College World Series 2025: Why Coastal Carolina vs. LSU promises to deliver all-time pitching clinic

Coastal Carolina players were asked Friday what they admire about No. 6 LSU, No. 13 Coastal Carolina’s opponent in the College World Series finals. After a pause, and after looking across at coach Kevin Schnall and his teammates, Chanticleers pitcher Jacob Morrison delivered a shot across LSU’s bow. 

“Not a whole lot.” Morrison said. 

Fair play.

While he and his teammates may not admire it — or, at the very least, they’re willing to banter about their opponent — most in the nation understand that LSU enters this national championship series with one of the most exciting pitching staffs in college baseball. 

So does Coastal Carolina. In fact, this weekend series between the Tigers and the Chanticleers might be one of the best pitching matchups that Omaha has ever seen. 

Here’s a look at some of the standout aspects of each teams’ pitching, and what to expect as Coastal Carolina and LSU battle it out for a national title. 

LSU’s aces are fresh 

LSU has two of the best strike-throwing artists in baseball in Kade Anderson and Anthony Eyanson. They each ranked top three nationally in strikeouts entering the NCAA Tournament, and they’ve added to their immense total with a combined 43 punchouts since the postseason began. 

The best news for the Tigers? Both should be relatively fresh. Eyanson’s pitched four times since May 20, but his latest start against UCLA was cut short after three innings due to a weather delay and he’s gone just 9.2 innings in his last three appearances. He has stayed warm in LSU’s bullpen at various times throughout the College World Series, though the Tigers haven’t really had to rely on him. 

Anderson, who ranked second among CBS Sports’ 10 MLB prospects to know in the NCAA Tournament, has kept a regular schedule throughout LSU’s run. He collected wins against Dallas Baptist, West Virginia and Arkansas while allowing seven earned runs — six of which came in a seven-inning outing against the Mountaineers.  

It’s ideal for LSU that Eyanson, who sports an 11-2 record and a 2.92 ERA, is as well-rested as possible this deep into the season, while Anderson is a machine that keeps humming along. Both are capable of going deep, which is crucial at this time of year. 

Coastal Carolina has college baseball’s deepest rotation 

Coastal Carolina will have an ace arm on the mound, no matter how deep this series goes. The Chanticleers have arguably the best starting rotation in college baseball. 

Jacob Morrison is the most recognizable name right now, given his performance in Coastal’s CWS win against Oregon State. The 6-foot-8 and 245 pound right hander went 7.2 innings, threw a career-high 109 pitches and fanned seven batters while holding the Beavers’ potent offense to just one run. 

Morrison, who missed all of the 2024 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, has emerged as a borderline Day 1 MLB Draft prospect this season. Coastal Carolina has won each of his last 16 starts and he’s just one of two starting pitchers in the nation to boast an undefeated record. He’s got a deep bag of pitches and a dominant fastball that can tough 95 mph. 

But Morrison won’t get the ball in Coastal Carolina’s first game. Cameron Flukey, who served as CCU’s Friday night starter during the regular season, will take the mound Saturday evening. He has the highest ERA among Coastal Carolina’s starters at 3.29 but sports a 1.00 WHIP and opponents are only hitting .211 off of him. 

Flukey also leads the Chanticleers with 109 total strikeouts. His fastball sits consistently at 95-96 with tons of vertical break and his 6-foot-6 frame with long arms shortens his approach to the plate. 

Flukey and Morrison are a formidable first two up for Coastal Carolina, but LSU will not get a break if the series goes to Game 3. That’s when the Chanticleers would call on Riley Eikhoff, who has already started twice in the College World Series. He threw 98 pitches against Louisville on June 18 and allowed just five earned runs to the Cardinals and Arizona over 9.1 total innings. 

Eikhoff’s stuff may not be as electric as his starting counterparts, but he’s a wily veteran that maintains firm control of the zone and never lets the moment get too big.  

College World Series 2025: Five factors that will determine winner of LSU-Coastal Carolina for championship

Brad Crawford

Tigers with flamethrowers 

Tigers equipped with flamethrowers seems like the stuff of nightmares, or a Dr. Evil creation. Instead, it’s the reality that opposing teams have to face when they get to LSU’s bullpen. There isn’t much reward in chasing off Anderson or Eyanson. 

That’s likely to bring on the likes of Casan Evans, who will start one day but as a true freshman has carved out a role as LSU’s top reliever. Evans actually came to Baton Rouge as a two-way player but decided to focus on pitching in the fall. That move paid off. He’s got a 2.05 ERA and thrown at least four innings in two out of his last three appearances. 

He’s got a fastball that sits in the mid 90s but has hit 99 this year. Evans mixes that fastball with a devastating changeup and slider, a pitch he introduced to his arsenal when he arrived at LSU. 

There’s also Chase Shores, who topped out at 101 mph in LSU’s CWS win against Arkansas. He can also toss his slider at 91 mph that looks un-hittable alongside his fastball. If that’s not enough, Jaden Noot and Mavrick Rizy each have fastballs that average in the mid 90s, though they can reach beyond that. 

Coastal’s bullpen can shut things down 

Coastal Carolina doesn’t have to sweat much, either, when its starters exit the game. The Chanticleers have a bullpen fully stocked with reliable arms. 

Their team ERA of 3.22 ranks second nationally, even though they’ve played more games than most other programs. They have five relievers that have pitched in at least 18 games with an ERA at or below 3.00. Though he enters at the end of games, Ryan Lynch is the headliner. 

He has nine saves and a 0.58 ERA as Coastal Carolina’s closer. Lynch has completed seven straight saves and has not allowed a single run — earned or not — since March 22. 

When Lynch isn’t available to slam the door on opponents, CCU often turns to Dominick Carbone, who has retired 112 of the 167 batters he has faced this season. Matthew Potok and Hayden Johnson can both provide some long relief in the middle innings. Darin Horn, who has a 2.96 ERA, hasn’t pitched since May 31 so he should be fresh if the Chanticleers need him.