2025 College World Series: Jeff Passan updates Gage Wood's MLB Draft stock following no-hitter

Arkansas RHP Gage Wood put on an all-time performance on the mound this afternoon for the 2025 Men’s College World Series. That’s now further boosting his potential position in the 2025 MLB Draft come July.

Following the 3-0 win for the Razorbacks over Murray State in Omaha to avoid elimination, ESPN’s Jeff Passan assessed the stock of Wood after just throwing a no-hitter versus the Racers. He knows what an outing like that can do for him considering he had already been trending upward ahead of the draft next month.

“What Gage Wood just did had not been done in 65 years. And if not for a hit-by-pitch in the eighth inning, he would have had a perfect game,” said Passan. “He had 19 strikeouts, no walks, a fastball that’s 94-97 (miles per hour), topping out at 98 in the ninth inning. He carried his velocity and there’s a reason he has shot up draft boards this spring.”

“The expectation is that he’s going to be a mid-first round pick. Though a performance like this — similar to what Cade Horton did a couple years ago before the Cubs picked him toward the top of the first round — could be in the cards for Gage Wood as well,” Passan said.

Wood threw just the third no-hitter all-time, and the first in six and a half decades since 1960, at the Men’s College World Series. He was on his way to a perfect game as well before hitting batter in the eighth inning ended that achievement. Still, it was an electric performance from Wood as he threw 83 strikes out of 119 pitches to post 19 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.82.

Today was the 10th start of this junior season for Wood with a record of 4-1. That’s with 69 total strikeouts and an ERA still of 3.82 over 37.2 innings pitched.

The win for Arkansas will keep their season alive through tomorrow when they’ll play either a rematch against LSU or versus UCLA. The no-hitter, though, won’t just put Wood into the record books for the MCWS but could get him selected even higher during the MLB Draft.

Wood reacts to throwing no-hitter: ‘I shouldn’t have hit the guy’

Murray State sent 28 batters up on Monday afternoon against Arkansas’ Gage Wood and not a single one of them recorded a hit. However, a legendary performance by him was just a few inches away from being on a different level.

Wood carried a perfect game into the eighth inning before hitting IF Dominic Decker with a pitch to lead off the frame. That ended the bid for perfection but allowed him to continue on the no-hitter. Naturally, there was only one thing on Wood’s mind when asked about the moment in the postgame interview with ESPN.

It's the moments like this. 🥹#MCWS x 🎥 ESPN / @RazorbackBSB pic.twitter.com/wjYimnH9Xs

— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) June 16, 2025

“I shouldn’t have hit the guy,” Wood said. “That’s it, that’s all I’ve got to say.”