'We're here to win': Ohio State baseball ready to continue 'process' in 2024 season
Bill Mosiello’s expectations are not changing. But the Ohio State baseball coach admits he was humbled in his first season in Columbus.
Mosiello said he wanted to win 40 games. He wanted to win a Big Ten championship. Instead, the former TCU assistant led the Buckeyes to 31 wins and an 11th place finish in the Big Ten.
For Mosiello, 2024 brings those same expectations: the 40 wins, the Big Ten championship. And he’s building a roster that reflects it.
“I had to eat so much humble pie from last year because of my expectations and my vision. Those haven’t changed,” Mosiello said. “The difference is the players in the program. The guys that we let return, they know exactly what we’re about now. When they came here, maybe it was for different thoughts — it’s a great school, you just want to play. Well now they’re coming to win. We brought you back because we’re here to win.”
Heading into the 2024 season, Ohio State will return 15 players from last season’s team and add 27 newcomers — 16 freshmen and 11 transfers.
Of Ohio State’s 11 transfers, two — outfielder Josh Stevenson (LSU) and utility player Ryan Miller (Tennessee) — finished their 2023 seasons in the College World Series.
Sophomore infielder Henry Kaczmar says he knows what to expect from Ohio State in 2024.
After finishing 2023 as a Big Ten All-Freshman team member and as the Buckeyes’ team leader in hits and runs batted in, Kaczmar said he’s ready to “show who I am with no nerves” and play “super freely and confidently.”
Kaczmar views himself as one of the more experienced members of Ohio State’s roster.
“Last year, everyone was a freshman pretty much because we had a new coach,” Kaczmar said. “But this year, with some of the returners, I feel like it gives the younger guys the ability to look up to the older guys to see what the right thing to do is.”
Kaczmar, Mosiello said, is one of a handful of returning leaders that will play a key role in 2024, along with sophomore catcher Matthew Graveline, graduate senior pitcher Justin Eckhardt and graduate senior outfielder Mitchell Okuley, who was named as team captain.
Mosiello also expects his transfers to play a major role, including former Texas A&M-Corpus Christi pitcher Colin Purcell, who is penciled in as the Buckeyes’ Saturday starter, and Hunter Shaw: the reigning NJCAA Division II Pitcher of the Year.
Ohio State baseball faces immediate challenge in 2024
The challenges come right away for Ohio State.
The Buckeyes start their season with 20 road games, including six against teams that played in the College World Series tournament in 2023 − Boston College, Oklahoma, California State University at Fullerton and West Virginia.
Kaczmar said Ohio State is ready to put its name against elite programs ahead of a stacked Big Ten schedule.
“From a player standpoint, it’s making us better, Kaczmar said. "And from a team standpoint, it’s getting our name out there. When we win, they’re going to say ‘Hey, these Ohio State kids can play.’ ”
Mosiello is not shying away or apologizing for his desire to lead Ohio State to a Big Ten title. But he also knows where Ohio State stands as a “process-oriented program” that develops players that are good enough for the next level and are good enough to win.
“I’m not into saying, ‘Well, it’s OK to lose. It’s a tougher league than I thought,’ ” Mosiello said. “No. It’s not that. But we’re still in the process.”
Ohio State open the season at the Desert Invitational in Phoenix, Arizona on Friday with games against Boston College, Brigham Young University and Southern California.
The Buckeyes’ first home game will be March 22 against Georgetown.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State baseball prepares for 2024 season
