Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images
BATON ROUGE, La. – Three LSU baseball players were named Friday to the 2026 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Preseason All-America teams.
Sophomore outfielder Derek Curiel is a first-team selection, sophomore pitcher Casan Evans was voted to the second team, and senior pitcher Zac Cowan was named to the fourth team.
Curiel, a product of West Covina, Calif., was voted the 2025 National Freshman of the Year by D1Baseball.com after a superb rookie season in which he helped lead LSU to the NCAA National Championship.
A 2025 Second-Team All-America, First-Team Freshman All-America and Second-Team All-SEC selection, Curiel hit a team-high .345 with 20 doubles, two triples, seven homers, 55 RBI and 67 runs.
He was named to the College World Series All-Tournament Team after collecting six hits, three RBI and three runs in LSU’s five CWS games. 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.
Evans, a right-hander from Houston, Texas, earned 2025 Third-Team All-America and First-Team Freshman All-America recognition, as he posted a 5-1 mark with 2.05 ERA and seven saves in 19 appearances (3 starts). He worked 52.2 innings, recording 19 walks, 71 strikeouts and a .228 opponent batting average.
He posted and excellent relief outing versus UCLA in the College World Series, earning the win and limiting the Bruins to two runs on four hits in 4.1 innings with no walks and five strikeouts. Evans earned the save versus Arkansas in LSU’s CWS opener, working 1.0 inning with no runs on one hit and one strikeout.
Evans delivered one of the best postseason outings in LSU history on June 2 in the Tigers’ NCAA Baton Rouge Regional championship game win over Little Rock. He entered the game in the second inning and allowed one run on four hits in 6.0 innings with three walks and a career-best 12 strikeouts.
Cowan, a right-hander from Blythewood, S.C., was a 2025 First-Team All-SEC selection, as he recorded a 3-3 mark, six saves and a 2.94 ERA in 22 appearances (two starts). He worked 52 innings with 12 walks, 60 strikeouts and a .226 opponent batting average.
Five of Cowan’s six saves came in SEC regular-season games, and he had eight walks and 34 strikeouts in 30.2 league innings
He pitched brilliantly in a starting role versus Arkansas in the College World Series on June 16, working 5.1 innings and allowing just one run on four hits, no walks and six strikeouts.
**LSU PRESS RELEASE**
