We have quite a few superstars on the college baseball scene this season — and a lot of them are power hitters. There are a lot of guys hitting the long ball this season, so creating a list of the top home run hitters to watch is challenging. Some are easy picks, of course, but we also wanted to take into consideration the caliber of pitching they are facing among other factors.
Narrowing it down to just players on top 25 teams wouldn't do the trick either, since there are many teams in some of the strongest conferences that are not even ranked but have guys hitting homers off of the best pitchers in the nation.
So here is our best shot at a list of the top home run hitters to watch down the stretch (stats through May 3):
Jac Caglianone — Florida
Remember how I just mentioned some guys were easy picks? Well Florida's Jac Caglianone was obviously one of them. The guy is a phenom, in the batter's box and on the mound. Let's look just at his hitting statistics. He is hitting .364 with an NCAA-best 26 home runs. As a sophomore, I might add. That means he has hit a homer in more than half of his games played this season. He just tied the UF single-season HR record, so he is likely to break that soon. He is in the top four in the nation in slugging percentage (.866), in the top six in RBI and No. 1 overall in homers per game. Plus, the majority of his shots are tape-measure shots, no-doubters, bombs, you name it. Caglianone is quite the special player, and not to mention, he is doing this all in the SEC against some of the best pitchers in the nation.
Hunter Hines — Mississippi State
Hunter Hines is yet another sophomore at the top of the home run this list, and another one doing it against SEC competition. Hines is tied for third in the NCAA in home runs with 21, and has impressively hit 12 of those during SEC play.
DOES LSU BASEBALL HAVE COMPETITION FOR THE TOP SPOT? — D1Baseball mid-season check-in
Ethan Petry — South Carolina
Now for Ethan Petry, the freshman phenom over at South Carolina whose numbers don't only scream top home run hitter, but also National Player or Freshman of the Year. The numbers make you take a double-take, because he not only has 20 home runs on the season, but he is doing that while also hitting .412. D1Baseball's Aaron Fitt wrote this on the magnificent Petry after he hit a home run off elite LSU pitcher Paul Skenes. Petry turned around a 99 mph fastball out to left-center for a two-run homer that was the first Skenes had given up this season. Petry's composure and talent led Fitt to compare the freshmen standout to Kris Bryant: "Petry strikes that perfect balance of confidence, charisma and humility — and it all seems natural and genuine. He is quick to smile, thoughtful and articulate, friendly and easygoing, all traits that reminded me last week of former San Diego superstar Kris Bryant, another Golden Spikes Award winner," Fitt wrote.
So yeah. Petry makes the list.
Gavin Kash — Texas Tech
As we get further down the list, we somehow have another sophomore. Gavin Kash over at Texas Tech is another hitter with 20 homers on the season. He is slashing .380 on the season, too.
Brock Wilken — Wake Forest
Here is another guy in the 20-homer club. And even better, Brock Wilken is doing it for the No. 2 team in the nation. He has already broken the Wake Forest CAREER home run record (58) as a junior, and has been a huge part of this loaded offense this season.
Charlie Condon — UGA
Low and behold, our second freshman phenom on the list. It is crazy enough to get one freshman each year putting up numbers like Petry, but there is Charlie Condon too. And both are doing it in a tough conference against stellar arms. Condon is also hitting above .400 at .404 with 19 homers and 57 RBI.
More HR hitters to watch:
- Kemp Alderman — Ole Miss
- Jake Gelof — Virginia
- Mac Horvath — UNC
- Bryson Ware — Auburn
- Matt Shaw — Maryland
- Kris Armstrong — Jacksonville
- Cam Fisher — Charlotte
