CINCINNATI – Xavier baseball travels to Nashville, Tenn., for the 2023 NCAA Baseball Championship, opening play against the Oregon Ducks in the Nashville Regional on Friday, June 2, at 1:00 p.m. ET. The game with the Ducks will be live streamed on ESPN+.
The winner of the game will move on to face the winner of the game between host Vanderbilt and No. 4 seed Eastern Illinois on Saturday. The teams that lose will play an elimination game in the double-elimination regional format.
The Musketeers are 37-23 overall and went 14-7 in BIG EAST play, finishing second in the BIG EAST standings to earn the two seed to the BIG EAST Championship.
- Xavier earned the BIG EAST title and the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament after winning the deciding game seven of the conference's tournament with a comeback 7-3 win over the top-seeded UConn Huskies on Saturday night at Prasco Park.
- The title is Xavier's fourth BIG EAST Championship in program history (2014, 2016, 2017, 2023) and marks the fifth NCAA bid for the Musketeers (2009, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2023).
- The Musketeers are 6-8 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, playing in the Regional Finals in each of Xavier's last two NCAA appearances (2016 - Nashville; 2017 - Louisville).
- Xavier currently stands at 37-23, the second most wins in program history and two wins from tying the school record of 39, set in 2009.
- No. 3 seed Xavier face the No. 2 seed Oregon Ducks in the opening game of the regional, set to begin at 1:00 p.m. ET.
- The regional is hosted by the No. 6 national seed Vanderbilt which opens play against No. 4 seed Eastern Illinois, with the Commodores and the Panthers playing the second game on Friday, set to begin at 8:00 p.m. ET.
- The Ducks are 37-20 on the season and went 16-14 in the Pac-12 regular season. Oregon enters the NCAA Tournament on a six-game winning streak, going 4-0 in the Pac-12 Tournament to win the league's title and automatic bid. Xavier is 0-5 all-time against the Ducks, after playing a four-game series in Eugene, with UO taking the sweep.
- Prior to this season's series, the lone match-up between the two programs came in the 2014 NCAA Tournament, with the Musketeers falling 11-8 in extra innings, also at the Nashville Regional.
- Vanderbilt, the host and No. 1 seed in the region, is coming into the NCAA Tournament at 41-18 overall and 19-11 in SEC play, earning the 4-seed in the SEC Tournament. The Dores won four of five games in the conference tournament to win the SEC Baseball Tournament championship and the league's automatic bid.
- Xavier is 3-8 all time against Vanderbilt and have played in the Nashville Regional twice before (2014, 2016).
- Eastern Illinois is the No. 4 seed in the region, entering NCAA play at 38-19, with a 13-11 record in OVC play in the regular season. The Panthers went 5-2 in the OVC Tournament, including winning the last three to win the conference title and automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
- Xavier is 1-0 all-time against the Panthers, taking a 5-4 win over EIU in March 1987.
- Xavier won the program's fourth BIG EAST Championship over Memorial Day Weekend at Prasco Park in Mason, Ohio.
- The Musketeers opened tournament play with back-to-back wins, topping No. 3 seed Seton Hall 6-5 in the opening game and taking a 10-2 win over top seed UConn in the winner's bracket to advance to the Championship series.
- UConn took the first game, 6-4, on championship Saturday, forcing a deciding game seven. Xavier mounted a ninth-inning comeback to take the 7-3 and the league championship.
- Following the tournament Jack Housinger was named the Jack Kaiser Award winner, given to the tournament's most outstanding player, after batting .667 for the tournament, highest all players. Housinger also led the way with 10 runs scored, and had five RBIs.
- Housinger was joined by four other Musketeers on the all-tournament team, Brant Alazaus, Tyler DeMartino, Carter Hendrickson and Andrew Walker.
- Shortstop Jack Housinger has batted lead off in 39 games, with a .220 average on the season and 25 of his 49 hits going for extra bases, including 12 home runs. He has 37 RBI and 55 runs scored on the season. Housinger, who broke the school record for career walks during the BIG EAST Tournament, has 59 walks on the season, sixth most in the country, and two away from tying the single season school record (61).
- Catcher Matthew DePrey has batted second in 48 games, currently has a .288 batting average for the season. He has a team-high matching 14 home runs among his 72 hits, driving in 41 RBIs and scoring 48 runs.
- Left fielder Andrew Walker has batted third in 39 games, with his .329 batting average standing as best among Xavier's everyday players. He lead Xavier with 82 hits, including a team-high 19 doubles and seven home runs. Walker leads the team with 53 RBIs, 56 runs scored, 29 stolen bases and has a team-best 26 game reached-safely streak.
- Tyler DeMartino returned from injury to make his first appearance against Michigan on March 15 and has started in 39 games since that point, primarily batting cleanup as the DH. He's batting .264 with 32 RBI and 26 runs scored, and has 10 home runs on the season.
- Matt McCormick has made 58 starts for the Musketeers, batting fifth in 48 of those games. He has a .310 batting average for the season with 12 doubles and 13 home runs among his 65 hits. McCormick has 39 RBIs, 38 runs scored and leads Xavier's everyday players with a .552 slugging percentage and a .424 on-base percentage.
- Carter Hendrickson has made 51 starts, primarily in the outfield, with a .254 average at the plate. Among his 44 hits are 14 for extra bases, including five home runs. Hendrickson has 23 RBI and 39 runs scored on the season.
- Second baseman Jared Cushing started in all 60 games, with a .286 batting average for the season. Among his 67 hits are 24 for extra bases, including 14 home runs, matching for team high.
- Garrett Schultz returned from injury for the Michigan game on May 16, and has now made 35 starts in center field, with a .246 average at the plate. He has 18 walks for the season, has driven in 20 RBIs and has scored 16 runs.
- Third baseman Grant Stephenson has played in 57 games, starting in 54, with a .247 average at the plate for the season. Among his 47 hits are 10 doubles and three home runs. He's driven in 28 RBIs and scored 27 runs on the season and has reached safely in 17 straight games.
- Alex Helmin has played in 35 games, starting in 27, with .292 batting average. He has 23 RBIs and 16 runs scored.
- Teddy Deters has played in 18 games this season, starting in eight, with 12 hits on the season, four for extra bases, has scored 11 runs and driven in 10 RBIs.
- Connor Misch has played in 28 games, starting in seven posting a .265 batting average with 13 hits, 13 RBIs and nine runs scored.
- Luke Hammond has played in 24 games, making six starts, with a .290 average the plate. He has three RBI and six runs scored.
- Aedan Anderson has played in 26 games, has four hits and five walks on the season and has come around to score seven times.
- Brant Alazaus has made 16 starts this season with an ERA of 3.87 though 100.0 innings pitched, and leads the team with 98 strikeouts to just eight walks for the season. Alazaus is second in the nation in walks allowed per nine innings at 0.72, is second in the country in strikeout-to-walk ratio (12.25), and is No. 6 in the country WHIP (0.92).
- Ethan Bosacker has made 15 starts this season, with a 3.84 ERA through 89.0 innings pitched. He has 95 strikeouts for the season, third most in the BIG EAST, and has walked 29. Bosacker is top five in the BIG EAST in WHIP (1.20), hits allowed per nine innings (7.89) and wins (7).
- Luke Hoskins has made 19 appearances, including 14 starts, and has a 4.79 ERA through 71.1 innings pitched. He has 49 Ks to 16 walks and has a record of 6-2 on the season.
- Justin Loer has made 28 appearances, including one start, with a 1.96 ERA through 55.0 innings pitched, best among Xavier's pitchers who have pitched at least 30 innings this season. He has 60 strikeouts on the the season, has limited opposing batters to a .183 average at the plate and has a record of 6-3 with six saves.
- Jonathan Kelly has a 4.58 ERA in 53.0 innings pitched, making a team-high 30 appearances including one start. Kelly has 40 strikeouts to 15 walks.
- Luke Bell has made 16 appearances, including seven starts, with a 7.10 ERA in 52.0 innings pitched with 42 Ks to 20 walks.
- Nick Boyle has made 12 appearances, including four starts, with a 7.79 ERA in 17.1 innings pitched, allowing 15 runs on 16 hits with 17 strikeouts to 20 walks.
- Jack Niedringhaus has made 10 appearances, including making his first collegiate start against EKU. He has a 3.31 ERA through 16.1 innings pitched, with six earned runs allowed on 15 hits and 10 strikeouts to six walks issued. He picked up the win at Michigan to move to 2-0 on the season.
- Connor Bailey has 14 appearances on the season, including one start with a 6.50 ERA through 18.0 innings pitched, allowing 13 earned runs on 17 hits, with 10 strikeouts to 12 walks.
- Clay Schwaner has made 19 appearances out of the bullpen, with a 6.04 ERA through 28.1 innings pitched, and has five saves on the season.
- Creighton Hansen has a 3.48 ERA through 10.1 IP in 11 appearances, allowing four earned run on three hits, and has nine strikeouts to 15 walks.
- Nathan Stahl has a 9.00 ERA through 4.0 innings of work across five appearances, with four Ks to four walks.
- Xavier's pitching staff has a top-10 WHIP in NCAA DI, currently sitting at 1.30, the ninth best mark in the country.
- Xavier also ranks in the top 50 in the county in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.35 - 44th), and walks allowed per nine innings (2.38 - 15th).
- Sophomore LHP Justin Loer was named to the 2023 Pitcher of the Year semifinalist list released by the College Baseball Foundation on May 17.
- During the regular season Loer made 26 appearances, including one start, with a 1.94 ERA through 51.0 innings pitched, best among Xavier's pitchers who have pitched at least 30 innings this season.
- His regular season ERA also ranks in the top five in the BIG EAST among pitchers who have pitched at least 5.0 innings this season.
- Loer had 57 strikeouts in the regular season, and limited opposing batters to a .184 average at the plate and has a record of 5-3 with five saves.
- He's one of 25 semifinalists on the list, and was the only semifinalist from a BIG EAST school.
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DEPREY ON POSEY WATCH LIST |
- Xavier junior catcher Matthew DePrey was listed on the most recent Watch List for the 2023 Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year award, released by the Wichita Sports Commission on May 10. DePrey is one of three from the BIG EAST, joined by Tate Ballestero of St. John's and Owen Carapellotti of Georgetown.
- The watch list will be narrowed down to the semifinalists, announced on May 22, 2023. Ballots will be sent to the national voting committee at the end of May for a vote to determine the three finalists. The finalists will be announced June 6, 2023.
- A final vote among the national committee will occur during the College World Series. All finalists will be brought to Wichita and the winner will be announced on June 29, 2023.
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HOUSE REWRITES THE RECORD BOOK |
- After helping Xavier rewrite several team records last season, shortstop Jack Housinger has made his mark in Xavier career record books in the 2023 season.
- Housinger currently stands at 240 games played, the most all-time by a Musketeer. Housinger broke the previous school record of 225 during the Creighton series.
- Last season, Housinger moved into Xavier's top five for career doubles, with 55 for his time as a Musketeer, second most in program history, and just seven shy of matching the school record of 62.
- After setting the single season school record of 68 runs scored last season, Housinger has 55 runs scored this season and now has a career total of 196, second-most in program history. The current school record is 211.
- Housinger has 59 walks for 2023, second most most walks in a single season and two away from tying the single season record of 61, after setting the school record for career walks during the BIG EAST Tournament, with 191 for his Xavier career. The previous school record was 188.
- With 838 career at-bats, Housinger set a new school record, breaking the previous school record of 833 during the Georgetown series.
- Xavier opened the season on the road, playing 18 away games before opening the home portion of the schedule on Wednesday, March 15 against Michigan.
- Overall, Xavier played 36 games on the road during the regular season, playing games in 11 different states and facing opponents from 12 different conferences, including the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC.
- The Musketeers amassed 23 road wins during the regular season, a program-best mark.
- Among Xavier's 26 regular season opponents were six teams that competed in last season's NCAA Tournament.
- Xavier won the 2023 BIG EAST title on May 27 at Prasco Park in Mason, Ohio, taking the deciding game seven over UConn, 7-3.
- The title marked the Musketeers' fourth conference championship since joining the league in 2013-14, the most by any program since the BIG EAST's realignment.
- Xavier has also claimed the tournament championship in 2014, 2016, 2017, as well as winning the regular season title in 2016.
- The Musketeers have made the four-team BIG EAST Tournaments seven times since joining the conference and has advanced to the conference championship series in each of Xavier's seven trips to the league tournament.
- Prior to winning the 2023 title, Xavier had advanced to the championship series and finished runners-up in each of the last three tournaments held (2019, 2021, 2022).
- A pair of Musketeers were selected in the 2022 MLB First-Year Player Draft, with lefty Jack Lynch going to the St. Louis Cardinals in the 18th round, and slugger Luke Franzoni selected in the 19th round by the Los Angeles Angels.
- The two Musketeers selected in 2022 made it 20 total Xavier players selected in the MLB Draft since 2005.
- At least one Xavier player has been selected in seven of the last nine years, and the 2022 draft marked the fourth time in that period that multiple Musketeers were picked.
- Ahead of the 2023 season, Xavier was picked the finish third in BIG EAST by the league coaches
- Graduate student Jack Housinger was named the Preseason Player of the Year, and was the coaches' preseason All-League pick at shortstop.
- Senior outfielder Garrett Schultz and Senior RHP Luke Bell were also selected to the Preseason All-Conference Team.
2023 Preseason Baseball All-BIG EAST Team and Awards
Preseason Player of the Year
Jack Housinger, Gr., SS, Xavier
Preseason Pitcher of the Year
Ian Cooke, So., RHP, UConn
Preseason All-BIG EAST Team*
C – Owen Carapellotti, So.., Georgetown
1B – Ben Huber, Gr., UConn
2B – Andrew Meggs, Sr., Creighton
3B – Kevin Michaels, RJr., St. John's
SS – Jack Housinger, Gr., Xavier
DH – Jack Grace, Sr., Creighton
OF – Korey Morton, Jr., UConn
OF – David Glancy, RJr., St. John's
OF – Will Gale, RJr., Seton Hall
OF – Garrett Schultz, Sr., Xavier
SP – Ian Cooke, So., UConn ^
SP – Cade Lommel, Jr., Creighton
SP – Dominic Cancellieri, Jr., Creighton
SP – Luke Bell, Sr., Xavier
RP – Tommy Steier, Gr., Creighton
^ - denotes unanimous selection
* due to a tie in voting, there is an extra member on the preseason all-conference team.
Preseason Coaches' Poll
First place votes in ( )
1. UConn (7) – 49
2. Creighton (1) – 43
3. Xavier – 36
4. Georgetown – 30
5. Seton Hall – 23
6. St. John's – 21
7. Villanova – 15
8. Butler – 7
