What to expect from Miami baseball this season

The Miami University RedHawk baseball team is off and running. Miami has gotten off to a 2-5 start to the season but has won two out of its last three games after winning the most recent series against Middle Tennessee State University.

Before starting off the home schedule against Oakland University on March 1, here are some of the storylines of the season.

A new era

It’s a new era for Miami baseball. Brian Smiley entered the season as the new head coach after 14 seasons with the Indiana State University Sycamores. Smiley spent the last six seasons as associate head coach after an eight-year stint as an assistant coach.

Last season, Indiana State went 45-17 and 24-3 in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) play en route to the team’s first Super Regional appearance since 1986. Now, Smiley is looking to lead the RedHawks to their first Mid-American Conference (MAC) championship and NCAA tournament appearance since 2005.

Defense wins championships

Defense is Smiley’s bread and butter. Last year’s Sycamore squad led the country with a .984 fielding percentage. Under Smiley, catcher Grant Magill won the MVC Defensive Player of the Year and was named a 2023 ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Division I Gold Glove winner.

So far this season, the RedHawks hold a .971 fielding percentage with seven errors. For comparison, Miami’s opponents this season currently hold a .967 fielding percentage with nine errors.

MAC expectations

For Miami to reach the top of the MAC standings, it will have to jump quite a few teams.

Miami was picked to finish seventh in the MAC Preseason poll, two points behind fifth place Ohio University and one point behind sixth place University of Toledo.

That would be a familiar result for the RedHawks. Last season, they tied with Bowling Green State University for seventh in the MAC.

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The top four teams at the end of the regular season make the conference tournament in Avon, Ohio. The winner of the conference tournament earns an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. If Miami can qualify for the MAC tournament, it would be the first time since 2019 and would be their first time qualifying for the NCAA tournament.

The RedHawks will have some stiff competition in conference play. Defending regular season champion Kent State University is first in the preseason poll with 98 points and eight first-place votes. They are closely followed by defending tournament champion Ball State University with 93 points and three first place votes.

Miami plays both of the top teams in the later end of the season. The team will face Ball State at Hayden Park on April 5-7 and will travel to Kent to face the Golden Flashes on May 3-5.

Transfer season

As one can expect in the transfer portal era, a new coach means there will be at least some degree of roster turnover.

Smiley and assistant coaches Kyle Trewyn and Larry Scully brought in nine transfers in addition to five first-year signings.

Notable non-pitching transfers include junior catcher Ty Batusich, who has started every game so far this season and leads the team with seven RBIs, sophomore infielder Tyler Gordon, who has also started in every game this season, and sophomore outfielder Tré Keels, who currently leads the team with a .500 batting average (among qualified players).

Some notable pitching transfers include graduate student Lukas Galdoni, who is tied for first in the team in strikeouts (5), and 6-foot-10 junior Peyton Olejnik, who has thrown 6.1 innings this season.

Record watch for Zaborowski

Third baseman Ryland Zaborowski was the brightest spot for RedHawk baseball last season. He led the MAC in homeruns (20) and was one away from tying the Miami record for home runs in a season. That record is currently held by Mike Ferris who hit 21 home runs in 2004.

The Yavapai College transfer has started to receive preseason recognition. D1 Baseball listed him as the 27th best third basemen in the country and MLB scouts have their eye on the redshirt junior.

Zaborowski got off to a slow start this season after going 1-12 in the opening series against South Carolina and the midweek game against Indiana. But the slugger started to heat up after getting four hits and adding his first home run of the season in the weekend series against Middle Tennessee State.

@BryanMiller33

mill2361@miamioh.edu