2025 College World Series: Previewing the New England teams

The 2025 NCAA Division One Baseball National Tournament begins with the regional round of 64 teams on Friday, May 30.

For the first time since 2023, New England will send five representatives to the regionals: the Northeastern University Huskies (Boston, Mass), the University of Rhode Island Rams (Kingston, Rhode Island), the Fairfield University Stags (Fairfield, Conn), the Holy Cross College Crusaders (Worcester, Mass), and the Central Connecticut State University Blue Devils (New Britain, Conn).

Here is a breakdown of the five New England programs in the 2025 College World Series...

Northeastern University and head coach Mike Glavine have built one of the Northeast's top baseball programs. The Huskies finished the 2025 campaign with a 48-9 record including a 27-game winning streak, their second ever Costal Athletic Association (CAA) championship (first since 2021), and are the only top-25 ranked baseball team in the Northeast - No. 19, according to D1Baseball.com, No. 22 according to the RPI System. All of which granted the Huskies their 11th trip to the regional round.

Their offense is guided by the CAA Co-Player of the Year, redshirt junior Harrison Feinberg, who slashed .379/.465/.737 with 18 home runs. Fellow junior Cam Maldonado slashed a similar .371/.486/.667 with 15 homers.

However, the back-bone of the Huskies is their pitching staff, headlined by their three primary starters - graduate student Will Jones, graduate transfer Jordan Gottesman, and junior Aiven Cabral. Northeastern also holds the nations lowest combined ERA (2.92), and Jones, with a 1.82 ERA, is second in the country among all pitchers, via NCAA.

Jones: 11-0 record, 69.1 innings pitched, 1.82 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 72 strikeouts, with just two home runs and 17 allowed.

Gottesman: 9-2 record, 78.1 innings pitched, 2.30 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 91 strikeouts, six homers and 17 walks conceded.

Cabral: 10-2 record, 85.1 innings pitched, 2.74 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 73 strikeouts, three home runs and 14 walks given up.

Northeastern is one of the most interesting and unknown teams in the tournament. They obviously have won a lot of games and have even been given top-10 national rankings by some outlets, but the question is have they faced top-tier competition? However, they are likely the most equipped New England squad to make a run in the National tournament.

The Huskies earned the No. 2 seed in their regional round which will be hosted by the No. 9 nationally ranked Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida. Mississippi State University and Bethune-Cookman University are the No. 3 & 4 seeds in the Tallahassee regional.

In Tallahassee, Fla., the Huskies will face Mississippi State in their first game on Friday, May 30, at 7:30 PM.

The Rhode Island Rams finished the regular season with their highest national ranking in program history, No. 68 (according to RPI). They accumulated a 38-20 record and won the Atlantic 10 (A10) Conference Championship - the school's third and first since 2016 - to earn them an automatic bid to the National Tournament.

The Rams will enter the regional round for the first time in almost a decade and are the No. 3 seed in their bracket. They hold 1-4 record program record on that stage, with their one win coming in 2016 against South Carolina.

Offense and ability to get on base consistently is the calling card for Rhode Island. They have nine players who have over 100 at bats in 2025; of that group six of them have a batting average over .300 and seven have an on base percentage over .400.

It's a tight competition for the statistical leader in the Ram's lineup, with five everyday-players hitting .345 or better:

Sophomore Reece Moroney: .363/.474/.470, and two home run),

Senior Anthony DePino: .359/.510/.733, and 19 home runs.

Senior Eric Genther: .351/.465/.580, and 10 home runs.

Junior Jack Hopko: .345/.446/.605, and 15 home runs.

Graduate student Nic Notarangelo: .388/.493/.636, and five home runs.

A quick note for context on Notarangelo: He only played in 35 games for 121 at bats after missing 23 games from Mar. 9 - Apr. 18 due to a broken wrist, presumably, suffered during the double-header against Eastern Kentucky.

The pitching staff is guided by their two starters:

Graduate student Trystan Levesque: 8-1 record, 88.2 innings pitched, 3.25 ERA, 90 strikeouts, with just four homers allowed along with 23 walks.

Junior Jeremy Urena: 6-1 record, 77.2 innings pitched, 5.10 ERA, 47 strikeouts, and 20 walks, but his ERA was inflated by the 14 home runs he allowed in 2025 - granted seven of which were given up in just two games.

Behind the two primary starters is a deep bullpen headlined by sophomore closer Joe Sabbath who has thrown 37.2 innings through 27 appearances, for a 3.11 ERA, 40 strikeouts, and just one allowed homer plus 10 walks. Notably, Sabbath went viral for the following clip from the A10 Championship:

The Rams, like many of the teams on this list, have little experience against ranked opponents. So obviously, they will have their work cut out for them in the tough Baton Rouge bracket - headlined by No. 6 ranked LSU. However, they do have one ranked series on their resume. They played a four-game set with the No. 12 Oregon Ducks back in February, where they stole 1-of-4 in Eugene. Granted its just one series worth of precedence, but it shows that this Rams team can't be counted out.

As the No. 3 seed in their bracket, Rhode Island will begin their tournament against No. 4 seeded Dallas Baptist on Friday, May 30, at 7:30 PM, in Baton Rouge, LA.

The Fairfield University Stags forced their way into the National Tournament off the bat of freshman Nolan Colby who "provided one of the most memorable moments in school history," (FairfieldStags.com), via a walk-off home run in the 10th-inning of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championship. With the 7-6 upset over Ryder University, the Stags automatically claimed their program's second ever MAAC championship, and their third trip to the regionals. They last made the tournament in 2021 by earning an at-large bid.

In 2025, Fairfield registered a 39-17 record and the No. 74 RPI ranking. They find themselves as the No. 4 seed in the Conway Regional hosted by the No. 13 nationally ranked Coastal Carolina, who they will face first.

The Stags offense is led by senior Dean Ferrara, who slashed .381/.444/.529 on the season, and his 98 hits is the fourth in the country. Not far behind Ferrara is the MAAC Championship Most Outstanding Player, junior Matthew Bucciero, who notched a team leading 14 home runs, and 66 RBI. Notably, Bucciero broke a 25-year program record for the most career RBI with 166, and again, he's just a junior.

On the other side of the ball, their staff is constructed with three starters - graduate student Bowen Baker, junior Ben Alekson, and graduate student Kyle Lester - all of whom have a sub-4.00 ERA and have pitched above 50 innings. They have a hand full of quasi-regular relievers, but the horses in the pen are junior Matthew Grabmann, graduate student Blake Helmstetter, and freshman Jack Sheldon. Mind you, Sheldon has started in 6-of-13 appearances.

The Stags will have their work cut out for them in the tournament, especially because they start off with the top-team in their bracket. However, they have shown the ability to stand up to tournament-caliber opponents. Most notably, when they swept No. 18 ranked Georgia Tech in early March.

The Fairfield Stags will face Coastal Carolina in Conway on Friday, May 30, at 6:00 PM.

The Holy Cross Crusaders earned their 12th trip to the National Tournament in an 8-7 victory over Army West Point in the Patriot League Championship. They return to national play for the first time since 2017 and second time since 1978.

Their 31-25 record made the Crusaders the 142nd team in the nation, according to RPI. Meaning, they are faced with the challenge of taking on the top-team in the country, North Carolina, in Chapel Hill.

Holy Cross has many notable hitters, but the best by a decent margin is senior Chris Baillargeon. In 2025, Baillargeon slashed an impressive .386/.502/.523 and drove in 52 RBI.

The rotation is topped by junior Danny Macchiarola (9-4 record, 89.1 innings, 3.02 ERA, and 91 strikeouts). Their other starter is fellow junior Jaden Wywoda (9-2 record, 79.0 innings, 3.65 ERA, and 78 strikeouts).

Obviously, facing the No. 1 team in the first game of the tournament is a tough draw. The Crusaders will have to be perfect against UNC if they wish to continue their World Series hopes.

Holy Cross will play the Tarheels of North Carolina on Friday, May 30, at noon.

Last but not least, comes the Central Connecticut Blue Devils. The winners of the Northeast Conference (NEC) also have their work cut out for them drawing No. 4 Auburn for their first matchup. They enter the tournament as RPI's No. 183 ranked team and hold a 31-15 record. With the NEC Championship they will begin their ninth NCAA Tournament in program history.

The Blue Devils have a plethora of impressive hitters batting well over .300, but the guy who's impressed the most is senior Aidan Redahan who has slashed an astronomical .458/.513/.708 and nine homers in 192 at bats. He leads the NCAA in batting average.

Like the Crusaders, the Blue Devils got unlucky with their opening opponent. No. 4 Auburn is a team primed to go far in the National Tournament, but if Redahan can continue dominant season, they could pull off an upset.

The Central Connecticut Blue Devils will play Auburn on Friday, May 30, at 7:00 PM.

Luke Graham is a digital sports content co-op for 98.5 the Sports Hub. He is currently a sophomore at Northeastern University studying communications and media studies. Read all his articles here, and follow him on X @LukeGraham05.