Column: Ohio State hoping new baseball coach helps turn around program

The Ohio State Baseball team has hired a new coach to replace Greg Beals, who was fired May 23 following a 21-30 record and an 11th place finish in the conference.

Texas Christian University associate head coach Bill Mosiello will become the new head honcho for the Buckeyes, who desperately needed a change following a disappointing season, especially in Big Ten play.

Mosiello has 35 years of coaching experience both collegiately and professionally under his belt, including the past nine seasons he spent at TCU. During his time with the Horned Frogs, the program appeared in seven NCAA Tournaments, including four trips to the College World Series. TCU also won seven out of nine Big 12 championships during Mosiello’s tenure.

Prior to coaching at TCU, Mosiello spent six seasons as a minor league manager with the Yankees and Angels organizations. Perhaps the most notable player he has coached during his entire career is Mike Trout, one of the greatest baseball players the game has seen in the past decade.

Clearly, Mosiello has the experience needed to lead a team to success. He comes into a program full of talented players who did extremely well this season, with a handful of guys earning conference honors and even setting some program records.

Zach Dezenzo, the Buckeyes’ shortstop and one of the top hitters on the team, earned All-Big Ten Second Team honors following an extremely impressive season offensively. He finished the year with a .319 average, 54 RBIs and tied the program’s single-season home run record with 19.

The team’s best hitter in Marcus Ernst will also be returning next season. The infielder collected Third Team conference honors as a result of his team-best .337 average. Ernst is an iron horse like Dezenzo, as both players were the only two on the team who played in all 51 games.

Freshman Trey Lipsey had a phenomenal first collegiate season, making the conference Freshman Team. His .461 on-base percentage was the best on the team, as was his 14 stolen bases on 17 attempts. Mosiello should have fun working with Lipsey, as TCU ranked second across all Power 5 programs with more than 800 stolen bases during his tenure.

After being named a Freshman All-American in 2021, Kade Kern struggled to live up to expectations set during his first year. However, as the season went along, he found his groove and ended up finishing with some solid offensive statistics to go along with his great defense in centerfield.

These four guys highlighted are just a glimpse at the potential of the Ohio State Baseball team. The talent is most certainly there, and it is now up to Mosiello to bring it out of them. A new skipper may be just what this team needs to make it back to the postseason and reign supreme once again in the Big Ten.