Will Gasparino, Evan Dempsey & More College Baseball Data Standouts From Week 3

On The Mound 

One of the most exciting players to watch is Florida Gulf Coast two-way standout Evan Dempsey. Over 58 plate appearances, Dempsey is 17 for 45 with eight doubles, a home run and nine walks to seven strikeouts. But Dempsey’s hitting exploits are secondary to his ability on the mound.

This week wasn’t Dempsey’s best showing to date, but his projectable fastball, high-spin breaking balls and projection as a pitcher were all on display. He went five innings against Boston College, striking out seven but struggling with his command and walking five. He sat 91-93 mph, touching 94 mph with above-average ride, heavy armside run and a -4.4 degree vertical approach angle. He mixed two breaking balls in a curveball and slider. The curveball sits mid 70s with spin rates in the 3,100-3,200 rpm range and heavy two-plane break. The slider sits in the low 80s with baby sweeper shape and high spin rates.

Dempsey is a name to follow heading into draft season thanks to two hammer breaking balls and a fastball that could jump a full grade with added velocity.

We talked previously about USC lefthander Mason Edwards, as he and teammate Grant Govel helped lead USC back into the Top 25 this week. Edwards has been one of the best pitchers in the country to begin the season, as he ranks third in strikeouts for all of Division I and has more than any 2026-eligible pitcher to date. This week, Edwards tossed seven scoreless, no-hit innings, walking four and striking out 11. He sat 92-93 mph and got up to 95 with 21.5 inches of ride on average. Edwards throws three secondaries in a low-80s slider with slurvy shape, an upper-70s two-plane curveball and a low-to-mid-80s changeup. Edwards is one of the best lefthanders in the 2026 draft. 

A favorite of Jacob Rudner from opening weekend, Oklahoma State lefthander Ethan Lund had a huge weekend for the Cowboys, tossing six scoreless innings, allowing three hits and no walks while striking out 14. Lund sat in the 93-95 mph range and touched 96 with 17-18 inches of ride, slight cut and nearly seven feet of extension. Lund pairs his heater with two breaking ball shapes in a low-80s downer curveball with spin rates in the 2,600-2,700 rpm range and a slider at 86-88 with short slider shape. It’s really nasty stuff from the left side, and Lund is getting results. He’s definitely a name to know heading into the 2027 draft cycle. 

Marshall sophomore righthander Kenyon Collins had a monster start against Butler on Sunday. He went 8.1 innings, allowing one run on four hits and two walks while striking out 14. Collins mixes three pitches: a four-seam fastball, curveball and changeup. His four-seamer only sits 89-91 mph, getting up to 93 with 17-18 inches of ride and cut. Collins’ upper-70s two-plane curveball with heavy break is his best pitch, and it generated most of the whiffs in this start. He also showed a low-80s changeup with minimal separation off his fastball. 

We’ve written about Liberty righthander Ben Blair a few times already this season, and he threw another gem on Friday. He went seven innings, allowing two runs on two hits and two walks to go with 12 strikeouts. Blair is a true outlier, as he mixes a low arm slot and six and a half feet of extension to create a sub-five-foot release height. His fastball sat 95 mph, touching 97 with heavy armside run and flat plane. Blair is one of the top mid-major names for the 2026 draft. 

In the process of researching this article each week, I stumble across an under-the-radar gem every now and then. Sam Houston State righthander Ryan Peterson is one such example. After a strong freshman campaign earned him Conference USA all-freshman honors, Peterson struggled as a draft-eligible sophomore in 2025. Three starts into 2026, however, he is seeing much better results. On Friday, he went five innings against Oklahoma State, striking out 11 and allowing one run on three hits and two walks.

Peterson has some very interesting pitch traits. He sits 93-94 mph on his fastball, reaching 95 and generating 15-16 inches of ride from a 5-foot-1 release height. His -4.1 degree vertical approach angle is extremely flat, making it a hard pitch for hitters to barrel. Despite those unique fastball traits, Peterson’s breaking ball might be his top selling point. His curveball sits low 80s with heavy two-plane break and spin rates in the 3,000 rpm range. It’s a true hammer breaking ball and a real swing-and-miss weapon. Peterson is an off-the-radar name who could end up gaining some draft traction throughout the spring. 

After a few turns out of the South Carolina bullpen, righthander Josh Gunther got a crack at the rotation on Friday and delivered a huge win against Clemson. He went seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and a walk while striking out 10. Gunther spent two seasons at Wake Forest before transferring to South Carolina prior to this year. He sat 93-95 mph in this start, generating 19 inches of induced vertical break on average from a 5-foot-5 release height. His combination of a lower release and high spin efficiency creates a flat plane of approach to the plate. Gunther also mixed a high-80s cutter, a high-70s two-plane curveball and a low-80s changeup with average spin rates under 1,000 rpm. Gunther has nasty stuff and could now have some runway to prove he can start. 

We covered Texas righthander Ruger Riojas a few weeks ago, and his jump in stuff has held up over the first three weeks. Riojas dominated once again this weekend against Coastal Carolina, sitting 95-96 mph and touching 98 with above-average ride and run. He mixed a high-80s cutter, a low-80s curveball and a splitter. It’s nasty stuff, and Riojas continues to raise his draft stock with each passing week. 

While righthander Jackson Flora gets most of the headlines, UC Santa Barbara righty Nathan Aceves has also been on fire to begin the season. The draft-eligible sophomore righthander tossed 6.1 scoreless innings against Utah on Saturday, allowing one hit, two walks and striking out 10. Standing 6-foot-3, 200 pounds, Aceves has a starter’s build and a nice three-pitch mix. His fastball sits 93-95 mph (96 at peak) with moderate rise and heavy armside run. His primary secondary is his changeup, which averages 85-87 mph with excellent separation off his fastball. It’s a nice fastball/changeup combination, but Aceves struggles to spin a breaking ball, resulting in a heavy two-pitch profile. 

The Wake Forest rotation is once again stacked with talent. Sophomore righthander Duncan Marsten delivered a strong start on Friday, going five scoreless innings and allowing one hit and a walk while striking out 10. Marsten showed five pitches during the start: four-seam and two-seam fastballs, a cutter, curveball and changeup. His four-seam fastball sits 95-96 mph, touching 99 with 6-foot-7 extension. Marsten also threw a sinker in a similar velocity range with sink and steeper plane than his four-seamer. A mid-to-high-80s cutter is Marsten’s primary secondary, and he also shows a curveball and a changeup. Marsten is a draft-eligible sophomore in 2026. 

Hitters Catching Barrels 

Working as Texas Tech’s primary designated hitter, junior Davis Rivers had a good weekend. He went 4-for-12 with two doubles and two home runs. He ranked third in D-I in barrels this weekend with seven. Even more impressive, all seven of his barrels were batted-ball events of 102 mph or higher. He recorded a max exit velocity of 114.9 mph on his third-inning home run Friday. 

One of the top college positional prospects for 2027, Gavin Kelly of West Virginia had a standout weekend for the Mountaineers. Kelly played second base, third base and catcher in a three-game series with Kennesaw State, going 9-for-17 with two doubles and two home runs. Kelly caught seven barrels over the weekend, had 11 hard-hit balls in play and recorded six BBEs above 101 mph this weekend. 

An unsung name who made some noise this weekend was Alabama Birmingham outfielder JP Head. The 2027-eligible sophomore had only two hits in nine at-bats this weekend, but he walked five times, didn’t strike out and caught six barrels. Though he saw some poor luck on balls in play, both of Head’s hits went for home runs. He had eight hard-hit balls in play, including two lineouts at 104 mph and 107.5 mph. There’s limited athleticism and supporting skills here, but Head can hit. 

Southeastern Missouri State junior outfielder Caleb Klein spent two seasons with Southeastern JC (IA) before transferring to SEMO prior to 2026. He went 7-for-19 this weekend with two home runs and 13 total bases. Klein caught six barrels, evenly split three and three vs. lefties and righties. He had nine hard-hit balls in play, including three at 100-plus mph and a max exit velocity of 104 mph. Klein is a 2026 sleeper due to his ability to find the barrel. 

Georgia Tech shortstop Carson Kerce saw only 12 plate appearances this weekend, due to the Rambling Wreck’s run-rule wins against Northwestern on Friday and Saturday, but he made the most of his at-bats. Kerce had three hits and three walks, but he caught five barrels. Even more impressive: All eight balls Kerce put in play registered as a hard-hit ball. He had seven BBEs north of 100 mph and a max exit velocity of 108.5 mph on his second-inning double Friday. 

One of the top positional prospects in the 2026 draft class, Mississippi State third baseman Ace Reese continues to rake. Reese has caught 17 barrels to date, leading all Power Four players. Over 12 games, he is hitting .408/.464/.816 with 12 extra-base hits. While Reese didn’t have the statistical weekend you’d hope for, as he went 2-for-14 with three strikeouts, he did catch five barrels and put nine balls in play at 100-plus mph. Among those nine hard hits, seven counted for outs. It was less a bad weekend for Reese and more an unlucky one. 

After two seasons with Cal, second baseman Jarren Advincula transferred to Georgia Tech prior to 2026. So far, so good, as Advincula continues to rack up hits. He went 6-for-13 against Northwestern this past weekend, with five of his hits coming against lefthanded pitching. Though not known for his power, Advincula caught five barrels and had eight hard-hit balls in play. He logged three BBEs at 100-plus mph and a max exit velocity of 106.1 mph. 

No player has made more headlines the last few weekends than UCLA outfielder Will Gasparino. After spending two seasons at Texas, Gasparino entered the portal and moved to UCLA prior to 2026. Back home in California, he seems to have found his footing, as he leads Division I with 10 home runs through 11 games. Gasparino had eight hard-hit balls in play, with seven registering in the triple digits. His max exit velocity came on a sixth-inning home run Saturday that went 429 feet at 111.1 mph. Gasparino caught five barrels and made the most of each this weekend. Gasparino’s 2026 draft stock rises with each long ball he launches. 

Georgia outfielder Tre Phelps is as hot as any hitter in Division I to start the season, as he’s collected a hit in each game he’s played. In fact, Phelps is in the midst of a 26-game hit streak dating back to last season. He went 6-for-15 this weekend with two home runs to help lead the upstart Bulldogs to a weekend sweep of Oakland. Phelps caught five barrels over the series and had eight hard-hit balls in play. His max exit velocity of 106.6 mph came on a third-inning home run Sunday.

Not only does Duke outfielder Cider Canon have one of the best names in college baseball, but he’s also coming off one of the best performances in week 3. Canon went 6-for-9 with a double and four home runs over the weekend, and he caught barrels on all five of his hard-hit balls in play. Canon had four BBEs at 100-plus mph and all went for home runs, including his max exit velocity of 109.8 mph on his fifth-inning home run in Friday’s game against Princeton. 

Freshman Five

We highlight five freshmen who made noise this weekend with good performances and strong metrics.

Dayne Wray, 2B Louisiana Monroe

Wray led all D-I hitters in barrels this weekend, as he caught 10. He had 11 hard-hit balls in play en route to finishing 6-for-13 with three home runs in Louisiana Monroe’s matchup with Western Illinois. Wray is an under-the-radar name for 2028 to keep an eye on. 

Maddox Miller, LHP, Mississippi State

The freshman lefthander made a two-inning appearance against Arizona State on Friday and, frankly, the results were bad, as he let up three earned runs on three hits. Despite this, there was a lot to like about Miller. He mixed his fastball and changeup, sitting 93-95 mph with average ride and heavy armside run. Miller’s changeup has serious vertical separation off his fastball, with high spin rates and Devin Williams’ air-bender-type movement and traits. 

John Paone, RHP, Virginia

The Cavaliers did a nice job assembling talent after hiring Chris Pollard from Duke. On Sunday, they gave the start to Paone, who has very unique stuff. Paone went six scoreless innings against VCU, allowing six hits and no walks while striking out four. He mixes a sinker at 91-93 mph with heavy armside run and has a 5-foot release height. His baby sweeper slider sits 81-83 and is his primary pitch.

Cade Goldstein, 2B, UC Santa Barbara

There’s a lot of talent on the UC Santa Barbara roster, and Goldstein is making a strong case as one of the most important bats in the lineup. He went 7-for-11 with two doubles and a home run this weekend, catching four barrels with five hard-hit balls in play. 

Mason Pirello, OF, Washington State

The Cougars’ freshman had a really nice weekend at the plate, going 7-for-11 with a double. Pirello caught four barrels with six hard-hit balls in play. He had five BBEs north of 100 mph.