On the cusp of a Coastal Athletic Association title last season, Elon baseball’s path to the top isn’t exactly getting any easier this year.

But the Phoenix also are used to proving doubters wrong, too.

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Coming off a season in which it narrowly missed out on a conference championship, Elon had its moments—and plenty of them—and no opponent on its schedule was safe.

Now, the CAA is the strongest it’s ever been. 

The conference has two returning NCAA Tournament teams, plus former Big South Conference champion Campbell arriving to join the party for its inaugural season in the league.

Here’s all you need to know about Elon baseball now that the 2024 season is underway.

How Did Elon Baseball Do In 2023?

Winning their most games in a single year since 2019, the Phoenix had a strong season with plenty of growth to celebrate, but they were close to having much more. 

After being picked to finish seventh in the CAA’s preseason poll, Elon shattered expectations and took regular-season champion UNC Wilmington to the limit with a second-place finish in the conference. The Seahawks needed to seal the title on the final day of the regular season. 

Ranked wins over NC State, Campbell and even eventual No. 1 national seed and national semifinalist Wake Forest indicated that Elon had the talent at its disposal to beat anyone on a given day, but those days didn’t arrive in the CAA Tournament, as two losses to Northeastern knocked the Phoenix out of the postseason. 

Who Coaches Elon Baseball?

Mike Kennedy is Elon baseball, in a lot of ways. 

He starred for the program (then competing in the NAIA) as a catcher in the late 1980s and early 1990s, before being drafted and having a brief stint in the minors. 

He eventually was brought on as an assistant coach and then being hired as head coach for the 1997 season, when Elon still was playing sports at the Division II level. 

Has Elon Baseball Ever Won The College World Series?

No, Elon baseball has never won the Men’s College World Series. 

The program has made the NCAA Tournament six times, with the most recent appearance coming in 2013, but the Phoenix have never advanced past the regional round. 

Notable Returning Players

Justin Mitrovich, RHP

Justin Mitrovich garnered a CAA All-Rookie team after a good year in which he went 7-4 with a 3.38 ERA and 54 strikeouts in 56 innings pitched. This season, he has been handed extra responsibility by the Phoenix’s coaching staff, and he's already thriving. 

After his promising freshman season, Mitrovich was named Elon’s Opening-Day starter for the first matchup of a three-game series against Navy this season. He took his opportunity and ran with it. The 6-foot-3 Pennsylvanian tossed a seven-inning gem, allowing one earned run on two hits, while tying his career high of nine strikeouts, compared to one walk. 

It was just one start, sure, but as Mitrovich looks to be one of the CAA’s top arms this season, it was a great start to have to begin the 2024 season.

Charlie Granatell, OF

Now for another Elon player who had a great opening weekend, and it could be the start of big things to come in 2024 for the junior. 

Charlie Granatell was a pick for the 2022 CAA All-Rookie team but took a bit of a step backward during his sophomore season a year ago, seeing many of his offensive numbers dip. His average slid from .286 in 2022 to .272 in 2023, for instance. 

In the Phoenix’s series to start the year against the Midshipmen, however, Granatell was near-unstoppable. 

The New Jersey native went 10 for 15 (.667) during the series with three doubles, four RBIs and seven runs on his way to CAA Player of the Week honors, tallying the most hits by an Elon player in a series in at least a decade, per a school news release. 

Notable Newcomers

Tate Ostrowski, RHP

A transfer from Division III Grove City College, Tate Ostrowski was a monster with the Wolverines, being named a multiple-time All-American as an ace for three seasons. 

Ostrowski comes into this season with an impressive 26-4 career record, 2.17 ERA and a Grove City-record 288 career strikeouts across 248 1/3 innings pitched. Highlights for Ostrowski during his time at the Division III level included throwing seven complete games across 10 starts during the 2021 season, a 9-1 record last season (featuring six outings with at least 10 strikeouts) and a perfect game thrown during his junior season. 

Tank Yaghoubi, OF

One of the best freshmen in the CAA last season, Tank Yaghoubi didn’t wreck the league for a .364 average across 50 games at Elon, but rather at William & Mary, where he was the Tribe’s second-best hitter (tallying 55 hits, including five doubles) behind CAA Player of the Year Ben Williamson. 

Yaghoubi, a selection to the CAA All-Rookie team, is ready to build off of that strong season and make noise as a sophomore, except he’ll be doing it at a different CAA program. 

Yaghoubi moved to Elon in the offseason as one of eight transfers, but it is the fact that Yaghoubi was so good so early into his college career in the CAA that makes him one of Elon’s top new additions to watch for the 2024 season.

Elon Baseball Schedule 2024

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2024 Elon Baseball Roster

How To Watch CAA Baseball in 2024

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FloBaseball will be streaming several season-opening college baseball tournaments, including the Shriners Children's College Showdown, Sanderson Ford College Baseball Classic and the Kubota College Baseball Series.

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