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Bio Blast: Indiana State Sycamores

IMG_8756by:Daniel Hager•05/28/24•

DanielHagerKSR

Indiana State (42-13, 22-5) finished as the Runner-Ups in the 2024 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, which was won by Evansville. The Sycamores however received an at-large bid and will be the No. 2 seed in the Lexington Regional.

As of May 26, both D1Baseball (No. 15) and Baseball America (No. 13) projected Indiana State as a Regional Host in its final Field of 64 Projections. However, eight teams with a lower RPI than the Sycamores were rewarded Regionals (Arizona, East Carolina, NC State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon State, UC Santa Barbara, and Virginia).

With the 10th best RPI in the country, Indiana State was the second highest team snubbed of a Regional. No. 9 Wake Forest did not receive a Regional and will be the No. 2 seed in the Greenville Regional.

Indiana State will meet Illinois in the second game of the Lexington Regional Friday night, where the winner will face the winner of Kentucky/Western Michigan on Saturday. The losers of their respective games will play in an eliminator on Saturday, with the loser heading home.

Season Stats:

OFFENSE:

  • .299 BA (T-52nd in NCAA, 2nd in MVC)
  • .521 SLG% (28th in NCAA, 1st in MVC)
  • .408 OBP (T-42nd in NCAA, 2nd in MVC)
  • 566 Hits (T-77th in NCAA, 5th in MVC)
  • 105 Doubles (T-113th in NCAA, 6th in MVC)
  • 101 Home Runs (T-29th in NCAA, 3rd in MVC)
  • 32 Stolen Bases (264th in NCAA, 10th in MVC)

PITCHING:

  • 4.61 ERA (T-28th in NCAA, 1st in MVC)
  • 8.44 H/9 (29th in NCAA, 1st in MVC)
  • 10.7 K/9 (T-10th in NCAA, 1st in MVC)

Players to Know:

  • RHP Brennyn Cutts: The junior right-handed pitcher was named 2024 MVC Pitcher of the Year following his third season at Indiana State. Cutts started 15 games for the Sycamores in 2024, posting a 6-1 record with a 3.89 ERA in 74 innings pitched. He pitched 5 1/3 innings in the MVC Tournament, allowing six hits and three earned runs while striking out two batters.
  • C Grant Magill: Redshirt senior and 2023 ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove Winner Grant Magill won MVC Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. Magill threw out 13 of 19 attempted base stealers and committed just four errors, compiling a .993 fielding percentage. At the plate, he hit .287 with six home runs and 44 RBI.
  • 1B Luis Hernandez: In his third season at Indiana State, Hernandez was named 2024 All-MVC First Team after making the 2023 MVC All-Tournament Team. The Gurabo, P.R. native hit .369 with 22 home runs and 75 RBI, finishing top-three in the conference in all three stat categories. He totaled five hits, including two home runs, in Indiana State’s victory over Xavier on March 15.
  • SS Randal Diaz: The 2022 Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Freshman All-American was named All-MVC First Team for the second consecutive season in 2024. He hit for a .357 average with 16 home runs 52 RBI.
  • LHP Zach Davidson: Davidson was the fourth Sycamore to earn All-MVC First Team honors after posting a 5-1 record with a 2.41 ERA in 52 1/3 innings pitched in 2024. The left-hander struck out 14 Murray State batters in Indiana State’s MVC Tournament win over the Racers, earning him a spot on the MVC All-Tournament Team.
Photo via Indiana State Athletics

Head Coach: Mitch Hannahs

Mitch Hannahs just completed his 11th season at Indiana State, where he boasts a 353-212-1 (62.46 W%) record. He was named MVC Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season on May 20.

The 2024 NCAA Tournament will mark Indiana State’s fifth under Hannahs. The Sycamores advanced to a Super Regional once in 2023, where they fell to TCU.

Hannahs was an assistant coach at Indiana State from 1995-1999, 2001 before becoming head coach at NJCAA’s Lincoln Trail College. Hannahs spent nine seasons at LTC, where he won two Region 24 titles and two Great Rivers Athletic Conference Championships.

He returned to Terre Haute, Indiana in 2013 and has been the head coach since then. Hannahs has won two Regular Season MVC Championships (2023, 2024) and two MVC Tournament Championships (2019, 2023).

Photo via Indiana State Athletics

Wins over Top-100 RPI teams

Indiana State (42-13) finished at No. 10 in RPI Rankings.

Q1 Record: 4-6
Q2 Record: 6-2
Q3 Record: 20-4
Q4 Record: 12-1

26. Southern Miss (41-18)
40. Xavier (30-27) x2
41. UConn (32-23)
48. Illinois (34-19)
55. Indiana (32-24)
60. Louisville (32-24)
76. Evansville (35-23) x2
80. Murray State (37-20) x3
91. Purdue (32-24) x2
93. UIC (34-20) x4

Wins over NCAA Tournament teams

Southern Miss (No. 2 seed in Knoxville Regional)
Illinois (No. 3 seed in Lexington Regional)
Indiana (No. 3 seed in Knoxville Regional)
UConn (No. 3 seed in Norman Regional)
Evansville (No. 4 seed in Greenville Regional) x2

History

The 2024 NCAA Tournament will mark the 13th in Indiana State program history. Its won a Regional twice (1986 & 2023) and made the College World Series once (2023).

Last season, Indiana State won the Terre Haute Regional but fell in its Super Regional at TCU.

Kentucky is 10-4 all-time against Indiana State. The teams last met in 2023, where the Cats swept the Sycamores at Kentucky Proud Park.

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2024-07-26