LSU’s Derek Curiel leads Latinos to Watch in College Baseball
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Staff Reports, Staff reports
- February 10, 2026
Derek Curiel added title to impressive resume
Before being named D1 Baseball’s 2025 National Freshman of the Year and helping LSU win the 2026 College World Series title, Derek Curiel received major league attention during high school. He pulled out of the draft to join the Tigers, who began recruiting him when he was 13 years old.
Ahead of Curiel’s freshman campaign in 2025, he was named SEC Preseason Freshman of the Year by D1 Baseball and was ranked No. 1 on Perfect Game’s Top 75 Freshmen list.
He lived up to his preseason hype, and now he highlights Our Esquina’s list of Top 10 Latinos to Watch in college baseball in 2026. Curiel showed no signs of growing pains as a first-year college athlete.
He started the season with a 43-game on-base streak and ended that season as a College Baseball World Series champion, leading LSU with a .345 batting average.
Hitting machine
Instead of playing summer ball, Curiel prioritized gaining weight during the offseason and has added on 20 pounds.
“I feel like that’s what I needed to develop as a baseball player was just get a little bit more physical and get some of my ‘man strength,’” Curiel told LSU beat writers.
Here are the Top 10 Latinos to Watch in college baseball in 2026:
Derek Curiel, OF, LSU
Derek Curiel helped LSU win the College World Series as a freshman last year. He led the SEC in doubles (20). Curiel was also third in the SEC walks (53) and fourth in hits (89) and OBP (.470).
The sophomore outfielder is ranked No. 3 on Baseball America’s 2026 Top College Draft Prospects.
AJ Gracia lands at Virginia
AJ Gracia, OF, Virginia
Outfielder AJ Gracia went off in the latter half of his sophomore season at Duke last season.
He hit .543 (50-for-92) over his last 35 games. He finished his sophomore season batting .293 with 15 homers, 10 doubles and a school-record 57 walks.
More from Our Esquina
LSU’s Derek Curiel proves to be a hit in SEC
Texas A&M’s Nico Partida carries abuelo’s work ethic
Steven Milam follows Alex Bregman’s path to LSU
After such a stellar season, Gracia followed his Duke coach Chris Pollard to Virginia as one of the most prominent transfers in the 2025-26 cycle. Gracia is ranked as the fifth best college draft prospect by Baseball America.
Alex Hernandez, RHP, UTL, Georgia Tech
Alex Hernandez, the reigning ACC Freshman of the Year, quickly established himself as one of the most versatile players in college baseball. He started six different positions last season and led the Tech offense in at-bats (230), hits (77) and RBIs (69, a Yellow Jackets freshman record).
Hernandez was the only underclassman in Division I to record 50+ RBIs and multiple saves (2). The Cumming, Ga., native led all Power 4 freshmen in RBIs, was third in hits and slugging percentage (.609) and fourth in OPS (1.024).
Roman Martin, INF, UCLA
Roman Martin played a significant role in UCLA’s road to the 2025 College World Series. In the NCAA Tournament, he hit .375 (12-for-32) with a pair of home runs, two doubles, a triple, nine runs scored and a team-best 14 RBI.
He was the Most Outstanding Player of the Los Angeles Regional and Second Team All-Big Ten in 2025. Martin is ranked No. 3 on D1 Baseball’s Preseason Top 50 Third Basemen list.
Two-way threat Noah Franco
Noah Franco, LHP/UT, TCU
Sophomore Noah Franco enters the season as one of the best two-way players in college baseball. He was named a preseason All-American by Baseball America (First Team as TWP) and Perfect Game (Third Team as TWP).
The 6-foot-3, 230-pound sophomore hit .313 while leading TCU with 16 doubles. He was second on the team with 11 home runs and 49 RBIs while earning All Big 12 First Team honors and multiple Freshman All-America honors. Although he posted a 7.30 ERA, he showed signs of dominance while striking out 18 over 12 1/3 innings as a freshman.
Ricky Ojeda, LHP, UC Irvine
Ricky Ojeda, a junior southpaw, was one of the standout relievers for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team this summer. He struck out 15 batters across his 6 2/3 innings and allowed only one earned run.
Ojeda was a prominent bullpen arm for the Anteaters in 2025. He was 13-1 record while making 29 appearances and limiting his opponents to a .210 batting average.
Evan Blanco, LHP, Tennessee
After spending three seasons at Virginia, Evan Blanco transferred to Tennessee to play his senior season in the SEC.
With his 2025 campaign shortened due to injury, his strongest season was the year before. He went 8-3 with a 3.62 ERA and 99 strikeouts in 99 1/3 innings in 2025, leading the Cavaliers in starts (18), wins, innings and strikeouts.
Freshman stars
Linkin Garcia, SS Texas Tech
Linkin Garcia is a 6-foot-5 true freshman out of Newport Beach, Calif. He hit .550 with four home runs across 50 at-bats in the fall for the Red Raiders. At shortstop, he posted multiple exit velocities of 110 mph or better.
His eye-popping fall-league numbers earned him a spot on Baseball America’s list of Top 25 College Baseball Freshmen for 2026.
Angel Cervantes, RHP, UCLA
Angel Cervantes was drafted No. 50 overall in the second round of the 2025 Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates. He opted to go to UCLA instead. The 6-foot-2, 215-pounder attacks hitters with four different pitches: fastball, slider, curveball and changeup.
In his senior season at Warren High in Downey, Calif., he was 7-3 with a 1.59 ERA through 66 2/3 innings. He also threw four complete games.
Nico Partida, RHP, INF, Texas A&M
Nico Partida withdrew from the 2025 Draft to play for Texas A&M this season. He is the No. 16-ranked freshman on Perfect Game’s list of Top 100 Freshman.
Partida was a two-way player in high school and will continue to play both ways for the Aggies this season. He had a career batting average above .400 and went 22-1 with a 0.70 ERA while leading Pearland (Texas) High to multiple 6A State championship runner-up finishes.
More players to watch
LSU junior Steven Milam is one of the best middle infielders in the SEC. He’s one of the keys for the defending national champions. LSU right-hander Marco Paz, a 6-foot-2 fireballer, is one of the best freshmen in the country.
Texas Tech catcher Matt Quintanar. West Virginia outfielder Armani Guzman. Miami catcher Alex Sosa. Oklahoma State’s Avery Ortiz. Georgia’s Jordy Oriach. Houston right-hander Richie Roman. Grand Canyon University right-hander JT Guerrero.
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