Miami's Development of Returning Sophomore Pitchers Is Key to Long-Term Success

AJ Ciscar and Tate DeRias both have a lot to carry entering this season for the Miami Hurricanes baseball team.

Miami Hurricanes freshman right-handed pitcher AJ Ciscar throwing a strike against No. 13 NC State. | Miami Athletics

The college baseball season is near, and the Miami Hurricanes have a roster and coaching staff that have expectations of making the College Baseball World Series.

Offensively, they return most of their dominant hitters from a Super Regionals team one run away from making it to Omaha. Highlighted by Daniel Cuvet and Jake Ogden, the Canes have the chance to have the most dominant offense in the country.

The only question mark is whether the pitching rotation is similar to last season. The Hurricanes have lost two of the four starters thanks to the MLB Draft, but they return two who saw their roles increase as freshmen.

Tate DeRais and AJ Ciscar prepare for an elavated role this season after stellar freshman campaigns, entering as the No. 1 and No. 2 pitchers in the starting rotation.

Tate DeRias pitching against No. 5 Florida State. | Miami Hurricanes Athletics

Head coach J.D. Arteaga has watched both grow and develop over the past season and expects big things from the two young star players.

"You know, I guess they ended up in the same place, but they started completely different situations where, AJ was in the bullpen, and he was throwing meaningful innings and high-leverage innings from the start, really. And it just kind of pulled it into the starting role, and really by the end of the day, you could argue, was our number one starter, and you know, we could go with him game one in the Super Regional," Arteaga said.

A stellar outing from freshman AJ Ciscar comes to a close 🙌

Ciscar: 6.2 IP | 5 H | 1 R | 1 BB | 6 K

T7 | Miami 8 | NC State 1 pic.twitter.com/jLSeZxj1ky

— Miami Hurricanes Baseball (@CanesBaseball) May 4, 2025

"Where Tate didn't really have a role. He was kind of stuck in that long relief. 
Middle guy, you know, someone basically has has to fail at their job for him to come into the game. But, you know, it as a conversation with Tate, be patient. Keep developing, keep getting better, your time's gonna come. It came a little earlier than we expected, his opportunity to be, but he fully took advantage of that credit to him, and they both come into the same place in the rotation."

The development of both players has been vital for how successful the Canes can be this season. They have goals to be in Omaha in June, and getting the best pitching they can from these two comes down to how many pitches each has.

"So as far as development, they' both, continue to get better, they' two different types of pitchers, right? I think AJ really realizes his strength is how much movement he has on his pitches, you know, and he's getting outs with punch pitches, but there's so much movement in him that he's tough to hit." Arteaga said. "When he starts commanding it, it's scary to think what he could be when he starts commanding you, really locating his fastball, slider, change up, and those things., There's room for growth there,

"In Tate's situation, he's kind of against four. Sometimes too many pitches, you can save, he's got four or five pitches, and it's really narrowing it down, and then I' you know, three really plus plus pitches, but he's got the ability to pitch forwards him backwards because you can manipulate the ball.

"He's got a cutter and a slider and a curveball and to change it for a fast one, so you can pitch forward and backwards more, and now it's just learning how to pitch in the zone and really to get out the way, you with his strength and not where he wants to be who he is. And they both in there, they're both get there and improving every day."

---

Follow all social media platforms to stay up to date with everything Miami Hurricanes-related: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, and BlueSky.