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Recruiting in college baseball is like no other sport, especially for the top programs.
Securing a commitment from an elite prospect is only the first step.
Getting him to campus and keeping him away from the MLB Draft is often the most stressful part of the process.
In the Class of 2023, 21 of the top 25 high school prospects, according to the Perfect Game rankings, never enrolled in college.
The top prospect to play college baseball, Cameron Johnson, was ranked No.
11.
Advertisement After that, colleges had a decent amount of success 24 players ranked between Nos.
26 and 75 played college baseball.
Now that these players have completed their third season and are eligible for the 2026 MLB Draft we thought it would be a good time to check in on how things have gone for these former top recruits.
Here are the top 20 prospects (according to Perfect Game) from the Class of 2023 who played college baseball and how their NCAA careers unfolded.
No.
11 Cameron Johnson, RHP, LSU (Upper Marlboro, Md.): Johnsons lack of command has been an issue throughout all three college seasons one at LSU and two at Oklahoma.
He emerged as a weekend starter as a junior in 2026 and had some great moments, especially early in the season, but he could never consistently deliver.
This stat summarizes Johnsons season: In 10 SEC starts, he walked 37 in 32 1/3 innings but allowed a .181 batting average against the lowest among starters in league play.
He appeared in one game and did not record an out in the Sooners run to the national title.
He entered the transfer portal last Monday.
No.
17 Roch Cholowsky, SS, UCLA (Chandler, Ariz.): Cholowskys career ended on a sour note when No.
1 seed UCLA lost in the Regionals, but it was a great run for the potential No.
1 pick in the 2026 draft.
Over three seasons, he hit .329 with a 1.071 OPS and 52 home runs while leading the Bruins back to national relevance, including a berth in the 2025 College World Series.
He was a two-time Big Ten Player of the Year and two-time finalist for the Golden Spikes Award.
No.
18 Drew Burress, OF, Georgia Tech (Perry, Ga.): Nobody had more home runs (60) and a higher OPS (1.204) over the last three seasons than Burress.
His best season, power-wise, was in 2024 as a freshman (25 home runs, 1.333 OPS), but he was a consistent producer throughout.
Like Cholowsky, his college career ended in disappointment with Georgia Techs loss to Oklahoma in the Regionals as the No.
2 overall seed.
The headline: Drew Burress sets a new Georgia Tech record with 58 career homers.
Buried by the lede: This left the bat at 117 mph pic.twitter.com/gtcWDZBHjE Joe Doyle (@JoeDoyleMiLB) May 24, 2026 No.
23 Roman Martin, SS, UCLA (Whittier, Calif.): Martin was a part-time starter as a freshman (mostly at DH) and then served as the everyday third baseman on teams that went a combined 100-26 in 2025 and 2026.
He was a consistent producer, hitting .325 with a .974 OPS and 18 home runs over his final two seasons.
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30 Trent Caraway, SS, Oregon State (Dana Point, Calif.): Caraway was the starting third baseman for an Oregon State team that advanced to the College World Series in 2025, hitting .267 with an .820 OPS and 12 home runs.
He set a school record with six home runs in the 25 NCAA Tournament, including five in the Corvallis (Ore.) Regional.
He transferred to LSU after the season but hit just .243 with two home runs in 28 games for the Tigers.
He re-entered the transfer portal after the 2026 season and signed with Miami.
No.
34 Liam Peterson, RHP, Florida (Palm Harbor, Fla.): Peterson tantalized with his potential but never quite put it together in three seasons at Florida.
His final numbers: 14-16 with a 5.03 ERA and 1.51 WHIP, including an 8.51 ERA and 2.26 WHIP in eight postseason starts (including the SEC tournament).
Despite these struggles, he will likely be a first-round pick in the 2026 draft.
No.
36 Daniel Cuvet, 3B, Miami (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.): Cuvet had one of the best freshman seasons in recent memory, hitting .351 with a 1.165 OPS and 24 home runs.
His power numbers dipped a bit as a sophomore, but he hit .372 and ranked fourth nationally with 84 RBIs.
Cuvets junior season was cut short in April when he suffered a stress fracture in his back.
His 1.143 OPS over the last three seasons ranks second to Drew Burress (1.204).
No.
37 Andrew Wiggins, OF, Indiana (Indianapolis): Wiggins had two solid seasons at Indiana before transferring to NC State last offseason.
He played in 39 games, with 16 starts, for the Pack in 2026 and hit .290 with a 1.029 OPS.
His best quality through three seasons has been his ability to get on base; his career walk rate is 20.3 percent, with a .455 on-base percentage.
No.
38 Braden Holcomb, SS, Vanderbilt (Ocoee, Fla.): Holcomb, who played mostly in the outfield at Vanderbilt, improved every season on campus and ended his career assuming he departs via the draft by hitting .351 with a 1.055 OPS and 14 home runs as a junior.
He hit two walk-off home runs in SEC play as a sophomore and hit the controversial fog ball in Vanderbilts loss late this season at Missouri.
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42 Colton Hartman, LHP, Louisville (Lebanon, Ohio): Hartman was a contributor in all three seasons at Louisville but was plagued by a lack of command.
In 43 appearances (23 starts), he walked 68 batters in 91 2/3 innings, which has contributed to a career ERA of 6.97 and 1.94 WHIP.
He started one game in the 2025 CWS.
It did not go well; he gave up five earned runs without recording an out.
Hartman transferred to West Virginia following the 2026 season.
No.
44 Will Gasparino, OF, Texas (Los Angeles): Gasparino enjoyed two solid but hardly spectacular seasons at Texas, hitting .247 with an .823 OPS and a combined 25 home runs.
He transferred home to UCLA after the 2025 season and broke out as a junior, hitting .314 with a 1.071 OPS and 20 home runs.
Ten of those 20 homers came in an early-season nine-game stretch that included a sweep over TCU and neutral-site wins over Tennessee, Texas A&M and Mississippi State.
No.
46 Ryder Helfrick, C, Arkansas (Discovery Bay, Calif.): Helfrick struggled as a part-time starter as a freshman (15 at catcher, 11 at DH), but was one of the best catchers in the country over the last two seasons.
He hit .293 with a 1.005 OPS and 33 home runs in 2025 and 2026.
Hes an excellent defensive catcher, too, which is why he is expected to go in the first round of the 2026 draft.
Sweet heavens.
446 feet and 112 off the bat from Ryder Helfrick to give the Hogs a 2-1 lead in the 8th.
It's Helfrick's hardest hit ball of the season and it comes in a massive spot.
No doubt first rounder pick in July.
pic.twitter.com/WcgGdUS78B Joe Doyle (@JoeDoyleMiLB) May 24, 2026 No.
49 Ethan McElvain, LHP, Vanderbilt (Thompsons Station, Tenn.): McElvain was solid during an injury-shortened freshman season (1-2, 3.24 ERA, 1.40 WHIP) but struggled as a sophomore, when he began the season as a weekend starter.
He struck out 45 in 27 1/3 innings but gave up 31 hits and walked 28.
He transferred to Arkansas for his junior season and emerged as one of the top relievers in the SEC.
He went 6-0 with a 1.88 ERA and 1.02 WHIP and also had nine saves.
Most importantly, he walked only 13 in 38 1/3 innings.
No.
51 Gabe Gaeckle, RHP, Arkansas (Aptos, Calif.): Gaeckle was great as a freshman 2.32 ERA and 1.05 WHIP in 42 2/3 innings out of the bullpen and looked poised to emerge as the next great Arkansas weekend starter.
That never quite happened, even though he was solid the past two seasons.
He was pulled from the rotation during the middle of the SEC schedule as both a sophomore and junior, though he did make several starts late this season.
For his career assuming he does not return in 2027 he went 13-8 with a 3.83 ERA and 1.37 WHIP.
No.
53 Aidan Keenan, RHP, Stanford (Morgan Hill, Calif.): Keenan pitched sparingly as a freshman (five games, 6 2/3 innings) and then emerged as a valuable piece of the bullpen as a sophomore.
He went 2-3 with a 5.59 ERA and 1.27 WHIP.
He missed two months of his junior season with an injury and made just two appearances after mid-March.
In three seasons, he has a 5.79 ERA and is limiting hitters to a .238 average.
No.
55 Gavin Grahovac, OF, Texas A&M (Orange, Calif.): When healthy, Grahovac has been one of the college games premier power hitters.
He hit .298 with 23 home runs as a freshman, and then, after missing all but six games due to injury in 2025, he came back to hit .339 with 22 home runs as a junior.
He reduced his strikeout rate from 29 percent as a freshman to 16.5 percent as a junior.
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57 Hunter Dietz, LHP, Arkansas (Trinity, Fla.): After pitching in only four games in his first two seasons due to injury, Dietz emerged as the Razorbacks ace in 2026.
He went 7-4 with a 3.57 ERA and 1.19 WHIP in 85 2/3 innings.
Among starting pitchers, he ranked eighth nationally with 13.76 strikeouts per nine innings.
No.
58 Adam Hachman, LHP, Arkansas (Wentzville, Mo.): Hachman underwent Tommy John surgery as a senior in high school and did not throw a pitch in stops at Arkansas (2024), Kentucky (2025) and Lindenwood (2026).
No.
59, Mac Heuer, RHP, Texas Tech (Greensboro, Ga.): Heuer was a weekend starter as a freshman and sophomore, going a combined 6-9 with a 6.12 ERA and 1.60 WHIP in 26 games (24 starts).
He was a draft-eligible sophomore and signed with the Yankees after being taken in the eighth round last summer.
No.
62 Tre Phelps, 3B, Georgia (Kennesaw, Ga.): Phelps was a three-year starter and a rare home-grown contributor on three Georgia teams that earned top-eight national seeds in the NCAA Tournament, including the 2026 team that reached the College World Series.
In 2026, he hit .348 and had career highs in home runs (19) and RBIs (59), and he ranked second nationally with 35 hit-by-pitches.
Where first-rounders in Keith Laws latest mock ranked - No.
2 Vahn Lackey, C, Georgia Tech (Not in top 500, No.
256 C) - No.
3 Roch Cholowsky, SS, UCLA (No.
17 overall, No.
7 SS) - No.
5 Jackson Flora, RHP, UCSB (No.
428 overall, No.
140 RHP) - No.
6 Mason Edwards, LHP, USC (Not in top 500, No.
107 LHP) - No.
8 Drew Burress, OF, Georgia Tech (No.
18 overall, No.
4 OF) - No.
10 Tyler Bell, SS, Kentucky (No.
59 overall, No.
15 SS in Class of 2024) - No.
11 Chris Hacopian, INF, Maryland/Texas A&M (No.
380 overall, No.
76 SS) - No.
12 Derek Curiel, OF, LSU (No.
10 overall, No.
6 OF in Class of 2024) - No.
13 Liam Peterson, LHP, Florida (No.
34 overall, No 8 LHP) - No.
14 Justin Lebron, SS, Alabama (No.
173 overall, No.
41 SS) - No.
17 Daniel Jackson, C, Wofford/Georgia (Not in top 500, No.
172 C) - No.
18 Ryder Helfrick, C, Arkansas (No.
48 overall, No.
3 C) - No.
20 Taylor Rabe, RHP, Ole Miss (No.
354 overall, No.
116 RHP) - No.
22 Cameron Flukey, RHP, Coastal Carolina (No.
128 overall, No.
39 RHP) - No.
23 Zion Rose, OF, Louisville (No.
75 overall, No.
5 C) - No.
24 AJ Gracia, OF, Duke/Virginia (No.
200 overall, No.
37 OF) - No.
25 Ace Reese, OF, Houston/Mississippi State (Not in top 500, No.
208 SS) - No.
27 Logan Hughes, OF, Texas Tech (No.
457 overall, No.
76 OF).