LSU lands a pair on MLB Pipeline's Top 2026 Draft Prospects

LSU outfielders Derek Curiel and Jake Brown are listed among the MLB Pipeline Top Prospects for the 2026 Draft.

Curiel, a sophomore from West Covina, Calif., is No. 6 on the MLB Pipeline list, and Brown, a junior from Sulphur, La., is No. 55.

Curiel 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.

Curiel was the leading hitter in LSU’s 11 NCAA Tournament games, batting .390 (16-for-41) with four doubles, one homer, 10 RBI and 13 runs.

Brown batted .320 (57-for-178) in 2025 with nine doubles, two triples, eight homers, 48 RBI and 45 runs, and he was named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District team with a 3.68 GPA as a sport administration major.

He batted a team-high .385 (5-for-13) in the College World Series with four RBI and two runs scored. He a delivered two-run single versus Arkansas in the CWS semi-final to give LSU a 2-1 lead in the sixth inning, and he was 3-for-5 with two RBI in LSU’s second-round CWS win over UCLA.

Brown hit .324 (11-for-34) in LSU’s 11 NCAA Tournament games with one double, one homer, nine RBI and six runs. In LSU’s final two SEC regular-season series versus Arkansas and South Carolina, he batted a combined .625 (10-for-18) with two doubles, three homers, six RBI and eight runs scored.

LSU’s 2026 Schedule

The Tigers’ 2026 non-conference schedule is highlighted by a trip to Jacksonville, Fla., where LSU will participate on February 20-22 in the Live Like Lou Jax College Baseball Classic. The Tigers will take on Indiana, Notre Dame and UCF at VyStar Ballpark, home of the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, the Miami Marlins’ Triple-A affiliate.

The 30-game Southeastern Conference slate begins with a weekend road series at Vanderbilt on March 13. The Tigers will also travel for SEC weekends at Tennessee, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Georgia.

LSU’s SEC home-opening series begins on March 20 versus Oklahoma. The Tigers will also play host to league foes Kentucky, Texas A&M, South Carolina and Florida.

Dates for some SEC games could change once the league determines its television schedule.