Baseball Opens Season At Baylor – University Of Maryland Athletics – UMTerps.com

The Rotation

• Nick Dean is set to take over the Friday night starter job after last year’s starter, Sean Burke, was drafted in the third round of the 2021 MLB Draft by the Chicago White Sox. Last season, Dean went 3-1 with a 2.87 ERA, 39 strikeouts, and a .233 batting average against. Dean was also named D1Baseball’s preseason Big Ten Pitcher of the Year.  
• Ryan Ramsey will move from the bullpen to a starting role as the team’s ERA leader from last season (1.67). Ramsey’s  2021 season earned him multiple accolades, including being named Second Team All-Big Ten and the NCAA Greenville Regional All-Tournament Team.
• Jason Savacool returns as last season’s wins leader (7) and will slide into the Sunday starter role, cementing one of the most potent trios of starting pitching in the country.

Impact Starters

• The Terps received a boost when starting center fielder Chris Alleyne decided against signing with an MLB team and announced his return to College Park for his fifth year of eligibility. Last season, the switch-hitting Alleyne batted .306 with eight home runs and 31 RBI’s.
• Senior Maxwell Costes returns to Maryland and will look to continue off of his strong junior year, where he batted .310 with five home runs and 29 RBI’s. Costes is an All-Big Ten performer and was most recently named the No. 10 first baseman in all of college baseball by D1Baseball.
• After a stellar freshman year where he batted .332 with seven home runs and 30 RBI’s, Matt Shaw is back for the Terps. The consummate utility man, Shaw can play virtually anywhere on the field, making him one of the country’s most versatile and valuable players. Last season, Shaw racked up the awards, earning 2021 Perfect Game Second Team Freshman All-American, 2021 Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American, and 2021 Big Ten All-Freshman Team.

Meet The Coaches

• Fifth-year Head Coach Rob Vaughn signed a contract extension this past summer after the program reached its first regional since 2017. Vaughn is a career 93-82 as the coach of the Terps 
• Matt Swope and Anthony Papio return to the bench this year for Maryland, with Papio being named assistant coach this past summer. Mike Morrison joins the staff from Coastal Carolina, winning a national championship as a player in 2016. He spent the last two years as Director of Player Development and Scouting of the Chanticleers and interim pitching coach. Former Maryland baseball player Tommy Gardiner joins the staff as Director of Player Development after spending the last four seasons playing under Vaughn, Swope, and Papio.

Scouting The Opponent

• Last season, the Baylor Bears went 31-20 and are led by outfielder Jared McKenzie (.383 with 10 home runs and 44 RBIs, and a 1.079 OPS in 2021) and shortstop Tre Richardson (.308 average, three home runs, and 37 RBIs in 2021).
• Baylor’s rotation is led by 2021 returners Tyler Thomas and Blake Helton. Last season, Thomas led the Baylor starters with a 2.49 ERA in 11 starts with a 5-2 record. Blake Helton had a 3.44 ERA with a 4-3 record over 52.1 innings pitched.
• Nevada transfer Jake Johnson is projected to be a top-end starter for the Bears, finishing last year with a 5.45 ERA over 74.1 innings.

​

Series History

• This is the first-ever meeting between Maryland and Baylor.
• This is the Terp’s first trip to the state of Texas since 2011 when it lost three out of four to the Texas Longhorns in Austin.