New faces…freshman pitcher Jude Fisher worked the first three innings of the Buckeyes’ Monday exhibition with the Ontario Blue Jays at Bill Davis Stadium. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
Our first look at Ohio State baseball for ’26 is revealing…new faces, new hopes, and a prodigal son. And oh…pitchers by the dozen.
Columbus, OH – Our first look at the baseball Buckeyes on Monday was revealing – startling to some, I suspect.
More than half of the roster from the 2025 team that finished 13-37 is gone – replaced by 14 Junior College transfers, four Division I transfers, and eight incoming freshmen. They return fifteen from the 2025 roster, and frankly…if you don’t have a roster in hand it’s barely recognizable.
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Clean slate? Well, in a word, given the facts of 13-37, and 5-25 in conference play, it simply wasn’t good enough…competitive enough…and hard to project forward. The roster had to be upgraded, and the mantra for 2026 must be that opportunity abounds. Whosoever will may come, but you’d better bring some game.
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The 2025 Buckeyes hit .264 as a team, 35 points less than their opponents.
The pitching staff pitched to a cumulative earned run average of nearly 10.00.
The pitching staff walked a staggering 352 hitters, as opposed to striking out 387…nearly a 1:1 strikeout to walk ratio.
88 wild pitches, and 94 hit batsmen…the number of free bases allowed (483) made winning akin to trying to swim with an anvil.
“If you can’t pitch you can’t win,” said second-year coach Justin Haire Monday afternoon, a note of urgency in his voice. “It doesn’t matter what level of baseball you’re playing. If you CAN’T pitch, you can’t win.”
And to his point, he trotted out four of his new faces (arms) in a nine-inning exhibition game against a Canadian National Team, the Ontario Blue Jays, that combined to allow 3 runs on 3 hits in a 20-3 Buckeyes win.
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The offense did its part, banging out three home runs – none from anyone familiar – and that served to please Haire even more. This is a competitive situation – an urgent situation – production by someone, anyone, is of the essence. It has to be better.
“I like the group,” Haire assured, following three hours of watching the Buckeyes overwhelm the team from Ontario – the most conspicuous of the OSU group being the return of Henry Kaczmar following his one year hiatus to play at South Carolina. Like a prodigal son, he was back at his familiar shortstop position, smiling, hopping up and down between pitches, the very picture of confidence and maturity.
Alex Bemis, a transfer from Gannon University (Pa.) poled a home run in the Buckeyes’ 6-run first inning.
“Henry’s been great,” said Haire. “He wanted to come back, he wanted to be at Ohio State to finish his college career, wanted to win a Big Ten Championship, and didn’t give two rats about where he played. He wanted to be coached hard and he wanted to get better. Those are the kind of dudes that we want in our program.”
The kind of dudes that others recognize and try to emulate – a solid trio of returning starters from 2025…Maddix Simpson, Lee Ellis, Mason Eckelman, and all those newbies looking for their way.
But the numbers don’t lie. Regardless of who plays the eight position spots, the priority for 2026 is pitching. To the man’s point…if you can’t pitch, you can’t win.
‘I’ve been encouraged,” said returning righthander Nik Copenhaver, who pitched 27.2 innings last year in 19 appearances. “I think this group of arms is an improvement.”
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Copenhaver was cautious, but cautious with reason. He, like the others, discovered that the hitting-rich Big Ten Conference demands execution and efficiency from the mound. There is no margin for error when you walk 352 and hit 94.
“No one wants to go through a year like we went through last year, again,” said Haire. “And if you can’t pitch you can’t win, Little League or the Major Leagues. The biggest piece is to give our offense the chance to score some runs and have those runs be enough to win. We’ve got to throw a bunch of strikes, score those runs and play sound defense. And that’s been the priority this fall, and I like the way we’re trending. I like the way our guys are accepting that responsibility.
“We’ve gotten some increased physicality. We’ve gotten some guys who really like to be coached and challenged, and hopefully we can finish strong the last couple of weeks and be in good position going into the winter.”
Henry Kaczmar, hit .315 in 53 games last year at South Carolina, with 6 home runs and 24 runs batted in, with an on base percentage of nearly .400. The same model of consistency he showed as a freshman and sophomore at Ohio State, his presence in the lineup looms paramount with any degree of turnaround for Buckeyes in 2026. The respect from his teammates is obvious, and hard to overlook.
“I made the decision to come back and it’s one of the best I’ve ever made.” – Henry Kaczzmar
“It’s good to be back,” he smiled before leaving the field Monday. “It’s been awesome. I can’t say enough about this coaching staff. And in terms of the team, I feel like we’re completely bought in. I’ve never been on a team where the coaches have promoted so many cultured-based things. We’re a close group and we’re going to be fightin’ for it this year.
“It took a lot of thinking for me,” he said, relative to being asked about his decision to enter the transfer portal following the 2024 season. “Over time, and talking with people, I made that decision, and now that I’ve come back I feel like it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.”
And given the timing of things, one of the best exhibits of fate possible for the Buckeyes.
“I want to keep it fun,” Kaczmar adds. “I feel like I’ve been through this many times and when I see guys stress and worry about things I think I can remind them that it’s not that big. To be able to help through my experience, I think it’s going to help me, personally, and this program, hopefully.”
He’ll wear #2 in 2026, not the familiar #6 he wore as a freshman and sophomore…which he’s fine with because teammate Maddix Simpson has already grown comfortable and productive with his old number.
“#2 was my original number,” he smiles, explaining why he chose to change.
“Obviously I wasn’t going to take Maddix’s number, and that’s the story behind the switch.”
Teammates Maddix Simpson (left) and Grant Mangrum (right) celebrate freshman Steven Cavaco’s home run (above, center) Monday with a prayer for more, and a productive 2026 season.
But that’s just the beginning of a story about to unfold as the Buckeyes conclude fall practice next week with a three-game intra-squad series, an opportunity for all those new names and faces to make a final impression going into winter workouts.
Two words have characterized fall practice – upgrade, and urgency.
“We’re on a one-day contract,” says Haire. “That’s the way I approach it. We’ve got the support of our administration, the support of our alumni…all those great things. But in the staff’s mind we’re on a one-day contract and we’ve got to earn that opportunity every day.
“We’ve got to earn the opportunity to wear the block ‘O’, just like the players. And we’re working our butts off to do that.”
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