Nick Kurtz, Trey Yesavage Highlight NCAA Week 8 Standouts (Hot Sheet)

Nin Burns II, OF, Texas Southern

Class: 2024

What He Did: 7-for-12 (.583), 7 R, 11 RBI, 2 HR, 1 2B, 4 BB, 2 K

Burns II continued his hot stretch at the plate with yet another productive week. After notching a base hit in Tuesday’s midweek game against Tulane, the well-traveled outfielder exploded for 11 RBI across two games against Alcorn State. On Friday, Burns II went 3-for-4 with a double, a home run, and eight RBIs before going 2-for-4 with a home run and 3 RBIs on Saturday. He has flashed a solid feel for the barrel this year and is now hitting .349/.455/.590 with a team-leading five home runs and 25 RBIs. -PF

Peyton Calitri, RHP, Tennessee Tech

Class: 2024

What He Did: 8 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 10 K

Calitri threw eight shutout innings and racked up 10 strikeouts against Morehead State on Saturday. The outing led to him being named the Ohio Valley Conference pitcher of the week for the second time of the 2024 season. He now has a 2.04 ERA in eight starts and 53 innings of work with a 25.9% strikeout rate and microscopic 1.9% walk rate. That walk rate is good for second-best among all D-I arms and Calitri has walked only four batters on the season. Calitri is a sidearming righthander who only throws his fastball in the mid 80s, but he pitches mostly off a mid-70s slow breaking slider that he lands in the zone at a 73% clip. It’s an odd look and unusual profile but it’s more than worked for him this season. –CC

Derek Clark, LHP, West Virginia

Class: 2024

What He Did: 9 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K

Since missing the first few weeks of the season, Clark has been nothing short of excellent for the Mountaineers. This past Sunday the pitchability lefty turned in his third-straight complete-game, but his first of the shutout variety. Clark generated just eight whiffs on Saturday, but just as he has done his entire career, was able to consistently generate soft contact. He relied heavily on his high-70s changeup that flashed late tumble with a bit of fade, while also mixing in an effective low-80s slide. What Clark lacks in pure stuff, he makes up for with plus control and advanced pitch sequencing. He will be a valuable piece for the Mountaineers down the stretch, and so far this season has a 1.70 ERA with 31 strikeouts to eight walks across 37 innings. -PF

Jayden Davis, 2B, Vanderbilt

Class: 2025

What He Did: 7-for-12 (.583), 4 R, 8 RBI, 1 HR, 3 2B

Davis broke out of his slump at the plate this weekend in a big way, notching multiple hits and RBIs in each of his three games. His biggest hit of the series came in Friday’s series-clinching win, as he blasted a game-winning two-run home run in the top of the eighth inning. Davis put the cherry on top of what was a great weekend by going 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs in Saturday’s run-rule victory. Davis is plenty physical and has quick hands with double-plus bat-to-ball skills to the tune of a 96% in-zone contact rate. He is hitting .312/.376/.456 and his 30 RBIs rank second on the team. Davis projects as a day two pick in 2025. -PF

Gabe Driscoll, RHP, Binghamton

Class: 2024

What He Did: 9 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 9 K

Driscoll on Saturday spun his first-ever complete-game and held UMass Lowell to just one run on four hits. An advanced strike-thrower, Driscoll deploys a four-pitch mix that consists of a fastball, slider, changeup and cutter. His fastball will sit in the upper-80s and low-90s and top out at 93, while his slider-cutter combination is the root of the vast majority of his swing-and-miss. In what is the theme of this week’s hot sheet, Driscoll also compensates for his lack of stuff with plus control of his entire arsenal. The fifth-year righthander has a 3.50 ERA with 46 strikeouts against just seven walks across 46.1 innings. -PF

Jacob Ellis, LHP, Lamar

Class: 2024

What He Did: 9 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 9 K 

Ellis was named the Southland Conference pitcher of the week after throwing nine no-hit and shutout innings against McNeese on Saturday. Lamar needed extra innings to win the game despite his efforts, and he was also just a walk shy of throwing nine perfect innings. The nine strikeouts was the most he has managed in the season and he now owns a 3.13 ERA in eight starts and 46 innings with a 20.6% strikeout rate and 7.2% walk rate. –CC

Patrick Gardner, LHP, Fairleigh Dickinson

Class: 2024

What He Did: 9 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 11 K

Gardner threw a complete game shutout against Delaware State last Friday. He worked around two hits and four walks to prevent any runs from scoring and struck out 11 batters—his first double-digit strikeout game of the season. A 5-foot-11 lefthander, Gardner is a soft-tossing lefty who throws a fastball in the mid to upper 80s and mixes in a few different variations of a slow breaking ball in the low and mid 70s. The pitch can be tricky for lefties to barrel up thanks to the low slot he throws from and Gardner will also mix in a low-80s changeup, though his feel for the pitch needs work. On the season Gardner has a 3.75 ERA in seven starts and 36 innings, with a 27.3% strikeout rate and a 10.8% walk rate. –CC 

Nick Kurtz, 1B, Wake Forest

Class: 2024

What He Did: 8-for-14 (.571), 9 R, 11 RBI, 6 HR, 1 2B, 6 BB, 2 K

Kurtz entered the season as the No. 2 player on BA’s draft board and one of the favorites for the 1-1 pick this July. That buzz cooled off for him after he started slow and dealt with a shoulder injury that bit into his playing time, but he has been on a heater in recent weeks and is riding a five-game home run streak including a three-homer game in Sunday’s finale vs. Virginia Tech. He homered five times in total in the Virginia Tech series and averaged 107.8 mph on those homers according to Wake’s Analytics account. A separator for Kurtz compared to the stereotypical college slugger is his advanced approach and willingness to take a walk. That ability allowed him to maintain one of the best walk rates in the country even when the hits weren’t falling for him early in the season. Now the hits—and homers—are falling in buckets and he’s re-entering the top-of-the-draft conversation. He’s hitting .298/.500/.738 with 11 home runs, a 15% strikeout rate and a 28.3% walk rate. -CC

Morgan Little, 1B St. Bonaventure

Class: 2024

What He Did: 4-for-8 (.500), 3 R, 7 RBI, 3 HR, 3 BB, 2 K

Little this weekend enjoyed a mighty impressive doubleheader that accounted for half of his RBIs this season. While he went 1-for-3 with a home run in game two, he went 3-for-5 with two home runs—including a grand slam—in the first game. At 6-foot-4 and 240-pounds, Little is an imposing presence in the batter’s box. He has a long lefthanded swing and his highest quality of contact has come to the pull side. The junior first baseman is hitting .302/.450/.476 with two doubles, three home runs and 14 RBIs. -PF

Colin McVeigh, RHP Fairfield

Class: 2024

What He Did: 8 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 14 K

After a rocky start to the season, McVeigh turned in his second-straight quality start and allowed just one run on one hit with a career-best 14 strikeouts. The senior righthander started the game with six no-hit innings before allowing a leadoff single in the seventh. McVeigh has a drop-and-drive type delivery and attacks hitters from a low release height. He pairs an effective high-80s running fastball with an average mid-70s slider that has been his go-to out pitch. McVeigh has not allowed an earned run across his last 18 innings, and on the season he has a 4.95 ERA with 44 strikeouts to six walks in 40 innings. -PF

Christian Moore, 2B, Tennessee

What He Did: 7-for-14 (.500), 5 R, 10 RBI, 3 HR, 3 2B, 1 BB, 2 K

Class: 2024

Moore continued what is on pace to be a career year by collecting multiple hits, RBIs and extra-base hits in each of his three games this weekend, headlined by a six RBI performance on Saturday. The junior second baseman this year has shown an improved approach as well as improved contact ability without sacrificing any of his production. He has also made a couple of subtle changes in his setup that have paid dividends. Moore has above-average power and has shown the ability to drive the baseball with authority to all fields. He has a strong righthanded swing with plenty of wrist and forearm strength with present bat speed. In the field, he is a sure bet to stick at second base long term where he is a good athlete with above-average arm strength. Moore this spring has seen his stock steadily climb and could play his way into an eventual top-50 overall selection. -PF

Dominic Niman, LHP, Kentucky

Class: 2024

What He Did: 9 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K

Niman bounced back from a rough outing last week by throwing a complete-game shutout to clinch a key series win over No. 15 Alabama. After plunking the first batter of the game, Niman retired 10 hitters in a row between the first and fourth innings before setting down the final nine hitters of the game in order. The veteran southpaw garnered 13 swings-and-misses with his low-90s fastball and effective low-80s slider—both of which he has plus control of. Niman this year has been a key reason for the Wildcats’ success and has pitched his way to a 3.59 ERA with 43 strikeouts against 11 walks across 47.2 innings. -PF

Ryan Reich, RHP, Seton Hall

Class: 2025

What He Did: 7 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 5 BB, 13 K

Reich on Saturday bounced back from a pair of rocky starts by turning in the best start of his career to this point. He spun seven shutout, hitless innings in which he notched a career-high 13 strikeouts. Reich’s fastball sits in the low-90s, but it jumps out of his hand and plays up—especially when elevated—thanks to its big-time riding life. He throws the pitch nearly 70% of the time and supplements it with a slider and a changeup. Reich gets hardly any swing-and-miss with his average slider, while his low-80s changeup has had positive flashes. It is an interesting profile that could warrant a day two pick in next year’s draft. -PF 

Collin Reuter, C, BYU

Class: 2024

What He Did: 7-for-14 (.500), 4 R, 7 RBI, 4 HR, 2 2B, 1 BB, 2 K

After hitting just one home run in his first 21 games of the season Reuter exploded for four in a three-game series against Texas last weekend. The headliner was a 3-for-4, three-homer game in the finale on Saturday. Reuter improved his season line to .330/.433/.580 and is now one homer short of the six he managed in 2022. –CC

Michael Ross, RHP, Samford

Class: 2024

What He Did: 9 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 9 K

Ross threw a one-hit complete game shutout against The Citadel last weekend and recorded nine strikeouts for the second straight game in the process. Ross throws a fastball in the 89-91 mph range that touches 94, and will mix in a low-80s changeup, upper-70s slider and mid-70s curve. He attacks the zone consistently with the entire repertoire and used the fastball and slider to account for 15 of the 17 whiffs he managed in this game. Ross missed the 2023 season with injury but has posted a 2.66 ERA in eight starts and 50.2 innings in 2024 with a 24.9% strikeout rate and 5.4% walk rate. –CC 

Brett Sears, RHP, Nebraska

Class: 2024

What He Did: 9 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 10 K

Sears has been excellent all season and threw his fourth shutout outing of the year last Friday—this one a complete game shutout where he fanned a season-best 10 batters and allowed just two hits. Sears has dominated with a fastball that sits around 90 mph and an 81-84 mph changeup that is a consistent swing-and-miss pitch. Five of his 10 strikeouts last week came on the changeup and he’s used the pitch to generate a 40% miss rate on the season. The senior righthander has a 1.14 ERA in eight starts and 55.1 innings with a 28.4% strikeout rate and 4.5% walk rate. His .127 opponent batting average is the second-lowest in the country. –CC

Austin St. Laurent, 3B, Appalachian State

Class: 2024

What He Did: 10-for-19 (.526), 6 R, 3 RBI, 1 HR, 1 3B, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 K

St. Laurent has been collecting multi-hit games in recent weeks and had three such games in his last four including a midweek game against High Point where he went 3-for-5. In a three-game series against James Madison St. Laurent went 7-for-14 with a homer, a triple and a double and in his last eight games he’s raised his average from .278 to .359. On the season he’s hitting .359/.418/.603 with a career-best seven home runs and a career-low 8.8% strikeout rate. –CC 

Tommy White, 3B, LSU

Class: 2024

What He Did: 3-for-12 (.250), 4 R, 4 RBI, 2 HR, 1 BB, 4 K

White hasn’t been the hottest pure hitter in the country of late but he has been on a bit of a power burge since SEC play has started. After a two-homer game this weekend against Vanderbilt, White has now hit 7 of the 11 home runs he has on the season in just 12 SEC games. Overall he’s hitting .321/.414/.597 with a 10.2% strikeout rate and 10.8% walk rate. In conference the line becomes .260/.373/.680 with a 13.6% strikeout rate and 13.6% walk rate. –CC

Trey Yesavage, RHP, ECU

Class: 2024

What He Did: 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 11 K

Yesavage continues to post in the 2024 season. He shutout Florida Atlantic last Friday in seven innings while striking out 11 batters for the third time this year and working around three hits and a pair of walks. He racked up an impressive 30 whiffs in this game—12 with his fastball, 10 with his slider and eight with his changeup—which showcased the depth and quality of his pitch mix once again. He’s currently having a career-best year with a 1.86 ERA in eight starts and 48.1 innings with a 39.4% strikeout rate and 7.4% walk rate. Yesavage is fifth in the country with 74 strikeouts and ninth with a 31.9 K-BB%. –CC