Blue Raider Baseball Ready for 2023 Campaign

Photo by: Emily Cole/MT Athletic Communications

2/9/2023 3:41:00 PM | Baseball

The Jerry Meyers era begins in Murfreesboro after being elevated from Associate Head Coach this offseason.

By: Austin Pert, MTSU Athletics

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – A first-year coach, a powerful returning lineup and 16 straight home games in February and March headline the start of the 2023 Middle Tennessee Baseball season. With a February 17 season opener approaching, the buzz is descending upon Reese Smith Jr. Field for another year of Blue Raider Baseball.

» Rich History: 2023 will mark the 105th season of Blue Raider baseball dating back to 1913.

» Meyers Takes the Reins: Meyers takes over the program as head coach for 2023, after serving as the pitching coach and associate head coach in 2022. Meyers boasts head coaching experience prior to his time in Murfreesboro, with six seasons in charge of Old Dominion from 2005-10. With the Monarchs, the Iowa State graduate went overall 167-158 and 82-77 in the Colonial Athletic Association and was 2006 Conference Coach of the Year.

» Building Blocks: Middle Tennessee qualified for the Conference USA Tournament for the second year in a row a season ago. The Blue Raiders notched a signature series win at Auburn, and won conference series against UAB, WKU, Marshall, Charlotte, LA Tech, FIU and Rice in 2022.

» Home Sweet Home: The Blue Raiders will be at home quite a bit to begin the 2023 season. After opening the season with three games in Conway, S.C., MTSU will play its next 16 games at Reese Smith Jr. Field. The home stretch begins with SEMO Feb. 21 and includes opponents such as St. Bonaventure, Belmont, Toledo, Evansville and starting Conference USA play vs. WKU March 17. 

» Volunteer State Foes: Middle Tennessee will face four in-state opponents a total of seven times in 2023. Home-and-home game pairs with Belmont, Lipscomb and Tennessee Tech will be followed by a May 16 matchup at perennial national power Vanderbilt.

» C-USA Schedule: The league will consist of 10 teams in 2023, adding Dallas Baptist to the conference in 2023 while dropping Old Dominion, Marshall and Southern Miss, who left for the Sun Belt over the summer. Each team is guaranteed a scheduled three-game series against each conference foe. Based on geographical proximity, the Blue Raiders will see rivals WKU in two separate three games series this season. The Hilltoppers visit Murfreesboro March 17-19 before the Raiders make the trip to Bowling Green April 6-8.

FIU, Rice, LA Tech and UAB also come to Murfreesboro in '23. The Blue Raiders are slated to visit FAU, UTSA, Dallas Baptist and Charlotte before the C-USA Championships May 24-28 in Houston.

» Preseason Accolades: RHP Jaden Hamm and UTL/C Jared Vetetoe were named to the Preseason C-USA All-Conference team. Last season, Hamm led the Blue Raiders with a 3.34 ERA while making five starts across 16 appearances. The Culleoka, Tenn. native went 4-2 with 65 strikeouts in 59.1 innings pitched and was named to the C-USA All-Conference Second Team after the season. Injuries forced Vetetoe to miss the bulk of 2022, but the native of Gallatin, Tenn. displayed robust upside a season ago. Vetetoe batted .318 as a freshman last year, going 2-5 with an RBI and stolen base against Western Carolina on March 2 and 2-3 with a double at South Alabama on March 4. 

JT Mabry was also named to Perfect Game's preseason C-USA All-Conference team. Last season, the Chesterfield, Mo. native hit .276 overall, including a .360 average in C-USA play. During the conference season, Mabry smacked eight doubles, recorded 10 RBI and posted a .407 on-base percentage in league play. Mabry became just the second Blue Raider to record six hits in a game when he went 6-6 at FIU on May 6 last year.  

Around the Horn

The Blue Raiders return valuable pieces across the diamond and on the mound in 2023. Hamm will lead a rotation under the tutelage of Meyers, who will retain pitch-calling duties as skipper after serving as the pitching coach a season ago.

"Hamm is a leader," Meyers said. "We have several leaders, both on the pitching staff and position player-wise. But we're going to lean on Hamm to set the tone. He has the makeup to do it. He is not always going to throw a perfect game every time he's out. But if he's solid and consistent, that's going to help us set the tone like we want it set."

Elsewhere in the pitching staff, the Blue Raiders will lean upon Eriq Swan's experience after making 11 starts a season ago as a sophomore. James Sells and Jalen Wirtz return for the second seasons as Blue Raiders after posting sub-4.00 ERAs as freshman relievers. Sophomore transfer Kota Sato will compete for innings. And Cole Torbett looks to lead a talented and dynamic group of freshman pitchers in 2023.

This group of both returners and newcomers will look to fill the shoes of a pitching corps a season ago led by senior workhorses Trent Seibert, Peyton Wigginton and Zach Keenan.

"There are a lot of new guys on the pitching staff," Meyers said. "Last year, we had a lot of older guys due to the extra COVID year, two or three with a lot of experience. We had some younger guys that threw quite a bit as sophomores, such as Swan and Hamm. Sells and Wirtz got in there as freshman, along with a couple of other guys. They threw a fair number of innings for freshman, so this year we're going to rely on some of our younger guys. We have some talented young arms that are capable, and they'll have an opportunity early on to try to get into the mix."

At the other end of the battery, the Raiders will have no shortage of depth at catcher. In addition to preseason All-Conference honoree Vetetoe, the Blue Raiders will have the services of .311 hitter Briggs Rutter as well as Jeremiah Boyd, a graduate transfer who spent four seasons at Presbyterian College.

"All three catchers are going to make an impact," Meyers said. "Even when they're not catching, can be a part of the offense.

"We have three good guys. Rutter caught a lot of games for us last year and would've caught more if it weren't for Mason Speirs having a solid year as a senior. Rutter is a part of our offense that is going to make an impact no matter where he is in the order. Vetetoe was injured most of last year, but he is very versatile, can play the outfield, and is a left-handed hitter. Boyd is an older guy and very mature. He can handle pitchers and will be very helpful for us with as many young guys as we're going to have out there. Boyd has had a very good rapport with those younger guys and has helped them along quite a bit."

Offensively, the Blue Raiders return five of their top nine position player starters from a group which batted .275 in 2022. But the coaching staff has ensured that the offense continues to progress after a productive offseason.

"It's been a process since September," Meyers said. "Associate Head Coach Kevin Nichols has done it a long time from an offensive teaching standpoint and has been able to make an impact with some guys. We haven't drastically changed the guys who have had a lot of success [in 2022]. We've just tweaked some things. For some guys, it's as simple as just calming down and having a plate approach, plate discipline, and trying to think about certain situations and what you're looking for."

Around the infield, the Blue Raiders will also have a multitude of options across each position. Tatsunori Negishi logged 30 starts a season ago and will be a factor at first base, alongside DJ Wright, who hit .242 in 2021 but missed last season due to injury.

Mabry will bring veteran experience to the second base position, with the senior having the best hitting streak for the Blue Raiders in 2022, recording a hit 11 straight games from March 5 to March 26. He stole a team-high 17 stolen bases on 20 attempts and logged a walk-off RBI single in the 11th inning vs. Charlotte April 14 as part of a 4-for-6 performance at the plate. 

Brett Coker led MTSU a season ago in both games played and games started, with 55 and 54 respectively. He will make the move over from third base to shortstop in 2023 after the departure of Fausto Lopez. With five homers and a .282 average a season ago, the senior from Hendersonville, Tenn. will continue elevating the roster on both the lineup card and infield dirt.

And the Raiders will have options at third base, with junior Gabe Jennings and freshmen Brett Vondohlen and Cale Vinson continuing to improve.

Gino Avros, who was a four-year letterwinner at Austin Peay before making the move down I-24 East, hit .304 for the Governors in 2022 and will primarily play in the outfield in addition to third base.

Jackson Galloway led all hitters last year with a .341 average and a .940 OPS, and will be a mainstay in the Blue Raider outfield in 2023. Multi-tool sophomore Eston Snider will also be an asset with the glove in the outfield as well as offensively. While batting .305 last year, the Franklin, Tenn. native stole 11 bases in 13 tries and did not commit an error while recording 54 putouts and three assists in 41 games played defensively. 

Freshman outfielder Kenny McKinley is also primed for a breakout campaign after starring at Nashville's Ensworth High School. McKinley has proven to be one of the squad's most powerful bats throughout the preseason and will look to contribute early in 2023. And while McKinley's force at the plate stands out offensively, the Blue Raiders' large freshman class of 18 has played together, grown together and will improve as a single group within this MTSU team.

"They are all very capable, that is why they are here," Meyers said. "Sometimes guys jump right in, and the experience factor is not as big of a deal. Some other guys just need some time, whether it's at bats or innings under their belt. We've seen a progression with what this freshman group has done. We just have to keep moving forward. There are several guys in that group that can name an impact. I don't know that there is one particular guy."

Ticket Information

Season tickets for the 2023 MTSU Baseball season are still on sale! 
» Bleacher Family Pass - $65 – (allows up to four people at each game) 
» Bleacher Single Pass - $50 
» Chairback Reserved Ticket - $50 
 
Single-Game Tickets
» Chairback Reserved Ticket - $10 
» General Admission Bleachers - $6  
 
If you're interested in purchasing season tickets or single-game tickets, call the Blue Raider Ticket Office at 615-898-5261 or visit GoBlueRaiders.com/tickets.

Broadcast Information
Each MTSU home game will be streamed on ESPN+. Information on streaming for road and neutral site games will be announced on a game-by-game basis. WGNS, the Varsity Network App and GoBlueRaiders.com will carry the radio broadcasts for games across the 2023 season.

First Pitch
MTSU opens the 2023 season in Conway S.C. Feb. 17-19, with games against VCU, Coastal Carolina and Fairfield. The Blue Raiders' home opener is slated for Feb. 21 against SEMO. MTSU will host its first weekend series against St. Bonaventure Feb. 24-26, which includes a doubleheader set for Feb. 25.

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