Oregon State Baseball 2025 Preview
A blog by Will by Overdue Sports
The new year is quickly approaching, and like always, I will be pumping out a fair share of previews on various teams for the 2025 season. By popular demand, the Oregon State Beavers are my first deep dive for the college baseball season.
While the Beavers lost some key pieces like the 1st overall pick in the 2024 draft, Travis Bazzana, their top two innings contributors and closer, they return six position players that started over 20 games in 2024 (Trosky, Hainline, Turley, Macias, Krieg, Weber). I, and fellow Skippers View writer Julian Jacobson, agree that this is a team that is primed to make an Omaha run. While replacing the best player in the country is no small feat, the Beavers return a lot of fire power, and brought in some of the best players the country had to offer via the transfer portal.
Out
Travis Bazzana: .407/.568/.911, 16 2B, 28 HR, 66 RBI, 16 SB, 60 GS
Micah McDowell: .382/.485/.632, 6 HR, 33 RBI, 39 GS
Aiden May: 7-1, 73.2 IP, 84 K, 23 BB, 3.05 ERA, .219 B/AVG
Jacob Kmatz: 7-3, 88.0 IP, 96 K, 22 BB, 3.38 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, .208 B/AVG
Bridger Holmes: 26 APP, 32.2 IP, 47 K, 1.93 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, .145 B/AVG
Jaren Hunter: 13 APP, 45.1 IP, 4.96 ERA
The Offense
The Beavers 2025 lineup already has a ton of pop, including multiple projected first round picks in Trent Caraway and University of Washington transfer Avia Arquette. While Caraway’s numbers may not jump out, it’s because he battled injury the majority of 2024, but has the makings of a big league third-baseman written all over him. With the glove, and bat, I anticipate near 20 HR for him as long as health is good. Avia Arquette was possibly the biggest grab in the 2024 transfer portal and is already projected as a top-10 pick and first SS taken in the 2025 draft. Stolen from a former conference foe, the former Husky hit .325 with 14 2B, 12 HR, 36 RBI and 6 SB in 2024. He’ll enter his junior season in Corvallis as one of the best defensive shortstops in the country with a massive upside at the plate.
Gavin Turley also returns after starting all 61 games in 2024 for the Beavers, slashing .277/.412/.589 with 19 HR and a team leading 74 RBI. The junior will also be rising up draft boards as we get closer to the summer, and will be a middle of the order bat built to slug, and drive in runs at will. Junior Dallas Macias also returns to Corvallis after starting 52 games in 2024, racking up a .911 OPS with 14 2B. Macias goes gap-to-gap extremely well, and while the power doesn’t result in home runs, he’ll be a big bat towards the bottom of the order in what is shaping up to be a very deep lineup.
Elijah Hainline and Jacob Krieg round out the remainder of the Beavers 2025 lineup starting 59 and 43 games respectively. Hainline racked up 11 HR, 45 RBI, and a .936 OPS in 2024 while Krieg had an OPS of .988 with 40 RBI.
In
Avia Arquette: .325/.384/.574, 12 HR, 36 RBI, 14 2B
Trent Caraway: .339/.431/.516, 2 HR, 10 RBI (62 AB)
Dallas Macias: .315/.389/.521, 8 HR, 41 RBI, 14 2B
Jabin Trosky: .287/.362/.357, 20 RBI
Elijah Hainline: .280/.402/.537, 11 HR, 45 RBI
Jacob Krieg: .278/.453/.535, 10 2B, 9 HR, 40 RBI
Weber Wilson: .276/.380/.569, 7 HR, 22 RBI
The Pitching
As mentioned, the Beavers will be replacing their Friday and Saturday starters, as well as innings leaders in Aiden May and Jacob Kmatz, and closer Bridger Holmes. This is no small obstacle, but I like what the Beavers are cooking on the pitching side coming into 2025. Another underrated piece of the staff is senior catcher Weber Wilson returns to manage the staff, and that veteran presence behind the dish is going to go a long way.
Eric Segura returns after starting 15 games, going 6-1 with a 4.93 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, and a .242 B/AVG. Segura was a very solid Sunday starter as a freshman, and I anticipate him making the jump into a bigger role as a sophomore.
The biggest piece of the puzzle will be LHP Nelson Keljo who was fantastic in a swingman role in 2024 but primarily out of the bullpen fanning 60 over 43.0 innings of work. Reports from fall camp indicate Keljo will be the Friday night starter, and I anticipate him skyrocketing his draft stock.
Freshman Dax Whitney will be an extremely intriguing arm to watch, turned down $1M in the 2024 draft to attend Oregon State, and the 6’5 righty flashes an electric fastball that had scouts drooling to pick up the 18 year old.
Left-handed pitcher Tanner Douglas transfers into Oregon State from the University of Portland after racking up 10 saves for the Pilots over 35 innings of work with 38 strikeouts and a .218 B/AVG. More fall camp reports from Corvallis indicate Douglas will be taking over the closer role for the Beavers in 2025.
This 2025 Beavers club will be one I keep a close eye on and I believe they will be a wagon over the courser of the season and primed to make yet another postseason run.
Series’ of Interest
2/16: v Indiana
2/21: v Virginia
2/22: v Oklahoma
3/1: v Auburn
3/7 - 3/9: v U San Diego
4/4 - 4/6: v UC Irvine
4/25 - 4/27: @ Oregon
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Just so you know, Hainline was drafted by the Dodgers in the 7th round last year and is already in pro ball.