KSR's 2025 SEC Baseball Preview: Missouri

With the 2025 College Baseball season just around the corner, KSR will be previewing all 15 SEC teams that will be competing with Kentucky for an SEC crown this season. Up next; the Missouri Tigers.

The 2024 season marked the 12th consecutive season without an NCAA Tournament appearance for the Missouri Tigers, who have not made the Big Dance since they transitioned to the SEC in 2013. In the first season of the Kerrick Jackson era, the Tigers compiled a 23-32 (9-21) record, good for second-to-last in the SEC (right in front of 8-22 Auburn).

The move to the SEC has been a rough one for Missouri, which made the NCAA Tournament in eight of its final 10 seasons in the Big 12. With the expansion of the conference in 2025, the Tigers could see that streak extend to 13 seasons.

Returning Players:

• Jr. INF Jackson Lovich (2024: 46 G, .287 AVG, 6 2B, 10 HR, 35 RBI, .540 SLG%, .377 OBP%)
• Sr. C Jedier Hernandez (2024: 39 G, .267 AVG, 10 2B, 1 HR, 25 RBI, .356 SLG%, .347 OBP%)
• So. OF/INF Kaden Peer (2024: 39 G, .252 AVG, 2 2B, 2 HR, 20 RBI, .315 SLG%, .375 OBP%)
• Jr. INF/OF Brock Daniels (2024: 35 G, .296 AVG, 6 2B, 4 HR, 28 RBI, .452 SLG%, .356 OBP%)
• Jr. OF Jeric Curtis (2024: 34 G, .254 AVG, 3 2B, 0 HR, 8 RBI, .310 SLG%, .319 OBP%)
• So. C Mateo Serna (2024: 28 G, .240 AVG, 4 2B, 4 HR, 19 RBI, .406 SLG%, .324 OBP%)
• Sr. OF Isaiah Frost (2024: 7 G, .313 AVG, 1 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, .563 SLG%, .450 OBP%)

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• Sr. LHP Javyn Pimental (2024: 11 APP, 10 GS, 2-2, 3.61 ERA, 42 1/3 IP, 46 K, 15 BB, .205 B/AVG)
• Jr. RHP Brock Lucas (2024: 18 APP, 0 GS, 4-0, 3.63 ERA, 39 2/3 IP, 32 K, 23 BB, .215 B/AVG)
• Jr. LHP Daniel Wissler (2024: 13 APP, 7 GS, 3-1, 4.38 ERA, 37 IP, 37 K, 7 BB, .270 B/AVG)
• Gr. LHP Ian Lohse (2024: 16 APP, 2 GS, 0-4, 5.22 ERA, 29 1/3 IP, 31 K, 11 BB, .259 B/AVG)
• Sr. RHP Kaden Jacobi (2024: 10 APP, 1 GS, 1-0, 7.00 ERA, 18 IP, 16 K, 5 BB, .316 B/AVG)
• So. RHP Charlie Miller (2024: 12 APP, 0 GS, 0-0, 5.91 ERA, 10 2/3 IP, 12 K, 11 B, .282 B/AVG)
• Gr. RHP Ben Pedersen (2024: 10 APP, 0 GS, 0-0, 7.27 ERA, 8 2/3 IP, 8 K, 8 BB, .313 B/AVG)
• Jr. LHP Nic Smith (2024: 8 APP, 0 GS, 0-1, 10.80 ERA, 6 2/3 IP, 4 K, 9 BB, .407 B/AVG)
• So. RHP Ben Smith (2024: 2 APP, 0 GS, 0-0, 6.00 ERA, 3 IP, 3 K, 2 BB, .182 B/AVG)
• So. RHP Josh McDevitt (2024: 8 APP, 3 GS, 0-1, 11.12 ERA, 11 1/3 IP, 13 K, 8 BB, .348 B/AVG)
• Gr. RHP Xavier Lovett (2024: 3 APP, 0 GS, 0-0, 13.50 ERA, 2 2/3 IP, 2 K, 7 BB, .364 B/AVG)

Departing Players:

• Sr. INF/OF Trevor Austin (2024: 54 G, .297 AVG, 11 2B, 13 HR, 33 RBI, .568 SLG%, .433 OBP%)
• Fr. INF Drew Culbertson (2024: 48 G, .191 AVG, 3 2B, 1 HR, 7 RBI, .241 SLG%, .272 OBP% – Transferred to Oklahoma State)
• Gr. INF Matt Garcia (2024: 44 G, .248 AVG, 6 2B, 3 HR, 29 RBI, .382 SLG%, .337 OBP%)
• Jr. INF Danny Corona (2024: 38 G, .240 AVG, 5 2B, 4 HR, 16 RBI, .372 SLG%, .340 OBP%)
• So. OF Jackson Beaman (2024: 34 G, .247 AVG, 4 2B, 6 HR, 19 RBI, .494 SLG%, .414 OBP% – Transferred to Iowa)
• R-Fr. C Tucker Moore (2024: 30 G, .220 AVG, 3 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, .319 SLG%, .349 OBP% – Transfer Portal)
• Fr. C Thomas Curry (2024: 27 G, .222 AVG, 6 2B, 4 HR, 17 RBI, .422 SLG%, .393 OBP%)
• Jr. INF Justin Colon (2024: 20 G, .250 AVG, 1 2B, 2 HR, 14 RBI, .359 SLG%, .385 OBP%)
• Jr. OF Juju Stevens (2024: 12 G, .259 AVG, 3 2B, 0 HR, 3 RBI, .370 SLG%, .394 OBP% – Transfer Portal)
• So. OF RJ Jimerson (2024: 5 G, .200 AVG, 0 2B, 0 HR, 2 RBI, .200 SLG%, .333 OBP% – Transfer Portal)
• Fr. INF Jack Holubowski (2024: 4 G, .091 AVG, 0 2B, 0 HR, 0 RBI, .091 SLG%, .286 OBP% – Transfer Portal)

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• Gr. RHP Carter Rustad (2024: 14 APP, 8 GS, 5-6, 6.37 ERA, 65 IP, 58 K, 10 BB, .275 B/AVG – 15th Round of 2024 MLB Draft)
• So. RHP Logan Lunceford (2024: 14 APP, 13 GS, 2-5, 6.97 ERA, 60 2/3 IP, 53 K, 26 BB, .297 B/AVG – Transferred to Wake Forest)
• Jr. RHP Bryce Mayer (2024: 17 APP, 7 GS, 2-7, 6.58 ERA, 53 1/3 IP, 57 K, 23 BB, .258 B/AVG – 16th Round of 2024 MLB Draft)
• Gr. RHP Jacob Peaden (2024: 20 APP, 0 GS, 3-1, 5.30 ERA, 37 1/3 IP, 33 K, 22 BB, .284 B/AVG)
• Gr. LHP Ryan Magdic (2024: 14 APP, 4 GS, 1-3, 4.63 ERA, 35 IP, 37 K, 11 BB, .229 B/AVG – 14th Round of 2024 MLB Draft)
• Jr. RHP Victor Quinn (2024: 14 APP, 0 GS, 0-1, 4.11 ERA, 15 1/3 IP, 17 K, 18 BB, .204 B/AVG)
• Jr. RHP Miles Garrett (2024: 1 APP, 0 GS, 0-0, 99.00 ERA, 0 IP, 0 K, 4 BB – Transferred to VCU)

Incoming Transfers:

• Sr. OF Cayden Nicoletto (2024: 55 G, .412 AVG, 19 2B, 27 HR, 81 RBI, .915 SLG%, .467 OBP% – Transferred from Columbia MO)
• Sr. OF Pierre Seals (2024: 30 G, .324 AVG, 4 2B, 7 HR, 18 RBI, .593 SLG%, .452 OBP% – Transferred from Memphis)

Looking at Missouri’s returning players and incoming transfer class, there really isn’t much to rave about. Kerrick Jackson’s Tigers return four offensive starters in junior center fielder Jackson Lovich, senior catcher Jedier Hernandez, junior first baseman Brock Daniels, and sophomore DH/catcher Mateo Serna. The Missouri offense was extremely disappointing last season, posting a team .253 batting average (worst in SEC), 57 home runs (worst in SEC), and a .400 SLG% (worst in SEC).

They added 2024 NAIA First-Team All-American Cayden Nicoletto from Columbia (MO), but no other major splashes were made in the Portal.

Along with a disappointing offense, Missouri lost its three most experienced pitchers (RHP Carter Rustad and RHP Bryce Mayer to the 2024 MLB Draft and RHP Logan Lunceford to Wake Forest) this offseason. The Tiger pitching staff, which posted a team 5.80 ERA last season, will now turn to senior left-hander Javyn Pimental and junior left-hander Daniel Wissler as its front of the rotation guys. Missouri did not sign a single pitcher out of the Portal.

Missouri is scheduled to face seven of the nine SEC teams present in D1Baseball’s Preseason Top 25 Rankings this season (at No. 1 Texas A&M, at No. 3 LSU, at No. 5 Arkansas, No. 8 Georgia, at No. 10 Florida, No. 18 Mississippi State, No. 19 Texas). With a loaded schedule like that, the Tigers could find themselves right back near the bottom of the conference this season.

Kentucky, who won the season series against Missouri in Columbia last season, is not scheduled to face the Tigers in the regular season for the first time since Missouri joined the SEC in 2013. The Cats are 20-14 all-time against the CoMo Tigers. Missouri is Kentucky’s lone SEC opponent that it holds a winning record against.