Here’s how the University of Miami baseball team is looking as 2025 season approaches
When it comes to Miami Hurricanes sports, the biggest headlines right now are for football and the transfer portal.
But Miami’s baseball team is officially set to begin practice on Jan. 24 and the season opener is scheduled for Feb. 14 against visiting Niagara.
Here then are eight takeaways regarding Canes baseball:
1. LOTS OF NEWCOMERS
J.D. Arteaga – who is set to start his second season as head coach – has brought in 15 transfers, and many of them come from mid-major programs.
“These are guys who want to prove themselves against better competition,” Arteaga said.
The Hurricanes also brought in 13 freshmen and returned eight veterans after going 27-30 last season – quite a disappointment for one of the greatest programs in college baseball history.
Now Arteaga gets another chance, and he’s leaning hard on high-character players with something to prove.
2. RETURNING STANDOUTS
It’s a short list: Third baseman Daniel Cuvet is Miami’s best overall player; and second baseman Dorian Gonzalez Jr. is a returning starter.
As a freshman last year, Cuvet led Miami in batting average (.351); homers (24); runs (52); RBIs (75); slugging percentage (.736); and on-base (.429). He just needs to clean up a bit on defense, where he made a team-high 12 errors.
Gonzalez, who swings from the left side, hit .303 last season with eight homers, an .849 OPS and just four errors. He will likely hit in the two-hole.
3. THERE’S A NEW CATCHER
Tanner Smith, who made 32 starts last year for a 45-16 Oregon State team, is the new catcher. He hit just .221 with a .782 OPS last season, but he plays solid defense and provides leadership.
Challenging Smith will be three freshmen: Ethan Puig, Nolan Johnson and Evan Taveras. Puig was converted to catcher this fall.
4. NEW INFIELDERS, TOO
Todd Hudson has a good shot at winning the job at first base. A 6-foot-6 lefty hitter, Hudson blasted 11 homers at Liberty last season, posting a .981 OPS.
The biggest battle has been at shortstop between UNC Greensboro transfer Jake Ogden and freshmen Adrian Areizaga and Brandon DeGoti.
Arteaga said Ogden will be in the lineup every day -- likely batting leadoff – whether his position is shortstop or first base. At UNC Greensboro last season, Ogden started all 54 games for a 33-21 team. He hit .313, scored 54 runs, stole 16 bases in 18 attempts and had an .867 OPS with 10 doubles, two triples and eight homers.
Areizaga, a native of Puerto Rico, was the Reds’ 14th-round pick this year. DeGoti’s brother, Alex, 29, is a pro shortstop who played two games in the majors in 2021.
5. LEFTY OUTFIELDERS
Max Galvin in left; Michael Torres in center; and Fabio Peralta and Jake Kulikowski in right all hit from the left side.
As a junior-college sophomore in 2023, Galvin hit .400 in 51 games with 58 runs, 17 doubles, three triples, six homers and 41 RBIs.
Galvin was hurt last year at Oklahoma State and did not play. But he had a great summer as the MVP of the Northwoods League All-Star Game. For the season, he hit .344 with 20 doubles, 13 homers, a 1.000 OPS and a franchise-record 72 RBIs in 64 games.
Freshman Torres – according to Arteaga – is the best defensive center fielder the Hurricanes have had in 20 years, since Danny Figueroa left for the pros in 2005.
“I’m not sure how much he will hit,” Arteaga said, “but he will save runs, and he has a strong arm.”
A righty-swinging outfielder to watch is Derek Williams, a Wichita State transfer. Williams started 51 games for the Shockers last season, hitting .318 with a team-high 14 homers, 13 doubles and a 1.040 OPS.
If all else fails, Miami could try Hudson in right field, where he has experience. In that scenario, Ogden would move to first base, and one of the freshmen would start at shortstop.
6. OPTIONS AT DH
Lefty-swinging Penn State transfer Bobby Marsh – ironically – got his first collegiate hit in Miami against the Hurricanes as he belted a pinch-hit double as a freshman in 2023. He made third-team All-Big Ten that year, hitting .310 with six homers, 35 RBIs and a .912 OPS in 44 games.
As a sophomore last season, Marsh started 52 games and hit .309 with six homers, 47 RBIs and an .845 OPS.
Renzo Gonzalez, who missed last season due to elbow surgery, can play the infield or the outfield. He figures as a utility player who bats from the left side. In 2023, he hit .322 with a .799 OPS in 87 at-bats.
7. MAKING THE SWITCH
Miami’s projected weekend rotation is made up of converted relievers taking their first stabs at high-level rotation work.
Sophomore Nick Robert (5-4, 4.79, four saves) got his fastball up to 95-96 mph this fall with good sink. At 6-6 and 235 pounds, Robert’s pitches get on hitters quickly.
Griffin Hugus, a South Florida native, went 0-3, 4.91 with two saves in 33 innings at Cincinnati last season. Not overly impressive, but Arteaga compared his mound presence to Miami’s 2024 ace, Gage Ziehl.
Brian Walters (0-1, 3.29, one save) was throwing 96-98 on Scout Day. His brother Andrew, a former Canes pitcher, made it to the majors this year with Cleveland.
Alex Giroux, who at age 24 is the team’s oldest player, could be the mid-week starter. He went 7-3, 3.43 for Hawaii last season in 21 appearances, including 16 in relief.
8. CLOSING TIME
Jackson Cleveland, who went 5-0, 3.80 with four saves last season at Lamar, is Miami’s new closer.
“He throws mid-90s, and he has the perfect temperament to be a closer,” Arteaga said. “He reminds me of (ex-Canes closer) Danny Graves.”