Big East Baseball Preview
Butler
Record: 6-16
RPI: 288
The Bulldogs have gotten off to a rough start, but have won a series against Norfolk State and split with Lindenwood. An opening series against Tarleton S tate provided Butler with some national notoriety, albeit the bad kind, in a 31-5 loss. They’re currently riding an eight game losing streak, getting swept by Belmont, and losing midweek matchups with Notre Dame and Ball State. Butler is taking on Northern Illinois this weekend. Butler does have the nation’s leader in batting average in RF Jack Moroknek, who is hitting .494 in 97 plate appeatances.
Creighton
Record: 14-6
RPI: 54
Creighton has the best record in the Big East to start off the year, but is third in RPI, which isn’t especially useful until conference play starts. Nevertheless, they’ve won their last five weekend series after losing two of three in the opening weekend to common opponent UNC Greensboro. After that weekend, the Bluejays took series from Portland, College of Charleston, UC Davis, San Francisco, and Saint Mary’s. Like Butler, they won’t open their Big East play until April, taking on Samford this weekend in Birmingham. Creighton is led by LF Nolan Sailors, a .419 hitter, and on the mound by Matthew Aukerman, who is currently 4-0 with an 2.70 in eight appearances.
Georgetown
Record: 9-16
RPI: 231
The Hoyas are not off to a great start. They’ve yet to win a series in 2025, losing to Presbyterian, Sacred Heart, Florida State (acceptable), Monmouth, and Radford. UConn will be taking on the Hoyas at home, and barring a complete change in fortune, any losses to the Hoyas will be harmful to UConn’s resume. The Hoyas do have a legitimate ace in Andrew Williams, who has posted a 2-1 record in six starts, including a complete game.
Seton Hall
Record: 9-15
RPI: 233
The Pirates are also off to a poor start, losing series to College of Charleston, Cal Poly, Saint Joseph’s, and Iona, while winning one series against Stony Brook. They’ve split a midweek series with Wagner, and lost to Hofstra, and NJIT. Seton Hall has one more series before Big East play, taking on Marist thos weekend. They open Big East play next weekend at St. John’s. Like Georgetown, any home losses to Seton Hall would negatively impact the Huskies’ resume.
St. John’s
Record: 11-12
RPI: 81
The Red Storm got off to a rough start, beginning the year 1-10, getting swept by Liberty, and Wake Forest before taking one game against Louisville. Since then, they beat NJIT in a weekend series, swept Maine, and took another weekend series from Winthrop. UConn heads to Queens the weekend of April 25th in a big series for both teams, but if RPI holds, an opportunity for a big road series win. Starting pitching has been an issue for the Red Storm, much like the Huskies, but have a strong bullpen.
Villanova
Record: 13-10
RPI: 97
The Wildcats are one of just two Big East teams with a winning record. They joned the Huskies in Puerto Rico to open the season, losing to UVA and Michigan while beating Rice. From there, they took weekend series from Winthrop, Lipscomb, USF, and NJIT, losing a series to Wofford in Spartanburg. Like St. John’s, Villanova will be a big opportunity for the Huskies in a road series the weekend of May 2nd.
Xavier
Record: 12-13
RPI: 2
If you’re surprised at Xavier’s RPI, it should change after this weekend, as RPI is typically more instructive once conference play begins. They’ve had a tough slate, opening the year in Surprise, AZ, taking on Oregon State twice, along with Indiana and UNLV. They took weekend series from Liberty, and Ball State but lost tough ones to Vanderbilt and Tulane, while splitting a series with Stanford. The Big East schedule should be preferable to the Musketeers, and they open with the Huskies, whom they’ve met in the Big East final three straight years from 2021-2023.
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