The Miami University RedHawks baseball team (38-15, 25-8) will head to the Mid-American Conference (MAC) tournament as the one seed for the second straight year. Going into May, the team was one game behind the Kent State University Golden Flashes, but won its last six games to clinch the regular season MAC championship.
From May 20-24, six teams will compete for the MAC tournament title and Avon Ohio’s ForeFront Field. On day one, the No. 3 seed University of Toledo Rockets will face the No. 6 seed Ball State University Cardinals and the No. 4 seed Northern Illinois University Huskies will face the No. 5 Western Michigan University Broncos. The winners will face either Miami or Kent State, who each hold a bye, on day two.
The tournament uses a double-elimination rule, which means teams must lose twice to be eliminated from title contention. Last year, the RedHawks (35-23, 23-7) took home the trophy without losing a single game.
This year, Miami finished with three more wins and eight less losses than its 2025-26 season, showing that although the team won the MAC, it still improved from last year.
Redshirt junior outfielder Tommy Harrison leads the charge for the RedHawk bats with a .402 batting average, good for ninth in NCAA Division I baseball. He also leads the team in hits (82), home runs (17) and RBI (85).
Freshman infielder Diego Cruz and junior outfielder Marcus Dierks follow close behind the team lead in averages, batting .391 and .387, respectively. Altogether the team holds a .313 average, the highest in the MAC.
A crucial improvement from last season is the team’s speed on the bases. Dierks leads the team in stolen bases with 39, followed by Cruz with 22. Last season, no RedHawk batter had more than 10 stolen bases. The team has recorded the fourth most stolen bases (100) among the 12 MAC conference teams.
The team has also developed a keen eye for the strike zone, leading the conference in walks (357), 72 more than the next best team.
Teams also have to worry about the RedHawks’ hitting power. Behind Harrison’s 17, redshirt senior infielder Evan Applewick and junior outfielder Ryan Novak are tied for second in home runs with 13 each.
Redshirt freshman infielder Ignacio Gonzalez is also in the double digits for home runs with 10. Altogether the team has tallied the most home runs (88) in the MAC, 22 more than the next best team.
On the pitching side, fifth year pitcher Clayton Burke and senior lefty Zac Sohosky started the majority of the games for the RedHawks, posting a 9-1 and 7-1 record, respectively. Senior closing pitcher Austin Berggren accumulated seven saves in 23 appearances, the most on the team, and recorded the lowest ERA on the team, 3.86.
The RedHawks have proven to be the team to beat in the tournament after earning series wins against Kent State, Toledo, Western Michigan University and Ball State University, four of the five other teams competing in the tournament. The only in-conference team to sweep the Redhawks this season was Northern Illinois University.
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Miami could seek revenge on the Huskies as early as day two if they defeat Western Michigan and Toledo defeats Ball State on day one.
With a MAC tournament win, the RedHawks would advance to the NCAA Division I tournament for the second straight season. Entering the tournament, Miami sits at 37 in the NCAA’s Rating Percentage Index, designed to rank teams based on winning percentage and strength of opponent. With such a high value, the prospect of an at-large bid if the RedHawks fail to win their conference tournament is conceivable.
Last year, the RedHawks didn’t win either of their games in the double-elimination tournament, but they have a chance to redeem themselves this year.
After the first two games of the tournament on Wednesday, May 20, Miami will play the lower seed winner at 2 p.m. on Thursday, May 21 at ForeFront Field in Avon, Ohio.
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