Eleven Division 1 baseball players have been named to the 2023 Men's College World Series All-Tournament Team, seven of which were from Louisiana State University and four from the University of Florida. The tournament final ended in a best-of-three series between the Florida Gators and LSU Tigers. The Tigers claimed their seventh title in school history, which is the second most Men's College World Series titles behind USC who has 12.
Infield
Gavin Dugas, a graduate of Louisiana State University, batted .308 in the CWS with eight hits, two doubles, two homeruns, and four RBI.
In his five years at LSU, Dugas recorded 44 home runs, 148 RBI, 161 runs scored, and a 1.005 OPS in 201 games played.
It is not clear whether the 23-year old utility player will be selected in the 2023 MLB draft, though he definitely has potential to get picked later on, especially after he played such a critical role in the national championship.
Tre’ Morgan, a junior at Louisiana State University, batted .344 in the College World Series with 11 hits, three doubles, one triple, and six RBI. Morgan’s small ball came up clutch for the Tigers in many situations throughout the tournament.
Morgan was a huge asset in on-base percentage with a .921 percentage and crowding the plate for 18 hit by pitches during the 2023 season.
Morgan could potentially spark interest in scouts midway through the 2023 MLB draft.
BT Riopelle, a senior at the University of Florida, had a .625 slugging percentage throughout the CWS (5-for-24) with five hits, one double, three home runs, and three RBI.
Throughout his career, he etched a .920 OPS with 19 homers, 68 RBI and 57 runs scored for a batting average of .272, on base percentage of .371, and a .523 slugging percentage.
BT is on the older end of those entering the draft at 24 years of age, although, the numbers he’s produced up to this point certainly make the case for him to catch some attention at the 2023 MLB draft.
Josh Rivera, a senior at the University of Florida, had an incredible 2023 season with a batting average of .348 (89-for-256) with ten doubles, one triple, 19 home runs, and 46 base on balls for a slugging percentage of .617 and a .447 on base percentage.
Rivera didn’t have the most spectacular tournament compared to his 2023 season stats. He went 6-for-27 in the CWS with one double, two home runs, and four RBI in six games played.
Rivera is expected to be a second or third-round selection in the 2023 MLB draft.
Tommy White, a sophomore at Louisiana State University, is a first-year transfer having played his freshman year at NC State. White, best known as “Tommy Tanks”, made some noise in Omaha with 13 hits in his 37 at-bats, two doubles, two home runs, and eight RBI. He finished the season with a .377 batting average (34-for-273), 24 doubles, 24 home runs, and 105 RBI tying Maryland’s Nick Lorusso for most runs batted in this year.
“Tommy Tanks” will likely be an early pick in the 2024 MLB draft.
Outfield
Dylan Crews, a junior at Louisiana State University, batted .426 (110-for-258) for the 2023 National Champion LSU Tigers with 16 doubles, two triples, 18 homers, 70 RBI and 100 runs.
He led the nation in runs scored (100), walks (71), and finished with the second best on-base percentage (.567), second in base hits (110), and third in batting average (.426).
In addition to the All-Tournament team, Crews was named the SEC Player of the Year and earned the 2023 Golden Spikes Award, which is sponsored by the Major League Baseball Players Association. Crews was also named First-Team All-American by Baseball America and is projected to be the No. 1 draft pick in the upcoming 2023 MLB Draft.
Ty Evans, a sophomore at the University of Florida, batted .400 during the College World Series (8-for-20) with two doubles, five homers, nine RBI and seven runs in six games throughout the tournament. Evans played a critical role in Florida’s historic Game 2 of the College World Series finals when he contributed two homers, one of which was a grand slam, and five RBI to beat LSU 24-4.
Wyatt Langford, a junior at the University of Florida, batted .375 in the College World Series (9-for-24) with four doubles, three homers, and nine RBI.
Langford finished the season with a batting average of .373 (88-for-236) with 28 doubles, three triples, 21 homers, and 57 RBI. Langford Tied Air Force’s Sam Kulasingam for most doubles (28),
In addition to the All-Tournament team, Langford was a unanimous D1Baseball First Team All-American and is slated to be a top prospect in the upcoming 2023 MLB Draft.
Designated Hitter
Cade Beloso, a graduate of Louisiana State University, batted .370 (10-for-27) in the tournament with ten hits, one double, two incredibly clutch go-ahead home runs, and eight RBI.
Beloso worked a 1.084 OPS with 16 home runs, 49 RBIs and 43 run throughout the season and finished with more walks (38) than strikeouts (32).
Having been with the LSU Tigers for five years and entering the draft at 23 years of age, it's unclear as to what happens to Beloso in the MLB draft, but he certainly has some leverage being a lefty with power.
It was Beloso’s explosive power that knocked out the 11th-inning Game 1 go-ahead home run that led the Tigers to victory over the Gators in the 2023 College World Series final.
KISS THAT ONE GOODBYE!#MCWS x 🎥 ESPN / @LSUbaseball pic.twitter.com/HIf0UEiIBn
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) June 25, 2023
Pitchers
Ty Floyd, a junior at Louisiana State University, made an astonishing start in Game 1 of the College World Series, retiring 17 batters in eight innings pitched, giving up just one walk and three earned runs, which elevated his ERA to a 4.45. Floyd slashed a new SEC and LSU record for most strikeouts in a men’s College World Series game, while tying Arizona State’s Ed Bane (1972) for the College World Series’ most strikeouts in a 9-inning game record.
Floyd has been on MLB scouts’ radars since high school and certainly turned heads during his College World Series performance.
Paul Skenes, junior at Louisiana State University and 2023 Men’s College World Series Most Outstanding Player,
Most Outstanding Player
Paul Skenes, a junior at Louisiana State University, led the nation in strikeouts (209), breaking former LSU Ben McDonald’s record of 34 years and becoming the first Division I pitcher to exceed 200 strikeouts in a single season since 2004. Additionally, he led the nation in WHIP (0.75) and finished the season with the second best ERA (1.69) and second most wins (13) behind Wake Forest’s Rhett Lowder (15), with whom he faced off with in one of the most epic rubber matches in College World Series history.
During the College World Series, Skenes pitched 15.2 innings, giving up just seven hits, two runs, two walks, and two earned runs.
As a two-time All-American standout, Skenes transferred from Air Force to LSU last fall. During his time at Air Force, he was a two-way standout, where they utilized him as a pitcher and a catcher. In his first year, he was a closer and then worked his way into a starting role during his second year with his 92-95 mph fastball. Since transferring to LSU, Skenes has focused solely on his pitching, working with LSU pitching staff, and has improved upon his velocity, throwing in the high 90s and consistently accelerating over 100 mph. Skenes was training to become an F-15 fighter pilot during his time in Colorado Springs, CO at the Air Force Academy. Skenes’ former USAF teammates were in the house for the Natty as they swapped uniforms and posed for a photo.
In addition to being named the CWS Most Outstanding Player, Skenes was named the D1Baseball National Player of the Year and Baseball America’s 2023 College Baseball Player of the Year.
Skenes and teammate, Dylan Crews, are the talk of the town ahead of the MLB draft and could potentially become the first teammates to be selected first and second in the MLB draft.
#MCWS Most Outstanding Player@Paul_Skenes x @LSUbaseball pic.twitter.com/cbyAwPrfca
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) June 27, 2023
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