Ohio State infielder Henry Kaczmar (6) swings at a pitch during Ohio State’s game against Xavier. Credit: Katie Good | Lantern File Photo
Ohio State baseball has been a program struggling to find an identity.
Coming off a 13-win season and a last-place finish in the Big Ten in 2025, the Buckeyes entered 2026 looking to take a step forward.
Now, 10 months later, Ohio State is starting to find its footing.
Ohio State beat Toledo 10-5 Tuesday night in front of a near-capacity crowd at Bill Davis Stadium to pick up its 14th win of the season, topping its win total in manager Justin Haire’s first season in Columbus.
The Buckeyes, who are on a four-game winning streak, are entering April above .500 for the first time since 2023, thanks to a complete roster overhaul that brought in 23 new players, 16 of whom were transfers.?
“It starts with having the right people in the room,” ? Haire said. “The guys that we have in the locker room, the coaches and staff that we surround our guys with, I just think they are committed to working and doing whatever they have to do to put Ohio State baseball back on the map.”
That belief has shown up in the production of Ohio State’s newcomers.
Transfer shortstop Henry Kaczmar has led the way for the Buckeyes, batting a team-high .330 and ranking second on the team with four home runs. The South Carolina transfer, who returned to the Buckeyes after playing his first two seasons in Columbus, is one of six new starters in the field, giving Ohio State a completely different look from a season ago.
But the impact hasn’t come from newcomers alone.
Returning players like outfielder Maddix Simpson and catcher Mason Eckelman have helped bridge the gap, bringing experience and production to a roster filled with new faces. Eckelman, in particular, has been a catalyst for an Ohio State offense that has scored 31 runs over its last three games, leading the team in home runs, RBIs and OPS.
“A lot of these guys came in and just grinded,” Simpson said. “Every morning we got up, went to the weight room in the fall, and it was just energy after energy after energy. Being around that and holding that to a high standard really helped us get through the fall and now start to see it all come together.”
That work carried into the season.
?Haire said the team’s confidence began to grow during an early-season trip to Washington, where the Buckeyes dropped multiple close games, including two walk-offs.
“We played three really close games in Washington and got walked off twice,” Haire said. “That could have broken our back, but honestly that series felt like we gained confidence in our ability to compete and stay in the fight and keep pushing and grinding.”
Instead of letting those losses linger, Ohio State responded.
Now, during its current win streak, the longest of Haire’s tenure, the Buckeyes are showing a level of composure that wasn’t there a season ago, finishing games late and handling adversity in ways they could not in 2025. With that progress, Ohio State is positioning itself to return to the Big Ten Tournament for just the second time since 2019.
“The vibe and mentality of our guys right now is pretty consistent,” Haire said. “They’re not getting too high, they’re handling adversity, and their heart rate is starting to slow down. When you start stacking those days, the game starts to slow down and you can execute the things you’ve been trained to do.”
