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Prospect Spring Training Invites For Every Team
Plus: New Top 25, weekend upsets, Southeast stacked with draft prospects & more
Top Prospect Spring Training Invites For Every Team
Every year in spring training, a group of talented prospects shows up as non-roster invitees for MLB teams looking to turn heads and speed up their timeline.
They might not be on the 40-man roster yet, but for a few weeks, these prospects get a glimpse of the future. And with the World Baseball Classic ramping up soon and many star players departing to represent their countries, some of these prospects will see the field a lot more than in a traditional spring.
With that in mind, Jesús Cano has compiled a list of all the NRI names you need to know heading into 2026.
NEW TOP 25
Top 25 Rankings After Opening Weekend
Opening weekend delivered chaos and clarity in equal measure.
Five Top 25 teams fell on opening night, yet ranked clubs still combined to go 61-13 overall. The top 10 were particularly steady at 26-4, with two of those losses coming against fellow ranked opponents.
Three teams—No. 17 Vanderbilt, No. 18 Louisville and No. 24 East Carolina—failed to produce winning weekends, which caused them to fall out of the Top 25. The Commodores lost two of three at the Shriners Children’s College Showdown in Arlington, Texas, including a run-rule loss to unranked Oklahoma State. Louisville also finished 1-2 against Michigan State. East Carolina dropped two of three to Xavier.
No. 19 NC State, No. 22 Texas A&M and No. 25 Kentucky enter the rankings in their place.
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MLB DRAFT BUZZ
The Southeast Is Loaded With Top Draft Prospects
A year ago, the concentration of talent in the 2025 MLB Draft had a noticeable West Coast flavor. This year, scouts are turning their attention across the country to find a glut on top draft talent in the Southeast.
“This is the deepest Southeast we have had in years,” one scout told BA about the 2026 class. “Florida is back, Georgia is back. The Florida preps, the high school pitching. And the Georgia colleges are really good, as well.”
BA draft expert Carlos Collazo breaks down all the top draft prospects to know from the Southeast this season.
NCAA HEADLINES
9 Takeaways From College Baseball Opening Day
Opening night in Division I college baseball was a real doozy.
Five ranked teams lost to unranked opponents before most people had finished dinner. Records fell. Draft-eligible stars looked exactly like future first-rounders. And tucked inside the noise were a few results that will look a lot louder in May, when résumés are dissected and every line on them suddenly feels permanent.
Opening night always delivers something. Jacob Rudner breaks down what this year’s edition delivered.
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TRENDING NOW AT BASEBALL AMERICA
⚾️ Here’s every Top 25 upset from the opening weekend of college games.
🤕 A top 15 draft prospect for 2026 is out indefinitely with an injured shoulder.
🎙️ Our latest Farm System Deep Dive features a look at the Pirates.
📖 Don’t forget to purchase your 2026 Prospect Handbook.
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@baseballamerica Justin Lebron could challenge Roch Cholowsky for the No. 1 spot in the 2026 draft 👀 #fyp #mlbdraft #alabama #collegebaseball
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FROM OUR FRIENDS AT FOUL TERRITORY
AJ Pierzynski, Erik Kratz and Scott Braun are joined by MLB super agent Scott Boras to discuss the ongoing salary cap debate and why Boras believes a cap wouldn’t fix baseball’s real problems.
