2024 Kubota College Baseball Series - Weekend 2

Michigan Baseball Schedule 2024: What To Know

Here’s everything you need to know about Michigan baseball for the 2024 season. The Wolverines head to Arlington for the 2024 Kubota Baseball Series.

Feb 22, 2024 by FloBaseball Staff

Michigan Baseball Schedule 2024: What To Know

Five years on since it had a magical run in Omaha, Michigan baseball is looking to usher in a new surge of pride in the program.

With promising underclassmen shining and a first-year head coach steering the ship, the Wolverines had some growing pains in 2023, but a lot of promise for the future, too.

The 2024 season will be an important one in terms of U-M’s trajectory for growth. The program was getting used to routine postseason appearances, however, and with no Regional trip a year ago, the aim is clear.

Here’s a look at all you need to know about Michigan baseball with the 2024 college baseball season now underway.

How Did Michigan Baseball Do in 2023?

The Wolverines were likely disappointed at the end of their 2023 season after missing out on the NCAA Tournament for the first time in three years in which the tourney was held.

U-M finished 28-28 overall, narrowly avoiding their first losing record since 2012, and placed sixth in the Big Ten Conference at season’s end, with notable wins over league runner-up Indiana and eventual Regional finalist Xavier, in nonconference play, not signifying a strong enough resume to get Michigan back to the NCAA Tournament as an at-large.

However, the year wasn’t without a haul of individual accolades for some Wolverines: Connor O’Halloran was named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Year—the first U-M hurler to win the Big Ten’s top pitching honor since 2008—after going 8-6 on the year and striking out 110 batters in 103 innings, and three combined nominees to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team (Mitch Voit twice as a third baseman and relief pitcher, Jonathan Kim once) indicated that the future could be bright in Michigan’s program.

Who Coaches Michigan Baseball?

Tracy Smith was hired in July 2022 after former coach Erik Bakich bolted Ann Arbor for the same job at Clemson. Bakich had taken U-M to the College World Series in his tenure, but Smith has taken a Big Ten team to the biggest stage in college baseball in his career, too. Back when Smith was the head coach of Indiana from 2006-14, he took a Hoosiers program that had only earned one NCAA Tournament berth in its history before he took over and helped lead it to the CWS in 2013, plus he earned a pair of Big Ten regular-season conference titles as coach to boot.

Has Michigan Baseball Ever Won the College World Series?

Yes, Michigan baseball has won two national championships in its history—but it’s been awhile.

One of the winningest college baseball programs ever, the Wolverines captured their titles in 1953 and 1962—in total, U-M has made the CWS eight times, most recently in 2019.

That year, the Wolverines made a remarkable run to the national finals from being the No. 3 seed in their regional, pulling off a litany of upsets before falling to Vanderbilt across three games to finish as national runner-up.

Notable Returning Players

Mitch Voit, INF/P

Is there anything Voit can’t do on a diamond? Voit is so good that the Big Ten had to name him to its All-Freshman team twice a season ago.

The Wisconsinite held it down at third base for much of the year while also finishing the year as the Wolverines’ ERA leader (3.25) after pitching 36 innings as their closer, hitting .267 with seven home runs and 32 RBIs at the plate in addition to it.

Shifting to first base for this season, Voit is still doing double duty at Michigan as one of the best two-way options in all of college baseball, starting his 2024 season strong against Western Michigan this past weekend by throwing four innings with five strikeouts in the first half of a doubleheader, then having a three-hit outing with an RBI and a run in the second half of the twin-bill.

Jonathan Kim, OF

Burdened with one of the least-potent offenses in the Big Ten last season, Michigan (which finished 11th out of 13 teams in both team batting average and total runs) didn’t have much to brag about in its lineup—except Kim.

One of the Wolverines’ few consistent bright spots at the plate, Kim led the team with a .322 average in 2023 and probably would’ve come close to leading U-M in a multitude of other offensive statistical categories had he not missed 12 games.

Still, an average of over a hit per outing (47 hits in 44 games played) plus 10 doubles and 28 RBIs weren’t bad numbers for a rookie in the Big Ten, and he’s ripped out right away to an electric start to his sophomore year by going 9 for 17 (.529 average) with four runs and five RBIs across four games against Western Michigan on opening weekend.

Notable Newcomers

Stephen Hrustich, OF

An experienced and successful grad transfer is almost always a plus to any program, but they become especially valuable if they’ve already proven their worth in the same conference. A Northwestern transfer, Hrustich spent four seasons with the Wildcats and was an All-Big Ten Third Team selection this past year, in which he hit .325 with six home runs.

Those solid numbers didn’t lead to many victories, however, as Hrustich went through a lot of losing and other turmoil at Northwestern, the Wildcats never having a winning season in his three complete years there.

Staying in the same league at Michigan, Hrustich will be looking to contribute to a consistent winner in the Big Ten for the first time in his college career, and he’s currently on a three-game RBI streak going into the Wolverines’ matchup against Oklahoma State on Friday exclusively on FloBaseball.

Dylan Vigue, RHP

There’s a lot of hype surrounding Vigue, and for good reason. One of only three freshmen to be selected to the Big Ten’s Preseason Honors List, Vigue may be a rookie at the college level, but he got his first taste of college competition this past summer and thrived.

Playing in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League—a summer wood-bat league for college commits or first-year college players based in New England — the Massachusetts native was named to the league’s all-star team after a 2.56 ERA across 31⅔ innings pitched for the Worcester Bravehearts.

Those numbers came after a great senior year at the prep level in which he dominated on the mound, tallying a 1.46 ERA with 71 strikeouts in just 38⅓ innings, while also being the No. 1 shortstop prospect in his home state after averaging .317 with five homers and 17 RBIs at the plate. Slated to be a pitcher only in Ann Arbor, Vigue could make some noise.