2020 Indiana Hoosiers baseball team

The 2020 Indiana Hoosiers baseball team are a college baseball team that represented Indiana University in the 2020 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Hoosiers are members of the Big Ten Conference (B1G) and play their home games at Bart Kaufman Field in Bloomington, Indiana. They are led by second-year head coach Jeff Mercer. On March 12, 2020, the Big Ten Conference cancelled the remainder of all winter and spring sports seasons due to the coronavirus pandemic.[2]

2020 Indiana Hoosiers baseball
Conference	Big Ten Conference
2020 record	9–6 (0–0 Big Ten)
Head coach	Jeff Mercer (2nd season)
Pitching coach	Justin Parker (2nd season)
Home stadium	Bart Kaufman Field (Capacity: 2,500)

2020 Big Ten Conference baseball standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Iowa  ‍‍‍	0	–	0		–			10	–	5		.667
Maryland  ‍‍‍	0	–	0		–			10	–	5		.667
Penn State  ‍‍‍	0	–	0		–			10	–	5		.667
Illinois  ‍‍‍	0	–	0		–			8	–	5		.615
Indiana  ‍‍‍	0	–	0		–			9	–	6		.600
Michigan State  ‍‍‍	0	–	0		–			9	–	6		.600
Michigan  ‍‍‍	0	–	0		–			8	–	7		.533
Purdue  ‍‍‍	0	–	0		–			7	–	7		.500
Northwestern  ‍‍‍	0	–	0		–			6	–	6		.500
Nebraska  ‍‍‍	0	–	0		–			7	–	8		.467
Minnesota  ‍‍‍	0	–	0		–			8	–	10		.444
Ohio State  ‍‍‍	0	–	0		–			6	–	8		.429
Rutgers  ‍‍‍	0	–	0		–			6	–	9		.400
‡ – Tournament champion As of March 12, 2020[1]; Rankings from D1Baseball

Previous season

The Hoosiers finished the 2019 NCAA Division I baseball season 37–23 overall (17–7 conference) and first place in conference standings. Following the conclusion of the regular season, the Hoosiers were selected to play in the 2019 NCAA Tournament, beginning in the Louisville Regional. The Hoosiers would eventually lose in the semifinal round of the Louisville Regional to College World Series semifinalist Louisville by a score of 7–9.[3]

MLB Draft

The following Hoosiers on the 2019 roster were selected in the 2019 Major League Baseball draft:

List of Drafted Players
Name	2019 Class	Pos.	Team	Round	Signed/Returned
Matt Gorski	Junior	OF	Pittsburgh Pirates	2nd	Signed[4]
Andrew Saalfrank	Junior	LHP	Arizona Diamondbacks	6th	Signed[4]
Tanner Gordon	Junior	RHP	Atlanta Braves	6th	Signed[4]
Matt Lloyd	Senior	INF	Cincinnati Reds	15th	Signed*[4]
Pauly Milto	Senior	RHP	Chicago White Sox	23rd	Signed*[4]
Scotty Bradley	Junior	INF	Toronto Blue Jays	36th	Signed[4]
Cam Beauchamp	Sophomore	LHP	Philadelphia Phillies	36th	Signed[4]
Cole Barr	Junior	INF	Seattle Mariners	37th	Returned[4]
Elijah Dunham	Junior	OF	Pittsburgh Pirates	40th	Returned[4]
Cade Bunnell	Senior	INF	Atlanta Braves	40th	Signed*[4]

* indicates draftee had no more college eligibility

Preseason

On September 5, 2019, the Hoosiers announced the hiring of Derek Simmons as the team's newest assistant coach.[5]

On October 10, 2019, Indiana's head coach Jeff Mercer announced two title changes to existing coaches; Justin Parker transitioned to Associate Head Coach/Pitching, while Denton Sagerman was moved to Director of Operations/Pitching Development.[6]

Season projections

Coming off of a NCAA Regional appearance in 2019, the 2020 Hoosiers are projected to finish fourth in conference play by D1Baseball and Baseball America, while Indiana is predicted to finish fifth by B1G coaches.[7][8][9] The Hoosiers received votes for rankings in other major preseason polls, to include NCBWA, USA Today Coaches and Collegiate Baseball.[10][11][12]

Roster

2020 Indiana Hoosiers baseball team
Players	Coaches
# Pos. Name Bats/Throws Height Weight Year High School/Junior College Home town 1 INF Jeremy Houston R/R 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 177 lb (80 kg) Sr Mount Carmel Chicago, Illinois 2 INF Cole Barr R/R 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 191 lb (87 kg) Jr Yorktown Yorktown, Indiana 3 INF Drew Ashley R/R 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Jr Evansville Memorial Chandler, Indiana 6 OF Grant Richardson L/L 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 186 lb (84 kg) So Fishers Fishers, Indiana 7 OF Ethan Vecrumba L/R 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Edgewood Bloomington, Indiana 9 RHP Alex Franklin R/R 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Bloomington South Bloomington, Indiana 13 RHP Cal Krueger R/R 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 193 lb (88 kg) Sr Jasper Jasper, Indiana 17 OF Elijah Dunham L/L 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 213 lb (97 kg) Jr FJ Reitz Evansville, Indiana 18 LHP Scott Braden / 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Shakamak Jasonville, Indiana 19 LHP Tommy Sommer L/L 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 207 lb (94 kg) Jr Carmel Carmel, Indiana 25 RHP Connor Manous R/R 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 181 lb (82 kg) RS Jr Munster Munster, Indiana 32 OF Tyler Van Pelt L/R 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Bloomington South Bloomington, Indiana 34 RHP Braydon Tucker L/R 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So Northview Brazil, Indiana 35 RHP Matt Litwicki R/R 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 201 lb (91 kg) So Lake Central Dyer, Indiana 37 RHP Gabe Bierman R/R 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) So Jeffersonville Jeffersonville, Indiana 38 INF Jake Skrine R/R 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Mead Longmont, Colorado 42 RHP Grant Sloan R/R 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS Sr Zionsville Zionsville, Indiana 51 RHP McCade Brown R/R 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Normal West Normal, Illinois	Head coach Jeff Mercer Assistant coach(es) Derek Simmons Dan Held Pitching coach(es) Justin Parker Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: February 6, 2020

Schedule

Legend
	Indiana win
	Indiana loss
	Postponement

2020 Indiana Hoosiers Baseball Game Log
Regular Season
February (6–3) # Date Opponent Rank Venue Score Attendance Overall Record B1G Record 1 February 14 at No. 11 LSU Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field • Baton Rouge, Louisiana 1–8[13] 11,421 0–1 – 2 February 15 at No. 11 LSU Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field • Baton Rouge, Louisiana 4–7[14] 10,859 0–2 – 3 February 15 at No. 11 LSU Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field • Baton Rouge, Louisiana 7–2[14] 10,508 1–2 – 4 February 21 vs UT Martin Mobile, Alabama (South Alabama Tournament) 3–2[15] 1,304 2–2 – 5 February 22 vs No. 30 South Alabama Mobile, Alabama (South Alabama Tournament) 4–2[16] 1,318 3–2 – 6 February 23 vs Siena Mobile, Alabama (South Alabama Tournament) 12–3[17] 1,250 4–2 – 7 February 26 Butler Bart Kaufman Field • Bloomington, Indiana Cancelled[18] 4–2 – 8 February 28 vs No. 17 East Carolina Greenville, North Carolina (Keith LeClaire Classic) 11–5[19] 3,275 5–2 – 9 February 29 vs High Point Greenville, North Carolina (Keith LeClaire Classic) 5–1[20] - 6–2 –
March (2–4) # Date Opponent Rank Venue Score Attendance Overall Record B1G Record 10 March 1 vs No. 13 Ole Miss Greenville, North Carolina (Keith LeClaire Classic) 5–9[21] - 6–3 – 11 March 4 Purdue Bart Kaufman Field • Bloomington, Indiana 17–2[22] 1,668 7–3 – March 6 San Diego Bart Kaufman Field • Bloomington, Indiana Cancelled[23] – – 12 March 7 San Diego Bart Kaufman Field • Bloomington, Indiana 9–2[24] 1,875 8–3 – 13 March 7 San Diego Bart Kaufman Field • Bloomington, Indiana 2–6[25] 1,875 8–4 – 14 March 8 San Diego Bart Kaufman Field • Bloomington, Indiana 5–13[26] 1,818 8–5 – 15 March 10 at Evansville Charles H. Braun Stadium • Evansville, Indiana 4–5[27] 1,067 8–6 – 16 March 11 Cincinnati Bart Kaufman Field • Bloomington, Indiana 6-2 1,234 9-6 – 17 March 13 Memphis Bart Kaufman Field • Bloomington, Indiana – – – 18 March 14 Memphis Bart Kaufman Field • Bloomington, Indiana – – – 19 March 15 Memphis Bart Kaufman Field • Bloomington, Indiana – – – 20 March 17 Kentucky Bart Kaufman Field • Bloomington, Indiana – – – 21 March 20 Illinois State Bart Kaufman Field • Bloomington, Indiana – – – 22 March 21 Illinois State Bart Kaufman Field • Bloomington, Indiana – – – 23 March 22 Illinois State Bart Kaufman Field • Bloomington, Indiana – – – 24 March 27 Ohio State Bart Kaufman Field • Bloomington, Indiana – – – 25 March 28 Ohio State Bart Kaufman Field • Bloomington, Indiana – – – 26 March 29 Ohio State Bart Kaufman Field • Bloomington, Indiana – – – 27 March 31 at Ball State Ball Diamond • Muncie, Indiana – – –
April # Date Opponent Rank Venue Score Overall Record B1G Record 28 April 3 at Penn State Medlar Field • University Park, Pennsylvania – – – 29 April 4 at Penn State Medlar Field • University Park, Pennsylvania – – – 30 April 5 at Penn State Medlar Field • University Park, Pennsylvania – – – 31 April 7 Indiana State Bart Kaufman Field • Bloomington, Indiana – – – 32 April 10 at Northwestern Rocky Miller Park • Evanston, Illinois – – – 33 April 11 at Northwestern Rocky Miller Park • Evanston, Illinois – – – 34 April 12 at Northwestern Rocky Miller Park • Evanston, Illinois – – – 35 April 15 Ball State Bart Kaufman Field • Bloomington, Indiana – – – 36 April 17 Michigan State Bart Kaufman Field • Bloomington, Indiana – – – 37 April 18 Michigan State Bart Kaufman Field • Bloomington, Indiana – – – 38 April 19 Michigan State Bart Kaufman Field • Bloomington, Indiana – – – 39 April 21 at Indiana State Bob Warn Field at Sycamore Stadium • Terre Haute, Indiana – – – 40 April 24 at Rutgers Bainton Field • Piscataway, New Jersey – – – 41 April 25 at Rutgers Bainton Field • Piscataway, New Jersey – – – 42 April 26 at Rutgers Bainton Field • Piscataway, New Jersey – – – 43 April 28 vs Notre Dame Victory Field • Indianapolis, Indiana – – –

• Schedule Source[28]
• On March 12, it was announced that the remainder of the 2020 season would be cancelled, due to the COVID-19 virus outbreak.[29]

"#" represents ranking. All rankings from Collegiate Baseball on the date of the contest.
"()" represents postseason seeding in the Big 10 Tournament or NCAA Regional, respectively.

Ranking movements

See also: 2020 NCAA Division I baseball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Final
Coaches'[30]	RV	RV*	RV*	RV
Baseball America[31]	NR	NR	NR	NR
Collegiate Baseball^[32]	RV	NR	NR	NR
NCBWA†[33]	RV	NR	NR	RV
D1Baseball	NR	NR	NR	NR

^ Collegiate Baseball ranks 40 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranks 30 teams weekly during the season.
† NCBWA ranks 35 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranks 30 teams weekly during the season.
* New poll was not released for this week so for comparison purposes the previous week's ranking is inserted in this week's slot.

Awards and honors

Pre-season awards / Watch list

Awards Player Award Date Awarded Ref. Cole Barr Big Ten Preseason Honors February 12, 2020 [9] Elijah Dunham Tommy Sommer Regular season awards / Watch lists Weekly Awards Player Award Date Awarded Ref. Grant Richardson Big Ten Co-Player of the Week February 17, 2020 [34] Elijah Dunham Big Ten Player of the Week February 24, 2020 [35] Conference awards Award watch lists References "Big Ten Conference standings". BigTen.org. Retrieved April 12, 2020. "Big Ten Cancels All Events for Remainder of 2019-20 Athletic Season". IUHoosiers.com. March 12, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2020. "Hoosiers Bow Out Battling, Heads Held High". Indiana University Athletics. Retrieved February 4, 2020. "School record ten Hoosiers selected in 2019 MLB Draft". IDSNews.com. 2019. Retrieved February 4, 2020. "Derek Simmons Joins Indiana Baseball Staff". IUHoosiers.com. September 5, 2019. Retrieved February 4, 2020. "Indiana's Mercer Announces Baseball Staff Title Changes". IUHoosiers.com. October 29, 2019. Retrieved February 4, 2020. "2020 Big Ten Preview: Mighty Michigan Leads The Way". D1Baseball.com. January 24, 2020. Retrieved February 4, 2020. "2020 Big Ten Conference College Baseball Preview". BaseballAmerica.com. February 4, 2020. Retrieved February 6, 2020. "Michigan Tabbed Big Ten Baseball Favorite". BigTen.org. February 12, 2020. Retrieved February 17, 2020. "VANDERBILT TOPS 2020 PRESEASON NCBWA POLL". sportswriters.net. February 3, 2020. Retrieved February 4, 2020. "Baseball Coaches Poll - Preseason Results". USA Today. January 23, 2020. Retrieved February 6, 2020. "Collegiate Baseball Div 1 Poll (12-16-19)". Baseballnews.com. December 16, 2019. Retrieved February 6, 2020. "Hoosiers Drop Season Opener at No. 11 LSU, 8-1". Indiana University Athletics. February 14, 2020. Retrieved February 16, 2020. "Hoosiers Split Saturday Doubleheader at No. 11 LSU". Indiana University Athletics. February 15, 2020. Retrieved February 16, 2020. "Indiana Takes Down UT Martin, 3-2". Indiana University Athletics. February 21, 2020. Retrieved February 22, 2020. "Bierman's Career Day Leads Hoosiers Past No. 30 South Alabama". Indiana University Athletics. February 22, 2020. Retrieved February 22, 2020. "Indiana Wins Fourth-Straight, Blasts Siena, 12-3". Indiana University Athletics. February 23, 2020. Retrieved February 23, 2020. "Indiana Baseball: Wednesday's Game Against Butler Cancelled". SI.com. February 25, 2020. Retrieved February 27, 2020. "Indiana Earns 11-5 Win at No. 17 East Carolina". Indiana University Athletics. February 28, 2020. Retrieved February 29, 2020. "Hoosiers Push Winning Streak to Six Games with 5-1 Win Over High Point". Indiana University Athletics. February 29, 2020. Retrieved March 1, 2020. "Hoosiers Winning Streak Snapped by No. 13 Ole Miss". Indiana University Athletics. March 1, 2020. Retrieved March 1, 2020. "Hoosiers Pummel Purdue in Seven Innings, 17-2". Indiana University Athletics. March 4, 2020. Retrieved March 4, 2020. "Schedule Changes Announced for Indiana-San Diego Baseball Series". Indiana University Athletics. March 5, 2020. Retrieved March 6, 2020. "Hoosiers Open Doubleheader with 9-2 Win over San Diego". Indiana University Athletics. March 7, 2020. Retrieved March 9, 2020. "Hoosiers Fall to San Diego, 6-2". Indiana University Athletics. March 7, 2020. Retrieved March 9, 2020. "Indiana Drops Series Finale to San Diego". Indiana University Athletics. March 8, 2020. Retrieved March 9, 2020. "IU Falls at Evansville, 5-4". Indiana University Athletics. March 10, 2020. Retrieved March 11, 2020. "Baseball – 2020 Schedule". Indiana University Athletics. Retrieved February 6, 2020. "NCAA cancels remaining winter and spring championships". NCAA.org. Retrieved March 13, 2020. Baseball Coaches Poll - Preseason Results Baseball America - College Top 25 NCAA DIV I Baseball Polls-Collegiate Baseball Newspaper NCAA DIV I Baseball Preseason Poll-NCBWA "Indiana, Michigan and Michigan State Earn Baseball Weekly Honors". BigTen.org. February 17, 2020. Retrieved February 17, 2020. "Indiana, Iowa and Northwestern Earn Baseball Weekly Honors". BigTen.org. February 24, 2020. Retrieved February 29, 2020.