Michigan will play in the No. 4 vs. No. 5 matchup.
The No. 4 seed Michigan Wolverines will take on the No. 5 seed Iowa Hawkeyes in the first round of the Big Ten baseball tournament.
The eight-team, double-elimination tournament will determine the conference’s automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. Given that no Big Ten teams are ranked in the top-25 of Baseball America’s D1 rankings at the moment, it will most likely be imperative to win the conference tournament if Michigan (or any other Big Ten team) wants to make the NCAA Tournament. Illinois, which won the Big Ten Championship outright, earned the No. 1 seed.
The Wolverines came into the final weekend on a three-game win streak, looking to jump up in the Big Ten standings as they were tied with Purdue at No. 3. After taking the first game of the doubleheader on Thursday, however, Michigan fell to the Indiana Hoosiers in the final two games of the regular season, ultimately leading to a 30-26 overall record and 14-10 in the conference.
By dropping two out of three in the series, the Wolverines tied for fourth place with Iowa, who they’ll play in the opener of the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday.
Big Ten Tournament bracket
No. 1 seed #illini baseball begins with No. 8 seed Penn State at 6 p.m. CT Tuesday in Omaha. pic.twitter.com/kQy91QDqsN
— Jeremy Werner (@JWerner247) May 19, 2024
Throughout his second season as Michigan’s skipper, Tracy Smith improved from 28-28 in 2023 to 30-24 this year. The Wolverines largely went to the transfer portal and brought in everyday starters in outfielder Stephen Hrustich (Northwestern) who led the team in home runs this season with 15 and batted .301 for the season, second baseman Mack Timbrook (Kent State) who led Michigan with a .306 batting average for the season, shortstop Kyle Dernedde (Oregon State ) who was the only Wolverine to start every game this season and finished fifth on the team in batting average (.251) with 10 doubles and a .375 OBP, third baseman Cole Caruso (University of South Carolina Upstate) who knocked in 43 RBIs and held a .333 on-base-percentage, and catcher Will Rogers (Arizona State ) who started 36 games at catcher, hitting seven home runs and batting .241, while also putting in 40.2 IP on the mound with a 6.20 ERA.
In addition, Smith recruited his first class and played a lot of freshmen who made their mark on the season in a big way. Most notably, Collin Priest came onto the scene halfway through the season, and keeping him out of the lineup became impossible. Against Purdue last weekend, Priest batted .545 with a 1.091 slugging percentage, winning Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors. He tallied four extra-base hits in that series, including three in one game for a new career-high. In that game, he also set new career highs in doubles (two) and hits (four).
Priest followed up the weekend with a 3-for-4 day against the Akron Zips on Tuesday with a double, two runs and an RBI. To finish the season on an even higher note, he homered for the third straight game against Indiana on Thursday and set a new Michigan freshman record with 11 home runs in one season.
Finally, the Wolverines have been fortunate to have solid pitching this season, mainly from sophomore Kurt Barr, senior Jacob Denner (3.91 ERA, 8-4, 26 appearances), and two-way sophomore Mitch Voit (5.49 ERA in 62.1 IP/.280 average, 20 doubles, 10 home runs).
Barr played sparingly during his freshman year in 2023 but burst onto the scene in 2024 to become Michigan’s top starting pitcher. He more than tripled his innings from 23.2 to 79.1, posting team-highs with a 3.52 ERA and a .222 BAA. He will most likely get the nod on Wednesday.
The Wolverines will face a Hawkeyes team that is 31-21 overall and also 14-10 in conference play. Michigan played Iowa earlier in the season, and the Wolverines won two out of three in Iowa City.
The Hawkeyes are led by Raider Tello (.370 average, 1.045 OPS, seven home runs in 52 starts this season), Andy Nelson (.340 average, 1.013 OPS, nine home runs in 41 starts), and Davis Cop (.327 average, .855 OPS, seven home runs in 49 starts). In total, Iowa has eight players with a batting average greater than .300 and four batters with an OPS greater than 1.000.
As for pitching, they are led by starter Brody Brecht (3.55 ERA, 71.0 innings pitched in 14 starts) and Jack Young out of the bullpen (2.61 ERA in 31.0 innings pitched).
The tournament begins Tuesday at 10 a.m. local time in Omaha, Neb. at Charles Schwab Field. Michigan will play Iowa on Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET. Big Ten Network will broadcast every game of the tournament. Games will also be available on the FOX Sports App.