The best version of junior righthander Jake Michalak would be a huge upgrade for the 2026 baseball picture. He threw two scoreless, and impressive innings in Sunday’s finale for Buckeye fall baseball. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
Full of new faces and the eternal search for pitching and personal impact, Justin Haire and the baseball Buckeyes face 2026 with reason for optimism, and something better.
Columbus, OH – There were no frowns from head coach Justin Haire at Bill Davis Stadium on Sunday as the 2026 edition of Ohio State baseball concluded their nine weeks of fall baseball workouts.
They played the final intersquad squad game of the Scarlet and Gray World Series, and the red team completed the sweep of the series with a 6-0 win. And, it might have been 7-0…because no one watching with a deeper dive of interest, like visiting San Diegan Jeff Mohr, was concerned over how many runs they scored. More on that, presently.
Publisher Sonny Fulks writes OHSAA and Ohio State baseball for Press Pros Magazine.com.
VPP proudly sponsors Ohio State baseball on Press Pros Magazine.com.
The issues of 2025 still loomed in the minds of those who remembered – overall upgrade of the roster…pitching…and defense. And Haire and pitching coach Ty Robinson made it clear that they’ve done as much as possible since last June to check those boxes.
They’ve seen as much as they can see over the past month until they see it against a team in a different uniform. And one thing sure…it has to be something more, and better than a Canadian national team like the one they beat 20-3 in a fall exhibition recently.
But the first impression of both Haire and Robinson was…they looked relaxed, and none the worse for the wear.
“Well, this is our player’s week…family week, the fall series, the end of fall workouts, and some fun for the players,” said Justin Haire. “I think they’ve upped the buy-in and how much they enjoy being out here, and when they take some ownership it makes it fun to come to the yard everyday,” he said.
This was the observation from the coach…on the heels of last season’s 13-37 record, the worst in the modern history of the Ohio State program, and with the sure reality that those numbers cannot be the standard for expectation come February and the start of the 2026 campaign.
Logan Services, in Dayton, Cincinnati, and Columbus, proudly sponsors the best area sports coverage on Press Pros Magazine.
Proof?
Two-thirds of last year’s roster is gone, either by graduation or by simple personnel replacement. New faces abound, while the retainees have taken a deeper commitment to being a better version of themselves – Lee Ellis, Jake Michalak, Maddix Simpson, Mason Eckelman, and notable portal addition, senior infielder Henry Kaczmar, who’s returned after playing at South Carolina in 2025.
New faces on the mound…6’6″ transfer Cade Marcum (above) pitched effectively in Sunday’s fall baseball finale.
No one talks about it, but you know it’s there…the ignominy of finishing 24 games under .500 and leading the Big Ten Conference in too many categories they’d rather hadn’t…pitching being foremost.
“No one feels 13-37 more than I do,” assured Haire with a owning smile. “Like I told you recently, we’re working here with a one-day contract mentality. There’s no one in the country that has 13-37 written down bigger and bolder than I and this staff. It can’t be indicative of who we are and what we represent. But it is what it is, we’ve learned a lot from it, and the biggest thing going forward is how we respond with the players that are here and now? To make sure that we have the right people and the right human beings that want to work and get this thing back on the right track.
The Precision Strip Company, of Minster, supports area sports on Press Pros Magazine.com.
“I think we’ve done a great job in the evaluation of new talent, the recruiting process, and not just from a player standpoint, but from a personality standpoint. Woody Hayes said you win with people. And from the standpoint of a staff everyday is a contract day. No one sees 13-37 more boldly and brighter than I do and it’s our responsibility to face that responsibility every day. So these last six months have just been us trying to earn the opportunity of being in the scarlet and gray”
But the buzz among the knowing, watching from the stands on Sunday, as mentioned above, was the matter of pitching, and not how many runs would they score. How much better is this group of arms compared to the staff last year that left behind a composite earned run average of nearly 10.00, walked 352 hitters, and led the Big Ten in hit batsmen?
“We don’t have a crystal ball,” Haire began. “If you put a gun to my head right now and demanded a figure for improvement this year…I don’t have that. But I can tell you that I feel good about the work this staff has put in. I feel confident that we’re going to find ways to score runs. I really do because we like to hit and score runs…but pitching and defense is always the key. That’s always the separator. Going from bad to good, good to great, and great to outstanding is always a five or ten-game swing. And that comes down to pitching and defense.
Transfer Alex Bemis (Monroe, OH, Gannon University), poled a massive home run to open the scoring in the Scarlet and Gray Series finale.
“We’ve tried to upgrade our athleticism across the board. We’ve tried to upgrade our versatility to improve defensively. And to find those guys who can help us raise the floor of what we can do…and raise the floor over the number of games we won last year.”
No one can speak to the subject of arms and pitching better than second-year pitching coach Tyler Robinson, who when asked on Sunday answered as honestly as nine weeks of observation would allow. Paraphrasing, he said, “I can’t tell you at this point how much better, but I just know it’s better.”
Two of the new transfers – righthanders Pierce Herronbruck (Rend Lake College) and Caden Marcum (Cloud County Community College) – started Sunday’s fall finale. Marcum showed particularly well, pitching through the first four innings to gain the win.
The Arbogast family of dealerships proudly sponsors coverage of Ohio State sports on Press Pros Magazine.com.
Familiar faces, lefthander Sahil Patel (31 innings in 2025, 9.38 ERA), and righthander Jake Michalak (46.2 innings in 2025, and 12.15 ERA) picked up when Marcum left to pitch three scoreless between them…and they threw strikes. Michalak (Muh-hal-ak) is of particular interest again in 2026 because he popped 97 mph on the scoreboard radar gun. But how to get that kind of velocity and movement in the strike zone? It remains to be seen as winter workouts approach.
“I feel great about everything, the locker room and this pitching staff,” says veteran catcher Mason Eckelman, surely one of the five best at his position in the Big Ten. He caught the majority of the load in 2025 while hitting .281 with five home runs.
“I feel great about the locker room and this pitching staff,” says veteran catcher Mason Eckelman (above). “I’m confident that these guys have put themselves in a better spot come day one in Florida.”
“It’s a close group, they’ve worked hard, and it’s exciting to have new people and learning about what they can do. It’s my job to help them through the challenges, and I’m confident that these guys have put themselves in a better spot come day one in Florida. Sahil and Michalak threw strikes today and when they throw strikes they have electric stuff. They always have. And when they find their groove they are who they are, and the extra year of experiences and dealing with failure is the only way you can take a step forward. They need to be the ones the new guys can look up to – lead by example. I look for them to be awesome for us this year, and it’s great to have them around.”
Chances are, the best lawn on your block is an Ever-Green lawn. Call us at 937-335-6418!
Offensively, one of the new guys named Alex Bemis (Monroe, OH, and Gannon University) poled a first inning homer over the tree in left field…a massive shot befitting the kind of offense for which Justin Haire is known.
And senior shortstop Henry Kaczmar roped a pair of hits reminiscent of the past before his moving to South Carolina last year…where, by the way, he hit .315 in the Southeastern Conference.
“If you ask any of the recruiting gurus in the state they’ll tell you that Ohio State has done as good a job in Ohio with the next two classes as any staff that Ohio State’s probably ever had.” – Justin Haire
Transfer catcher Grant Mangrum (McNeese State University) showed a powerful arm from behind the plate.
And transfer infielder Gavin West (Gordon State College, Macon Ga.) hit line drives and played flawlessly at third base.
On the surface…it looked like an upgrade. Still to be seen, however, is how it looks against Iowa, Michigan, and UCLA.
“We wonder, too,” smiled Haire. “There’s no knock on anyone who was here before, we didn’t have any issues off the field…none of that stuff, man. Those guys did what we asked them to do. But I’m just super excited about the guys that we have in that room because personality-wise, mindset-wise, and enough blue collar and edge…I think they’re the kind of guys you want in a dog fight with you.”
He will tell you that recruiting across Ohio high school baseball is positive, and that their classes for ’26 and ’27 are full of the prospects that everyone in Division I baseball is after…that Ohio State is again in the forefront of the minds of the state’s best.
“If you ask any of the recruiting gurus in the state they’ll tell you that Ohio State has done as good a job in the state with the next two classes as any staff that Ohio State’s probably ever had,” assures Haire. “That’s been a point of emphasis since day one. If we can win the state of Ohio we can win the Big Ten. And if we can win the Big Ten we’ve got a chance to win in the nation. So again, we’re not gonna’ get ’em all, but we’re going to be in play for a lot of them. Baseball is an important sport in the state, and it’s important for us to be in the mix.”
Starting in February, in Pensacola Florida, on day one.
New faces, new questions, new answers, and the new mix. As much as they know…after nine weeks.
Wilson Health/Orthopedics proudly sponsors the best in area sports and the Ohio State Buckeyes on Press Pros.