Little Rock’s Historic run Headlines 2025 OVC Baseball Season

Little Rock’s improbable Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) Tournament championship run as the No. 8 seed highlighted the 2025 OVC baseball season,held at Mtn Dew Park in Marion,Illinois. The Trojans’ unexpected triumph, coupled with individual milestones and team achievements, defined a year marked by upsets and outstanding performances across the conference.

Little Rock’s Unlikely Tournament Triumph

Little Rock became the lowest-seeded team ever to win the OVC Tournament, overcoming the odds with a 5-0 record. After needing a tiebreaker just to make the eight-team field, the Trojans won two elimination games on the tournament’s opening day. Their journey continued into the NCAA Tournament,where they made their second appearance and posted a 3-2 record in the Baton Rouge Regional.

Did You Know?

Mtn Dew Park, the venue for the OVC Tournament, will continue to host the event through 2029.

NCAA Regional Impact

in the Baton Rouge Regional, Little Rock faced tough competition, including a loss to the host and No. 1 ranked LSU. though, they bounced back with victories over Rhode Island and Dallas Baptist, advancing to the Regional Final. They even managed to defeat LSU once, forcing a decisive game that LSU ultimately won en route to their National Championship title.Angel Cano, Little Rock’s first baseman, earned the MVP award for his outstanding performance in the Baton Rouge Regional.

Regular Season Standouts and Milestones

Eastern Illinois dominated OVC play, finishing with a 17-7 record to secure their fifth overall OVC Regular Season Championship, their first since 2009. SIUE also had a noteworthy season, finishing second in the league standings and earning their highest-ever seed for the OVC Tournament. Their 18 OVC wins were the most under head coach Sean Lyons, second only to the 19 wins recorded by the 2015 team.

UT Martin’s Jalen Fithian etched his name in the NCAA Division I record books by becoming the single-season stolen base leader, with his 37th stolen base against Ole miss. Fithian’s achievement placed him among the top 15 nationally in stolen bases. Meanwhile, Tennessee Tech head coach Matt Bragga reached a significant milestone, surpassing 563 career wins, placing him fifth in league history.

OVC Preseason Poll and Sportsmanship Award

Before the season began, Southeast Missouri was picked as the 2025 OVC preseason baseball favorite in a vote of OVC head baseball coaches and communications directors. However, it was SIUE that earned the 2024-25 Team Sportsmanship Award for baseball. This award, voted on by student-athletes and coaches, recognizes the team that best exhibits the standards of sportsmanship and ethical behavior as outlined by the OVC and NCAA.

OVC Players in the Pros

The OVC continues to produce talent that succeeds at the professional level. At the start of the 2025 MLB season, three former OVC players-Hayden Birdsong, Trey Sweeney, and Tyler Rogers-were on Opening Day rosters, while three others were on 40-man rosters. Alec Mills, a former UT Martin pitcher, made history in 2020 by throwing a no-hitter for the Chicago Cubs.Matt Beaty, a former Belmont standout, was part of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 2020 World series-winning roster.

Pro Tip:

Keep an eye on OVC players as they transition to professional baseball; their success reflects the quality of the conference’s baseball programs.

In 2021, Eastern Illinois SS Trey Sweeney was selected in the First Round by the New York Yankees (No. 20 overall), becoming just the third First Round pick in OVC history; Sweeney is now with the Detroit Tigers and made his MLB debut in 2024. Also in 2021, former SEMO pitcher Dylan Dodd was selected in the Third Round by the Atlanta Braves, marking the first time in OVC history two players were selected in the top 3 rounds of the same draft.

OVC Tournament Seeding Success

Since the OVC Tournament switched to a neutral site format in 2001 (24 tournaments), the No. 1 seed has won eight championships, the No. 2 seed has seven titles, the No. 3 seed has won four times, the No. 4 seed has won twice, the No. 5 seed has won twice and the No. 8 seed has won once (Little Rock in 2025).

Wins Over No.1 Ranked Teams

Since the beginning of the 2019 season, OVC teams have four wins over No. 1 ranked teams. Prior to 2019, and an OVC team had last beaten a No. 1 ranked team in 2009 (Jacksonville State over Georgia).

• Little Rock 10, #1 LSU 4 (June 1, 2025)
• Tennessee Tech 3, #1 Tennessee 2 (Kodak, TN) (april 12, 2022)
• Morehead State 5, #1 Louisville 2 (March 2, 2021)
• Austin Peay 7, #1 Vanderbilt 6 (February 27, 2019)

Ranked Wins

Here is a look at OVC teams with wins over nationally-ranked teams this season. From 2018 to the present OVC teams have 30 wins over nationally-ranked non-conference opponents.

• April 15 – Little Rock 7, #11 Ole Miss 3
• June 1 – Little Rock 8, #13 Dallas Baptist 6
• June 1 – Little Rock 10, #1 LSU 4

Longest Game in OVC History

The Eastern Illinois at Southeast Missouri game on April 11 lasted 19 innings, making it the longest game by innings in OVC history. It broke the previous record of 17 innings done twice before (Jacksonville State vs. Kennesaw State in 2014, and Austin Peay vs. Eastern Illinois in 2002). After the seventh inning neither team scored again until EIU plated three runs in the top of the 19th to win 6-3.

Two Named to Midseason Stopper of the Year Watch List

Southeast Missouri junior Jackson Kranawetter and Tennessee Tech sophomore Juan Vargas were among the 56 players nationally added to the Midseason Watch List for the 20th Annual Stopper of the Year Award as announced by the National collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA). The award goes to the top relief pitcher in Division I baseball.

All teams eligible for OVC Tournament

Both reclassifying teams, Lindenwood and Southern Indiana, are eligible to compete and win the OVC Tournament Championship this season. Should a transitioning school win an OVC Tournament Championship, the AQ shall be awarded to the tournament runner-up.Should the tournament runner-up also be a transitioning school, the AQ representative shall be the third-place team (where the third-place team cannot be resolute, the AQ shall be the semifinal team that had the highest remaining seed going into the tournament).

Division I Council Adopts New Reclassification Criteria

On January 15 the NCAA Division I Council adopted a proposal that requires schools moving into Division I to meet objective measures that focus on the student-athlete experience and support a school’s successful transition to division I. The change reduces the reclassification period from four to three years for Division II schools and four years for Division III schools. Members currently in the reclassification process (Lindenwood and Southern Indiana) can use the new timeline IF they meet all other criteria. progression through the process is dependent upon meeting each year’s benchmarks. If the benchmarks are met, teams would be eligible for NCAA postseason events in the 2025-26 school year.

The 2025 Season

The 2025 season marks the 77th year of competition in the OVC. Over the previous 76 years, 14 different teams have claimed an OVC baseball regular season championship.

ESPN+

The OVC has a media rights deal with ESPN to air games on ESPN+, the multi-sport, direct-to-consumer video service from The Walt Disney Company Direct-to-Consumer & International segment. This season over 200 men’s and women’s basketball regular season Conference games and non-conference games will be streamed on ESPN+. Fans can subscribe to ESPN+ for $11.99 a month (or $119.99 per year) or as part of a bundle with Disney+ and ad-supported Hulu ($16.99/month).ESPN+ is an integrated part of the ESPN App (on mobile and connected devices).More details can be found at www.ovcsports.com/ESPN.

OVC Baseball: Key Stats and Facts

What was your favorite moment from the 2025 OVC baseball season? Which team do you think will dominate the conference next year?

Share your thoughts and predictions in the comments below!