‘I like where we’re at’: Gophers baseball looking for progress in Ty McDevitt’s second season

Entering his second season as the Gophers baseball coach, Ty McDevitt is in a position that is likely familiar to numerous college baseball coaches.

“Just like anybody,” McDevitt said, “with the amount of [roster] turnover. We lost a lot of innings pitched and a lot of at-bats. But when you look at what we’re returning, I like where we’re at.”

The Gophers, who open their season at Stetson on Friday, Feb. 13, in DeLand, Fla., return six of their top 10 hitters and four of their top eight pitchers from last year’s team, which was 24-28 overall and 10-20 in the Big Ten.

The Gophers also welcome at least seven transfers who could have an impact this season as they look to take a step forward. They missed the conference tournament last year after scoring the third-fewest runs in Big Ten play and posting the ninth-best ERA out of 17 teams.

“There are two things you need if you want to have success in a Power Four conference,” McDevitt said. “Experience and physicality. You need players that are mature physically and mature experience-wise.”

Key to the team’s hopes in 2026 is a pitching staff that McDevitt, who has been with the program since 2012 as a pitcher or coach, called the “deepest” he has seen during his time on campus.

Among the returners on the mound is righthander Joe Sperry, a senior from Rochester, who was 4-2 with a save in 20 appearances last season. Cole Selvig, a junior righthander from Eau Claire, Wis., was 3-4 in nine starts with the Gophers last year after transferring from Texas and is expected to be a mainstay in the rotation.

“[The pitching staff] has a lot of potential,” said McDevitt, who was the Gophers pitching coach for six seasons before becoming the head coach. “We have 15 guys who can throw 90-92 mph, land breaking balls and turn changeups.”

Another newcomer is righthander Isaac Morton, who played at Spring Lake Park High School and spent the previous two seasons at Texas A&M. Morton, a 19th-round draft pick by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2023, was 2-0 in 19⅓ innings with the Aggies.

“He’s as talented as any pitcher I’ve coached,” McDevitt said. “He has quality stuff. Good arm strength and arm speed. He’s going to start for us, but we’re going to be patient. He’s going to have to knock the rust off one week at a time.”

The Gophers’ returners on the position-player side include catcher Weber Neels, who hit .284 with a team-high 15 home runs last season. Also returning are outfielder Easton Richter (.278 with 12 home runs) and infielders Jack Spanier (.272) and Jameson Martin (seven home runs in 120 at-bats).

“We moved [Richter] to the outfield out of necessity, and he is a natural center fielder,” McDevitt said. “He can go get it.”

The group will try to lift an offense that was tied for seventh in the Big Ten in home runs (73) and ranked second in stolen bases (96) last season but finished 15th in batting average (.263).

The Gophers open the season with seven games in Florida over a 10-day stretch — including an exhibition against the Minnesota Twins on Feb. 20 in Fort Myers — before their home opener against Kansas on Feb. 25 at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Gophers will play 11 games in the Vikings’ building before opening Big Ten play March 13 at Illinois.