Ohio State Baseball Season Preview
2/9/2023 2:59:43 PM | Baseball
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Under first-year skipper Bill Mosiello, the Buckeyes are primed for an exciting 2023 season, which kicks off Feb. 17-20 versus UCONN in the Sunshine State.
Mosiello, who has nearly 40 years of experience in collegiate baseball and seven years of experience as a minor league manager, was named the head coach of the Buckeyes’ program in June 2022. Over the course of his career, Mosiello has had great success; he has coached over 90 MLB players, including 14 first-round draft picks and 28 MLB All-Stars, has won conference championships in the SEC, Big 12 and Big West, has made five trips to the College World Series in Omaha and has coached over 30 All-Americans and six conference players of the year.
Prior to OSU, Mosiello made stops at seven different Power Five programs, most recently serving as the Associate Head Coach at TCU from 2014-22. He helped guide the Horned Frogs to four straight College World Series appearances (2014-17) and seven NCAA Tournaments. TCU won seven Big 12 titles in his nine seasons and from 2014-17 was the winningest program in college baseball with 199 wins.
Mosiello has put together a first-class staff who have brought a wealth of experience and success to Columbus.
The Coaching Staff
- Sean Allen – Associate Head Coach/Pitching Coach/Co-Recruiting Coordinator
- Allen spent the last six seasons at the University of Texas. He served as the team’s recruiting coordinator for his entire tenure and, after serving as the hitting coach from 2017-19, he transitioned to the role of pitching coach in 2020. The Longhorns advanced to the College World Series in each of Allen’s final two seasons and in 2021, Allen was named the D1Baseball Assistant Coach of the Year.
- Andrew See – Recruiting Coordinator/Co-Pitching Coach
- See spent the previous seven seasons as the pitching coach at Clemson and the Tigers made NCAA Tournament appearances in four of his six seasons.
- Buck Taylor – Assistant Hitting Coach/Catching Coach
- Taylor came to Columbus after four seasons as the pitching coach at Kansas State. The Wildcats finished the 2022 season with a 29-29 record (8-16 Big 12) and reached the semifinal round of the Big 12 Baseball Championship for the second consecutive season.
- Damon Lessler – Director of Operations/Recruiting & Player Development
- Lessler spent the 2022 season as an assistant coach at Charleston Southern; he was the hitting coach and helped lead the Buccaneers to a berth in the Big South Championship game in 2022.
- Matt Carpenter – Director of Player Development/Analytics
- Carpenter is in his third season as a member of the Buckeyes’ coaching staff. Carpenter was on the Ohio State squad from 2017-20, appearing in 74 career games.
- Mike Bahun – Director of Player Development/Leadership
- Bahun most recently was the Director of Player Development at Creighton in 2020 and 2021.
The Buckeyes return 20 players from last year’s squad and have welcomed 19 new faces to Columbus.
Pitchers
- Junior southpaw Isaiah Coupet is expected to return to the Buckeyes’ starting rotation in 2023. In 2022, Coupet fanned 98 batters in 64.2 innings pitched, finishing the season with a 5-5 record and a 5.71 ERA. Coupet earned 2023 Perfect Game Preseason All-Big Ten Team honors and was also named to D1Baseball’s list of Top 200 Starting Pitchers and was also named the No. 12 2023 Prospect in the Big Ten by D1Baseball.
- New on the mound for the Bucks will be junior righty Justin Eckhardt. Eckhardt, a transfer from the University of Texas, made 11 appearances and five starts for the Longhorns in 2022. He struck out 23 in 25.1 innings pitched. Eckhardt is projected as the Big Ten’s No. 30 2023 prospect by D1Baseball.
- Left-hander Gavin Bruni enters his sophomore season after a solid rookie campaign in 2022; he appeared in eight games and started three. Bruni fanned 13 in 9.2 innings pitched. He is projected by D1Baseball to be the Big Ten’s No. 8 2024 prospect.
- Josh Timmerman, who joined the Buckeyes after two seasons at Wabash Valley Community College, brings a record of success with him to Columbus. The righty finished the 2022 season with an 8-1 record; he struck out 85 batters in 68.2 innings tossed and had a 3.41 ERA and helped his team advance to the third round of the JUCO World Series. D1Baseball lists Timmerman as the No. 26 2023 prospect in the Big Ten.
- 6-foot-6 right-hander Wyatt Loncar made 13 appearances on the mound and started in 10 games in 2022. He struck out 73 in 51.1 innings pitched and had an ERA of 4.56.
- Righty Tim Baird appeared in 17 games out of the bullpen in 2022; he fanned 25 in 20.1 innings pitched and finished the season with a 2-1 record.
- Freshman southpaw Landon Beidelschies, who was named as one of the Big Ten’s impact freshmen by D1Baseball, is anticipated to be one of the Buckeyes’ top relief pitchers. Beidelschies, who attended Canfield High School, tossed three no-hitters and one perfect game in 2022. He finished 2022 with 87 strikeouts, a 1.47 ERA and held opponents to a .107 batting average.
- Sophomore Jake Johnson was one of Ohio State’s top relief pitchers in 2022; the righty made 25 appearances on the mound and struck out 32 batters in 28.2 innings pitched. He finished the season with a 2-2 record and an ERA of 4.71.
- Also returning for the Buckeyes are RHP Will Pfennig, RHP Jacob Gehring and LHP Drew Bachman. Other newbies are RHP Cole Pauley (Lexington High School), RHP Logan Jones (Lincoln Trail College), RHP George Eisenhardt (Xavier), RHP Jonah Jenkins (San Francisco), LHP Landon Price (Lincolnview High School), LHP Jaylen Jones (Michigan) and RHP Jameson Campbell (Washington & Jefferson).
Catchers
- Four new catchers have joined the Buckeyes’ roster for 2023; Cole Andrews, Matthew Graveline, Mason Sawyer and Alonzo Paul Jr.
- Andrews is a graduate transfer from Miami (OH). Last season with the Redhawks, he hit .291 with 19 doubles, two triples, nine homeruns and 53 RBIs. He recorded multiple hits in 19 games.
- Freshman Graveline from Centerville, Ohio batted .421 in his senior season of high school and had a .488 on-base percentage. He had 32 hits, including nine doubles, three triples and one homerun, and swiped 12 bags.
- Sawyer played the 2022 season at Heartland, where he helped the Hawks to an NJCAA DII World Series berth. He played in 33 games and batted .372 with 32 hits, including 14 doubles and two homers, 23 runs scored and 26 RBIs.
- Paul is a freshman from Valparaiso, Ind. In his senior season at Andrean, he batted .430 with a .602 on-base percentage and had 37 hits, 51 runs scored and 22 stolen bases en route to helping his team to a state championship.
Infielders
- 2022’s lead-off hitter Marcus Ernst has returned for a fifth season. Last season, Ernst led the Buckeyes at the plate with a .337 average, 67 hits and a .441 on-base percentage. Ernst also led the team in multi-hit games with 22. He started in all 51 games as the team’s primary third baseman, but also made starts at first base, shortstop and left field. He was a Third Team All-Big Ten selection at the conclusion of the season.
- After missing all but one game in 2022 due to injury, senior Nick Erwin is ready to get back at it in 2023. In 2021, Erwin played and started in 38 games at third base and hit .238 with three doubles and a team-high three triples.
- Freshman Henry Kaczmar is expected to get the nod at shortstop. In his senior season at Walsh Jesuit, Kaczmar batted .357 with 35 hits, including five homeruns, 29 RBIs, 29 runs scored and 13 stolen bases. He was one of the MVPs of his team which went 25-6 overall and advanced to the Division I Regional Finals. Kaczmar was selected as one of D1Baseball’s Big Ten Impact Freshmen.
- Sophomore Josh McAlister played 18 games in his rookie season and started 11 at shortstop. He batted .257 with three doubles and nine runs scored.
- Freshman Drew Jones saw action at third base during fall ball. The Cleveland, Ohio native played high school ball at Brush and travel for NEO Elite Baseball Club. In 2021, he batted .373 with 34 runs scored, two homeruns, 14 RBIs and 19 stolen bases.
- Blayne Robinson appeared in 30 games in 2022, serving as the primary designated hitter down the stretch and playing six games at first base. He batted .250 with 24 hits and 21 runs scored.
- Tyler Pettorini played in 34 games as a freshman in 2022, with 19 starts at second base. Pettorini batted .218 with six doubles, 14 RBIs and 15 runs scored.
- Hunter Rosson, a junior utility player who joined the Buckeyes from Weatherford College, batted .305 with 14 homeruns and 52 RBIs in his time there.
Outfielders
- Kade Kern, a Third Team All-Big Ten honoree following the 2022 season, started 46 of his 49 games played in 2022 in center field. He was one of the Big Ten’s top hitters, batting .298 with 57 hits, including 15 doubles, one triple and nine homeruns, 29 runs scored, 49 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. He was named to the 2023 Perfect Game Preseason All-Big Ten Team, was named to D1Baseball’s Top 150 Outfielders list and is the projected No. 10 2023 Big Ten prospect by D1Baseball.
- Trey Lipsey, a Preseason Perfect Game All-Big Ten honoree, played and started in 50 games in left field during the 2022 season. He batted .293 with seven homeruns, 26 RBIs, 37 runs and a team-high 14 stolen bases. He also played errorless defense. Lipsey was named to D1Baseball’s Top 150 Outfielders list and is projected by D1Baseball as the Big Ten’s No. 5 2024 prospect.
- Senior Mitchell Okuley played and started in 49 games in right field in 2022. Okuley batted .287 on the season with five doubles and eight homeruns, and added 30 RBIs and 37 runs scored. Okuley had a hot streak to close out the season; he hit in 20 of the final 28 games of the season and had eight multi-hit games in that span.
- Redshirt-junior Caden Kaiser played in 16 games in 2022. He batted .286 on the season.
- Zach Freeman, a sophomore transfer from San Francisco, played 37 games and started in 19 in 2022. He batted .238 with 20 hits, 13 runs scored and eight RBIs.
- Junior Hank Thomas played in 22 games for the Buckeyes in 2022, spending time at first base, corner outfield and designated hitter. He batted .233 on the season.
- Redshirt-junior Joey Aden appeared in nine games for OSU last season as a pinch-hitter or defensive replacement.
- Listed as an outfielder, Nolan Clegg saw action on the mound in 2022; he made three appearances and earned one save.
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