Indiana University Athletics
‘Don’t Mess With Him’ -- Do-It-All Taylor Just Having Fun
2/25/2025 11:00:00 AM | Baseball
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Sometimes, if you're Devin Taylor contemplating another dominating baseball performance -- and the do-it-all junior has had plenty of those in a stellar Indiana career -- preparation includes a nap.
"For some home games, I'll sleep on the couch (at Bart Kaufman Field) after batting practice to ease everything up and release the tension," he says with a smile.
Sleep and tension relief have their advantages when you play in the spotlight, as Taylor does every day in a baseball uniform, when you extend hometown Cincinnati's rich high school baseball heritage -- think major league standouts Ken Griffey Jr., Barry Larkin and Jim Bunning -- also as Taylor does.
He projects as a top-15 pick in this summer's Major League Baseball draft and is the preseason favorite to win Big Ten player of the year as well as earn All-America honors. One of 55 players selected to the Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch list, he's already just the third Hoosier to win Big Ten freshman of the year honors, joining Alex Dickerson in 2009 and Sam Travis in 2012.
He's the first Hoosier to ever earn first-team All-Big Ten recognition in his first two college seasons. Last summer, he participated in the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Training Camp.
That kind of buzz, he insists, is zero distraction.
"Not at all. It's not real until it happens. I play the game that I've played since a kid and let it take care of itself."
Motivation, he adds, starts with fun.
"It's the kid in me. I've played baseball since I was a kid and it's always been fun to me. There is more stuff around it now, but it's still the same game."
It's a game Taylor started as a four-year-old and one he could play far into the future, much as recent former Hoosier Kyle Schwarber has done with his 284 home runs and 652 runs batted in over 10 major league seasons.
Indiana head coach Jeff Mercer sees Taylor developing into a four- and five-tool pro player, as he is in college. He praises Taylor's baseball IQ and work ethic.
Again, Taylor downplays it.
"I don't look to the future. I take it one day at a time. I've mainly worked on my durability. I do mobility every day. I want to stay healthy all season."
Taylor is coming off a season in which he hit .357 with 20 home runs and 54 runs batted in, which followed a freshman year of .315, 16 and 59.
Impressive? Certainly. Defining? Not a chance. Taylor wants more.
"My goal is to all around do better this year."
Taylor's success, Mercer adds, is fueled as much by his personality and approach as his physical skills.
"He has high character, a great sense of humor, great energy," Mercer says.
Teammate and graduate student right-handed pitcher Cole Gilley sees it every day in practice. He's learned to pitch Taylor carefully from his days as a standout Indiana State pitcher as well as now in Hoosier workouts.
"It's his zone," Gilley says. "He doesn't chase. You think you throw him a good pitch and he takes it so easily. It's like, 'Man where do I go next?' If he gets deep in a count, you can't take a pitch off. If you make a mistake, he will hit it. You will regret it. You have to attack him."
He pauses.
"I'm glad he's on our team. We don't have to mess with him."
*****
Fame has always found Taylor. Even at a young age, he played his way into national acclaim, drawing interest from programs in the Big Ten, SEC, and ACC, and eventually becoming the nation's No. 78 overall baseball prospect at Cincinnati's LaSalle High School according to Perfect Game. He did so, Mercer says, without losing perspective.
"He's used to it because he's been high profile for a long time," Mercer says.
As Taylor puts it, "The accolades from high school, once you get to college, they don't matter. It's back to Square One. It's played out like it's played out."
Taylor's impressive power sees him blasting 400-foot-plus home runs with ease (last year's longest went 444 feet). He needs 12 more homers to break the program career record of 47.
Redshirt senior catcher Jake Stadler would love some of Taylor's power. At 6-1 and 215 pounds, Stadler hit just one home run last season.
"I'm trying to get tips from Devin," he says with a smile. "I'm learning from him every day."
Taylor batted leadoff for much of last season and will do so a lot in 2025.
"I don't make the lineup," Taylor says. "If you ask me, I'd say leadoff, but it's Coach Mercer's choice."
Taylor is also an elite defensive outfielder. He cut down his errors from six as a freshman to three last year.
"He has blossomed as a defender," Mercer says. "Last year, statistically he was the best left fielder in college baseball. He can go in any outfield position.
"He needs to continue to grow. He'll have to be more vocal in the outfield and direct traffic out there."
Taylor says he has no outfield position preference.
"I'm comfortable everywhere. In center field, I don't have to deal with the tailing ball or hooks from lefties and righties but put me anywhere and I will play it fine."
Taylor has also thrived for the Keene Swamp Bats in the New England Collegiate Baseball League and for the Cotuit Kettleers in the Camp Cod League. In 62 summer games against some of the nation's best college players, he hit .306 with 13 home runs and 46 RBIs.
If Taylor has a weakness, Mercer says, it's in overthinking things.
"Devin can get himself in trouble a little bit because he is very smart and has a great feel, but sometimes he out-thinks things. He's like, I assume because this happened, this might happen.
"Sometimes you have to keep it simple. Think fastball and deal with off-speed pitches here and there. Don't be in between because you're thinking too far ahead. He needs to keep it simple, do what he does and stay to his strengths."
Or, as Taylor puts it, "When I think freely, everything takes care of itself."
*****
Mercer remembers the challenges in recruiting Taylor as an eighth grader. He stopped by the nationally significant Futures Games at Grand Park outside of Indianapolis to see for himself what the recruiting buzz was all about. Along the way, Mercer ran into this reality -- "What does a 13- or 14-year-old talk about? It can be a hard conversation."
Mercer's solution mixed humor with Taylor's hyper competitiveness. Family ping-pong matches with Taylor's father, Carey, a former college baseball player at Kentucky's Thomas More University, got things going. The younger Taylor's athletic success -- including his last-second basket as a sophomore to win a high school basketball game -- was another fertile topic. So was ex-IU quarterback Michael Penix's diving two-point conversion to give the Hoosiers a one-point win over Penn State in 2020.
"We seldom talked about baseball," Mercer says. "It was, who are you as a person? What it will be like here on a day-to-day basis?
"His parents were always on the call. They are a faith-based family very disciplined in their structure. It was always a highlight to talk to the Taylors. Relationships are really important."
It all resonated with Taylor.
"During the recruiting process, I was looking for a coach who would talk to me more than just recruit me," he says. "Some days, (Mercer) wouldn't talk baseball at all. Once I got on campus, he put it all into perspective. It was random stuff, but I liked it."
Taylor still likes it. The Hoosiers are positioned as Big Ten title contenders -- listed at No. 25 in Baseball America preseason rankings -- but went 0-4 in the season-opening Sanderson Ford College Baseball Classic in Arizona. Taylor hit .235 with a triple and three runs batted in. Freshman first baseman Jake Hanley paced the Hoosiers with a .353 average. Gilley, in his first IU appearance after transferring from Indiana State, struck out 11 and allowed just three hits and one earned run in 5.1 innings against Xavier.
IU has time to find its peak form and Taylor can't wait.
"Our goal is to get to the next level."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Sometimes, if you're Devin Taylor contemplating another dominating baseball performance -- and the do-it-all junior has had plenty of those in a stellar Indiana career -- preparation includes a nap.
"For some home games, I'll sleep on the couch (at Bart Kaufman Field) after batting practice to ease everything up and release the tension," he says with a smile.
Sleep and tension relief have their advantages when you play in the spotlight, as Taylor does every day in a baseball uniform, when you extend hometown Cincinnati's rich high school baseball heritage -- think major league standouts Ken Griffey Jr., Barry Larkin and Jim Bunning -- also as Taylor does.
He projects as a top-15 pick in this summer's Major League Baseball draft and is the preseason favorite to win Big Ten player of the year as well as earn All-America honors. One of 55 players selected to the Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch list, he's already just the third Hoosier to win Big Ten freshman of the year honors, joining Alex Dickerson in 2009 and Sam Travis in 2012.
He's the first Hoosier to ever earn first-team All-Big Ten recognition in his first two college seasons. Last summer, he participated in the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Training Camp.
That kind of buzz, he insists, is zero distraction.
"Not at all. It's not real until it happens. I play the game that I've played since a kid and let it take care of itself."
Motivation, he adds, starts with fun.
"It's the kid in me. I've played baseball since I was a kid and it's always been fun to me. There is more stuff around it now, but it's still the same game."
It's a game Taylor started as a four-year-old and one he could play far into the future, much as recent former Hoosier Kyle Schwarber has done with his 284 home runs and 652 runs batted in over 10 major league seasons.
Indiana head coach Jeff Mercer sees Taylor developing into a four- and five-tool pro player, as he is in college. He praises Taylor's baseball IQ and work ethic.
Again, Taylor downplays it.
"I don't look to the future. I take it one day at a time. I've mainly worked on my durability. I do mobility every day. I want to stay healthy all season."
Taylor is coming off a season in which he hit .357 with 20 home runs and 54 runs batted in, which followed a freshman year of .315, 16 and 59.
Impressive? Certainly. Defining? Not a chance. Taylor wants more.
"My goal is to all around do better this year."
Taylor's success, Mercer adds, is fueled as much by his personality and approach as his physical skills.
"He has high character, a great sense of humor, great energy," Mercer says.
Teammate and graduate student right-handed pitcher Cole Gilley sees it every day in practice. He's learned to pitch Taylor carefully from his days as a standout Indiana State pitcher as well as now in Hoosier workouts.
"It's his zone," Gilley says. "He doesn't chase. You think you throw him a good pitch and he takes it so easily. It's like, 'Man where do I go next?' If he gets deep in a count, you can't take a pitch off. If you make a mistake, he will hit it. You will regret it. You have to attack him."
He pauses.
"I'm glad he's on our team. We don't have to mess with him."
*****
Fame has always found Taylor. Even at a young age, he played his way into national acclaim, drawing interest from programs in the Big Ten, SEC, and ACC, and eventually becoming the nation's No. 78 overall baseball prospect at Cincinnati's LaSalle High School according to Perfect Game. He did so, Mercer says, without losing perspective.
"He's used to it because he's been high profile for a long time," Mercer says.
As Taylor puts it, "The accolades from high school, once you get to college, they don't matter. It's back to Square One. It's played out like it's played out."
Taylor's impressive power sees him blasting 400-foot-plus home runs with ease (last year's longest went 444 feet). He needs 12 more homers to break the program career record of 47.
Redshirt senior catcher Jake Stadler would love some of Taylor's power. At 6-1 and 215 pounds, Stadler hit just one home run last season.
"I'm trying to get tips from Devin," he says with a smile. "I'm learning from him every day."
Taylor batted leadoff for much of last season and will do so a lot in 2025.
"I don't make the lineup," Taylor says. "If you ask me, I'd say leadoff, but it's Coach Mercer's choice."
Taylor is also an elite defensive outfielder. He cut down his errors from six as a freshman to three last year.
"He has blossomed as a defender," Mercer says. "Last year, statistically he was the best left fielder in college baseball. He can go in any outfield position.
"He needs to continue to grow. He'll have to be more vocal in the outfield and direct traffic out there."
Taylor says he has no outfield position preference.
"I'm comfortable everywhere. In center field, I don't have to deal with the tailing ball or hooks from lefties and righties but put me anywhere and I will play it fine."
Taylor has also thrived for the Keene Swamp Bats in the New England Collegiate Baseball League and for the Cotuit Kettleers in the Camp Cod League. In 62 summer games against some of the nation's best college players, he hit .306 with 13 home runs and 46 RBIs.
If Taylor has a weakness, Mercer says, it's in overthinking things.
"Devin can get himself in trouble a little bit because he is very smart and has a great feel, but sometimes he out-thinks things. He's like, I assume because this happened, this might happen.
"Sometimes you have to keep it simple. Think fastball and deal with off-speed pitches here and there. Don't be in between because you're thinking too far ahead. He needs to keep it simple, do what he does and stay to his strengths."
Or, as Taylor puts it, "When I think freely, everything takes care of itself."
*****
Mercer remembers the challenges in recruiting Taylor as an eighth grader. He stopped by the nationally significant Futures Games at Grand Park outside of Indianapolis to see for himself what the recruiting buzz was all about. Along the way, Mercer ran into this reality -- "What does a 13- or 14-year-old talk about? It can be a hard conversation."
Mercer's solution mixed humor with Taylor's hyper competitiveness. Family ping-pong matches with Taylor's father, Carey, a former college baseball player at Kentucky's Thomas More University, got things going. The younger Taylor's athletic success -- including his last-second basket as a sophomore to win a high school basketball game -- was another fertile topic. So was ex-IU quarterback Michael Penix's diving two-point conversion to give the Hoosiers a one-point win over Penn State in 2020.
"We seldom talked about baseball," Mercer says. "It was, who are you as a person? What it will be like here on a day-to-day basis?
"His parents were always on the call. They are a faith-based family very disciplined in their structure. It was always a highlight to talk to the Taylors. Relationships are really important."
It all resonated with Taylor.
"During the recruiting process, I was looking for a coach who would talk to me more than just recruit me," he says. "Some days, (Mercer) wouldn't talk baseball at all. Once I got on campus, he put it all into perspective. It was random stuff, but I liked it."
Taylor still likes it. The Hoosiers are positioned as Big Ten title contenders -- listed at No. 25 in Baseball America preseason rankings -- but went 0-4 in the season-opening Sanderson Ford College Baseball Classic in Arizona. Taylor hit .235 with a triple and three runs batted in. Freshman first baseman Jake Hanley paced the Hoosiers with a .353 average. Gilley, in his first IU appearance after transferring from Indiana State, struck out 11 and allowed just three hits and one earned run in 5.1 innings against Xavier.
IU has time to find its peak form and Taylor can't wait.
"Our goal is to get to the next level."
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