Liam Doyle selected No. 5 overall by Cardinals in MLB Draft

Tennessee left-handed pitcher Liam Doyle is headed to the St. Louis organization as the Cardinals selected the Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Year with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2025 Major League Baseball Draft.  

With the first round selection at No. 5 overall, Doyle becomes the highest-drafted Tennessee player since 2016 when Nick Senzel went No. 2 overall to the Reds and the highest-drafted pitcher since Luke Hochevar was taken No. 1 overall in 2006. Tony Vitello has also produced two other first round pitchers with Chase Dollander (No. 9 overall, COL) in 2023 and Garrett Crochet (No. 11 overall, CHW) in 2020.

Tennessee’s Liam Doyle becomes the 22nd first round pick in program history and the seventh of the Tony Vitello era.

Doyle, who transferred from Ole Miss to Tennessee ahead of the 2025 season, was a dominant pitcher in college baseball this year. The Tennessee ace finished with a 10-4 record in 17 starts and 19 appearances. He had a 3.20 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and struck out 164 against just 32 walks over 95.2 innings pitched.

The southpaw finished second nationally to LSU’s Kade Anderson with 164 strikeouts this past season and is the Tennessee single-season record holder in the category. Doyle was also named a Finalist for both the prestigious Golden Spikes and Dick Howser Awards, along with winning Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Year and Perfect Game (national) Pitcher of the Year honors.

Doyle was a consensus first team All-American as a junior. He was listed as the No. 8 prospect by both MLB Pipeline and Baseball America ahead of the draft. The slot value for the No. 5 pick is $8,134,800.

Scouting Report from MLB.com

Fastball: 75 | Slider: 55 | Cutter: 55 | Splitter: 55 | Control: 50 | Overall: 55

“Doyle was Coastal Carolina’s most effective starter as a freshman in 2023, then filled the same role at Mississippi last spring. He averaged 13.7 strikeouts per nine innings, which would have ranked 13th in NCAA Division I (behind four 2023 first-rounders) if he hadn’t fallen an inning shy of qualifying. The 2025 Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Year, he led D-I in strikeout rate (15.4 per nine innings) after transferring again and headlining Tennessee’s rotation, vaulting himself into top-five-pick consideration.

Doyle’s success centers primarily around his fastball, which sat at 91-94 mph during his sophomore season and now operates in the mid-90s and peaks at 100. It has been the most untouchable heater in college baseball this year, coming out of a high release point and exploding at the top of the zone, and he topped D-I by finishing 105 strikeouts with the pitch. His 82-85 mph slider has become a solid offering but he leaves it in the middle of the plate too often, which is also an issue with his upper-80s cutter.

While he throws his fastball nearly two-thirds of the time, Doyle has four effective pitches after switching to using an upper-80s splitter as his changeup. Despite his dominance this spring, there are concerns about his ability to succeed as a starter at the next level because he has an unorthodox delivery and constantly throws with maximum intent. He does provide consistent strikes and has held his stuff deep into games and throughout this season.”