The path is set for 64 teams on the road to Omaha, Nebraska. The 2025 NCAA Baseball Tournament begins with 16 regionals across the country.
The notes below list profiles, insights and quotes on the most intriguing prospects performing in the Knoxville Regional. The four-team, double-elimination portion in this region consists of the host and defending national champion, Tennessee. The three other teams include Wake Forest, Cincinnati and Miami (OH).
Marek Houston – 2025 MLB Draft Prospect
Marek Houston flashed noticeable power on Friday. in the seventh inning, the right-hander blasted a solo home run. The loud blast went out the right-center gap. It was Wake Forest’s last run of the game, as the Demon Deacons lost 11-6.
Houston is an up-the-middle delight defensively, but will likely stick at shortstop in pro ball. With his athleticism and arm, there’s not much concern for defensive placement in the future. The top half of the first round is where Houston will land in this summer’s MLB draft. Due to the complexion of high school talent at the top, Houston will likely land at the back half of the top 10.
Houston is slashing 354./.462/.584 on the season. He collected two hits, a walk and two RBIs against Cincinnati.
Landyn Vidourek – 2025 MLB Draft Prospect
Landyn Vidourek had a solid outing for the Bearcats. The outfielder was the designated hitter on Friday, as he’s working his way back from an oblique injury that held him out for four games. The left-handed bat went 2 for 4 at the plate and stole two bases against Wake Forest.
“I knew I’d be able to go out there and tough through it,” Vidourek said when asked about playing through the injury. “It’s just, ‘Would I be able to give the team a better chance to win with me being out there?’ Whether that’s and 80 or 90 percent, I was glad to get out there and help the guys get a win. We move on to tomorrow and that’s all that matters.”
Vidourek is an intriguing prospect for this summer’s draft, offering above-average athleticism and savvy instincts. The Ohio native has staunch tools in both speed and power. Vidourek boasts a team-leading 14 home runs while sporting a 1.010 OPS. He is also 39 of 40 in stolen bases. Vidourek can make significant impressions during the NCAA Tournament that could up his stock for Day 2 of the MLB draft.
Liam Doyle – 2025 MLB Draft Prospect
Tennessee’s Liam Doyle continues to be a talking point among draft circles. The left-hander leads the Southeastern Conference in K% (46.2) and sports an 8.1% walk rate.
Doyle continued to devastate hitters with a combination of heavy fastballs and splitters on Friday night. The lefty recorded 11 strikeouts and three walks across 6 2/3 innings against Miami (OH). Doyle had a sequence during the fifth and sixth innings where he retired five Redhawks in a row via strikeout.
“Yeah, just had a little adrenaline going,” said Doyle, regarding what changed in the middle innings. “I was leaving pitches over the middle plate and getting behind in counts. And then just towards the end of the game, started throwing strikes, started throwing my off-speed pitches in the zone early in the count.”
Doyle will be a first round commodity from the college pitching group in July.
Blake Morningstar – 2026 MLB Draft Prospect
Blake Morningstar had a rough outing versus Cincinnati. The right-hander has been Wake Forest’s most consistent starter, with a team-leading 2.71 ERA and 1.14 WHIP. The Bearcats jumped on him early Friday.
“That’s a great point. I mean, maybe it was,” head coach Tom Walter stated about Morningstar skipping a start last week. “He threw well in the scrimmage this week, but
there’s only two innings. He certainly wasn’t sharp, that’s for sure. He didn’t have his …
good fastball command than he normally has. He didn’t have his good cutter today. Those
are two of his best pitches. So, yeah, maybe missing the start in the conference
tournament hurt him a little more than we thought.”
Morningstar gave up 10 earned runs through 4 1/3 innings on Friday. He struck out six batters while walking seven across 111 pitches. Morningstar is still a prospect to watch for the summer of 2026. The sophomore rides a curveball and changeup, to go along with a fastball in the low-to-mid 90s.
Dalton Wentz – 2026 MLB Draft Prospect
Freshman Dalton Wentz had the loudest bat – not just for the Demon Deacons – but out of all the plate appearances on Friday. Wentz is also eligible for the summer of 2026 and will likely catch a ton of buzz over the offseason. He’s a switch-hitter that will have a chance to play in the dirt. As a designated hitter on Friday, Wentz went 3 for 4 with two home runs and a single.
“I think it just boils down to getting experience and being able to lean on guys (who came) before (me), guys like Marek (Houston), Matt Scannell, Jack Winnay,” Wentz said. “You get to learn so much from those guys and when you get your own experiences, things like that, (you then) start to build and start to learn how to play the game at the caliber you want. And the culture here kind of builds that.”
More Quotes from Knoxville
Cincinnati head coach Jordan Bischel is fully committed to starting left-hander Kellen O’Connor on Saturday against Tennessee.
“Yeah, Kellen O’Connor for sure tomorrow,” said Bischel. “You can put that one in stone, outside of a bus accident or something.”
As for the Demon Deacons, Walter stated that if Tennessee won the night game then freshman Chris Levonas would get the nod in an elimination game on Saturday.
Levonas is a young right-hander that earned a starting role early in the season. He has a 5.67 ERA and 42 strikeouts across 33 1/3 innings.
One aspect that’s unclear for Wake Forest pitching is the future of assistant coach Corey Muscara. The pitching coach has historically been held in high demand for prominent programs across the country. Muscara has been linked a possible role with Mississippi State for 2026. Despite the threads, Walter says the attention of Muscara’s future hasn’t been a factor in performance.
“That’s not a distraction,” Walter said after the loss to Cincinnati. “I mean, Corey is sought after for head coaching jobs and assistant coaching jobs alike. There’s certainly no done deal in place for Corey anywhere. But he’s good at what he does and he’s had job offers every year. But we understand this is a business. Our guys – it wasn’t a distraction (for them). Our guys were ready to go.”
