5 Omaha Sleepers For The 2024 College Baseball Season

Offensively, it starts with star centerfielder Mike Sirota, who last year was a first-team All-CAA selection after hitting .346/.472/.678 with 9 doubles, 18 home runs, 54 RBIs and 19 stolen bases. Sirota has legitimate five-tool upside and has one of the best approaches in this year’s draft class. He also has the chance to be the highest draft pick in school history, with Carlos Peña being the current highest pick after being drafted 10th overall by the Texas Rangers in 1998. Another name to familiarize yourself with is fellow outfielder Cam Maldonado. Maldonado led the team in hitting as a true freshman and posted a .354/.434/.642 slash line with 31 extra-base hits and 32 stolen bases en route to being named the CAA rookie of the year. He has a pro-like body with an intriguing toolset, and is on track to be a top five–round draft choice in 2025. 

Both Tyler MacGregor (.332/.416/.625) and Alex Lane (.318/.427/.596) provide the lineup with a veteran presence and serious thump. Lane last year led the Huskies with 58 RBIs, while MacGregor’s 18 home runs were also a team-high. Strong-bodied outfielder Harrison Feinberg has a chance to pop. Feinberg enjoyed a solid first season with the Huskies after transferring from Southern California. He hit .264 with seven doubles, 10 home runs and 27 RBIs while flashing plenty of bat speed and above-average power. Feinberg is an ultra-physical player who will assume an everyday role in 2024 and will have the chance to establish himself as a key piece in the lineup.

On the mound, the Huskies rotation will be able to go toe-to-toe with anyone. It is littered with strike-throwers and guys who really know how to pitch. Sophomore Aiven Cabral will anchor the rotation after posting a 2.58 ERA with 69 strikeouts to just 14 walks across 83.2 innings. Cabral was a first-team All-CAA selection as a true freshman in 2023. Veteran righthander Wyatt Scotti (6-4, 3.91 ERA) walked just 13 hitters across 76 innings last spring, and features an above-average changeup. Fellow righthander Jake Gigliotti (8-0, 3.24 ERA) will make the jump full time to the rotation. He sported a 65-to-17 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 2023 and was a Cape League all-star this past summer. Nothing he throws is straight, and his slider and changeup will both flash plus. 

Dennis Colleran will anchor the bullpen after missing all of 2023. He is uber-physical at 6-foot-3 and 225-pounds, and possesses a lethal sinker-slider combination. Colleran’s sinker has been up to 98 with bowling-ball life, and his sharp sweeper flashes plus. The Huskies will also have Charlie Walker (one earned run across 10 innings in 2023) for a full season as well as other solid bullpen options. It also cannot be overstated how valuable head coach Mike Glavine is to the program. As outstanding a human being as he is a baseball mind, Coach Glavine gets his guys to buy-in and play for each other. This roster is the embodiment of “Northeast Tough” and is a gritty bunch that this spring will make tons of noise.

UC Santa Barbara

The Gauchos last year enjoyed another strong season—a trend that has become the norm under head coach Andrew Checketts—but missed the tournament for the first time since 2019 after dropping their last four regular-season games. This year, UCSB is not only in an excellent spot to return to the tournament, but also has the weapons to make a run toward its first College World Series appearance since 2016.

Teams like Wake Forest, LSU, Iowa and Arkansas are often talked about as having the best rotation in college baseball—and rightfully so. But from this chair, the Gauchos rotation of Matt Ager (5-4, 3.12 ERA), Mike Guttierez (4-2, 2.54 ERA), Ryan Gallagher (missed all of 2023), and Tyler Bremner (5-4, 5.37 ERA) deserves to be mentioned in the same breath. Ager is the headliner and potential top two–round pick. He boasts an effective fastball-slider combination and figures to continue to be dominant on Fridays. Guttierez is more of a pitchability over stuff arm, but both his changeup and curveball flash plus and play well off his high-80s fastball. 

It cannot be overstated how valuable Gallagher’s return to the rotation is. In 2022, Gallagher was the Big West freshman pitcher of the year after posting a perfect 8-0 record with a 3.25 ERA. Also the fact that an arm talent like Bremner will be the team’s midweek starter is a massive testament to its depth. Bremner has a riding fastball that has been up to 98 as well as a sweeping slider that has flashed plus, especially this fall. In 2025, he has a chance to be the first college arm off the board. Closer Hudson Barrett is perhaps the best relief pitcher in the country, and last year was the Big West’s freshman pitcher of the year after posting a minuscule 1.92 ERA with 82 strikeouts across 81 innings. His fastball will sit in the low-90s and top out at 94, and his best offering is a plus changeup.

However, this Gauchos team isn’t just pitching. They return from last year six of their top seven leading hitters, including first-team All-Big West selection Ivan Brethowr. Brethowr last year hit .311/.408/.511, and his 11 home runs and 40 RBIs were both the second-highest marks on the team. Catcher Aaron Parker hit .321/.415/.551 with 11 doubles and 10 home runs, and will provide valuable experience and stability behind the plate. UCSB’s left side of the infield will be one of the best in the conference with Corey Nunez and Zander Darby at shortstop and third base. Nunez is a plus defender at shortstop, while also providing some impact with his bat, while Darby is both an above-average defender and hitter.

Newcomer Reiss Calvin will hold down center field, and last year at Ventura College (JC), he hit .435/.515/.665 with seven home runs and 22 stolen bases. Calvin is a great athlete whose speed translates well to the outfield. LaTrey McCollum hit .300/.410/.332 last year, but had an excellent summer in the West Coast League to the tune of a .361/.454/.445 slash line with nine extra-base hits and 26 stolen bases. Not only is he a plus runner, but he also has a mature approach and provides defensive versatility. 

With a bevy of depth on both sides of the baseball, the Gauchos will be an incredibly difficult team to beat this spring. Their roster is also one that is built to sustain a long tournament run, especially on the pitching side. With four legitimate weapons in the rotation and a lights-out reliever—on top of a lineup with at least six tough outs—UCSB has the perfect recipe to cook up a run to Omaha.

UC Irvine

The Anteaters last year were one of the biggest snubs from the tournament field after finishing the regular season with a 38-17 record, including a 19-11 conference record, and on a six-game win streak. Instead of gearing up for a tournament run, Irvine’s season came to an abrupt end. However, if there is any silver lining, it is that all nine regulars from last year’s loaded offense return. As a cherry on top, shortstop Woody Hadeen is back and fully healthy after missing all of the 2023 season.

Irvine this year boasts the best offense in the Big West, and its lineup has the ability to keep it in virtually every game. The top three of the order figures to be some iteration of Jo Oyama (.319/.418/.500), Caden Kendle (.335/.434/.535) and Anthony Martinez (.394/.471/.619). Oyama enjoyed a strong first season at the Division-I level and then proceeded to tear up the Cape Cod League to the tune of a .360/.456/.613 slash line. He has more power than his smaller frame suggests and his toolset allows him to impact the game in myriad ways. 

After Kendle was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 10th round of the 2023 draft, it seemed inevitable that he would sign. However, in the 11th hour, Kendle decided to return to school in what was a massive development for the Anteaters. Martinez, who was named the Big West’s freshman of the year, is perhaps both the best pure hitter and power hitter in the conference. In 2023, he hit .394/.471/.619 with more extra-base hits (30) than strikeouts (27). Surrounding the Anteaters’ “big three,” is a quality supporting cast of Dub Gleed (.300/.384/.456), Luke Spillane (.304/.422/.442) and Chase Call (.266/.459/.497).

The pitching side is a bit murkier than the offense, but veteran lefthander Nick Pinto (7-2, 5.16 ERA) is a solid bet to anchor the rotation. Pinto, along with righthander Finnegan Wall, was going to be a formidable one-two punch, though it was just revealed that Wall will miss the entire 2024 season. There will be plenty of depth in the bullpen, though, as San Diego State transfer Ricky Tibbett (1-1, 5.59 ERA) and Northwestern transfer David Utagawa (0-2, 6.54 ERA) will handle the late-inning responsibilities, while returners Cameron Wheeler (3-2, 3.22 ERA) and Max Martin (2-0, 3.81 ERA) will also log meaningful innings. Sophomore Riley Kelly could be in line for a breakout 2024 campaign after throwing just 3.1 innings last spring. He has the best stuff on the staff and figures to be most effective when used in a relief role.

The 2024 UC Irvine team will go as far as its pitching takes it. If Pinto continues to be consistent while other arms step up around him, it will be a very tough team to eliminate come June.

Indiana

Simply put, I am very excited about the 2024 Hoosiers. Indiana and Iowa will make for a very interesting race atop the Big Ten, and both are on track to earn at-large bids. Indiana last year won 43 games—the fifth-highest total in program history—and earned a spot in the tournament. The Lexington Regional could not have gotten off to a better start, as it knocked off West Virginia and host Kentucky in consecutive games. However, the Wildcats bounced back and took down the Hoosiers on consecutive days to advance to a super regional. 

This year’s lineup will feature a core of returners as well as at least one key newcomer. Four of its five leading hitters from 2023 are back, including Big Ten freshman of the year Devin Taylor. Taylor last year burst onto the scene and hit .315/.430/.650 with a team-leading 16 home runs. Brock Tibbitts figures to spend time both behind the plate and at first base, and last year he hit an impressive .357/.447/.585 en route to a second-team All-Big Ten selection. Josh Pyne (.295/.357/.445) will anchor the left side of the infield and is a plus defender at third base, while Tyler Cerny (.276/.348/.489) will handle shortstop duties. Cerny had an impressive freshman season, in which he laced 23 extra-base hits, but could be in line for an even better sophomore year after a great summer season in the Appalachian League.

Joining Taylor in the outfield will be juniors Carter Mathison and Nick Mitchell. Mathison last year built off a great freshman year and hit .311/.426/.538 with 28 extra-base hits. He showed well on the Cape in center field, which is where he figures to slot in this spring, flashing range to both gaps and an above-average arm. Western Illinois transfer Nick Mitchell will be the everyday left fielder. Mitchell had an outstanding two-year career at Western Illinois, in which he hit .348/.421/.489. He has a great feel for the barrel at the plate, is a plus runner and will play quality defense in the outfield. His fingerprints figure to be all over the box score game in and game out.

Indiana this year will unfortunately be without last year’s best pitcher and potential top five–round draft pick Luke Sinnard (6-3, 4.27 ERA), as he will spend this year recovering from injury. It will feature a host of returners as well as a couple of transfers who figure to be key pieces. Ryan Kraft (6-1, 2.48 ERA) figures to make the jump to the weekend rotation after an excellent 2023 season, Brayden Risedorph (3-1, 4.47 ERA) has the versatility to be deployed in a number of ways and flamethrower Connor Foley (4-2, 3.72 ERA) will be a formidable force in the back end of the bullpen. Joining Foley in the bullpen will be hard-throwing Northwestern transfer Ben Grable (2-1, 5.58 ERA) and Boston College transfer Julian Tonghini (2-1, 3.81 ERA), both of whom will be key pieces.

Indiana has made the College World Series just once in school history (2013), but this year it has the pieces to get back to the “Greatest Show On Dirt.”

West Virginia

The Mountaineers are fresh off their first 40 plus–win season since 1994 and just their third tournament appearance since 1996. Like Indiana, they too got sent to the Lexington Regional, where they went 1-2 with a win over fourth-seeded Ball State. It was a disappointing end to the season, but West Virginia heads into 2024 looking to build off the momentum it built last season.

The offense is led by perhaps the best pure hitter in college baseball and potential No. 1 overall pick JJ Wetherholt. Wetherholt last year was named a first-team All-American and the Big-12 player of the year after hitting a Division-I leading .449/.517/.787 with 24 doubles, 16 home runs, 36 stolen bases, 60 RBIs and more walks (26) than strikeouts (22). His feel for the barrel is off the charts. He has a unique hit-power combination and this spring will slide over to shortstop after manning second base for the first two years of his collegiate career. Wetherholt is also a comfortably plus runner who is a nightmare to deal with on the basepaths.

On top of Wetherholt, lefthanded slugger Grant Hussey has some of the most impressive raw power in the conference and will look to build upon a 2023 season in which he posted career-highs in every offensive category. Junior catcher Logan Sauve (.267/.400/.411) will provide strong defense behind the dish, while Houston Christian transfer Reed Chumley (.392/.458/.722) will provide some thump in the middle of the order. Both Ellis Garcia (.260/.367/.385) and Skylar King (.227/.227/.273) are advanced defenders at their respective positions, and if their bats take a step forward, it will provide a real boost to the lineup.

The Mountaineers have a deep rotation that will be headlined by junior righthander Aidan Major. Major last year posted a 4-2 record with a 4.88 ERA and struck out 59 across 48 innings. He has arguably the best stuff on the staff and could end up as one of the better Friday starters in the conference by season’s end. The rest of the rotation will be made up by transfer arms Hayden Cooper and Tyler Switalski. 

Cooper comes to Morgantown by way of SIUE, where last year he posted a 1-3 record with a 5.06 ERA. He was used primarily as a bullpen arm, but will now start after an impressive fall in which he ran his fastball up to 97. Rounding out the rotation is Gardner Webb transfer Tyler Switalski (8-5, 5.60 ERA). Switalski’s back of the baseball card numbers are modest, but he struck out 80 in 80.1 innings last year and his secondary stuff has taken a jump this fall. On midweeks, Northwood University (Division-II) transfer Derek Clark will get the ball. A 5-foot-8 innings eater, Clark last year worked a 10-2 record with a 2.74 ERA and 104 strikeouts to just 19 walks in 103.2 innings. He then went to the Cape League, where he pitched his way to a 1.80 ERA with 38 strikeouts in 40 innings. Clark has plus control and command and knows how to get guys out.

In the bullpen, redshirt sophomore righthander David Hagaman (1-2, 3.52 ERA) will assume the closer role, while towering lefty Maxx Yehl (1-0, 3.54 ERA) is in line to register plenty of innings. Freshman Chase Meyer has an electric fastball-slider combination and is also set to see his fair share of innings.

While West Virginia does enter the season with some question marks, it has arguably the best player in college baseball on its roster in addition to a quality supporting cast. Should some of their bats take a step forward and their pitching prove to be consistent, the Mountaineers could have a special season in store.

Other teams considered: UC San Diego, UNCW, Grand Canyon, Troy, Dallas Baptist, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Alabama, North Carolina State.