Derek Curiel named National Freshman of the Year

BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU outfielder Derek Curiel was named Wednesday the 2025 D1Baseball.com National Freshman of the Year.

 Curiel, also a Second-Team All-America, First-Team Freshman All-America and Second-Team All-SEC selection this season, hit a team-high .345 with 20 doubles, two triples, seven homers, 55 RBI and 67 runs, as he helped lead LSU to the NCAA College World Series National Championship.

The product of West Covina, Calif., was named to the College World Series All-Tournament Team after collecting six hits, three RBI and three runs in the CWS. Curiel hit a team-high .571 in the Tigers’ NCAA Super Regional sweep of West Virginia with one double, one homer, five RBI and six runs.

He was voted to the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional All-Tournament Team, batting .400 (6-for-15) with two doubles, two RBI and four runs.

Curiel finished the season No. 1 in the SEC in doubles (20), No. 3 in the league in walks (53), No. 4 in hits (89), No. 4 in on-base percentage (.470), No. 6 in runs scored (67) and No. 10 in batting average (.345).

Kendall Rogers writes of Curiel in a feature story posted to D1Baseball.com:

 Curiel didn’t waste much time making his presence known for the Tigers during fall workouts. The way (Jay) Johnson talks about Curiel’s immediate impact in the fall reminds me a lot of the same feeling I got when I saw Dylan Crews for the first time in the fall in Baton Rouge. At first glance, Crews did not look like someone who belonged in college as a whole — the hit tool, the power potential and the maturity from a physical standpoint. All elite for Crews. Curiel showed a great aura in the fall, and he showed an extremely advanced approach and hit tool. He did not show the same power as Crews in his first fall, but the feeling overall was the same — this guy was born to be a superstar in college baseball, and probably in pro ball as well.

Curiel began his LSU career this season by posting a 43-game reached base safely streak, marking the fifth-longest on record in the annals of LSU Baseball.

He was named SEC Freshman of the Week on April 28 after leading LSU to a series win over Tennessee, batting .417 (5-for-12) in the series with two doubles, one homer, three runs and six RBI. He enjoyed a remarkable day at the plate in the April 27 series-clinching victory, going 4-for-4 with one homer, two doubles and a career-high five RBI.

Curiel’s two-out RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning in the April 25 Game 1 versus Tennessee tied the contest at 3-3 and set the stage for first baseman Jared Jones to follow with a walk-off homer that lifted the Tigers to victory.

He was voted SEC Co-Freshman of the Week on March 17, as he hit .571 (8-for-14) in four games – including a three-game SEC sweep of Missouri – with two doubles, one triple, four RBI and six runs.

Curiel becomes the eighth LSU player to earn National Freshman of the Year recognition, joining second baseman Todd Walker (1992), right-handed pitcher Brett Laxton (1993), second baseman Mike Fontenot (2000), left-handed pitcher Lane Mestepey (2001), shortstop Alex Bregman (2013), right-handed pitcher Alex Lange (2015) and outfielder Dylan Crews (2021).

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