I'll tag @_ConnerSmith_ in here if you guys have any questions for him. Expectations this season? Strengths? Weaknesses? Where should they finish in league play?
BASEBALL 25 days away from opening day....Let's get this discussion going!
- Thread starter Matt Dossett
- Start date
Always a lot to be determined when you retool a roster but I would think they at least have more potential on the mound this year with just having guys who have legit stuff to throw. Felt like when Trace Phillips or Chandler Alderman were not on the mound last year, MTSU struggled to finish innings with nobody having that gotcha pitch whether it was some high heat or a nice off-speed pitch.
Do have to replace some big name bats like Briggs Rutter, Gabe Jennings, Jackson Galloway however. I do expect some young bats to continue to progress but some of the juco/transfer additions will have to help make up for losing a lot of the middle part of the lineup.
Conner probably has a lot better idea about how the team could perform but there is some potential there to grow as the season goes along. We hinted after last season, but now this will be Jerry Meyers first season of it truly being HIS team. Will be interesting to see how he truly kicks off the next era this year.
That’s a good question, the offense will be good at the bare minimum, but there’s questions about pitching. Trace Phillips and Chandler Alderman are legit starters and then bullpen guys like Colin Kerrigan, Ollie Akens, etc. caught fire at the end of last season.
They brought in some absolute studs on the mound in FSWCC Landen Burch, Walters State’s Jonathan Stevens and Drew Horn, along with a few others.
So, there’s plenty of talent there and the way the schedule lines up, the ceiling for the 2025 Blue Raiders is CUSA champs but the floor is another 20-34 season. At this moment I’d say they’ll go 31-24 but if the pitching pans out like Meyers and Co. are expecting, this is a very dangerous team.
Let’s not forget how many young guys got hot last year in the final 15 games. If those young bucks can take the next step along with the pitching panning out and the veterans doing their job, this is a team that can compete with Dallas Baptist and Sam Houston for the CUSA crown.
It’s not a bold statement if you actually paid attention to the offseason acquisitions and who they return.
They may be better on offense than last season with LF Keaton Ray (Walters State), C Tyler Minnick (Georgia Tech), and Matt Wolfe (Vanderbilt) coming in with Trace Phillips, Eston Snider, and Brett Vondohlen returning.
Pitching is a massive question mark for me but they like their guys. MTSU went 20-36 last year and that was with 10+ games being blown in the sixth inning or later. Massive IF, but if the pitching pans out that’s a team who can 100% compete with a DBU.
Yes sir, every home game is on ESPN+ along with the majority of road games.
22 days from Opening Day, let’s take a look at the schedule for the ‘25 Blue Raiders!
middletennessee.rivals.com
2025 MTSU baseball schedule analysis
Taking a deeper look at the 2025 MTSU baseball schedule
The schedule - like last year - is embarrassing. Of course, they still couldn’t win last year. They could legitimately win 38 games and get left out. Schedule is that bad.
Anything less than 32 wins it’s time to move on.
Anything less than 32 wins it’s time to move on.
CUSA is one of the toughest conferences (ranked top 10 the last two seasons), but the non-conference aside from Bama and Vandy SHOULD be a cake walk.
FWIW, they blew 10+ games in the late innings last year, and if the bullpen is even decent this year there’s no reason to not win 30-33 games.
FWIW, they blew 10+ games in the late innings last year, and if the bullpen is even decent this year there’s no reason to not win 30-33 games.
Bullpen was rough last year. Simply not blowing every game would've flipped an embarrassingly large amount of games last year
They brought in seven new arms with five being legit contributors to help Chandler Alderman, Trace Phillips, Colin Kerrigan, and Ollie Akens.
It’s never a guarantee which is why I still have questions but on paper, the pitching staff as a whole got A LOT better this offseason.
We’ll see whether or not they perform,
It’s never a guarantee which is why I still have questions but on paper, the pitching staff as a whole got A LOT better this offseason.
We’ll see whether or not they perform,
Catcher Tyler Minnick (Georgia Tech transfer), left fielder Keaton Ray (Walters State transfer), first baseman Trace Phillips, and center fielder Eston Snider.
Similar threads
Latest posts
-
BASEBALL 25 days away from opening day....Let's get this discussion going!
- Latest: _ConnerSmith_
-
