Preseason Primer: Baseball

2/12/2025 3:30:00 PM | Baseball

2025 Roster Media Center Quick Facts

Preseason Primer: Indiana Baseball
Fresh off back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances and top-three finishes in the Big Ten, the Indiana Baseball team has big expectations again in 2025.

Head coach Jeff Mercer - in his seventh season - has created one of the best player development programs in the country. The high school driven model has turned out professional players and a plethora of wins over the last seven years.

With a strong returning core and one of his deepest rosters to date, the Hoosiers are expected to contend in the new-look Big Ten Conference. Here are some notes and numbers to know ahead of a much-anticipated 2025 campaign.

Returning Depth in the Field:
The Hoosiers return six different position players that made at least 40 starts last season. Junior Tyler Cerny (SS) and senior Josh Pyne (3B) both started all 60 games a year ago. Junior Devin Taylor (OF) started 59 contests, missing just one due to personal reasons.

Head coach Jeff Mercer will have what is expected to be his deepest and most talented offensive roster of his seven-year tenure in Bloomington.

Paired with the six returning starters, IU brought another strong crop of prep players to campus this fall. Hogan Denny (C/OF) and Jake Hanley (1B) are the blue-chip pieces but Cooper Malamazian (INF) and Cole Decker (OF) could also see plenty of at-bats.

New Look, New Feel on the Mound:
After losing a number of big arms to the 2024 MLB Draft (Sinnard, Foley and Risedorph), the Hoosiers completely overhauled their pitching staff with the goal to throw strikes at a more consistent rate this year.

Pitching coach Dustin Glant, who has turned IU into a strikeout machine on the mound, will rely on transfers Gavin Seebold (Southern Indiana), Cole Gilley (Indiana State) and Jackson Yarberry (Saint Louis) as potential starters.

Returning pitchers Drew Buhr, Ryan Kraft and Aydan Decker-Petty will give IU a number of long-relief options but could also add to the starting mold. Buhr worked a 3.31 earned run average last year, developing into a reliable option out of the bullpen.

At the back end of the bullpen, Jacob Vogel will return for late-inning action. Ben Grable and Will Eldridge have electric arms and give Glant more firepower to close down games.

Other options on the mound include freshmen Brayton Thomas and Henry Brummel as well as Seth Benes, Clayton Weisheit, Grant Holderfield, Trey Telfer and Deron Swanson.

DT Legacy Season:
Devin Taylor will go down as one of the best players in program history. One of the smoothest swings to ever grace Bloomington, the junior will be on record watch throughout the year.

The expected top-15 MLB Draft Pick this summer is just 12 home runs away from breaking the program's all-time home run record. He needs just 51 hits to reach 200 in his IU career and is currently batting .338 across his first two seasons.

Only two other players in IU history (Sam Travis, Alex Dickerson) was named a Big Ten Freshman of the Year and Big Ten Player of the Year during their career. Taylor already was the league rookie of the year (2023) and will now search for the top individual prize in the Big Ten.

Mercer Keeps the Hoosiers Going:
Since being hired as the skipper in Bloomington, head coach Jeff Mercer has kept the Hoosiers humming along at a high level. He is just 16 Big Ten wins away from becoming the fastest coach to 100 league wins in program history.

He needs 25 overall wins for 200 in his career at IU and is also on track to become the first IU coach in program history to take the team to three-straight NCAA Tournaments.

Milestones Coming:
Players and coaches aren't the only ones with milestones on the horizon in 2025. As a program, the Hoosiers need just 29 wins to reach 2,500 all-time victories. The program is heading into its 131st season and has become a nationally-recgonized team over the past 15 years.

If the Hoosiers could get to 40 wins, it would be the fifth 40-win season since 2013. Three different coaches have led IU to a 40-win season in that span. Since 2013, IU has had at least 30 wins in all but one fully contested season.