The LSU Tigers are the #6 overall seed in the 2025 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship. That means the Road to Omaha will go through Alex Box Stadium. On Monday, we found out who was heading to Baton Rouge: The Dallas Baptist Patriots, the Rhode Island Rams, and the Arkansas-Little Rock Trojans.
Let’s learn more about the four teams set to battle in Baton Rouge this weekend.
#1 LSU Tigers
Season Recap: The Tigers entered the season with lofty expectations, and they have mostly delivered on those all season long. While the offense was always expected to be dominant, the pitching duo of Kade Anderson and Anthony Eyanson continuously got better as the season went along. A 30-5 home record along with series wins in four of their last five SEC matchups has this team feeling like they are playing their best baseball at the right time.
Stat to Remember: LSU’s duo of Anderson and Eyanson have combined for 270 strikeouts this season, which accounts for more than half of the entire team totals for Rhode Island and Little Rock, and only five shy of having half of DBU’s team total.
Player to Watch: Steven Milam
Milam has had a nice season with a .277 average, 10 homers and 44 RBIs. However, he became “Monster Milam” last postseason. LSU will be looking for Milam to have a similar outburst in this year’s Regionals.
#2 Dallas Baptist Patriots
Season Recap: DBU has become a known commodity in college baseball, consistently contending for Regional Championships. However, they have always fallen short of that elusive trip to Omaha. This year was more of the same, as the Patriots won 40 games, notched plenty of wins over Regional teams, and won the Conference USA Regular Season Title. Many thought they had the resume to be a host team, but they drew the assignment as a #2 in Baton Rouge instead. They can mash, with 97 home runs to lead this Regional going in. They are truly elite defensively, but pitching depth is the biggest question mark going in. Someone like James Ellwanger, the 14th ranked MLB Draft Prospect at the start of the season according to D1baseball, could be a huge X-factor this weekend.
Stat to Remember: DBU has committed just 35 errors all season long, giving them a .982 fielding percentage and ranking 8th among the 299 Division I baseball teams.
Player to Watch: Grant Jay
Jay is the Patriot catcher that leads the team with 19 HRs. In addition, hes swiped 14 bags this season and helps lead this potent lineup alongside Nathan Humphreys.
#3 Rhode Island Rams
Season Recap: Rhode Island entered the year off of a season in which they had only won 19 games, looking for their first winning season since 2021. They have consistently been competitive in the Atlantic-10, and this season they finally rose fully to the top. A veteran team made up of primarily juniors and seniors, the Rams went 22-8 in the A-10 thanks to their offense. Players like Anthony DePino and Jack Hopko make this lineup deep and dangerous. However, the Rams’ rotation is top-heavy and they may struggle to keep runs off the board as this tournament goes on.
Stat to Remember: The Rams have scored 11 or more runs in 21 of their 48 games this season. When they get going, the runs can come in bunches.
Player to Watch: Joe Sabbath
The Rams’ bullpen has been shaky, as is their pitching depth. However, their most reliable arm down there is Sabbath. He leads the team with eight saves, and if their offense provides them with a late lead, Sabbath will be heavily relied on in the late stages.
#4 Arkansas-Little Rock Trojans
Season Recap: Perhaps the biggest surprise and one of the better stories entering these Regionals, the Trojans were an after-thought in the Ohio Valley Conference for most of the season. That is, of course, until they went out and won the conference tournament. They have a record of 24-32 overall, and that includes their last five wins all coming in the aforementioned OVC Tourney. They were the last team into the field and entered it far from peak form. Five wins later, they are Regional bound. That’s baseball, I suppose. They have a tall task in Baton Rouge, with no clear ace. However, they had a couple of gems tossed in the tournament that they hope help carry them into this postseason.
Stat to Remember: Little Rock lost 13 of their last 14 games to close out the regular season, just barely making the OVC Tournament as the last team in the field. They then rattled off five straight wins to win the title and make it here.
Player to Watch: Jack Cline
Cline is the most consistent arm on this team, and what he pulled off in the OVC Tourney is nothing short of incredible. Just two days after tossing five innings against Southeast Missouri, he tossed a complete game against Eastern Illinois in the OVC Championship Game, giving up just one run, and allowing his team to clinch a 2-1 win and berth in these Regionals.
