UCLA advances in the College World Series by defeating Murray State, but who will play next?
Brief summary of UCLA's next College World Series opponent.
NCAA Tournament record: 6-1
Strength of Schedule: 34
RPI: 11
Quad 1 record: 15-11
Quad 2 record: 10-1
The Tigers secured a coveted Top-8 National Seed in the NCAA Tournament and College World Series, being the No. 3 overall seed for the tournament. As a result, Alex Box Stadium, the home of LSU, was the site to host both the regional and a super regional games for LSU for their first six games of the NCAA Tournament. They dominated their regional and super regional, securing a place in the 2025 College World Series in Omaha with a decisive 12–5 victory over West Virginia. Their only loss in the NCAA Tournament was to Little Rock in their second game.
In the College World Series' opening matchup, Arkansas, also a team from the SEC, lost to LSU 4-1. Kade Anderson delivered an impressive performance on the mound. The LSU team has played so well this season due to players like Jared Jones, who, going into the season, had high expectations on him as he earned a spot on the First Team of Preseason All-SEC, in which he lived up to the preseason hype by playing outstandingly this season. Simultaneously, Derek Curiel received recognition as the Preseason SEC Freshman of the Year, and he took this preseason recognition seriously, as well as his importance as a key scoring contributor for the Tigers this season.
In his fourth season at the helm, Head Coach Jay Johnson continued to guide the Tigers. A formidable coaching team supported him this season, as LSU has played very well up to this point of the season, and they, like UCLA, look to capture a national title.