After some back-and-forth between the MLBPA and the owners, the MLB has decided to hold a 60-game season starting July 23rd. The postseason will begin on September 29th with the World Series to follow, with no change to the format. There are a few other rule changes, most notably, in regular season extra-inning games, teams automatically start with a runner on second base starting in the 10th inning, and the DH will be universal. Rosters have expanded, too, allowing teams to start the July training camp with up to 60 players, which includes 20 eligible players under contract who are not on the 40-man roster*. This means an increased chance of recently-drafted college players seeing time in the majors. So far, six college players selected in the 2020 MLB Draft have earned spots on 60-man rosters. Emerson Hancock, the RHP from Georgia, was picked 6th overall by the Seattle Mariners and is on the Mariners' 60-man roster. The Mariners also placed Texas A&M outfielder Zach Deloach (2nd round) and Oklahoma State 2nd baseman Kaden Polcovich (3rd round) on their 60-man roster. Dillon Dingler, catcher from Ohio State, will be traveling a little bit north to be on the roster for the Detroit Tigers. The Arizona Diamondbacks see potential in their 18th overall pick, Bryce Jarvis, the LHP from Duke with a perfect game in 2020, placing him on the 60-man roster. The Atlanta Braves also placed their first round LHP from an ACC school, Jared Shuster from Wake Forest, on their 60-man roster. All told, there will be two players each from the ACC and SEC, and one each from the Big 12 and Big Ten. A few of the top picks from this draft will not be on rosters yet, but will see some time in the minor leagues, starting next year when minor league play is slated to return. Some of these players include the top 5 picks in the draft: Spencer Torkelson (Arizona State), Heston Kjerstad (Arkansas), Max Meyer (Minnesota), Asa Lacy (Texas A&M), and Austin Martin (Vanderbilt). *Here are some links for more information regarding rule changes for the 2020 MLB season or your MLB team's 60-man roster. Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content! If you like what you are seeing from us and want to support us, consider becoming a Patreon supporter. We depend upon the support of our amazing fans! #collegebaseball

The MLB Draft begins this Wednesday and concludes on Thursday. Due to the financial uncertainty caused by COVID-19 the MLB Draft has been shortened to just five rounds. In recent history, the SEC has led the way in terms of draft picks, averaging 6.2 picks per team per year since 2015. Schools with the Most MLB Draft Picks Since 1999 Some of the SEC's top draft prospects include Vanderbilt's Austin Martin (CF/INF), Texas A&M's Asa Lacy (LHP), and Georgia's Emerson Handcock (RHP). Several other SEC players are expected to be picked in the first round. The Big XII has had prolific professional production, despite only having nine baseball teams. Oklahoma's Cade Cavalli (RHP), and Baylor's Nick Loftin (SS) are the Big XII's potential first round picks. The ACC and Pac-12 are just behind the Big XII in terms of MLB Draft numbers. Louisville's Reid Detmers (LHP) and NC State's Patrick Bailery (C) are both likely top-20 picks. Spencer Torkelson (1B) from Arizona State will compete for the number one overall pick, and Garrett Mitchell (OF) from UCLA is also expected to be picked in the first round. The American Athletic Conference comes in fifth for MLB Draft picks with 3.5 picks per team per year. This year, ECU's Gavin Williams (RHP) stands out as one of the conference's highest picks. The Big West (3.2 picks/team/year), Big Ten (3.2), Mountain West (2.7), West Coast (2.7), and CUSA (2.4) round out the top ten. With the MLB Draft reducing from 40 rounds to just five, these numbers will clearly decline this year. The MLB Draft will be televised by ESPN2 and MLB Network beginning at 7 PM ET on Wednesday, with Thursday’s coverage beginning at 5 PM ET. Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content! If you like what you are seeing from us and want to support us, consider becoming a Patreon supporter. We depend upon the support of our amazing fans! #collegebaseball

After the first round of the MLB Draft saw a slew of college players drafted, the theme continued on day two. Texas A&M started the day strong with two players drafted at the beginning of the second round, Zach DeLoach (43rd) and Christian Roa (48th). The Aggies had the most players (three) drafted within the first 50 picks. Defending national champion, Vanderbilt, and runner-up, Michigan, each saw four players drafted in total, with all of Michigan's players coming on day two. Oklahoma joined the group with four picks. The Sooners finished the season ranked 14th and were on pace for a banner year. Arizona State led all colleges with five picks in the MLB Draft, including the first overall pick Spencer Torkelson. The 2020 Draft marked the second straight year that a player from the Pac-12 was picked first overall (Adley Rutschman - 2019). The Sun Devils extended their lead with the most MLB Draft picks since 1999. Once again, the SEC had the most players drafted (26), followed by the ACC (20), Pac-12 (12), Big 12 (9), Big Ten (6), and American (5). SEC Leads the Way with Most MLB Draft Picks in Last Five Years The MLB Draft was reduced from the typical 40 rounds to just five in 2020 and will likely be 20 rounds in 2021. The shortened draft cost several college baseball powers their draft streaks, including TCU, Florida, Virginia, and Stanford. Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content! If you like what you are seeing from us and want to support us, consider becoming a Patreon supporter. We depend upon the support of our amazing fans! #collegebaseball

The first round of the MLB Draft was highlighted by an army of SEC and ACC players. The SEC and ACC led all conferences with six picks in the first round of the MLB draft. Heston Kjerstad out of Arkansas was one of the biggest surprise movers of the day. His lefty bat is regarded as one of the most powerful in this year's draft class. The full list of SEC picks in the first round: 2. Heston Kjerstad (Arkansas) 4. Asa Lacy (Texas A&M) 5. Austin Martin (Vanderbilt) 6. Emerson Handcock (Georgia) 11. Garrett Crochet (Tennessee) 14. Justin Foscue (Mississippi State) Jordan Westburg (Mississippi State) was selected 30th overall and was the first pick in the Competitive Balance Round A. Carmen Mlodzinski (South Carolina) followed as the 31st pick, and Tanner Burns (Auburn) was selected 36th. SEC Leads the Way with Most MLB Draft Picks in Last Five Years Louisville saw two-thirds of their weekend rotation picked in the first round of the MLB Draft. In sum, six ACC players were picked in the first round of the MLB Draft, including: 10. Reid Detmers (Louisville) 13. Patrick Bailey (NC State) 18. Bryce Jarvis (Duke) 25. Jared Shuster (Wake Forest) 28. Aaron Sabato (North Carolina) 29. Bobby Miller (Louisville) Slade Cecconi (Miami) was picked in the competitive balance round at number 33. Despite the SEC and ACC leading in terms of total picks, the Pac-12 saw one of their players picked 1/1. Arizona State's slugger, Spencer Torkelson, was picked by the Detroit Tigers in the first overall slot. The Tigers anticipate moving Torkelson from 1B to 3B. The Pac-12's other first round picks were Garrett Mitchell (UCLA), selected 20th overall by Milwaukee, and Austin Wells (Arizona), selected 28th by the Yankees. Alika Williams (Arizona State) was selected in the competitive balance round at 37. Schools with the Most MLB Draft Picks Since 1999 The Big Ten, Big XII, and WAC each saw one player drafted in the first round of the MLB Draft. From the Big Ten, Max Meyer (Minnesota) was picked third overall by Miami. Nick Gonzales (New Mexico State) was picked seventh and Cade Cavalli (Oklahoma) was picked 22nd. Nick Loftin (Baylor) was picked 32nd overall in the competitive balance round. The first round saw 18 college players drafted. The MLB Draft has been reduced from 40 rounds to just five in 2020 and will likely be 20 rounds in 2021. The second through fifth rounds will air on ESPN2 and MLB Network Thursday beginning at 5 PM ET. Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content! If you like what you are seeing from us and want to support us, consider becoming a Patreon supporter. We depend upon the support of our amazing fans! #collegebaseball

Amidst the news of all the cancellations of seemingly every sporting event in 2020, the San Diego League is still optimistic. The COO of the SDL, Connor Little, said “We tried to remain as positive as possible. We’ll just try to do our best to give these players an opportunity to play this summer.” Created in 2019 with four teams, the San Diego League now features eight teams that play a 33-game schedule throughout the summer. All regular-season and post-season games are played on the campus of Cal State University San Marcos. There is also an All-Star game that is played at Petco Park, the home of the San Diego Padres. With the players’ growth in mind, the SDL offers state-of-the-art technology to provide the players with the analytics they need to improve themselves. Athletes will be tested with Blast Motion and/or Rapsodo technologies before, during, and after the season to allow them to monitor their progress throughout the summer and become better baseball players even after their time in the SDL. After just a few minutes talking to Little, I was able to tell just how passionate he and his fellow staff members are about athlete growth. Personalized workout programs at the 1RM Performance facility, cage time at the 5 Tool Hitting Center, and arm care with the help of physical therapy center, The Training Room, are a few of the benefits the athletes receive in the SDL. Little also appreciates how close all their players are to everything that is available to them. “We are staying at one facility as of right now because that is who we are. One of our biggest things was knocking out a lot of travel and bus time,” Little said. The league is expanding from four teams last year to eight this year. Little added that they will have representation from 16 different NCAA Division I programs after having two last summer. He hopes that, “as [they] continue to grow, people see that [they] are doing [their] best to help the player.” As of now, the SDL is still planning on having its season, which will start May 30th and go until July 29th. Obviously the COVID-19 situation will be closely monitored, and the staff is preparing for what to do if any government-issued social distancing mandates are to be announced until that point. One of the benefits of the SDL is that they are operated out of one office and when asked about potential backup plans, he said “We control all the teams within our organization. We’re able to be flexible . . . and maneuver how we need to, depending on the situation at hand.” The SDL is showing that they are already one of the top summer leagues in the country dedicated to player growth. They are holding out hope that the league will be able to happen and so are we. UPDATE (5/8): The San Diego League has released a plan to allow for summer baseball that is in accordance with guidance from health officials. See the plan below: Thanks for checking out our post! To learn more about the San Diego League, visit their website here: thesandiegoleague.com. Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content! If you like what you are seeing from us and want to support us, consider becoming a Patreon supporter. We depend upon the support of our amazing fans!

The Collegiate Summer Baseball Invitational concluded on Friday in Bryan, Texas. Four teams, comprised of players from over 60 Division I institutions, competed in a Regional-style college baseball tournament. The tournament marked the first team sport to be played in the US since the COIVD-19 shutdown. Saturday opened with a seven-inning elimination game between Liberty and Independence. For the second time in the tournament the game was decided by a home run derby tiebreaker. Entering the top of the seventh inning, Independence led 4-1, but Liberty scraped across three runs to tie the game. After holding Independence scoreless in the bottom of the seventh inning, Liberty won the home run derby 2-1 with two home runs from Lamar's Chase Kemp. They advanced to face Freedom in the championship game. Find the full rosters for the CSBI teams here. The championship game was highlighted by stellar defense on both sides as the game finished in a 5-4 victory Liberty. The two teams combined for just 10 hits in the game. After dropping a game to Freedom on Saturday afternoon, Liberty won back-to-back elimination games to take the championship. Liberty may have been crowned CSBI Champion, but the real winners were all of the players and the sport of baseball. Hats off to the CSBI for bringing back baseball in unprecedented times. The CSBI partnered to raise money for No Kid Hungry. 5% of each streaming subscription from the college baseball tournament will be donated to support the charity. Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content! If you like what you are seeing from us and want to support us, consider becoming a Patreon supporter. We depend upon the support of our amazing fans! #collegebaseball

The Collegiate Summer Baseball Invitational continued on Friday in Bryan, Texas. Four teams, comprised of players from over 60 Division I institutions, competed in a Regional-style college baseball tournament. The loser's bracket game ended in exciting fashion in the form of a home run derby, which Independence took from Unity 3-2. Independence advances to play on Saturday, while Unity is eliminated from the tournament. In the winner's bracket game, Liberty got on the board first with a hard hit triple by Julian Brock from UL-Lafayette who was quickly driven home in the top of the 2nd. After that, it was all Freedom. Everyone contributed on offense, but Chase Kemp has been on fire so far in two games, with 5 hits and 5 RBIs. Two RBIs each by Mason Greer from Auburn and Caleb Hill from Nicholls State led the day offensively. A scary moment happened in the 3rd inning when Wade Meckler from Oregon State stole second and then grabbed his hamstring. His leg caught on the base as he slid in. Meckler left the game. Liberty made it interesting with 2 runs in the top of the 9th to make it 6-3. With two runners on, the tying run was at the plate, but ultimately, Freedom pitcher Beau Keathley struck out the final batter to advance to the championship tomorrow night. Saturday 6/6 Loser's Bracket: 6:00 PM ET CSBI Independence vs Liberty Stream: csbi2020.com, featuring Geoff Blum and Brett Dolan as broadcasters Winner's Bracket: 9:00 PM ET CSBI Freedom vs winner of loser's bracket game Stream: csbi2020.com, featuring Geoff Blum and Brett Dolan as broadcasters Find the full rosters for the CSBI teams here. The CSBI is partnering to raise money for No Kid Hungry. 5% of each streaming subscription from the college baseball tournament will be donated to support the charity. Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content! If you like what you are seeing from us and want to support us, consider becoming a Patreon supporter. We depend upon the support of our amazing fans! #collegebaseball

Rosters have been released for this weekend's Collegiate Summer Ball Invitational. Over 60 Division I schools are represented in the college baseball tournament ranging around the country from Oregon State, to Yale, to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. How to watch Friday's games. FINAL: Liberty takes Game One of CSBI Games begin Thursday night at 6:00 PM CT and will air on both ESPN2 and will be streamed via the CSBI website CSBI website. See the lineups for Thursday's games, The CSBI is partnering to raise money for No Kid Hungry. 5% of each streaming subscription will be donated to support the charity. Check our more details on the Collegiate Summer Ball Invitational Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content! If you like what you are seeing from us and want to support us, consider becoming a Patreon supporter. We depend upon the support of our amazing fans! #collegebaseball

The Collegiate Summer Baseball Invitational continues tonight in Bryan, Texas. Four teams, comprised of players from over 60 Division I institutions, are competing in a Regional-style college baseball tournament. FINAL: Liberty takes Game One of CSBI Friday 6/5 Loser's Bracket: 6:00 PM ET CSBI Unity vs CSBI Independence Stream: csbi2020.com, featuring Geoff Blum and Brett Dolan as broadcasters Winner's Bracket: 9:00 PM ET CSBI Freedom vs CSBI Liberty Stream: csbi2020.com, featuring Geoff Blum and Brett Dolan as broadcasters Find the full rosters for the CSBI teams here. Highlights from Game 1: Highlights from Game 2: The CSBI is partnering to raise money for No Kid Hungry. 5% of each streaming subscription from the college baseball tournament will be donated to support the charity. Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content! If you like what you are seeing from us and want to support us, consider becoming a Patreon supporter. We depend upon the support of our amazing fans! #collegebaseball

College baseball returns tonight in the form of the Collegiate Summer Baseball Invitational in Bryan, Texas. Four teams, comprised of players from over 70 Division 1 institutions, will compete in a Regional-style college baseball tournament. Find the full rosters for the CSBI teams here. Thursday 6/4 7:00 PM ET CSBI Unity vs CSBI Liberty Watch: ESPN2, featuring Kyle Peterson and Jason Benetti as broadcasters Stream: csbi2020.com, featuring Geoff Blum and Brett Dolan as broadcasters 10:00 PM ET CSBI Freedom vs CSBI Independence Watch: ESPN2, featuring Kyle Peterson and Jason Benetti as broadcasters Stream: csbi2020.com, featuring Geoff Blum and Brett Dolan as broadcasters Visionary behind the CSBI, Uri Geva is excited to get back to baseball: "It's been a huge collective of a lot of people to get us to playing ball again, and we want to make sure it's the best baseball possible." The CSBI is partnering to raise money for No Kid Hungry. 5% of each streaming subscription from the college baseball tournament will be donated to support the charity. Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content! If you like what you are seeing from us and want to support us, consider becoming a Patreon supporter. We depend upon the support of our amazing fans! #collegebaseball

Thursday's CSBI opener between Liberty and Unity ended in a 11-10 Liberty victory in ten innings. Liberty, coached by Steve Hecht, got off to a 5-0 lead before Unity began a furious comeback. Unity, led by LaTroy Hawkins, entered the bottom of the ninth trailing 6-4, but scraped across two runs to tie the game at 6. Fans were immediately introduced to the CSBI's extra inning rules. Both teams started the tenth inning with the bases loaded and nobody out. Chase Kemp, from Lamar University, started off the tenth with a double to score two Liberty runners, beginning a five-run rally. Unity responded with four runs of their own in the bottom of the tenth but fell one run short of their second comeback in as many innings. Liberty will play the winner of Freedom and Independence Friday night at 9 PM ET. Unity will play the loser at 6 PM ET. Both of these games can be streamed at csbi2020.com. Find the full rosters for all of the CSBI teams here. Thursday's opener was aired on ESPN2, featuring Kyle Peterson and Jason Benetti as broadcasters. The game marked the first team sport to be played in America since COVID-19 cancelled or delayed all collegiate and professional sports. The CSBI is partnering to raise money for No Kid Hungry. 5% of each streaming subscription from the college baseball tournament will be donated to support the charity. Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content! If you like what you are seeing from us and want to support us, consider becoming a Patreon supporter. We depend upon the support of our amazing fans! #collegebaseball

After almost three months without college baseball, the sport will return this week in the form of the Collegiate Summer Baseball Invitational in Bryan, Texas. Four teams, comprised of players from over 70 Division 1 institutions, will compete in a Regional-style college baseball tournament starting Thursday night. Players from the SEC, ACC, Pac-12, and American, among other conferences, will participate in the three-day tournament. "It's been a huge collective of a lot of people to get us to playing ball again, and we want to make sure it's the best baseball possible." Visionary behind the CSBI, Uri Geva is excited to get back to baseball: "It's been a huge collective of a lot of people to get us to playing ball again, and we want to make sure it's the best baseball possible." Player safety is one of the primary concerns. All players and staff were tested for COVID-19 upon arrival and have been isolated since. "They are committed to the game as much as we are," said Geva of the players coming in from around the country. Additionally, each team has an 11-pitcher staff and none of the pitchers are expected to have extended outings. Find the full rosters for the CSBI here. Highlighting the coaching lineup for the CSBI are former big leaguers, LaTroy Hawkins and Drew Sutton. Hawkins' MLB career spanned over 21 seasons. Geva hopes that the tournament will inspire unity and that is reflected in the names chosen for the four teams. "We chose Unity, Freedom, Liberty, and Independence because those are all about what this country needs right now." Thursday's games will be aired on ESPN2, featuring Kyle Peterson and Jason Benetti as broadcasters. All six games will be streaming live and on demand via the CSBI website with Geoff Blum and Brett Dolan leading the broadcasting team. The CSBI is partnering to raise money for No Kid Hungry. 5% of each streaming subscription from the college baseball tournament will be donated to support the charity. Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content! If you like what you are seeing from us and want to support us, consider becoming a Patreon supporter. We depend upon the support of our amazing fans! #collegebaseball