Meet the three New Mexico natives on teams playing in the College World Series

New Mexicans Steven Milam, Zach Kmatz and Isaac Silva will take their turns in college baseball’s national spotlight this weekend.

All three will compete in the upcoming College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. Milam is the starting shortstop for LSU, while Kmatz and Silva are pitchers for Oregon State and Murray State, respectively. Milam played high school baseball at Centennial, Kmatz at Sandia and Silva at Oñate (now Organ Mountain).

The eight-team CWS begins Friday and Saturday with a pair of first-round contests each day.

The three New Mexico natives are all chasing the same prize, a coveted national championship, but their paths to Omaha were dramatically different. Milam is the starting shortstop for LSU — a perennial baseball power — and figures to go high in the MLB draft when his collegiate days are over. Kmatz is a freshman reliever who has picked up key innings for Oregon State, another marquee program. Silva is a front-line starter at upstart Murray State, which is making its first-ever CWS appearance.

Here’s a quick look at the three New Mexicans.

Steven Milam, SS, LSU

2025 stats: 63 games played, .290 average, 11 home runs, 55 RBIs

Path to Omaha: Nicknamed “Monster,” Milam has been a dominant player since his early days in Las Cruces. He was the 2023 Gatorade New Mexico Player of the Year after leading Centennial to a state championship. Milam had a four-year batting average of .513 with the Hawks. He signed with LSU, in part, to follow in the footsteps of another New Mexican, Tigers alum and MLB All-Star. “I watched Alex Bregman growing up, and he has been a huge influence and role model,” Milam said in his bio on lsusports.net. The switch-hitting Milam earned Freshman All-American honors in 2024, is rated No. 6 among the nation’s top college shortstops and ranked 32nd among all sophomore players.

Zach Kmatz, RHP, Oregon State

2025 stats: 17 games, 25.2 innings, 2-0 record, 4.21 ERA, 28 strikeouts

Path to Omaha: Like Milam, Kmatz followed in the footsteps of another successful New Mexico player — in this case his brother, Jacob Kmatz, who starred at Sandia and for three seasons at Oregon State before being drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays. The younger Kmatz has earned his own accolades. He had a superb 2023 season at Sandia that included a no-hitter and a state quarterfinal shutout and was later rated as the state’s top player by Perfect Game. He has secured a high-leverage role out of the bullpen for the Beavers and got the win in a Super Regional clincher against Florida State. Zach also has bragging rights over Jacob, who did not play in a College World Series.

Isaac Silva, RHP, Murray State

2025 stats: 17 games, 81.1 innings, 9-2 record, 5.09 ERA, 74 strikeouts

Path to Omaha: Silva’s unlikely trail to the CWS seems fitting for the longshot Racers. He capped a strong prep career with a 14-win season and a 0.92 ERA as a senior at Oñate but did not appear on the national radar in his first three collegiate seasons. Silva spent two years at Eastern Arizona College, where he compiled a 5-13 overall record as a starter/reliever with the Gila Monsters. He transferred to Troy in 2024 and made just three appearances over 1.1 innings. But Silva has been a horse for Murray State, which has gone 14-3 in games he’s started. That includes an NCAA Regional win over Ole Miss and a Super Regional win over Duke.