Midseason review: Top players and teams halfway through the year

We're already halfway through the 2026 college baseball season, and while we knew a few things to be certain heading into the year, like how Roch Cholowsky and UCLA would be the team to beat, there have been a fair share of stunners. From the reigning national champion LSU spiraling down to the emergence of Landson Hairson and Daniel Jackson, we can't get enough.

Our college baseball experts break down their favorite parts of the first half, and what teams they're going to be watching as we inch closer to the NCAA tournament and Omaha.

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Under the radar

1. What's been your favorite part of the season so far?

Chris Burke: My favorite part of the early season has been the emergence of new stars. We knew coming into the season that UCLA SS Roch Cholowsky, Georgia Tech OF Drew Burress and Alabama INF Justin Lebron would dominate the headlines, and they have definitely had their moments. However, there has been the emergence of new stars who are challenging to become the biggest names in the sport. INF Quinton Coats from Cincinnati leads the country in homers with 20, INF Landon Hairston of Arizona State leads the country in OPS and catcher Daniel Jackson of Georgia leads the SEC in homers and is on pace to have a rare 20/20 season. I am loving the new stars who have emerged.

Mike Rooney: Cholowsky came into the season as the prohibitive favorite to be the first pick in the MLB draft. And given the elite defense he has displayed plus an OPS of 1.201, he has not disappointed in any way. Yet, so many other stars have emerged. Hairston, Lorenzo Carrier (Pittsburgh) and Dee Kennedy (Kansas State) all have an OPS over 1.500. USC southpaw Mason Edwards surrendered just 11 hits in his first seven starts. And Oregon State righthander Dax Whitney punched out 17 hitters in his second start of the season. The stars are multiplying.

David Dellucci: Broom sales spiked to record levels across the Southeast this past weekend as SEC baseball went full sweep mode. Seven out of eight series ended in clean sweeps, with Kentucky's Game 1 victory over LSU being the one holdout. Walk-offs stole the show: Alabama had one in its sweep against rival Auburn, Texas needed two dramatic extras to top Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry, and Vanderbilt walked off Tennessee all three games with single, a suicide squeeze in the 16th and lastly a grand slam in the finale.

Kiley McDaniel: Georgia Tech C Vahn Lackey and Hairston have been impressive. I liked both as prospects, but Lackey has moved from the back half of the first round to the top five picks at this point, while Hairston (2027 draft eligible) was another late-first to comp round type prospect who is now among the best few players in that draft class.

2. Which team has impressed you the most?

Burke: Texas has been the most impressive team. Hard to not pick UCLA, but maybe I'm jaded, because I was so certain that the Bruins would be excellent, and boy have they! However, the Longhorns every bit their peers both on the mound and with the bats. Aiden Robbins and Carson Tinney highlight a group of transfer portal hitters who have really changed the complexion of this Longhorn lineup. Combine that with a pitching staff that leads the SEC in ERA and you have a legitimate national title contender!

Rooney: Heavy is the head that wears the crown ... unless you are the UCLA Bruins. The consensus No. 1 team coming into the season has been a freight train of winning baseball in 2026. John Savage's club enters week eight on a 20-game winning streak. Newcomers Will Gasparino (12 HRs, 1.240 OPS) and Logan Reddemann (7-0, 2.72 ERA) have been even better than advertised. And the Bruins' incredible junior class has built upon the momentum of their 2025 Omaha run. Winning is fun, and no one in college baseball is enjoying themselves more than this group.

Dellucci: Worries about offense kept Nebraska out of the preseason top 25 polls, but now with a team batting average of .315 and Mac Moyer (.404) and Dylan Carey (.403) leading the charge, the Cornhuskers have jumped to No. 15. Offensive depth combined with solid defense and pitching has led to some notable wins over Florida State and Auburn. Winning 18 of its past 19 games, a perfect 18-0 record at Hawks Field and 8-1 in the Big Ten has earned the Cornhuskers national attention and energized the fan base in Lincoln.

McDaniel: I knew Mississippi State would be good this season, but the Bulldogs' pitching staff has been incredible, both from a pure stats perspective (among the national leaders in ERA, K/BB ratio, etc.), but also from a prospect perspective. Their weekend rotation (Ryan McPherson, Tomas Valincius, Duke Stone) may all be first-round picks in the 2027 draft, and there's plenty of potential early-round talent beyond that.

3. Which players have been at the top of their game?

Burke: One group of players who have been at the top of their game this year is the catchers. I can't remember a year where there have been more standout MLB prospects behind the plate. Jackson, Lackey, Ryder Helfrick (Arkansas), Carson Tinney (Texas), Brendan Brock (Oklahoma) and Gavin Kelly (West Virginia) are all All American type players having monster seasons. This group is a must follow if you love college baseball prospects!

Rooney: Coming into the season, I believed this to be the Year of the Shortstop in college baseball. And while I still very much believe in that group, the catchers in college baseball have made me reconsider that proclamation. Lackey played eight positions in one game, and his 1.383 OPS makes him a very real candidate for the Golden Spikes Award. Jackson is hitting .412 with 16 home runs and 14 steals. Kelly might be the best athlete in the Big 12, and Helfrick runs like a center fielder. Brock also has 14 stolen bases. The catchers are the best athletes on the field in 2026.

Dellucci: Mason Edwards, USC junior lefty, has been lights out this year -- except for two rough starts in brutal weather conditions where he allowed all three of his earned runs. Otherwise, he has been almost untouchable. In his first six outings, he had gone five-plus innings every time, held hitters to three or fewer hits, and he racked up nine or more strikeouts. His curveball has a whiff rate of 65% and his changeup has a strike out rate of 70.6%. Edwards is 5-0, leads the nation with 74 strikeouts, sports a 0.63 ERA and opponents are batting just 0.63 against him.

Hairston is having a monster first half for Arizona State, so much so that assistant coach Jason Ellison even compared it to former Sun Devil legend and MLB home run king Barry Bonds. Currently, Hairston is batting .469 and has already smashed 17 home runs (four of which were grand slams) and driven in 48 RBIs, with just 12 strikeouts in 113 at-bats. That's wild! With 27 regular season games left, Hairston is six home runs short of passing Bonds at ASU and 11 shy of breaking the Sun Devils' single season record by Mitch Jones.

McDaniel: Florida State OF Myles Bailey is unfortunately out for the season, but he had a huge season that should land him in the early rounds of the MLB draft. Florida shortstop Brendan Lawson seems like an early No. 1 draft pick favorite for 2027, but Oregon State RHP Dax Whitney and Wake Forest RHP Chris Levonas are stiff competition for that title; all turned down seven figures out of high school.

4. Which teams have work to do?

Burke: LSU, Louisville and TCU were all preseason top 10 teams that are currently unranked. That said, I'm still very bullish on all three to be impact teams come NCAA tournament time. All three rosters have had some injury issues and some under performing from projected key contributors, however all three are getting healthy and are so talented that there are still plenty of reasons for optimism from their fanbases.

Rooney: The five teams with the longest regional streaks are some of the biggest brands in our sport: Vanderbilt (19), Florida (17), LSU (13), Oklahoma State (12), Dallas Baptist (11). And here are their respective RPIs entering week eight: Vandy (114), Florida (5), LSU (83), Oklahoma State (57), DBU (95). Outside of the Gators, who have rebounded nicely from a shocking home series loss to High Point, none of these perennial powers currently own the metrics needed to receive an NCAA tournament bid. What they do have is talent. And we're only halfway home. But there is ground to make up for sure.

Dellucci: The defending national champion LSU Tigers started the season 11-1, yet they have since slipped from No. 2 to completely out of the top 25. Every team wants to dethrone the champs, but inconsistent pitching and defense led to losses against McNeese, ULL and Sacramento State. The Tigers have one of the most talented rosters in baseball and only need to look back to 2024 when they started 2-12 in conference, yet almost won the Chapel Hill Regional. At 4-5 in the SEC, LSU is a hot streak away from getting back on track and making a run for back-to-back titles.

TCU started the season as high as No. 7, but injuries and pitching struggles have sent them in a tailspin. With the weekend rotation's ERA sitting at 7.14 and the offense averaging seven runs per game, a lot of pressure is put on the defense. One thing is for certain, Kirk Saarloos and Bill Mosiello have plenty of experience and knowledge to change the course in time for Selection Monday.

McDaniel: LSU, Arkansas and Tennessee are all under .500 in the SEC despite a ton of talent on those rosters. The same goes for NC State and Clemson in the ACC and Oklahoma State in the Big 12. Can they rally?

5. What else are we missing?

Burke: Mississippi State was the preseason No. 4, and that felt a little optimistic to me. A new head coach, merging roster and high hopes on unproven players had me nervous about this club. But my concern turned out to be foolish. This team has star power in 3B Ace Reese and Valincius, and it has an experienced roster who appears to have all the right answers. Combine that with a coaching staff that has a national championship to their résumé, and there is good reason to have Omaha expectations in Starkville.

Rooney: West Virginia looks like the best team in the Big 12, and the 'Neers have been to consecutive super regionals. Boston College raced out to a 8-4 record in the ACC, and this club is showing no signs of slowing down. Cincinnati's Coats leads the country with 20 home runs, and FGCU's two-way wizard Dempsey has 64 strikeouts and two complete games through his first seven starts while also hitting .396 with 13 doubles. That's a busy man. Finally, the best team in the country not named UCLA is Texas.

Dellucci: Texas' Dylan Volantis has smoothly switched from closer to starting pitcher. As a freshman, Volantis ended the 2025 season with a 1.94 ERA with 74 strikeouts and 12 saves. His role may have changed, but his performance has not -- currently posting a 3-0 record, 2.08 ERA, 51 strikeouts with opponents only hitting .209. Teamed up with Riojas (1.59 ERA, 64 Ks) and Luke Harrison (2.65 ERA, 37 Ks), Texas has one of the top weekend rotations in the nation.

Southern Miss has been a force to reckon with in the first half. The Golden Eagles lead the nation in non conference RPI with wins over Oregon State, Alabama, Ole Miss and Mississippi State, giving them an impressive 13-4 Quad 1/2 record. They have climbed from preseason No. 20 to No. 8 and with a favorable schedule ahead, and with the ACC and SEC teams ranked above slugging it out, the Golden Eagles could jump a few more spots to solidify a top-eight seed by season's end.

McDaniel: Texas RHP Ruger Riojas and Liberty RHP Ben Blair aren't at the top draft boards like UCSB RHP Jackson Flora and Florida RHP Liam Peterson, but both are having huge seasons. UCLA RHP Logan Reddemann is sneaking up board, too, as is Florida State LHP Wes Mendes and Florida Gulf Coast RHP Evan Dempsey.