New faces but the same goal: Miami Hurricanes baseball wants to get back to prominence
Make sure to have a roster on hand when watching the Miami Hurricanes baseball team this season.
There are a lot of new names and faces to learn.
The Hurricanes have 29 new players this season — 14 freshmen plus another 15 via the transfer portal — and only eight players who were with the team in 2024 when they went 27-30 (11-19 in Atlantic Coast Conference play).
So much turnover could be a reason to worry as the team begins its season Friday by hosting Niagara for a three-game series at Mark Light Field. Friday’s game is at 7 p.m., Saturday at 6 p.m. and Sunday at noon.
But J.D. Arteaga, heading into his second season as the Hurricanes’ head coach and 23rd year with the program overall, isn’t too concerned about the massive influx of players. The team did its due diligence when figuring out who to add, using an interactive database to have a better understanding of which players will fit at Miami.
“It’s not about the sexy name or the big names; it’s trying to find guys that have performed in the past,” Arteaga said. “They may be coming from a mid-major or a school of different levels. They want to prove to themselves and other people that they can do it at a Power 5.”
The Hurricanes hope to have better production on the field than they have had in recent history. Miami hasn’t reached the College World Series since 2016 and has missed the NCAA tournament all together three times in the past seven seasons (not including the 2020 season that was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
Expectations externally are low on the team. They were voted to finish 11th in the 16-team ACC in the league’s coaches poll. Baseball America projects the Hurricanes to finish 13th in the league, while D1Baseball has them 14th.
But Arteaga and the Hurricanes aren’t focusing on what the outside is saying. The priority is getting the season started on a strong note and building from there.
“We’ve been going at this since August,” Arteaga said. “It’s not like it starts Friday. Friday is the first, I guess, measuring stick to see where we’re at, and Niagara is a very good team; we’re excited to have them down here.”
Player to watch: Daniel Cuvet
Arguably the Hurricanes’ best player is one of their few returnees.
Cuvet was one of the country’s top freshmen a year ago. He was named a Freshman All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, D1Baseball, Perfect Game and Baseball America after hitting .351 with a 1.165 on-base-plus-slugging mark, 24 home runs, 75 RBI and 52 runs scored. His two dozen home runs are the single-single record by a UM freshman and the second most in a season in school history.
The third baseman is already racking up preseason accolades as well, with Cuvet being named to the watch list for the Golden Spikes Award (given to the nation’s top player) as well as a preseason All-American by the NCBWA, D1Baseball and Perfect Game. D1Baseball also named Cuvet as the country’s top third baseman.
Beyond Cuvet, newcomers such as outfielder Derek Williams (Wichita State) and Max Galvin (Oklahoma State) along with infielders Bobby Marsh (Penn State) and Jake Ogden (UNC Greensboro) are players who are in lines for big roles with Miami this season.
The weekend rotation
All three members of the Hurricanes’ weekend rotation from last season were picked in the 2024 MLB Draft, with Rafe Schlesinger going to the Cleveland Guardians in the third round, Gage Ziehl to the New York Yankees in the fourth round and Herick Hernandez to the Atlanta Braves in the fourth round. The trio combined to throw 249 of the Hurricanes’ 501 2/3 innings — 49.6% — last season.
Miami’s new-look rotation, at least to begin the year, will be sophomore righty Nick Robert on Friday, junior righty Griffin Hugus on Saturday and redshirt junior Brian Walters on Sunday.
Robert made 29 appearances out of the bullpen last season as a freshman for Miami, pitching to a 4.79 ERA with 30 strikeouts against 22 walks over 41 1/3 innings.
Hugus joins the Hurricanes after playing his first two seasons at Cincinnati. The Wellington native was a two-way player with the Bearcats but will work exclusively as a pitcher for Miami.
Walters, the younger brother of former UM closer Andrew Walters, made 15 appearances out of the bullpen last season, striking out 22 batters over 13 2/3 innings while posting a 3.29 ERA.
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