College baseball reset — Top storylines, favorite moments so far this season

As the collegiate winter season winds down, the spring season is heating up with baseball ready to step up front and center.

The start of the season has seen Tennessee rise to the top of the rankings, with Arkansas living up to preseason expectations and sitting just behind the Vols. Texas Tech has had its share of early season excitement, while Texas State is off to the best start in program history.

To catch you up on what you may have missed and get you geared up for the second half of the season, we asked ESPN college baseball experts Mike Rooney, Chris Burke and Ryan McGee for their impressions of what they’ve seen so far. Additionally, MLB insider Kiley McDaniel breaks down the top collegiate prospects for this year’s draft.

Who has been the top breakout player so far this season?

Mike Rooney: Sonny DiChiara hit 41 home runs in his three seasons (including 2020) at Samford. When he transferred to Auburn, the colorful right-handed hitter arrived with a large physique (6-foot-1, 263 pounds) and an even bigger personality. He is leading the SEC in all three slash categories (.461/.616/.921). And his walk-up song is the best in all of baseball: Louis Prima’s “C’e La Luna Mezz’o Mare.”

Chris Burke: Tennessee right-hander Chase Burns. Throwing on Friday nights as a true freshman is very rare in college baseball, so someone who gets that chance has to be a very rare talent. It turns out Burns is exactly that. He is 5-0 with an 0.80 ERA, with 45 strikeouts and only 16 hits allowed in 33 innings. He has pitched against two No. 1 teams (Texas, Ole Miss) and has thrown 12 innings with 21 K’s, allowing just one run in each start. Pretty impressive, especially for a true freshman.

Ryan McGee: At Tennessee, they require freshmen to live on campus. Drew Beam is going to need to annex his suitemates’ room to store all of his awards.

Who has been the best…