High school arms are becoming increasingly more polished and explosive, so it’s not a surprise to see teenagers steal playing time and dominate at the Division 1 level. Still, it’s not easy to perform so early on college baseball’s biggest stage. These eight freshmen are standing out just three weeks into year one.
Cord Rager, LHP—Oklahoma
Rager surprised many by taking the Sunday spot in the rotation for opening weekend. He faced a tall task, taking on a loaded Horned Frogs lineup in his collegiate debut. He took the challenge head on, going five innings, punching eight, and allowing just one run. The 6-foot-6, 237-pound behemoth struck out the side in his first inning of work, shoving 15 straight fastballs to take out Cole Cramer, Sawyer Strosnider, and Chase Brunson, the latter two featured within the top 30 of our 2026 Draft Doard. He then went on to shut out …