Miami Baseball Gets Underway Friday As A New Era Begins In Coral Gables
With the Miami Hurricanes hosting New Jersey Institute of Tech (NJIT) this Friday, it will officially kick off the start of the 2024 baseball season for new head coach J.D. Arteaga.
In his 22nd season as a coach at Miami and now his first as head coach, he'll take over a team that saw its season end on it's own field last year as the University of Texas beat them 10-6 in regionals. Now without stars such has Yohandy Morales and Andrew Walters, this team is comprised of a mix of transfers, returners and freshmen looking to lead this new era.
One of those returners is Gage Ziehl, who will be Miami's opening day starter. The right-handed junior threw 92.0 innings last season across 16 games as a starter, with a 8-4 record and 4.30 ERA. Ziehl ended his season strong in 2023, not allowing a run in six innings in their win over Maine.
The rest of the rotation for the opening series will be left-handed junior Rafe Schlesinger on Saturday and Miami Dade College transfer lefty Herick Hernandez on Sunday, as both of those pitchers were mentioned by the players are tough matchups during practices.
In terms of the bullpen, Coach Arteaga shared that Lynn University transfer Drew Dwyer is set to be the closer for Miami this coming season. A seventh year player, Dwyer served as Lynn's closer during the 2022 season before switching to a starter in 2023.
One of the top names mentioned continues to be freshman infielder Daniel Cuvet, Perfect Game's Class of 2023 top third baseman who elected to forgo the MLB and join Miami. A player praised for his power, him and freshman Antonio Jimenez are expected to be two of the top freshman on this roster.
Perhaps one of the top names to keep an eye out for this season will be sophomore infielder Blake Cyr, who hit .306 with a 1.056 OPS and finished second on the team in home runs with 17. Cyr told the media that he's looking past the Texas game, where he was the final out of the season.
Now with a new head coach and two new assistant coaches, the Hurricanes will get to spend over a month to start the season acclimating in South Florida, as they don't travel out of the region until March 22nd when they take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Currently not ranked in any of the major preseason rankings, Miami has their eyes on returning to Omaha for a 26th time for a program that has the second most appearances ever. Follow all season long at AllHurricanes.com as the Hurricanes start their season this Friday.
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