Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
New coach ready to lead MT onto diamond
2/14/2019 12:00:00 PM | Baseball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – For over 40 years, not much changed around Middle Tennessee's baseball program, at least at the top.
Coaches with prior familiarity to the program were at the helm since the early 1970s before the summer of 2018 brought a new manager. It's created plenty of intrigue around an unfamiliar environment with the 2019 baseball season getting ready to kick off on Feb. 15.
New coach brings new everything
After 25-year head coach Steven Peterson retired in 2012, Jim McGuire, who'd spent 20 years as an assistant on Peterson's staff, took over and guided the Blue Raiders for the next six seasons until last summer.
When McGuire was let go after Middle Tennessee finished 27-27-1 in 2018, failing to qualify for the Conference USA Tournament for the third straight year, Athletics Director Chris Massaro looked outside the MT Baseball family for the next head coach. It was a bold decision, considering the program hadn't hired a manager with no previous Blue Raider ties since A.H. "Lefty" Solomon in 1971.
Jim Toman, who most recently spent nine successful years as the head man at Liberty, was named Middle Tennessee's 22nd baseball coach on June 20, 2018. With his hire came not only new hitting and pitching coaches, but a new philosophy focused on taking the Blue Raiders back to prominence.
"We should have a little bit of a chip on our shoulder, because I don't think anyone in our dugout has been to the conference tournament yet," Toman said. "I think if we play hard and we play smart and we can throw a few more strikes – or maybe a lot more strikes – then maybe we can surprise some people."
Throwing more strikes
Toman's first step in finding more wins immediately for MT may be defining who his reliable arms are in order to make a rotation and bullpen.
The Blue Raiders' biggest downfall the past two seasons has been their pitching staff, which finished last in C-USA in 2017 and 2018 in earned run average. New pitching coach Kyle Bunn's work will be cut out for him, and Toman wants his pitchers to be able to focus on one simple thing: throwing more strikes.
"We hired a really good pitching coach … and Lance Campbell has done a really good job with them in the weight room, as well," Toman said. "Our pitchers have bought in with the weight room and with Coach Bunn … so you hope that can make the numbers look a little bit better. We'll have to see how that works out."
The staff may be young, but some of its youngsters got plenty of innings in 2018 to build experience. Of the 14 pitchers who appeared in at least 10 games for MT last year, 11 are returning.
Bunn will also have a talented cast of junior college transfers to help add competition for time, and he hopes to have a defined starting rotation after the first few weeks.
Experience is in the field
While Middle Tennessee's pitchers have struggled with consistency over the past few seasons, the same can't be said for the Raiders' work at the plate.
In 2018, the blue and white finished in the top half of the conference in just about every offensive category, including fourth in runs scored (354).
The Blue Raiders may have lost big bats in Aaron Aucker, Austin Dennis, Ryan Kemp and LA Woodard from last year's squad, but plenty of experience returns to hopefully keep the scoring plentiful. They're led by former Freshman All-American and Preseason All-C-USA selection Blake Benefield, a senior from Murfreesboro who'll help patrol the outfield.
Other top returners include senior Drew Huff and sophomore Myles Christian, who'll man the left side of the infield at third base and shortstop, respectively. Two talented catchers, junior Aaron Antonini and sophomore Jake Hagenow, will also return to split time behind the plate.
"Right now, we have some older guys that have some credentials offensively," Toman said. "Those are guys we're going to have to lean on early."
Experience in the field may also come this season in the form of a few transfers.
Junior Tanner Parker and sophomores Nick Carnevale and Peter Brown are part of a big group of junior college transfers who came to MT in the offseason, and they'll likely fight for plenty of playing time early on.
"The more older guys you have, usually the more success you'll have," Toman said. "Having those older guys is a big plus … and we're going to try to stay fairly old here."
Schedule makes it easy for fans
With a new team led by a first-year head coach, there's plenty for Middle Tennessee fans to keep up with early on in the 2019 season. Luckily, it'll be easy for them to see the Blue Raiders.
Their first eight games will be played at Reese Smith Jr. Field, starting with a weekend series against Bowling Green Feb. 15-17. MT won't play out of the state of Tennessee until March 8-10, when it'll make a short trip to Kentucky to take on the Wildcats.
Conference USA play begins March 15-17 at UTSA. The Blue Raiders were picked to finish 12th in the league's preseason coaches' poll.
"The schedule was about done when I got here, but I added a few games," Toman said. "I'm not afraid to play a good schedule ... and it should get us ready to play in a tough conference."
Friday's first pitch against Bowling Green is scheduled for 3 p.m.
Josh Vardaman is the staff writer for goblueraiders.com. Follow him on Twitter @J_Vardaman and also follow @MTAthletics for more on the Blue Raiders.
Coaches with prior familiarity to the program were at the helm since the early 1970s before the summer of 2018 brought a new manager. It's created plenty of intrigue around an unfamiliar environment with the 2019 baseball season getting ready to kick off on Feb. 15.
New coach brings new everything
After 25-year head coach Steven Peterson retired in 2012, Jim McGuire, who'd spent 20 years as an assistant on Peterson's staff, took over and guided the Blue Raiders for the next six seasons until last summer.
When McGuire was let go after Middle Tennessee finished 27-27-1 in 2018, failing to qualify for the Conference USA Tournament for the third straight year, Athletics Director Chris Massaro looked outside the MT Baseball family for the next head coach. It was a bold decision, considering the program hadn't hired a manager with no previous Blue Raider ties since A.H. "Lefty" Solomon in 1971.
Jim Toman, who most recently spent nine successful years as the head man at Liberty, was named Middle Tennessee's 22nd baseball coach on June 20, 2018. With his hire came not only new hitting and pitching coaches, but a new philosophy focused on taking the Blue Raiders back to prominence.
"We should have a little bit of a chip on our shoulder, because I don't think anyone in our dugout has been to the conference tournament yet," Toman said. "I think if we play hard and we play smart and we can throw a few more strikes – or maybe a lot more strikes – then maybe we can surprise some people."
Throwing more strikes
Toman's first step in finding more wins immediately for MT may be defining who his reliable arms are in order to make a rotation and bullpen.
The Blue Raiders' biggest downfall the past two seasons has been their pitching staff, which finished last in C-USA in 2017 and 2018 in earned run average. New pitching coach Kyle Bunn's work will be cut out for him, and Toman wants his pitchers to be able to focus on one simple thing: throwing more strikes.
"We hired a really good pitching coach … and Lance Campbell has done a really good job with them in the weight room, as well," Toman said. "Our pitchers have bought in with the weight room and with Coach Bunn … so you hope that can make the numbers look a little bit better. We'll have to see how that works out."
The staff may be young, but some of its youngsters got plenty of innings in 2018 to build experience. Of the 14 pitchers who appeared in at least 10 games for MT last year, 11 are returning.
Bunn will also have a talented cast of junior college transfers to help add competition for time, and he hopes to have a defined starting rotation after the first few weeks.
Experience is in the field
While Middle Tennessee's pitchers have struggled with consistency over the past few seasons, the same can't be said for the Raiders' work at the plate.
In 2018, the blue and white finished in the top half of the conference in just about every offensive category, including fourth in runs scored (354).
The Blue Raiders may have lost big bats in Aaron Aucker, Austin Dennis, Ryan Kemp and LA Woodard from last year's squad, but plenty of experience returns to hopefully keep the scoring plentiful. They're led by former Freshman All-American and Preseason All-C-USA selection Blake Benefield, a senior from Murfreesboro who'll help patrol the outfield.
Other top returners include senior Drew Huff and sophomore Myles Christian, who'll man the left side of the infield at third base and shortstop, respectively. Two talented catchers, junior Aaron Antonini and sophomore Jake Hagenow, will also return to split time behind the plate.
"Right now, we have some older guys that have some credentials offensively," Toman said. "Those are guys we're going to have to lean on early."
Experience in the field may also come this season in the form of a few transfers.
Junior Tanner Parker and sophomores Nick Carnevale and Peter Brown are part of a big group of junior college transfers who came to MT in the offseason, and they'll likely fight for plenty of playing time early on.
"The more older guys you have, usually the more success you'll have," Toman said. "Having those older guys is a big plus … and we're going to try to stay fairly old here."
Schedule makes it easy for fans
With a new team led by a first-year head coach, there's plenty for Middle Tennessee fans to keep up with early on in the 2019 season. Luckily, it'll be easy for them to see the Blue Raiders.
Their first eight games will be played at Reese Smith Jr. Field, starting with a weekend series against Bowling Green Feb. 15-17. MT won't play out of the state of Tennessee until March 8-10, when it'll make a short trip to Kentucky to take on the Wildcats.
Conference USA play begins March 15-17 at UTSA. The Blue Raiders were picked to finish 12th in the league's preseason coaches' poll.
"The schedule was about done when I got here, but I added a few games," Toman said. "I'm not afraid to play a good schedule ... and it should get us ready to play in a tough conference."
Friday's first pitch against Bowling Green is scheduled for 3 p.m.
Josh Vardaman is the staff writer for goblueraiders.com. Follow him on Twitter @J_Vardaman and also follow @MTAthletics for more on the Blue Raiders.
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