Who doesn’t love college baseball? Basketball will always take the attention and deservedly so. But don’t sleep on college baseball. The amount of talent in the sport is top tier and there are plenty of played to pour stock into.

As a fan of baseball, I have touched on Ben Jacobs, who is one of the top pitching prospects in this draft. He isn’t the only pitcher turning heads, with East Carolina pitcher Ethan Norby striking out 19 batters Friday night against Coastal Carolina University. One pitcher that needs to be on everyone’s radar if it isn’t already is Liam Doyle.

Doyle is the Real Deal

If you aren’t familiar with Liam Doyle, you will be after reading this article. Doyle did not begin his college career with the Tennessee Volunteers and in fact began his career at Coastal Carolina and was with Ole Miss the season prior. Doyle got to face the Vols last season, showing out by striking out ten batters over six innings of work. Christian Moore, currently a member of the Los Angeles Angels said two words to the rest of his team, “good luck”.

Liam Doyle’s 11 Strikeouts (including 8 in a row).

T 98mph + 🔥 K Struts and Stares. 👀 pic.twitter.com/Vz5pEGsAg4

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) February 15, 2025

That same message should be sent to any batter that has to step in the batter box and face Doyle, now a member of the Vols. Doyle has been dynamite this season for the defending champions. In 20.1 innings pitched, Doyle has surrendered just one earned run and has struck out 47 batters. Crazy enough, 47 of his 61 outs have been from the strikeout. Absurd. His 0.44 ERA and his 0.95 batting average against has made him virtually untouchable.

His season of work has been quite impressive. Doyle struck out nine batters in 4.1 innings of work in his first start. He then logged 14 strikeouts (a career high) against Samford. But his next impressive outing was against St. Bonadventure.

Doyle and the Vols bullpen helped deliver a combined no-hitter, where Doyle struck out 13 batters. His bread and butter was his fastball, which topped out at a velocity at 98 MPH. His fastball is regarded as the best in college baseball, according to catcher Cannon Peebles.

While the velocity is ramped up, everything else about him follows right alongside it. According to Keith Law of The Athletic, Doyle is a pitcher that could very well be the number one pick in the draft.

“The lefty averages high velocity, with upwards of 98 mph on his fastball. As a fastball-dominant pitcher, hitters are unable to touch it. Paired with a couple of deceiving off-speed pitches, there’s good reason for Doyle to be considered a No. 1 pick in the MLB Draft.”

Doyle is a matchup nightmare, given his arsenal. He has a special blend of mixing off speed pitches with his mean velocity fastball. Doyle has been sensational because of it.

He has looked amazing in non-conference play and won’t get his next start until he faces the Florida Gators in their first conference game of the season. The Gators have a solid baseball team, ranking in the top ten for college baseball. They will have a massive test facing Doyle.

As Christian Moore once said, good luck.