The second installment of our ‘meet the team’ series centers on freshman battery recruits who chose to pursue their career path in baseball as a Buckeye. We’ll know more about that path, soon enough.
(Ed. Note: Now just 33 days away from first pitch in Scottsdale, it’s baseball time. Press Pros offers Part 2 of its virtual ‘meet the team’ series, detailing the 2024 Buckeyes diamond roster. Enjoy!)
Columbus, OH – Bill Mosiello promised it on day one of his taking the job as head baseball coach at Ohio State.
Recruit, recruit, and recruit some more.
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However, wherever, whoever, whatever it takes…you have to have the tools with which to compete and win the Big Ten, sustainably. That’s what he said. That’s what Bill Mosiello said.
And coming from TCU, previously, he was accustomed to the school being a magnet for such talent. Texas baseball sells itself.
But Ohio baseball, even Ohio State baseball, takes a commitment from the top down to attract that talent, and Mosiello is not only committed, he believes he’s made a ripple in the pond already with his 2024 class of freshmen, some of which are likely to feel the fire’s heat early.
We begin our series of ‘Meet The Team’ with some of the stalwarts of that 2024 class….
Mason Eckelman hit .402 in his final year at Walsh Jesuit.
Catcher Mason Eckelman…At 6’2″, 220 p0unds, it’s hard to miss his presence on the field. As well, it was hard to miss the headlines that preceded Eckelman as a building block for the 2024 class. Catching is that important in baseball, and the Walsh Jesuit High School graduate came with credentials as big has his physical size. A four-time letter winner at Walsh, Eckelman garnered first team all-state honors, the Johnny Bench Award for top catcher, the Cleveland.com Player of The Year, District Player of The Year, and for good measure he’s an Ohio State legacy. His father, Alex, is a former Buckeye, and his mother, Katie, played soccer for the Buckeyes. Katie’s brother, Chris Kaczmar, is the father of Buckeye shortstop Henry, a freshman All-Big Ten team member from 2023.
He chose Ohio State over Michigan, actually de-committed from the Wolverines, if that moves your needle. And if you talk with scouts behind home plate they share comparisons that give cause for too much, too soon, in terms of expectations. On the other hand, he hit .402 as a senior at Walsh, with 43 RBIs, a .701 slug %, and showed plate discipline, carding a .508 on-base percentage last year. One pro scout cautiously says: “He could be a more athletic version of Schwarber (Kyle).” All this at age 18, and before he takes his first collegiate at bat.
He joins other high-profile freshman catchers in the Big Ten (Max Burt, Iowa, and Will Briggs, Purdue) as a part of the 2024 class, and it remains to be seen which of them is the first to emerge…as a better version of anyone.
Freshman Gavin DeVooght averaged more than two strikeouts per inning last year at Walled Lake High School.
Pitcher Gavin DeVooght (RH)…If you like them bigger – bigger than Mason Eckelman – consider freshman righthander Gavin DeVooght (6’5″, 238 lbs), from Walled Lake, Michigan. And if size wasn’t enough to get your attention, his ability to command the strike zone and get hitters out during fall practice means you weren’t there to see it.
His high school stats give one cause to wonder…how did he escape the priority of both Michigan State and TTUN? As a senior he averaged two strikeouts per inning (106 in 51.1 innings), and finished the season with a 6-1 record and a 1.09 ERA.
An initial impression is that his fastball plays, as high as 95, and that he’s as calm inside as he is big outside. One of the freshman pitchers to stand out in the fall, Gavin DeVooght will no doubt get a chance for early innings. Early returns suggest he could pitch anywhere in the game.
And he may have to.
Pitcher Zach Brown (RH)…In baseball-rich Orange County, California, freshman Zach Brown (6’5″, 210 lbs) caught the eye of the Buckeyes with a senior season that earned him 6-2 record, a 2.15 ERA, and All-County honors, pitching for Villa Park High School, the same school that produced former major league infielder, and current Yankees manager, Aaron Boone.
As a Buckeye he showed the ability in fall practice to pitch, plain and simple. While not the hardest thrower on the staff, he’s a sinker/slider guy with depth and command of both pitches.
He impressed with his ability to get batters out with consistency, pitch to contact, and control the moment. Those attributes tend to play early in Division I college baseball.
Pitcher Hunter Shaw (LH)…From Chelsea, Michigan, sophomore Hunter Shaw chose the Junior College route last year, pitching for Lansing Community College, and ended up being the NJCAA Division II Pitcher of the Year, as well as being named to the NJCAA Division II All-Region Team, and earning First Team All-American status.
He amassed a 9-2 record, pitched to a 1.58 earned run average, and struck out 88 batters in 62.2 innings. The 1.58 ERA resulted in being the fourth-lowest in the country in 2023, as his 9-2 record included four shutouts.
In baseball vernacular, pitchers with Shaw’s reputation have oft been referred to as “a comfortable 0 for 4”.
He helped pitch Lansing to the JC World Series, where he pitched 6.0 innings and gave up just two runs in the team’s second-round win.
Hunter Rosson homers against Illinois, April, 2023.
Infielder Hunter Rosson…A junior transfer in 2023 from Weatherford College, the Aledo, Texas native impressed Buckeye coaches in his 2023 debut for his ability to step in when needed and get a job done. Rosson proved versatile in the field, as well as capable at the plate, especially late in the season, hitting .238 in limited at bats, including a home run on April 28 against Illinois, knocking in three runs in a Buckeyes win.
In fact, Rosson recorded a pair of multi-hit games in that Illinois series, finishing the season with five hits in 21 at bats. Ironically, two of his five hits were home runs.
Rosson is a ‘baller’, and will be a valuable asset off the bench in 2024.
Grad transfer Joe Mershon hit .279 with 5 homers and 32 RBIs at Charleston last year.
Infielder Joe Mershon…As ‘ballers’ go, the Buckeyes were happy to welcome grad transfer Joe Mershon to the 2024 roster. A four-year letter winner at College of Charleston (South Carolina), Mershon started in 46 games in 2023, batting .279 with 46 hits, 44 runs scored, 14 doubles, five triples, five home runs and 32 RBIs.
His experience is his advantage – instinct for the game and the moment. He has the tools, stealing 16 bases in 16 attempts last year, and earning All – Conference second team honors.
Was a high school state champion at Eastside High School, in Taylors, South Carolina, in 2019.
Graduate pitcher, Jacob Morin (RH)…If experience is the mother of invention, then grad transfer Jacob Morin has a chance to be an asset for the Buckeyes’ bullpen in 2023.
From New Braufels, Texas, Morin spent the 2023 season at Tennessee Tech University, where he pitched so effectively he set a single season record for opposing batting average, holding teams to a .193 average.
Prior to 2023 he got to see Dyersburg State Community College in 2022, where he compiled a 7-1 record while striking out 48 hitters in 41 innings.
Prior to 2022, Morin pitched at Texas Southern University in 2020 and ’21.
Jacob Morin is listed at 5’8″ tall, and weighs 140 pounds.
Pitcher Jake Michalak (RH)…A native of North Royalton, Ohio, freshman Jake Michalak capped a senior season of 4-1 and 1.37 ERA with being named Most Valuable Pitcher in the All-Suburban League.
More impressively, like DeVooght and Brown, he came to fall practice and continued to pitch as if he was the right size (6’3″, 210 lbs) for the moment.
Michalak has a fastball that touches 92, with good command of the slider. At 6′, 3″, and 200 pounds, he’ll add to his fastball over the course of his Buckeye career and no doubt compete eventually for one of the weekend starter spots.
In fall practice he got hitters out with consistency and earned the respect of upperclassmen who hit against him. He seems to have a feel for the next level.
Note: The second of a 6-part series, read more ‘meet the team’ over the next two weeks!
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