Tyler Pettorini returns to head a core list of experienced Buckeyes in 2025. Pettorini hit .309 in 2024. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
A good-news, bad-news offering to those interested enough to ask….is there anything new to report on Buckeye baseball?
For the faithful, most notably octogenarian Donald Motz, who writes regularly to ask if there’s anything to report on Buckeye and Big Ten baseball during the dead period – between now until opening day – here’s a little holiday something all done up in Georgia typeface.
Opening day, by the way, comes in just 72 days. And Donald, this’ll be a lot better then!
Yes, the faithful do write, wanting to know more about the makeup of the 2025 roster, a new coaching staff, and “how do we stack up with the Big Ten?” Don, Jeff, Brandon, Wendy, Troy, Drew, Chris…you know who you are, and we’re happy to scratch your ball and strike itch.
Publisher/Editor Sonny Fulks writes OHSAA and Buckeye baseball for Press Pros Magazine.
Actually,the best college baseball source in December is probably a subscription to the online site called D1 Baseball (D1baseball.com). If you’re looking for a trophy wife, in a baseball sense, that’s where you would look. They do a good job of giving you what you can deduce for yourself about schools from the ACC and the SEC.
But outside the Top 25 lists, it doesn’t tell you much about Big Ten baseball. And here’s why. It’s not a priority, and more enjoyable to write college baseball in 80-degree weather. But, if you wanted to know about LSU you wouldn’t be reading Press Pros.
That said, I don’t rely that much on websites with pay walls. Rather, I take a lot of notes – boxes of notes – and as we write I have some of those notes before me from the 2024 season. I also have the current roster, along with observations from a couple of fall visits to other Big Ten dugouts.
As to this and other Big Ten rosters, it’s no surprise that a lot of schools are trying to figure out the portal – transfers.
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“It’s a whole new ballgame [the portal],” Michigan State coach Jake Boss told me when I was there in September. “And there’s more to consider than just how good a player someone is. Actually, we’d be in pretty good shape [with the roster we have] if I could tell you who’s going to be healthy next spring.”
Elementary, but true. And much of what I observed at Bill Davis in the fall centered on evaluation of talent by the new coaching staff. Who can play what? Who stands out? And what would you expect come spring?
“If they were in the portal they were there for a reason,” Boss reasoned.
And, well…sure!
But scouts, whose job it is to look at the landscape with a more critical eye, have confirmed some of what I already know about the Big Ten Conference.
“I pay attention to schools that have developed their own recruits, instead of transfers,” said a Baltimore man at last year’s conference tournament. “Players with unique intangibles.”
And teams in that group for 2025…Indiana, Penn State, Nebraska, and Illinois. And you include Iowa, too, because I can’t think of someone who does a better job with player development than Rick Heller (head coach).
Indiana is going to be able to pitch, they recruited well, and their position players are tried and tested for a title run in 2025, led by juniors Devin Taylor and Brock Tibbits. Taylor is projected as a Top 5 selection in the 2025 draft.
Nebraska and Illinois rarely beat themselves. Will Bolt (Nebraska) and Dan Hartleb (Illinois) do a great job in sustaining sound baseball, year to year. But Nebraska will need to replace Brett Sears this spring, the league’s top pitcher in 2024, drafted by Atlanta this past July.
Penn State probably benefited most from the portal last year with Wake Forest transfer Adam Cecere (.314 avg., 17 home runs)
Penn State probably benefited most from the portal last year when Wake Forest transfer Adam Cecere came onboard to blast 17 home runs and bat .314. And after losing him and four other notables, second-year coach Mike Gambino again hit the portal looking for the next Cecere, while being a year deeper in his own developmental process. Sustainable? Probably, because Gambino was successful at Boston College and immediately pushed Penn State from the bottom of the Big Ten to the middle of pack last year.
Not to be overlooked is Purdue, where another former Campbell coach, Greg Goff, guided the Boilermakes to a sixth-place finish – where former Buckeye Josh Newman is the pitching coach. And again, they prosper from player development.
And then there’s Michigan, where Tracy Smith flipped the season series last year with the Buckeyes and went on to a fifth-place finish in the league. Former Buckeye pitcher, Gavin DeVooght has transferred there, a big arm and a candidate for one of the Michigan weekend starter spots.
But those who write are interested in the Buckeyes, who made the conference tournament field with an eighth-place finish, and then beat tournament champion Nebraska in the opening round.
Of all the Big Ten teams for 2025, Ohio State was probably hit hardest by transfers after the resignation of coach Bill Mosiello in June. Shortstop Henry Kaczmar (South Carolina), outfielder Isaac Cadena (TCU), centerfielder Josh Stevenson (South Alabama), and pitcher Gavin DeVoogth (Michigan), Zach Brown (Georgia), and Landon Beidelschies (Arkansas) all said, adios. Those will be huge holes to fill for first-year coach Justin Haire, who’s assembled some impressive replacement candidates in shortstop hopeful, Lee Ellis, infielder Marc Stephens, freshmen Maddix Simpson, Alex Koelling and Ty Fox, and junior outfielder Reggie Bussey.
Speedy Nick Giamarusti returns in 2025 to play anywhere he’s needed.
There is proven experience returning with Tyler Pettorini, Nick Giamarusti, Trey Lipsey, catchers Matt Graveline and Mason Eckelman, and Ryan Miller. But it’s hoped that one of the afore-mentioned freshmen (even some not mentioned) emerges early like Ike Cadena did last year (.263, 3 HRs, 20 RBIs, and solid in the outfield).
They have to pitch. But the loss of those three arms demands that last year’s closer Blaine Wynk, sophomores Chase Herrell and Jake Michalak, and new faces like Luke Carrell (formerly at Oklahoma) and Ryan Butler (from Liberty Univ.) emerge early and give them foundation. Outside of that, there’s no shortage of unprovens hoping to compete for time.
But no predictions.
I’m convinced that this group is athletic to score runs, but can they prevent teams from scoring one more than they do?
So, on December 4th it isn’t much, the same good news-bad news conversation they’re probably having in East Lansing, Iowa City, Champaign, College Park, and Minneapolis.
But I conclude with this.
“The portal being what it is, all it takes is a couple of players to have an impact (like Adam Cecere),” another coach told me over Thanksgiving. “You just hope that they develop while they’re playing for you.”
My Christmas, Hanukkah, or Festivus gift…to the faithful.
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