UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky was the preseason favorite to win the Golden Spikes Award and will likely be the No. 1 pick in the 2026 MLB Draft.
But it’s time to ask the question: Is Cholowsky the best player on his own team? The answer is … yes, probably, but junior outfielder Will Gasparino is putting on quite a show in his first three weeks with the Bruins. The transfer from Texas is slashing .378/1.270/.521 and leads the nation with 10 home runs in just 48 plate appearances. Over the weekend, Gasparino went 5 for 11 with four home runs to lead the Bruins to wins over three ranked SEC teams — Tennessee, Texas A&M and Mississippi State — at the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series in Arlington, Texas.
Cholowsky was relatively quiet at the plate, going 3 for 11 in the three games, but against Mississippi State on Sunday, he blasted a two-out, two-run home run in the top of the ninth to tie the game. The Bruins went on to win 8-7 in 10 innings to put the finishing touches on the most impressive weekend by any team in the nation this season.
Mississippi State, which beat Arizona State and Virginia Tech earlier in the weekend, lost for the first time this season.
Around the horn
Clemson won an eventful series with rival South Carolina, taking the rubber match 7-2 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in Clemson on Sunday.
The Gamecocks threw the first punch on Friday night at Founders Park in Columbia, beating the Tigers 7-0 behind a superb pitching performance from Josh Gunther (seven innings, three hits, 10 strikeouts) and Alex Valentin (two innings, no hits, five strikeouts). South Carolina, which earlier in the week lost to Queens to fall to a disappointing 6-3, apparently enjoyed the victory a little too much for Clemson’s liking.
After the Tigers’ 4-1 win on Saturday at Segra Park in Columbia, Clemson coach Erik Bakich said, “We’ve got another big one tomorrow, which is why we don’t celebrate like out-of-control like we won the World Series after one win. We still have a lot to play for, and it’s a big one tomorrow.”
Here are the two final outs and celebrations from South Carolina’s and Clemson’s win.@abc_columbia pic.twitter.com/xDrsmZWdxY
— Noah Chast (@NoahChastTV) March 1, 2026
After losing on Friday, Clemson held South Carolina to a combined eight hits and three runs over the next two games.
Left-hander Michael Sharman, a transfer from Tennessee, was masterful on Saturday, needing only 78 pitches — including 67 strikes! — to throw a complete game. He allowed four hits and no walks.
Florida won its fifth straight series against rival Miami and its sixth straight in Coral Cables, beating the Hurricanes by scores of 7-2 and 8-4. The third game of the series was rained out on Sunday.
Florida’s Liam Peterson, who was roughed up in a season-opening loss to UAB, delivered his second straight strong start on Friday night. The junior right-hander gave up six hits and two earned runs while striking out eight with one walk in 5 2/3 innings. On Saturday, sophomore Aidan King, one of the top prospects in the 2027 MLB Draft, was pulled after 2 1/3 innings, but coach Kevin O’Sullivan said after the game that King was suffering from cramps and there are no injury concerns.
You can call it Midweek Mayhem … or simply a random Tuesday in college baseball. Last Tuesday, five of the top nine teams in the nation lost at home.
No. 1 LSU to McNeese, 7-6
No. 2 UCLA to San Diego State, 4-3
No. 4 Arkansas to Arkansas State, 12-4
No. 7 Georgia Tech to Georgia State, 9-4
No. 9 Oklahoma to Arizona State, 15-3
No. 13 Georgia joined the party on Wednesday, losing to Troy 6-5 in 12 innings.
Radford freshman Joey Raccuia died in a single-car crash on Wednesday. Two days later, his team celebrated a walk-off 5-4 win over Bryant with two runs in the bottom of the ninth.
One swing. One moment. Forever remembered.#RiseAndDefend x #RWay pic.twitter.com/ojHCg581M1
— Radford Baseball (@RadfordBaseball) February 28, 2026
Raccuia’s dad, Joe, played at Radford in the mid-1990s and served as Highlanders head coach from 2008 to ’19. Joey, a pitcher and middle infielder, had appeared in two games this season.
The team voted on Thursday to play their weekend series as scheduled.
“We knew before the game, no matter how it went, we were going to stick together,” said catcher Brady Whitacre, who hit a two-run single with two outs to win the game. “We had the conversation too of, ‘What would Joey want to do?’ Joey would want to go out and play. There was no doubt in our mind that we weren’t going to play the game.”
Wake Forest right-hander Chris Levonas, one of the top prospects from the Class of 2024 to make it to campus, is off to a stellar start to his sophomore season. On Saturday, Levonas didn’t allow a hit or a walk in six scoreless innings of the Demon Deacons’ 15-4 win over Loyola Marymount. Two runners reached base, both on dropped third strikes. For the season, Levonas, a New Jersey native, has allowed five hits and one earned run in 14 2/3 innings and has 33 strikeouts and four walks.
Wake Forest lost its opener to Houston in Puerto Rico but has since won 11 consecutive games. The Deacs open ACC play with a series next week against Stanford in Winston-Salem.
Coastal Carolina salvaged the weekend by beating Ole Miss 9-2 on Sunday at the Bruce Bolt College Classic in Houston. The Chanticleers lost to Texas 8-1 on Friday and UTSA 16-10 on Saturday. They are now 7-4.
Coastal is also dealing with some brutal injuries. Friday night starter Cameron Flukey, a likely first-round pick in the 2026 draft, has missed two straight starts and will reportedly be out for at least six more weeks after suffering a rib injury. Additionally, left-hander Hayden Johnson, a key reliever on last year’s team that reached the College World Series finals, will be out for a few months with an elbow injury. Johnson has yet to pitch this season. The Chants entered the season without the services of expected closer Dom Carbone, who is out for the year after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
And finally
• Lamar right-hander Chris Olivier has not allowed a run in 18 2/3 innings to start the 2026 season. The senior from Louisiana has 28 strikeouts and five walks and has given up only six hits. The Cardinals are 8-4 after sweeping UTRGV, the defending Southland Conference co-champs, in the first weekend of league play.
• The schedule has been soft, but Missouri is 10-2 after sweeping North Dakota State in Columbia. The Tigers went 16-39 in 2025.
• Southern Miss continues to impress. The Golden Eagles swept Louisiana Tech, which was 8-1 entering the weekend, to improve to 10-1. They lost their season opener 5-1 at home to UCSB but have not lost since. They have two wins over UCSB, plus wins over Oregon State, Baylor and Alabama.
• USC’s pitching continues to shine. The Trojans have a team ERA of 1.45 after allowing a total of eight runs in a four-game sweep of Cal Poly. The Trojans, at 11-0, are one of three undefeated teams remaining. New Mexico (12-0) and Texas (11-0) are the others.
• Chris Rembert, Auburn’s All-America second baseman, returned to the lineup after missing a few weeks with an ankle injury. He went a combined 2 for 9 with four RBIs as the Tigers took two of three from Nebraska in Auburn.
• LSU, the defending national champs, improved to 11-1 with two wins over Dartmouth and one win over Northeastern at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge. The Tigers have played one team, Northeastern, that played in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
• Speaking of Northeastern, the Huskies are 2-6, with both wins coming against Grambling this past weekend. They have played in the NCAA Tournament three times in the last five seasons.
• Perhaps Arizona is turning things around. The Wildcats, who reached the CWS last season, lost to Oregon on Friday on the first day of the Las Vegas Classic to fall to 1-8 on the season. They bounced back on Saturday with a 5-1 win over Vanderbilt and ended the weekend with a 7-1 victory over UC Irvine on Sunday.
• Vanderbilt, meanwhile, went 0-3 — losing to UC Irvine, Arizona and Oregon — to fall to 7-5. On Saturday, right-hander Austin Nye, a top prospect in the 2027 MLB Draft, was removed after one inning. There is no word yet on a potential injury.