Buckeye graduate student Joseph Mershon swinging during the Ohio State v. Cal Poly game in San Luis Obispo, Calif. on March 9, 2024. Credit: Ohio State Athletics
The additions of name, image and likeness (NIL) which can affect player movement as well as the transfer portal in the NCAA have completely changed modern-day college baseball.
In the present era of collegiate sports, transfer players are dominating the landscape, and the Buckeyes have taken advantage of that fact. Since the 2023 season, Ohio State’s coaching staff has acquired 11 players from various states to help continue the Buckeyes’ winning culture to compete for championships.
“The portal changed everything,” said Ohio State baseball recruiting coordinator Andrew See. “You can go anywhere you want now over four years, which I 100% agree with.”
Though with more players transferring than ever, the recruitment process is the largest it’s ever been, See said there are still many areas in which coaches can go wrong.
”I think what’s tough nowadays is the pace of recruiting,” See said. “You can make mistakes and you can be fooled very quickly with character or even ability.”
See said to combat this, he and head coach Bill Mosiello picked out players for the 2024 team who fit one specific criteria: an intensive competitive drive.
“The most important thing was how competitive they were,” See said. “You should immediately be able to tell that they can really play and compete, and you have to go with the people you trust with your eyes.”
From junior college athletes to graduate students, Mosiello believes every player the Buckeyes have acquired in the transfer portal in 2024 was and/or remains ready to compete.
Among this season’s 11 recruits were two players who came from two different College World Series teams in 2023: junior infielder Ryan Miller from Tennessee and junior outfielder Josh Stevenson from LSU. Even so, with the two teams having highly competitive rosters, neither Miller nor Stevenson took more than 11 at-bats the whole season, leaving both players wanting more, Mosiello said.
“They weren’t going to get tons of opportunities, so I took a chance with them,” Mosiello said. “They come from these two elite programs, and I happened to know the coaches really well. They’re amazing kids, so I happened to buy into that.”
Hitting was an issue early in the season for Stevenson, but Mosiello said he kept him in the starting lineup because of his experience and what he adds to the team’s defensive efforts.
“I’ll die on this hill, Stevenson is our best center fielder by far,” Mosiello said.
Despite their slow starts, both Stevenson and Miller finished the season as productive hitters for the Buckeyes. Miller concluded the year hitting .254, while Stevenson swung the bat at a .250 clip.
To certify a veteran presence on the team, the coaching staff searched through schools and found two graduate students, second baseman Joseph Mershon and reliever Jacob Morin. Neither player is expecting a call to the major leagues, but Mosiello said they nevertheless provide the team with the experience and competitiveness desired by its staffers.
Mershon spent four years at the College of Charleston before getting recruited to play for the Buckeyes, and Mosiello said he knew Mershon would be a valuable asset after he watched him play during the summer.
“I wanted someone who had great plate discipline and the ability to steal bags, so he was perfect,” Mosiello said.
Mershon finished his college career hitting .299 and also led the team in steals with 16.
For Morin, his college career was a bit more scattered than Mershon’s, as he spent two years at Texas Southern University before transferring to Tennessee Technological University for one season. Mosiello classifies Morin as a “true workhorse” who has led the Buckeye bullpen with 19 appearances. Despite his slower velocity, the biggest reason for Morin’s recruitment was his ability to throw strikes, Mosiello said.
The Buckeyes brought in three more bullpen additions from the transfer portal with sophomore Blaine Wynk, junior Noah Wiliamson and senior Colin Purcell, who all came from different levels of collegiate baseball. Williamson transferred from Allegany College of Maryland — a junior college — Wynk transferred from the University of Findlay — a Division II college — and Purcell transferred from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, a Division I college.
Wynk and Purcell combined for 39 appearances and 94.2 innings pitched in 2024, and Williamson pitched 6.2 innings in six appearances.
While Purcell was in Division I at Corpus Christi, he still wanted to challenge himself and play for a Power-Five school. When Ohio State reached out to him, Purcell said it was an easy choice.
“It was actually like my dream school, and growing up I was always a Buckeye,” Purcell said. “I just knew it would give me the best opportunity not only for baseball, but for my career outside of baseball as well.”
To round out the final transfer spots on the 2024 Buckeyes squad, four former junior college athletes were selected. Two juniors — outfielder Nick Giamarusti and infielder Will Henson — tagged along with sophomore pitcher Hunter Shaw and senior infielder Will Carpenter.
Giamarusti has claimed the most playing time out of the four, but said Carpenter may have just been the sole reason he came to Ohio State.
In fact, Giamarusti was roommates with Carpenter last year at John A. Logan College. Carpenter was committed to the Buckeyes in the fall of 2022, which left Giamarusti — who had a broken hand at the time — playing the 2023 junior college baseball season uncommitted, which was a big risk, Giamarusti said.
Eventually, the season ended and he performed well enough for See to reach out to him and offer him a spot on the team — a unique situation that ended with college roommates maintaining their bond at a different school.
“It’s kind of crazy how everyone has their own routes, but we all end up in the same place,” Giamarusti said.
Shaw’s transfer experience was much calmer than Giamarusti’s. In Shaw’s freshman year of collegiate baseball at Lansing Community College, he was named the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II Pitcher of the Year, so recruitment from a bigger school was almost inevitable. When Ohio State reached out to Shaw, Columbus’ winning culture immediately caught his attention, he said.
“Ohio State as a whole wants to win in every aspect,” Shaw said. “If that’s water polo or football or whatever sport, they want to be the best of the best.”
