Nick Giamarusti hit .287 in 2024 in 101 at bats, with 4 home runs, 25 RBIs, 5 doubles and 4 triples. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
A spark every time he got on base in 2o24, utility man Nick Giamarusti hopes to expand his role come fall practice as a player to build around in 2025.
He was accustomed to being in the center of things.
But as it turned out last spring, there were probably times when Buckeyes utility man deluxe Nick Giamarusti felt like a spare part.
Editor and publisher Sonny Fulks writes OHSAA sports and Buckeyes baseball for Press Pros Magazine.
A top high school prospect in Illinois at Chicago’s Notre Dame Prep, he landed at the University of Pittsburgh as a freshman in 2022. Disillusioned after playing in just 23 games, he realized he needed more experience and playing time and left Pitt for John A. Logan Junior College in Illinois, where he spent his sophomore season and was in the center of things, hitting .347 with 74 hits, 80 runs scored, 20 doubles, 13 home runs with 46 RBIs. He also stole 41 bases in 43 attempts.
Still looking for his shot in Division I college baseball, Ohio State reached out to him in the summer of 2023, offered him what he wanted to hear, and boom…he was a Buckeye for his junior season, hitting .287 with 4 home runs and 25 RBIs last spring. And he did this in just 101 at bats, along with swiping 15 of 17 stolen base attempts.
He would have liked to have done more – been a bigger part. And there were times, yes, when Nick Giamarusti showed he could, driving in five runs in a February game against Arizona State…four hits and four runs scored against Purdue in the Big Ten opener, in March. Simply put, it was a tumultuous year!
Ups?
“Making the Big Ten Tournament the way we did,” he says. “And rolling over Nebraska when they didn’t throw their best pitcher (Brett Sears) in the opening game.”
Downs?
He didn’t say. He didn’t have to – the ignominious manner in which the same Nebraska ended their season, and an insufferable ride home from Omaha to stew upon what comes next.
But since then…..
Nick Giamarusti had four hits and scored four times in the the Big Ten opener with Purdue.
There has been a coaching change.
A drastic change in the roster come 2025.
And he would be naive to not wonder again about what’s next, when he returns to campus later this month for the start of fall workouts.
But no less so than that small-but-committed core of Ohio State baseball fans that must be wondering ‘what’s left’ after summer transfers of pitcher Landon Beidelschies, shortstop Henry Kaczmar, centerfielder Josh Stevenson, and pitcher Gavin DeVooght, who bolted for more NIL money and a presumed fresh start at Arkansas, South Carolina, South Alabama, and Michigan, respectively.
But…..
“I’m excited about it,” Giamarusti said this week. “I’ve talked to Coach Haire, and the basis of that conversation was about his excitement to get on campus and get rolling with things. For me, I’m pretty pumped up about having a new coach, a new staff, and seeing where we can go this year…especially this year, because it’s my senior year.”
He played in 31 games at Kenosha, Wisconsin this summer where he was hampered by a hamstring pull, but still hit .250 in 84 at bats with three doubles, three triples, and stole 26 bases in 27 attempts. Home now and fully recovered, he’s anxious to get back to campus and start the retooling of Buckeye baseball for 2025.
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“I felt I made progress last spring, even though I only had 101 at bats,” he says. “I would have liked more, but I felt like I did well with the opportunity I was given. If there was a silver lining, I did play in about 50% of the games, I got more experience, and now the goal this year is to become a full-time starter. I want to take off and be a better player than I was last year.”
He’s likely to get that opportunity with the loss of Kaczmar and second baseman Joe Mershon, the graduation of right fielder Mitchell Okuley, and the loss of Stevenson in center. That leaves four of the eight field positions open to competition in the fall. And if Justin Haire’s plan includes speed, Giamarusti will be the fastest man on the field.
Was he stunned at the number of teammates lost?
“Kaczmar and Beidelschies had amazing years last year, and I’m excited for them now in the SEC. But I’m excited for us, too. There’ll be a lot of new faces and that’s not always a bad thing. Hopefully we can shock a lot of people this year.
“I feel like I could be a table-setter,” he added. “Batting at the top of the order, or playing every day in center, my plan is to be an all-around better player. I know I have the tools. The big thing will be getting more experience as I go along.”
They’ll be back at Bill Davis in a matter of weeks with Tyler Pettorini (.309) and Giamarusti (.287) being the two highest returning batting averages. It should be wide open..interesting…exciting. There will be room at the center of things.
Nick Giamarusti has the tools, and that’s the goal.
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