As usual, Indiana baseball has no shortage of tough tests on its non-conference schedule this season. Kicking off the campaign is the Sanderson Ford College Baseball Classic in Surprise, Arizona. The Hoosiers bookend a four-game weekend with tilts against UNLV, and sandwiched between a pair of games against the Rebels are resume-boosting opportunities against Xavier and No. 7 Oregon State.
[Season preview: Loaded offense leads Indiana baseball into 2025]
UNLV
Indiana’s season opener is set for 7 p.m. Friday against UNLV, which finished sixth in the seven-team Mountain West last season, posting a pedestrian 26-26 overall record and subpar 12-18 mark in conference play. The Rebels’ opening day starter is Carson Lane, a right-hander who posted a 7.52 ERA in 15 appearances (nine starts) last season. In 40.2 innings of work, Lane allowed opponents to hit at a .316 clip and surrendered 2.7 home runs per nine innings, suggesting that Indiana could come out hot and chase him from the game early.
Indiana will counter with veteran right-hander Gavin Seebold, one of many transfers expected to make an impact on the mound this year for head coach Jeff Mercer. The seventh-year Indiana head man said Seebold was deliberate and consistent in his offseason work and is being rewarded with a spot in the starting rotation.
After a subpar 2023 season at Southern Indiana, Seebold posted a 7-2 record and a 3.93 ERA in 16 appearances (10 starts) last season for the Screaming Eagles. He pitched to the tune of a 3.22 K/BB ratio, showing an ability to command the strike zone with all four of his pitches.
“He threw well in our fall scrimmages,” Mercer said Wednesday. “Every time we put him out there, he was able to produce at a high level. He does a really good job of managing (the game) and he’s pitched a lot of college baseball.”
Seebold will face a UNLV lineup led by second baseman JP Hefft, who led all Rebels hitters with a .328 batting average last season. He and shortstop Paul Myro IV (.276/.395/.442 in 2024) provide a veteran infield presence for the Rebels, who ranked second in the Mountain West in team batting average last season.
Indiana’s lineup
Indiana will also open the season with many familiar faces around the diamond. Josh Pyne, Tyler Cerny and Jasen Oliver return at third base, shortstop and second base respectively. Highly-touted freshman Jake Hanley takes over at first base after impressing Mercer and Co. with his defensive abilities throughout the offseason.
“He’s a good enough defender,” Mercer said. “There may be some times that I pinch-hit for Jake, but he needs to go play, do the best he can and let us support him.”
Led by preseason Big Ten Player of the Year Devin Taylor, Indiana’s outfield will look different than years past. Mercer said he will rotate numerous players on a game-by-game basis. Among these could be freshman Hogan Denny, Louisville transfer Korbyn Dickerson, Xavier transfer Tyler DeMartino, Andrew Wiggins and former first baseman Joey Brenczewski, who began taking outfield reps in the fall.
“I think there are four or five guys that are talented enough to do it,” Mercer said. “You’ve got to just let those guys play it out and see who rises through it.”
Elsewhere in the lineup, veteran Jake Stadler returns to his post behind the plate after emerging as a reliable option at catcher last season. Brenzcewski is Indiana’s projected designated hitter, though this may change based on performance if history is any indication. Indiana looks to win on opening day for the first time since 2019, when it defeated Memphis, 6-1, in Mercer’s first game as head coach.
Xavier
Following Indiana’s Valentine’s Day date with UNLV — the first-ever meeting between the two teams — it will face Xavier at 7 p.m. Saturday. Indiana and Xavier last met in 2023 and the Hoosiers have won 28 of the teams’ 34 meetings. The Hoosiers and Musketeers will meet twice in a 10-day span – once in Arizona and again in a midweek game on Feb. 25 in Bloomington. A sweep of Xavier could dramatically help Indiana’s RPI, and therefore its postseason prospects, later on in the season.
Xavier plays an extremely difficult non-conference schedule, including defending national champion No. 4 Tennessee, No. 16 Vanderbilt (three games), No. 3 LSU and Kentucky. This scheduling practice is a big reason why, despite finishing fourth in the Big East last season (30-27, 12-9), Xavier had the second-best RPI (44) of any team in the conference.
The Musketeers are led by a trio of preseason All-Big East honorees. Third baseman Luke Hammond posted a .290 batting average and belted 11 home runs last season while starting in all 56 games. Designated hitter Connor Misch hit .315 in Big East play and ranked third in the conference with six home runs in league play. Outfielder Aedan Anderson led the Big East with 18 home runs, led Xavier with 35 walks and trailed only teammate Isaac Wachsmann with a .641 slugging percentage.
Offense should not be an issue for the Musketeers this weekend, but pitching may be. It was by far Xavier’s weakest link last season. Its arms ranked last in the Big East with an 8.32 team ERA and allowed opponents to hit at a .301 clip, one point better than conference-worst Butler. Right-hander Ryan Piech is Xavier’s scheduled starter versus Indiana. It will be the first appearance of his college career – he did not pitch during his freshman season.
Cole Gilley is Indiana’s projected Saturday starter. The right-handed Indiana State transfer holds a career ERA of 6.91 in 41.2 innings spread across three seasons of college ball, but he caught Mercer’s eye in the transfer portal after appearing in a career-high 15 games (three starts) in 2024.
“I thought he was a few adjustments away, maybe a cutter or a sweeper or a slider, just another layer or wrinkle, from being really good,” Mercer said. “I think we feel pretty confident about Gilley.”
Mercer has emphasized the pitching staff’s focus on managing games and hopes that, as a veteran, Gilley can give Indiana a chance to win with a re-tooled pitch arsenal courtesy of pitching coach Dustin Glant.
Oregon State and beyond
Indiana faces No. 7 Oregon State at 2 p.m. Sunday. The Beavers are coming off a 45-16 season and their ninth NCAA Super Regional appearance in program history. Aussie Travis Bazzana, who posted a mind-boggling 1.479 OPS and clobbered a program-record 28 homers en route to being selected first overall in the 2024 MLB Draft, was the driving force behind Oregon State’s success. However, it is still a formidable threat and one of the favorites to make the eight-team College World Series.
The Beavers have a trio of preseason All-Americans. Infielder Avia Arquette was an All-Pac-12 defender at Washington last season, reaching base in 23 consecutive games while batting .325. Infielder Trent Caraway played in just 18 games as a freshman but was productive, batting .339 with a .431 on-base percentage and 10 RBI. Southpaw Nelson Keljo turned in a 3.98 ERA in 43 innings spread across 20 games last season, posting a K/BB ratio north of four and proving to be a shutdown reliever.
Along with Arquette, outfielder Gavin Turley was named to the Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List, the award given to the nation’s top amateur baseball player – Devin Taylor became Indiana’s first-ever player to be named to this watchlist twice. Last season, Turley ranked second among Oregon State hitters and in the Pac-12 with 19 home runs and led Oregon State with 74 RBI en route to All-Pac-12 First-Team and All-America honors.
Sunday and Monday starters are to be determined for both teams, but Mercer has named right-hander Aydan Decker-Petty and southpaw Ryan Kraft as possible options. Indiana’s Sunday success versus Oregon State and in its second meeting with UNLV at noon Monday will likely depend on whether or not it can save its strong bullpen arms for the late stages of games. Righties like Ben Grable, Jackson Yarberry and Will Eldridge are among this group.
“You want to be ascending on the mound over the course of a game and certainly a weekend,” Mercer said. “You want the stuff at the end to be the best stuff (the opponent) has seen that day. I think we have an opportunity to do that.”
As a veteran, Pyne has taken his fair share of early-season tests. Given that Indiana’s Bart Kaufman Field is turf and Surprise Stadium’s surface is natural grass and dirt, the Hoosiers may experience some defensive hiccups. He views opening-weekend success beyond the scope of wins and losses.
“You’ve got to play quick, but under control,” Pyne said. “A successful weekend for us is to compete. That’s what the first weekend is — putting us in a different environment. I’m not going to look for any wins or losses, I just want everyone to compete to the best of their ability.”
Indiana takes on UNLV at 7 p.m. Friday, Xavier at 7 p.m. Saturday, No. 7 Oregon State at 2 p.m. Sunday and UNLV again at noon Monday. All games of the Sanderson Ford Classic will be broadcast on FloCollege and the IU Sports Radio Network.
