TERRE HAUTE — The landscape of college sports has changed drastically since 2014. While college football and basketball have perhaps been most prominently affected by the widely controversial transfer portal, baseball is no exception.

However, Indiana State baseball has persevered. In fact, despite not being in a Power 5 conference, the Sycamores have become a powerhouse of their own.

Indiana State has made the NCAA tournament four times since the portal's creation in October 2018. Last season, the Sycamores advanced beyond regional for first time since 1986, and their 45 wins were the most for the program since that same year.

NCAA baseball: IU, Indiana State, Evansville learn path in 2024 tournament

Mitch Hannahs was in the blue and white for both historic runs.

He was a senior on the 1989 squad, helping Indiana State make the NCAA tournament in three of his four seasons. As a coach, Hannahs has guided the Sycamores to four NCAA regional bids, including three in the past five seasons. ISU finished the season with an RPI at No. 10 but was not chosen as a regional host. They Sycamores will head to Lexington, Ky., where they open NCAA play against Illinois on Friday.

ISU only lost three starters from last year's team and has proven 2023 was no fluke. Hannahs knows the loyalty displayed by the Sycamores is considered an anomaly in today’s landscape.

“We just had senior weekend, and you can't help but think, ‘Are we looking at 'The Last of the Mohicans,' the guys that come in and are in your program for five years?’” Hannahs said. “We can sit and complain about it all day, but it is what it is, and our job as a coaching staff is to adapt and do what we have to do to continue to have success.”

Hannahs knows the Sycamores can’t match larger programs’ monetary offers, so his philosophy when it comes to landing transfers or keeping players around is, "Retention is built on relationships." That was certainly true in the case of junior starting pitcher Luke Hayden.

'Coming here was probably the best decision of my life.'

Luke Hayden appeared in 14 games with just two starts last season at IU, making the majority of his appearances out of the bullpen.

As a starter, the Edgewood grad has thrived for the Sycamores. He's 7-2 with a 3.67 ERA and team-high 80 strikeouts. Hayden said the biggest takeaway during his limited time at Indiana State is the coaching staff’s ability to simplify the game.

“I've always had good stuff, but it was about getting somewhere where I could learn how to pitch with it,” he said. “Coming here was probably the best decision of my life.”

Hayden now feels confident throwing three or four pitches for strikes, holding runners on base and managing a full game, all essential to coming into his own as a pitcher. He said pitching coach Justin Hancock didn’t so much change his pitch design, but changed his approach, telling Hayden to be more composed on the mound to find strike consistency.

Hayden didn’t feel like the innings increase from his sophomore to junior season was difficult, other than a stretch of about a week where he started to feel his body catch up to him. After working through the brief midseason physical struggle, Hayden now feels confident in his abilities as a starter both physically and mentally.

“I like going deep into games,” Hayden said. “If I get into a jam out there, I can work out of it and kind of get on a roll after that. I love being a starter.”

Like Hayden, Brennyn Cutts made the jump from one of Indiana State’s key relievers last season to a dominant starter in 2024. As a junior, the right-hander has a lower ERA and WHIP than he did last season and has doubled his strikeout total and tripled his win total this season.

‘In my veins’

But it’s not just the Sycamores’ pitching staff that has helped earn a 42-13 record in 2024.

Junior utility player Luis Hernandez was one of the leaders for Indiana State last season, finishing third in batting average and hits, and first in doubles. Hernandez took a massive leap in the power department this season, leading the Sycamores in hits (86), runs (57) and RBIs (75) and second in home runs (22, one off Mike Sears' team lead).

The Puerto Rico native said his approach at the plate is to expect a fastball every pitch but to also be prepared for any off-speed pitches that may come his way.

“I don’t look for homers, I’m just looking to hit the ball hard,” Hernandez said.

Hernandez said he played basketball, baseball and volleyball in high school, but baseball stuck out as his favorite when he realized he may have a future career in the sport. The biggest on-field change since moving to the Midwest for Hernandez has been dealing with cold weather.

He said the temperature in Puerto Rico stays near 70-80 degrees year-round, so when the harsh winters of Indiana first hit him, he had to learn how to play the game a new way.

Off the field, Hernandez has had to learn how to read and speak English since moving to Terre Haute. However, his teammates Josue Urdaneta, from Venezuela, and Randal Diaz, also from Puerto Rico, have helped him feel at home by speaking Spanish with him.

Hannahs said Hernandez is one of the most competitive players he has ever coached during his 11 seasons with Indiana State, saying Hernandez hates making outs at the plate perhaps more than anyone he has ever seen.

“That’s in my veins,” Hernandez said. “I can’t lose in anything. If I can at least get hit by a pitch or a walk, that’s better than a ground ball.”

Hernandez said he has been able to move forward after a poor at-bat recently because he knows a negative mindset after a bad offensive showing may affect his defensive play as well. From Hannahs, Hernandez has not only learned how to be a better player but a better person, too.

“It used to be, if you got him out the first couple times, you probably got him out all day. Now, you can get him out the first couple times, and he'll homer the third time,” Hannahs said.

The cost of winning

Hannahs said the biggest lesson he learned from his days as a player he has applied to his coaching style is a no-fear approach. He believes this is what allows a team to never lower its expectations and gives the coaching staff an opportunity to be brutally honest with players when it comes to constructive conversations about improvement.

“Winning is not normal,” Hannahs said. “You can't think the same way, you can't act the same way, you've got to really commit to winning.

“You're going to get bloodied and you're going to get beaten up… You have to be resilient, and you have to understand that no matter how good you are right now, college baseball is going to figure you out, and you're going to have to adjust.”

Hannahs said a player’s ability to adjust goes hand-in-hand with a want-to attitude. He said the coaching staff’s most important job is to instill a desire within the players to be at the ballpark every day.

For the Sycamores, that is born through time off in the summer. While many college coaches require their athletes play in a summer league after the conclusion of the season, Hannahs said he feels it is not just mentally, but physically beneficial for players to rest after the season.

He acknowledged how lucky Indiana State has been the past two seasons in terms of avoiding injuries, attributing much of the Sycamores’ recent success to their good health. Additionally, Hannahs said this instills accountability in the players as they may not be required to play in any summer leagues, but they are expected to put in the adequate work that keeps them as sharp as possible.

‘Substance over style’

Hannahs knows Indiana State is probably not the first Indiana school that comes to the mind of a common fan. It’s probably the fourth or fifth, behind IU, Purdue and Notre Dame.

But through a culture of consistent winning the past decade, Hannahs believes Indiana State baseball has changed that narrative.

“Sometimes you can accept that you're the little guy, or we can go make this program very visible,” Hannahs said. “And that's what our guys go to work on every day. They want to make sure that our program is seen on a level with anybody out there.”

Embracing Hannahs’ ‘Substance over style’ mantra, Hayden backed up his coach’s sentiments.

“Even if it doesn't look pretty sometimes, all we want to do is win, and we're going to find ways to do it,” Hayden said. “... We're not out there to look good or have the coolest gear, we're just trying to win games.”

Contact Kyle Smedley with comments via email at kmsmedley213@gmail.com or on X @KyleSmedley_.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana State baseball now a Midwest power, in 4th regional since 2019