With one month until Major League Baseball’s draft, all but a handful of the hundreds of draft-eligible players have concluded their amateur seasons.
Yet the 2025 College World Series will provide a final showcase for a fortunate few – including a group that will hear their names called very early on draft night. Others may have to wait a day, although the high-profile platform the CWS affords can likely only help their stock, even as most of the data is already in hand.
With bracket play commencing in Omaha, USA TODAY Sports examines eight draft-eligible players among college baseball’s final octet:
Aiva Arquette, SS, Oregon State
It could be a long stay in Omaha for the Beavers, but a very short draft night for their 6-5, 220-pound anchor. Arquette has, according to some draft projections, joined the pool of players under consideration for the No. 1 overall pick by the Washington Nationals and shouldn’t fall beyond the top three. His farewell to Corvallis was outstanding: Arquette had 14 hits in 36 at-bats (.389) during regional and super regional play as the Beavers survived winner-take-all tilts in both rounds. Arquette plays as large as his measurements suggest, which theoretically might pose a problem as a future shortstop, but he has very smooth actions around the bag and a deluxe offensive package (.354, 18 homers, 1.124 OPS, 112 mph maximum exit velocity).
Wehiwa Aloy, SS, Arkansas
Not sure if two Hawaiian-born shortstops have ever squared off in the CWS, but that would occur if the Beavers and Razorbacks advance to the championship series. And while Aloy won’t likely elbow his way into the draft’s top 10, he hardly takes a backseat to Arquette. The SEC player of the year, Aloy is a specimen himself, at 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, and cranked 20 home runs for the Razorbacks. A Golden Spikes Finalist, Aloy has elite arm strength and committed just five errors in more than 200 chances this season, and played his way into at least the teens of the first round.
Kade Anderson, LHP, LSU
The Razorbacks and Tigers are the lone SEC survivors in this diverse pool, and they’ll meet in Saturday’s opener – with a decent chance at a repeat engagement. Catch Anderson while you can: He’ll likely fall somewhere between No. 1 and No. 5 on draft night. In his first season as a starter, Anderson is second in the nation with 163 strikeouts in 103 innings, with a powerful repertoire that belies his 6-2 frame.
Zach Root, LHP, Arkansas
Root might have been leaped by rotation mate Gage Wood on the draft board, but his import to the Razorbacks can’t be undersold. He pitched seven innings of one-hit ball eliminate Tennessee in the super regional and, in 13 postseason innings, given up just four hits and one run. Root, a transfer from East Carolina, seems burlier than his 6-2, 210-pound frame would indicate, but pumps his fastball up to 97 mph and features a fastball-changeup-curveball mix that seems pro-ready. Likely on the outskirts of the first round at the moment, and could benefit from a high-profile Omaha showcase.
Mason White, SS, Arizona
A third-generation Wildcat, White offers one of the most compelling narratives in this CWS, as his two-run single atoned for an earlier error and lifted Arizona past North Carolina in the decisive super regional game at Chapel Hill. White, at 5-11 and 180 pounds, is the glue for the Wildcats and is aiming to play his way into a first-day draft selection. He went a long way toward that this season, equaling his 19 home runs as a sophomore while cutting his strikeout rate from 30.5% to 21.2%.
Jacob Morrison, RHP, Coastal Carolina
While the Chanticleers’ lone first-round hope is contact-crazy catcher Caden Bodine, Morrison is crucial to their survival in Omaha. He’s already slain one big-conference giant, tossing six innings of six-hit, one-run ball at Auburn to eliminate the Tigers. Now, he’ll be tough to miss: At 6-8, Morrison is a towering presence on the mound, using that extension to cultivate weak contact and finish sixth in the nation with a 2.15 ERA. Like White, Morrison will be on the fringes of the first-day selection pool, but could be a nice mid-round find for a pitching-hungry team.
Daniel Dickinson, 2B, LSU
While Anderson figures to be their lone first-round pick, the Tigers will be littered all over the first few rounds. Dickinson’s one who will be fun to watch in Omaha. In his lone season in Baton Rouge, the Utah Valley transfer posted a .312/.463/.534 line, stole nine bases and hit 12 home runs. A late bloomer, the 6-foot Dickinson bats third and is a contact machine, drawing 39 walks to just 36 strikeouts over 286 plate appearances. Multiple projections peg him in the second to third round.
Payton Brennan, UCLA
We’d be remiss to ignore the Bruins, who have quietly dominated their Westwood regionals yet feature few draft-eligible stars. No, the Bruins are a year ahead of schedule, with shortstop Roch Cholowsky a likely top 10 pick in 2026 and a bevy of power arms right behind him. So let’s toss some roses to Brennan, a third-year sophomore who’s produced 12 hits in 24 at-bats this postseason and slashing .304/.384/.500, with 11 steals this season.
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