Sports video games keep trying to balance the excitement of professional leagues and the lasting charm of college sports, and MLB The Show 25 might have gotten it. While pro athletes often take the spotlight, more and more players want a deeper, more personal connection to the sport virtually, which comes from college competitions. This desire for a real, relatable experience has been increasingly acknowledged in recent years.

EA Sports College Football 25 was a game-changer with its Road to Glory mode, showing how to create engaging single-player experiences tied to the college experience. MLB The Show 25 is learning from that success and applying similar ideas to its Road to the Show mode and its new progression system. This game is making big improvements by focusing on what players care about.

8 College Teams Are In Road To The Show

MLB The Show 25 Features Limited Collegiate Options

MLB The Show 25 introduces exciting changes to its Road to the Show mode by adding eight real college baseball teams: LSU, Texas, UCLA, Vanderbilt, TCU, Cal State Fullerton, South Carolina, and Tennessee. This means players now have a chance to experience college baseball, which adds more realism to the mode by letting players go through the recruiting process and choose a school based on various factors like exposure and skill development.

Previously, players could skip college or have a very basic college experience. Now, choosing one of these colleges affects how a created player's skills develop and how ready they are for the MLB draft. For instance, a player might pick LSU for its strong visibility to scouts, knowing that doing well there could help them get drafted higher, or they could choose a school that focuses more on skill improvement.

Including real college teams is a game-changer, bringing more realism and strategy to MLB The Show's returning game mode, Road To The Show. Players can participate in several simulated college games, which helps them improve their skills and possibly change from a mid-level prospect to a top draft pick. It allows for a more engaging and immersive experience as players work their way to the major leagues, inspired by similar features found in college football games like EA Sports College Football 25.

EA Sports College Football 25 Proved Fans Care About Collegiate Teams

Collegiate Teams Gain Popularity And Demand

The launch of EA Sports College Football 25 showed there is a strong demand for college sports video games. The game's popularity, especially its Road to Glory mode, shows that fans want to play as college athletes and make decisions that affect their careers both on and off the field. This is likely to be true with MLB The Show 25.

The mode includes realistic elements like NIL deals (Name, Image, Likeness) and the need to balance schoolwork with athletic training, which added to its authenticity and appeal. The detailed weekly management system, which required players to juggle practice, studies, and social life, was often mentioned as a key feature that made it feel more realistic and engaging than earlier attempts in other EA sports titles.

Collegiate teams have huge broadcast appeal, in football and basketball especially, but the College World Series is a major yearly event. The strong popularity of college games clearly indicates that a large segment of the gaming community wants to be more than just spectators. This isn't just a one-off success; it suggests that similar features in other sports games could attract new players and change the gaming landscape. The lessons learned from College Football 25's success should not be ignored, as they make a strong case for adding deeper college modes to other sports titles.

Following Players Longer Means Investing More In Their Journey

Teams Are How Players Gain A Deeper Connection In MLB The Show

MLB The Show 25 takes a big step forward by adding high school and college baseball to its Road to the Show mode. This change reshapes how players experience their journey, allowing for a deeper connection with their created athlete. In past versions, players jumped straight into the professional leagues, and their backstories were mostly hinted at rather than fully developed. This limited players' ability to really engage with their character's story.

Players want to really feel like the character they are on the screen; that’s why the new first-person mode is so interesting. It’s the feeling that you are the one who is getting a chance to the major leagues from college, and that kind of immersion shouldn’t be underestimated. The new system also allows for richer storytelling. Players can create more engaging narratives by shaping their athlete's identity based on performances in high school and college, which impacts their professional careers.

This more detailed narrative is ed by a new progression system that rewards players for being engaged. This deeper involvement strengthens the player's connection to their character, leading to a greater sense of achievement when they succeed. The game encourages players to immerse themselves in the entire journey, from aspiring high school players to accomplished professionals. It is a far more satisfying experience than starting as a rookie.

MLB The Show Should Add More College Teams In Future Games

Add More College Teams In MLB The Show

Eight teams is good, but it's far from the total number of colleges, even if you only for D1. Adding more colleges to future versions of MLB The Show would improve the Road to the Show experience and attract more players. It would conceivably be best to do this in phases, starting with a dozen or so new teams. These should be chosen based on a mix of their history, popularity, and where they are located.

To make sure the selections are realistic, take a look at NCAA Division 1 baseball rankings from the last ten years. Prioritize schools that have consistently been in the top 25, as these are usually the strongest programs that produce good players. Alternatively, The Show's development team could use social media data to see which colleges have the biggest fan bases, focusing on their follower counts and interaction levels.

Regional diversity is key since the current selection of colleges doesn’t represent all areas of the country. Future additions should include schools from regions that currently lack representation. This will attract players from those areas and reflect the broader landscape of college baseball. It’s also important to think about how these changes will affect gameplay. While adding more teams makes the game feel more real, it shouldn’t overwhelm the Road to the Show experience.

The number of college games should be adjusted, and new colleges should be introduced gradually to avoid making the choices too overwhelming. This careful approach will keep the focus on player growth and a realistic career path instead of a dogpile of school names. Increasing the number of colleges in MLB The Show will improve the series’ authenticity and help grow a stronger Road To The Show mode.