College World Series Preview: LSU Tigers

The No. 3 overall national seed Arkansas Razorbacks (48-13) are set to begin the College World Series against the No. 6 seed LSU Tigers (48-13) on Saturday at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb.

The matchup between two squads many consider to be the national championship favorites will be the final game of the opening slate of the College World Series and will start at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN.

LSU took the regular season series from Arkansas in Baton Rouge 2-1 back in May as the Hogs were able to salvage Game 3 following tough losses in the first two contests that featured a late walk-off and run rule shellacking.

The Razorbacks have mostly breezed through the NCAA Tournament with a perfect 5-0 record, while LSU had to make up ground having run into a red hot, out-of-nowhere Little Rock team prior to sweeping West Virginia in the Baton Rouge Super Regional.

Schwab Field will be littered with future MLB talent in this showdown. Arkansas ranks second per ESPN with the most top draft prospects that includes Wehiwa Aloy, Gage Wood, Zach Root and Charles Davalan.

After dispatching Tennessee last weekend, who has the No. 1 ranking above Arkansas on the list, Arkansas will look to conquer LSU who is right behind the Hogs at No. 3. That group is headlined by Daniel Dickinson, plus the pitching duo of southpaw Kade Anderson and righty Anthony Eyanson.

Anderson was selected to the All-SEC first-team, while Dickinson and Eyanson made the second team. Additional conference postseason honors for the Tigers included RHP Zac Cowan on the first team, infielder Jared Jones on the second team, plus freshmen Derek Curiel, who also earned honors on the second team, and RHP Casan Evans made the cut for the All-Freshman squad.

Below is a comparison of Arkansas and LSU's stats, as well as a look at the projected starting lineup and noteworthy pitchers for the Tigers.

1. LF Derek Curiel – Junior, 6'2", 182 pounds

2025 stats: .347/.473/.531, 63 GP, 239 AB, 64 R, 83 H, 19 2B, 2 3B, 7 HR, 52 RBI, 50 BB, 49 K, 3 SB

2. DH Ethan Frey – Junior, 6'6", 225 pounds

2025 stats: .340/.423/.673, 57 GP, 162 AB, 37 R, 55 H, 13 2B, 1 3B, 13 HR, 49 RBI, 25 BB, 42 K, 4 SB

3. 2B Daniel Dickinson – Junior, 6'0", 200 pounds

2025 stats: .312/.463/.534, 63 GP, 221 AB, 65 R, 69 H, 13 2B, 12 HR, 48 RBI, 39 BB, 36 K, 9 SB

4. RF Jake Brown – Sophomore, 6'2", 205 pounds

2025 stats: .315/.396/.539, 59 GP, 165 AB, 43 R, 52 H, 9 2B, 2 3B, 8 HR, 44 RBI, 20 BB, 29 K, 11 SB

5. 1B Jared Jones – Junior, 6'4", 246 pounds

2025 stats: .328/.424/.621, 63 GP, 256 AB, 62 R, 84 H, 15 2B, 20 HR, 70 RBI, 37 BB, 74 K, 5 SB

6. SS Steven Milam – Sophomore, 5'8", 177 pounds

2025 stats: .290/.395/.511, 63 GP, 221 AB, 46 R, 64 H, 12 2B, 2 3B, 11 HR, 55 RBI, 39 BB, 22 K, 2 SB

7. 3B Michael Braswell – Senior, 6'2", 201 pounds

2025 stats: .201/.321/.291, 60 GP, 134 AB, 20 R, 27 H, 6 2B, 2 HR, 17 RBI, 18 BB, 28 K

8. C Luis Hernandez – Senior, 6'1", 190 pounds

2025 stats: .272/.343/.519, 49 GP, 158 AB, 29 R, 43 H, 10 2B, 1 3B, 9 HR, 30 RBI, 9 BB, 33 K, 5 SB

9. CF Chris Stanfield – Junior, 6'1", 195 pounds

2025 stats: .309/.432/.424, 63 GP, 191 AB, 52 R, 59 H, 15 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 28 RBI, 36 BB, 47 K, 5 SB

LHP Kade Anderson – Sophomore, 6'2", 186 pounds

2025 stats: 17 APP, 17 GS, 10-1 W/L, 103 IP, 85 H, 41 ER, 28 BB, 163 K, .223 BAA, 3.58 ERA

RHP Anthony Eyanson – Junior, 6'2", 208 pounds

2025 stats: 18 APP, 16 GS, 11-2 W/L, 98.2 IP, 77 H, 30 ER, 35 BB, 142 K, .211 BAA, 2.74 ERA

RHP Casan Evans – Freshman, 6'2", 194 pounds

2025 stats: 17 APP, 3 GS, 4-1 W/L, 47.1 IP, 39 H, 10 ER, 19 BB, 65 K, .225 BAA, 1.90 ERA

RHP Mavrick Rizy – Freshman, 6'9", 253 pounds

2025 stats: 24 APP, 24.2 IP, 22 H, 13 ER, 19 BB, 29 K, .237 BAA, 4.74 ERA

LHP Cooper Williams – 6'4", 200 pounds

2025 stats: 20 APP, 0-1 W/L, 19.2 IP, 12 H, 4 ER, 11 BB, 21 K, .176 BAA, 1.83 ERA

RHP Chase Shores – 6'8", 252 pounds

2025 stats: 19 APP, 9 GS, 5-3 W/L, 56.2 IP, 57 H, 33 ER, 31 BB, 62 K, .266 BAA, 5.24 ERA

RHP Zac Cowan – 5'11", 203 pounds

2025 stats: 21 APP, 1 GS, 3-3 W/L, 46.2 IP, 40 H, 16 ER, 12 BB, 54 K, .229 BAA, 3.09 ERA

LHP DJ Primeaux – 5'10", 201 pounds

2025 stats: 22 APP, 14 IP, 11 H, 6 ER, 8 BB, 13 K, .224 BAA, 3.86 ERA