NCAA Regional Profile: #15 National Seed UCLA hosts in Los Angeles, CA

(NCAA photo/CBC image)

By College Baseball Central writers Micah Beutell, Bo Carter, Noah Darling, Caleb Donnelley, Mark Garland, Andrew Kube, Doug Kyle, Jake Mastroianni, Jake McKeever, Andrew Riedell, and Colton Watson

Host: UCLA Bruins (Jackie Robinson Stadium)

1. UCLA (42-16, 22-8 Big 10 Conference)

2. UC Irvine (41-15, 24-6 Big West Conference)

3. Arizona State (35-22, 18-12 Big 12 Conference)

4. Fresno State (31-27, 18-12 Mountain West Conference)

#1 UCLA

RPI* 15  SOS 22  Record vs Q1: 3-7 Q2: 11-2

The Bruins of UCLA made quite a turn around here in the 2025 season, their first in the new Big 10. Splitting a conference title with Oregon (another host school) was not on many people’s radar early for UCLA, but Coach John Savage was quite certain his team had the makeup to return to the NCAA tournament.

It was a dramatic turnaround as far as games won from 2024 (19-33) winning 23 more games so far this season! The Bruins will host at Jackie Robinson Stadium, which was in jeopardy until recently, when the lawsuit for stadium usage rights was postponed until the end of Super Regional Weekend. UCLA will look to add its terrific season to that legacy!

Key Players: Golden Spikes Award Semifinalist Roch Cholowsky is hitting .369 with 23 HRs and 69 RBI and won both Big10 Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. Mulivai Levu and AJ Salgado add more pop around Cholowsky, with double-digit home runs as well. Dean West has been a terrific table setter for this lineup and Roman Martin has added some much needed help to this seasons lineup.

On the mound, Michael Barnett, Landon Stump, and Ian May have given the Bruins a formidable weekend rotation. Jack O’Connor has been elite on the backside of the bullpen.

Keys to success: The Bruins will need to keep the offense going like it has been for the last stretch of the season. The top of the lineup has no weaknesses and can really put a ton of pressure on opponents. Defensively, they're one of the better teams in the country and have helped the pitching staff stay in ball games. Getting good starts from the weekend rotation could go a long way in the Regional.

Potential weaknesses? A bullpen that has been very up and down this season. If the weekend rotation can’t eat up a lot of innings, the elimination games could get into a slugfest. Not often but once in a while, the potent offense falls flat and will need to stave off any such lulls.

#2 UC Irvine

RPI* 23  SOS 62  Record vs Q1: 7-6 Q2: 7-2

The Anteaters have been an absolute menace to Power 4 teams over the past two seasons. Coach Ben Orloff has himself quite the lineup of players headed into the 2025 postseason. Last year, they gave Oregon State all they could handle in a Corvallis regional, and this year, it is a trip closer to home. UC Irvine has posted back to back 40-plus win seasons and will look to make a return trip to Omaha.

Key players? When you look at UC Irvine, you see a lineup that has had eight hitters near or over the .300 mark. Anthony Martinez is an All-American caliber player who missed part of the season due to injury and gives this team legitimate offense.

Jacob McCombs hit .350 this season with 11 homers and is another offensive leader for this club. Colin Yeaman hit .342 with 13 homers and leads the team in RBI. On the bump, look no further than one of the best relievers in the country, Ricky Ojeda, 13-1 with a 3.63 ERA. This guy has a 79/27 K/BB ratio.

Keys to success: If the weekend rotation can pitch well and get some innings early, this squad can go very deep. At one point, they were a favorite to host a regional and will be a tough matchup for anyone in the Los Angeles Regional. The offense can win ball games, but pitching and defense gives them their best opportunity.

Potential weaknesses? The bullpen gets a little thin after Ojeda and has had its fair share of struggles. The weekend rotation has been great this season, but if they don’t eat up innings getting to the back end of the bullpen can be tricky for the Anteaters.

#3 Arizona State

RPI* 49  SOS 45  Record vs Q1: 6-9 Q2: 3-6

The Sun Devils are coached by Willie Bloomquist and are looking to make some noise in the NCAA tournament once again. A staple of postseason play, Arizona State is looking to remake its mark on a grand level.

A late season falter and early exit in the Big12 tournament had fans and supporters alike wondering if they would make the dance. Being one of the last four in the bracket, ASU has a lot to prove in a difficult regional.

Keys players: Brandon Compton was a preseason Golden Spike Award watchlist candidate, but his season has not worked out, still leaving him a dangerous hitter who can lose a ball quickly. Matt King has hit over .400 and added a little bit of pop as well, with 7HRs. Isaiah Jackson has put together a nice .309, 16 HR, and 65 RBI season for the Sun Devils, adding pop to an already good amount of speed.

On the bump, Ben Jacobs, while not having a terrific season, is still a formidable Friday Night lefty starter. Jack Martinez has provided some key starts and has improved all season, now 6-3 in 14 starts. Cole Carlon has been used 27 times out of the pen and gives ASU a much needed consistent arm.

Keys to success: The Sun Devils have had prolific explosions in offense this season and can really put up runs in a hurry. If the Offense can keep pressure on opponents, and the pitching can limit free passes, then Arizona State can be quite formidable. The weekend rotation must collect outs and not waste opportunities with free passes.

Possible weaknesses? The bullpen has struggled late in games with keeping leads all season. Too many walks and errors have allowed big innings to snowball and make deficits that are overwhelming. If the offense goes flat and can’t seem to find the long ball, sometimes they can be a little stagnant.

#4 Fresno State

RPI* 102  SOS 103  Record vs Q1: 0-4 Q2: 1-6

The Bulldogs of Fresno State are Mountain West Tournament champions for the second consecutive season. This is a team with a rich history of college baseball greatness one of only a few non-major conference teams with a MCWS title in the last 25 seasons.

Coach Ryan Overland leads this team with postseason experience and a will to do damage, as the Bulldogs stay close to home traveling to take on UCLA opening this bracket.

Key Players: Murf Gray hits .330 with 18 HRs and 73 RBI, and it will be up to him to lead if this team reaches greatness. A pair of other power hitters, Justin Stransky, .319 with 12 HRs, and Bobby Blandford, .313 with 13 HRs give some protection to Gray. These three hitters can give opponents fits if not pitched to carefully.

On the bump, weekend arms Aidan Cremarosa and Jack Anker have started a combined 31 games this seasonand look to lead the Bulldogs.

Keys to Success? Get the offense going, and get your pitchers a lead. The Bulldogs had an up-and-down season, but when the offense was right, it took the pressure off the bullpen and allowed for some measured success.

The Bullpen is going to need to limit walks and hits, as the team posts a 1.48 Whip Possible weakness. The offense can also grow stagnant and lean too heavily on the long ball to produce and meaningful runs. A lack of proven bullpen arms in big time situations could prove to be difficult in a brutal UCLA regional.

*****

*-Warren Nolan RPI