Newsstand: Michigan baseball shortstop Riley Bertram follows Erik Bakich to Clemson
Tweets Of The Day
TheWolverine.com was first to report Tuesday that five Michigan Wolverines baseball players have entered the NCAA transfer portal. The news came less than one week after head coach Erik Bakich departed U-M following 10 seasons at the helm and was introduced as Clemson‘s next head man. Associate head coach Nick Schnabel also left the Wolverines and is reportedly joining the Tigers’ staff.
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The five players who entered their information into the portal are: Senior infielder Riley Bertram, freshman left-handed pitcher Jaylen Jones, sophomore infielder Brandon Lawrence, junior catcher Jimmy Obertop and senior right-handed pitcher Willie Weiss.
Bertram quickly announced he is committed to Clemson on his Twitter page.
Bertram and Obertop were every-day players and key pieces on Michigan’s 2022 squad, which won the Big Ten Tournament and advanced to the regional final before falling to host Louisville.
Bertram batted .298, scored 47 runs, posted 70 hits, including a team-high 19 doubles and two home runs, and produced 40 RBI. He was named to the Big Ten All-Tournament team at shortstop. Obertop was second on the Michigan team with 15 home runs, while batting .278, scoring 46 runs and notching 65 hits. He was tabbed to the Big Ten All-Tournament team at catcher.
Weiss was one of Michigan’s top relievers, appearing in 22 games last season. He earned a 5.29 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP, while pitching 34 innings with 27 hits and 20 earned runs allowed. He was thrown out of Michigan’s Big Ten Tournament game against Iowa for having a foreign substance on his glove, and that wound up being his last game of the season after serving a four-game suspension.
The other two departures don’t sting as much based on what they’ve produced to this point, but both Lawrence and Jones are young players with upside. Lawrence appeared in 17 games with four starts, notching two hits and driving in four runs in 12 at-bats. Jones pitched in just five games in 2022, allowing 11 earned runs in 2.2 innings of work.
Detroit (Mich.) Martin Luther King Jr. five-star Michigan quarterback target Dante Moore is a top contender at the Elite 11 Finals.
Here’s what On3’s director of scouting Charles Power had to say about Moore heading into the event: “Dante Moore (No. 45) is one of the more refined passers in the 2023 cycle. The Detroit Martin Luther King standout has a quick release and tends to be highly accurate in every setting. Moore is a pocket passer who should fare well in the structured confines of the Elite 11 Finals. We saw the 6-foot-2, 210-pounder turn in a very good showing at OT7, where he was precise as a short and intermediate passer. Moore did not throw the ball downfield too much in his 7-on-7 offense, so we’ll be interested to get a look at his deep ball at the Elite 11 Finals. He may not be as mobile as some of his highly-rated peers, but those questions are more likely to be answered on Friday nights or in an all-star setting. Oregon, LSU, Notre Dame, Texas A&M and Michigan are in the mix for Moore.”
Quote Of The Day
“Basically, I just want to have a good time. I’ve been there twice before. I know what the atmosphere is like already. I just want to show my face, have fun and get to know the coaches that are recruiting me now.”
Five-star Miami (Fla.) Gulliver Prep wide receiver Jalen Brown on what he wants to see during his Michigan official visit
Headlines Of The Day
• EJ Holland, The Wolverine: Five-star WR Jalen Brown talks Michigan ahead of official visit
• Chris Balas, The Wolverine: Michigan football: A special player for a special (and expanded) role
