Spring is synonymous with change, and Minnesota Golden Gopher baseball is about to experience the biggest change a team can.
For the first time in 43 seasons, the Gophers baseball team will not be led by John Anderson. In May 2024, the Gophers announced Ty McDevitt would take over, and he has been bursting with anticipation ever since.
While scrimmaging is an essential part of preparation, McDevitt appeared ecstatic to finally coach a regular season game.
“We’ve really gotten after it since fall, but we are really ready to play someone in a different color other than Maroon,” McDevitt said.
Minnesota finished last season with a 25-23 record, marking the first time since 2019 that the team finished above a .500 winning percentage.
Minnesota’s pitching rotation will look different from last season. Pitchers Connor Wietgrefe and Tucker Novotny were drafted to the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Oakland Athletics respectively.
Returning pitchers for the Gophers include Kyle Remington, Justin Thorsteinson and Noah Rooney. This season will mark Rooney’s return to the mound as an elbow injury forced him to sit out in 2024.
The Gophers had a busy offseason, adding 10 transfers and seven freshmen.
“They’re all going to contribute in some form or fashion, and the common denominator with all of them is that they love to compete,” McDevitt said.
The Gophers retained three key players from last year — third baseman Jake Perry, catcher Weber Neels and outfielder Josh Fitzgerald.
Perry and Neels were named to D1Baseball’s preseason top 50 lists, with Perry ranking as the No. 23 third baseman and Neels as the No. 40 catcher. Both hit over .300 last season, and each had 48 RBIs.
Fitzgerald, who returned from a 2023 ACL injury last season, was named the No. 74 outfielder on D1Baseball’s Top 100 Outfielders list. Fitzgerald was sixth in hitting in the Big Ten last season, including a batting average of .360 and nine home runs.
With the Big Ten expanding the conference to 17 teams this year, this season features the first time Minnesota plays 30 Big Ten games in a season.
“We’ve added two weekends of games to the Big Ten schedule, so getting after it in our non-conference schedule and being prepared for that is more important than ever,” McDevitt said.
A first for this year’s schedule is the Karbach Round Rock Classic at Dell Diamond rock, where they will compete against Oklahoma, Virginia and Oregon State in a round-robin tournament. All three of those teams ranked in the top 25 last year.
Minnesota’s nine-game road stretch to start the season ends in Tempe, Arizona against the Arizona State Sun Devils.
“If you’re going to go to a place and really get acclimated to college baseball, Arizona State’s on the shortlist,” McDevitt said.
In March, the Gophers play the Kansas Jayhawks for their first non-conference home series, marking the return of former Gopher outfielder Brady Counsell. Counsell played all 48 games for Minnesota last season.
The Gophers kick off their first three-game series of the season on the road Feb. 13, facing off against the Houston University Cougars at Schroeder Park. Texas transfer Cole Selvig, Remington and Thorsteinson are Minnesota’s projected starting pitchers.
