Miami baseball’s new mentality has revitalized the program

It’s been two decades since Miami University baseball has won the Mid-American Conference (MAC) and made it to the NCAA tournament.

For a program with as storied a history as Miami, boasting record-breaking players such as Buddy Schultz and recent World Series champions like Adam Eaton, it seems odd at best and inexplicable at worst that the RedHawks haven’t had recent success on the diamond.

Brian Smiley was introduced as the 17th manager for the RedHawks after the 2023 season. His first season at the helm brought a six-win improvement and an appearance in the MAC tournament for the first time since 2019.

More importantly, though, Smiley instilled a new culture and mentality throughout the entire program.

“Coach Smiley brought a whole new standard of baseball when he came, and that was kind of an eye-popping experience,” junior pitcher Carson Byers said. “He just demands the best out of each guy every single day. It doesn’t really have to be the best in the country or the most talented team in the country, but you have to be mentally locked in every rep.”

One example of Smiley demanding the best out of his players came this past fall season. It’s during this time of the year when players receive new gear and swag to wear in the clubhouse and throughout campus.

What players saw in their lockers this year was a surprise.

“We got four cotton t-shirts: Two of them had the number four on it, which is where we finished in the MAC last year,” Byers said, “and the other two had .500 on them, which was our winning percentage last year … It’s just a daily reminder as we were going through the grind of the fall that that’s not where we want to be. We want to achieve more.”

So far in the 2025 season, Miami is on track to do just that.

The RedHawks’ strong start to the season saw them win nine series so far, including the first eight to start conference play. Their series win over Central Michigan University was the first series win in Mount Pleasant since 1973.

A complete game from sophomore pitcher Cooper Katskee highlighted the series opener against Central Michigan. Katskee held the Chippewas to just five hits and one run in what ended up being a 4-1 RedHawk victory.

Since becoming the Friday starting pitcher, Katskee has given the RedHawks much-needed pitching support.

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For Smiley, it was a decision that had to be made.

“I think it was kind of one of those decisions that was right there in front of us,” Smiley said. “We were looking for somebody to kind of lock down that Friday night starter role. Just a guy that you knew what you’re going to get.”

Katskee has given the RedHawks consistency. After becoming the Friday starter, Katskee has given up 2.4 runs on average and averaged 5.6 strikeouts, while conceding 1.8 walks in five starts.

Before becoming a starter, Katskee was coming out of the bullpen. Oftentimes, he was throwing three or more innings following the starter. Despite the change, Katskee’s preparation isn’t any different whether he’s starting or coming in relief.

“My whole life is based around consistency, and that’s all the coaches really asked of me,” Katskee said. “If [I’m] throwing an inning, if I’m throwing six innings, if I’m throwing a complete game, it doesn’t matter because I know I don’t want to do more with less every single time I go out there. I just want to be consistent.”

That consistency has paid off for Miami. Katskee’s ERA of 2.84 is second-best in the MAC. The one person he’s behind is his teammate, Byers.

After being named the MAC Reliever of the Year last season, Byers has continued his dominance on the mound. His ERA has improved from 3.97 last season to 2.10 so far in 2025. In 16 appearances and 55.2 innings pitched, Byers has struck out 52 batters and walked 16.

Katskee and Byers have given Smiley and the rest of the RedHawks a steady presence to build on.

“It helps everybody inside of the program whenever you have a consistent, reliable guy that you’re running out there on Friday nights and a consistent, proven, reliable guy at the backside of the game,” Smiley said.

One group that benefits from a consistent pitching staff is the batting lineup. This season, the RedHawk bats have improved on their team average (.282 to .297), on-base percentage (.389 to .419) and slugging percentage (.442 to .491).

The increase in offensive production may come as a surprise for RedHawk fans, as two of their best power bats in Zach MacDonald and Ryland Zaborowski did not return. However, the not-so-secret recipe of hard work, consistency and coaching has allowed returning players such as Evan Appelwick, Anthony Zarlingo, Ty Batusich, Ryan Novak, Dillon Baker and David Novak to step up.

“Everything, every bit of success that those guys are having, is directly attributed to the time coach [Kyle] Trewyn puts in with them,” Smiley said. “They’re doing drill work daily, there’s been guys that have cut down on their strikeouts, they’re working on pitch recognition, making mechanical adjustments, and that’s an ongoing process … It’s just been a lot of work, a lot of good mix and combination of drill work and hitting off live pitching in the fall and winter.”

It’ll take a full team effort to continue the early-season success into the homestretch of the season. Miami has two more conference series in the regular season before the MAC tournament begins in Avon, Ohio, on May 21.

The top six teams make the MAC tournament, and the top two will receive byes. A No. 2 seed would allow the RedHawks to play one less game, giving the team time to rest while the No. 3 through No. 6 seeds battle it out.

More than anything, it’ll take strong pitching to get the RedHawks back to the NCAA tournament. For team leaders such as Katskee and Byers, they will continue to emphasize the same mentality that got them there.

“I think what we need to do is to continue to rely on our mentality,” Byers said. “I think that’s what’s gotten us here so far … I think it’s going to be a really fun team to watch.”

mill2361@miamioh.edu