College baseball’s 2026 season starts Friday for NCAA Division I teams.

Here are 10 players to watch this year, listed in alphabetical order by last name.

Drew Burress, Georgia Tech: The junior center fielder was the only player from a power conference with at least 60 RBIs (62), 20 doubles (23), 50 walks (53), 15 homers (19) and 70 runs (77) during the 2025 season. He batted .333 with 53 walks against 42 strikeouts. He enters his third season as the only D-I player with a career slugging percentage of better than .750 (.756).

Angel Cervantes, UCLA: The freshman right-hander, taken No. 50 overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates in last year’s MLB draft, was the highest pick to choose to go to school rather than pro ball. A savvy competitor who turned 18 in the fall, he’s a projected weekend starter with his mid-90s fastball and wicked curveball and changeup.

Roch Cholowsky, UCLA: The star shortstop for the Bruins is projected to be the No. 1 draft pick in July after he turned in one of the best seasons in program history. He was national player of the year by four media outlets in 2025, as well as the Brooks Wallace Award winner as the best shortstop in college baseball. He led UCLA with a .353 batting average, .710 slugging percentage, 23 homers and 74 RBIs in 66 games.

Derek Curiel, LSU: One of the most dynamic players in the Southeastern Conference, the sophomore draws comparisons to former LSU star Dylan Crews, the No. 2 pick in the 2023 draft. Like Crews, Curiel played a corner outfield position as a freshman before moving to center for the Tigers. Curiel led the College World Series champions with a .345 batting average last year, and he hit .390 with four doubles, a homer and 10 RBIs in the NCAA tournament.

Henry Ford, Tennessee: One of the college game’s most versatile players, he spent his first two college seasons with Virginia at first base and right field, but the Volunteers plan to give him a look at third. The former Baylor School standout batted .362 with nine doubles, 11 homers and 46 RBIs for the Cavaliers last season.

Gabe Gaeckle, Arkansas: The junior right-hander made 19 appearances, including nine starts, and was 4-2 with a 4.42 ERA and two saves in 71 1/3 innings pitched. He struck out 92 batters and held the opposition to a .235 average. He will begin the year as the Friday night starter, the role he held last season until he surrendered the job to Zach Root when SEC play began.

Owen Kramkowski, Arizona: His career has been on the rise since he arrived as a rarely used freshman reliever, moved into the weekend rotation as a sophomore and now projects as the Friday night starter. His four-pitch repertoire includes an effective sweeper. He was 9-6 with 90 strikeouts in 92 innings last year.

Ace Reese, Mississippi State: The junior third baseman was last season’s SEC newcomer of the year and is one of 15 players returning to the Bulldogs for Brian O’Connor’s first season as coach. Reese led the Bulldogs with 21 homers, a .352 batting average and a .719 slugging percentage, and he had a 22-game hitting streak.

Aiden Robbins, Texas: The Seton Hall transfer, who will play right or center field for the Longhorns, was a huge pickup for a team that lost its entire outfield to the draft and the NCAA transfer portal. He was sixth in the nation with a .422 batting average and fifth with a .537 on-base percentage for the Pirates last year. He also had 19 doubles and 20 stolen bases and played error-free defense in center field.

Sawyer Strosnider, TCU: The Big 12 preseason player of the year split time between right field and designated hitter and was the first player since 2010 and the first freshman since 2001 to post double-digit totals in doubles (13), triples (10), home runs (11) and stolen bases (10).