After a tough couple of years for the Miami University RedHawks baseball team, the Red and White begin conference play this weekend against Toledo with positive vibes.
Last season, the RedHawks made the Mid-American Conference (MAC) tournament for the first time in five years, finishing 27-27 overall.
Now, the team is coming back with a vengeance, and with plenty of healthy help that wasn’t there last season, according to Coach Smiley.
One player who is bound to have a major impact is junior left-handed pitcher Carson Byers.
He was named on the 2025 watch list for the 20th annual Stopper of the Year award, an honor given to the best relief pitcher in Division 1 baseball by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. He is one of 76 players to be named on the watch list.
However, being named to the list does not change his work ethic at all.
“Being named to the stopper of the year watch list is definitely an honor, but it has not changed how I approach my work whatsoever,” said Byers. “Doing anything I can to help my team win is all the motivation that I need, and that is what I have been fueled by in my college career and what I will continue to go off of. Being named to the list is a testament to my defense and catcher’s working hard behind me, as well as our coaching staff putting me in the best position possible to succeed.”
Coming into the season, Miami is projected to finish third in the MAC, behind Kent State and Ball State. Thus far, they have started out 5-7, beating The Citadel twice and losing to Charleston Southern twice in Charleston, South Carolina. In Johnson, Tennessee, the team lost two out of three to East Tennessee State and lost once again against Wright State. After this, they started to pick things up by beating Northern Kentucky two out of three times at home.
Coach Smiley said with any team that is new like this, an adjustment period is inevitable.
“Whenever you have so many new guys, especially on the pitching staff, you have to search for the right roles,” said Smiley. “And that is our quest right now, figuring out our bullpen, who we go to when we have a lead or the game is close, but the guys will answer those questions.”
Last year, in the MAC tournament, the RedHawks defeated the Kent State Golden Flashes in the first round, before falling to the Bowling Green Falcons and the Toledo Rockets to end its season.
Multiple key players were plagued by injuries last year that ruined Miami’s chances of advancing far in the MAC tournament, including senior Ty Batusich, junior Cole Pauley, and redshirt sophomore Tommy Harrison.
Despite dealing with a severe season-long ankle injury, Batusich still led the team in at bats and hits.
Pauley’s pitching was also missed after he suffered an injury at the beginning of the year that sidelined him for the whole season, according to Coach Smiley.
Meanwhile, Tommy Harrison missed the season due to knee surgery, but his return to the team will surely provide a spark, especially on the offensive end.
Smiley said he is especially focused on the defensive end. As a defensive specialist himself, he wants to turn the RedHawks into one of the best defensive teams in the country following 14 years of coaching the defensive side.
The RedHawks next game is on at 3 p.m. March 7 against the Toledo Rockets at Hayden Park. Tickets are free for all spectators.
