in batting average (.418), and eighth in home runs (26). In the Beavers’ elimination-game loss to the University of Kentucky on Sunday, Bazzana collected a ninth-inning single that will be the final hit by any Pac-12 player in history.

3. Charlie Condon, Georgia

Charlie Condon started his collegiate career as a walk-on and will end it among the top prospects for the 2024 MLB draft. The redshirt sophomore outfielder/first baseman led the NCAA in batting average, home runs, slugging percentage, total bases, and home runs per game. Condon finished the regular season with nearly as many home runs (35) as strikeouts (39). He broke the post-BBCOR NCAA home run record on May 9, and went 1 for 4 with a run in the Bulldogs’ season-saving win over North Carolina State on Sunday.

2. Jac Caglianone, Florida

A two-way player and one of the top hitters in NCAA history, Jac Caglianone is the best draft-eligible player still active in the CWS. As a pitcher, he boasts a triple-digit fastball. As a hitter, he’s mashed several 450-plus foot home runs. He set an NCAA record for single-season home runs in the BBCOR era, with 33 in 2023. Caglianone tied an NCAA home run streak record by hitting at least one in nine consecutive games in April. As a junior in 2024, he ranked fourth in the NCAA in home runs (29) and sixth in batting average (.415) for the Omaha-bound Gators, then hit four more homers in his first seven postseason games.

1. Braden Montgomery, Texas A&M

After playing two seasons with Stanford as a two-way player, the junior transitioned into a full-time outfielder role for Texas A&M in 2024. While at Stanford, the Cardinal won back-to-back Pac-12 regular season championships. Next month Montogomery could become the highest-drafted position player in Aggie history since 2012. He led the SEC in RBIs (80), which also ranked fourth all-time in Texas A&M program history. Unfortunately he won’t play in Omaha with the rest of the Aggies; an awkward slide into home plate (above) ended his season Saturday.