2021 Michigan Wolverines baseball team

2021 Michigan Wolverines baseball
NCAA tournament, South Bend Regional
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	27–19 (27–17 Big Ten)
Head coach	Erik Bakich (9th season)
Assistant coach	Nick Schnabel (9th season)
Pitching coach	Steve Merriman (1st season)
Home stadium	Wilpon Baseball Complex
Seasons ←  2020 2022  →

2021 Big Ten Conference baseball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 19 Nebraska  ‍†‍‍y	31	–	12		.721			34	–	14		.708
No. 24 Maryland  ‍‍‍y	28	–	16		.636			30	–	18		.625
Michigan  ‍‍‍y	27	–	17		.614			27	–	19		.587
Indiana  ‍‍‍	26	–	18		.591			26	–	18		.591
Iowa  ‍‍‍	26	–	18		.591			26	–	18		.591
Ohio State  ‍‍‍	22	–	20		.524			22	–	20		.524
Illinois  ‍‍‍	22	–	22		.500			22	–	22		.500
Rutgers  ‍‍‍	21	–	23		.477			21	–	23		.477
Penn State  ‍‍‍	18	–	24		.429			18	–	24		.429
Northwestern  ‍‍‍	15	–	21		.417			15	–	21		.417
Michigan State  ‍‍‍	17	–	27		.386			17	–	27		.386
Purdue  ‍‍‍	16	–	26		.381			16	–	26		.381
Minnesota  ‍‍‍	6	–	31		.162			6	–	31		.162
† – Conference champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 7, 2021 [1] [2] Rankings from D1Baseball

The 2021 Michigan Wolverines baseball team represented the University of Michigan in the 2021 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Wolverines, led by head coach Erik Bakich in his ninth season, are a member of the Big Ten Conference and played their home games at Wilpon Baseball Complex in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Previous season

The Wolverines finished the 2020 season 8–7 overall, in a season shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ^[3]

Preseason

On November 6, 2020, former Michigan pitching coach Chris Fetter was named pitching coach for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). ^[4]

On January 29, 2021, Steve Merriman was named pitching coach and Brandon Inge was named volunteer assistant coach for the Wolverines. ^[5]

Michigan was ranked No. 20 by Baseball America and No. 18 by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper in the preseason polls, the only Big Ten Conference team named in each poll. ^{[6] [7]} Redshirt sophomore Steven Hajjar was named to the Preseason All-America Third Team. ^[8] On March 4, the Big Ten Coaches voted Michigan as the preseason favorite to win the conference. ^[9]

Roster

2021 Michigan Wolverines baseball team
Players	Coaches
# Pos. Name B/T Height Weight Year Previous school Home town 0 INF Dan Blomgren R/R 5 ft 10 in(1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Jr Craig Milton, Wisconsin 2 INF Benjamin Sems L/R 6 ft 3 in(1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Westminster Christian Chesterfield, Missouri 3 INF Ted Burton R/R 6 ft 2 in(1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) So Edison Huntington Beach, California 4 INF Brandon Lawrence S/R 5 ft 10 in(1.78 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Dunn Santa Ynez, California 5 OF Christian Bullock L/L 5 ft 10 in(1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr Morgan Park Chicago, Illinois 6 RHP Danny Zimmerman R/R 6 ft 4 in(1.93 m) 225 lb (102 kg) RS Jr Redondo Union Redondo Beach, California 7 OF Jake Marti S/R 6 ft 4 in(1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Normal West Bloomington, Illinois 8 INF Jimmy Obertop R/R 6 ft 1 in(1.85 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Westminster Christian Academy St. Louis, Missouri 9 INF Dylan Stanton R/R 6 ft 1 in(1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Fr Gull Lake Richland, Michigan 10 INF Cam Hart R/R 6 ft 4 in(1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Armada Armada, Michigan 12 INF Riley Bertram S/R 6 ft 0 in(1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Zionsville Zionsville, Indiana 13 C Griffin Mazur R/R 5 ft 10 in(1.78 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Moorpark Moorpark, California 14 C Christian Molfetta L/L 5 ft 10 in(1.78 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Sr Junípero Serra Laguna Beach, California 15 INF Clark Elliott L/R 5 ft 10 in(1.78 m) 170 lb (77 kg) So Barrington Barrington, Illinois 17 RHP Will Proctor R/R 6 ft 1 in(1.85 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Mira Costa Manhattan Beach, California 18 C Jordan Rodgers R/R 5 ft 8 in(1.73 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS So Simeon Career Academy Chicago, Illinois 19 LHP Logan Wood L/L 6 ft 2 in(1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr OLSM Prep Macomb, Michigan 20 RHP Willie Weiss R/R 6 ft 3 in(1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Westview Portland, Oregon 21 LHP Ben Dragani L/L 6 ft 5 in(1.96 m) 225 lb (102 kg) RS Jr Catholic Memorial Brookfield, Wisconsin 22 INF Tito Flores R/R 5 ft 10 in(1.78 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Brother Rice Detroit, Michigan 24 INF Matt Frey L/R 5 ft 11 in(1.8 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Franklin Regional Murrysville, Pennsylvania 25 RHP Isaiah Paige R/R 6 ft 1 in(1.85 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS Jr Damien Diamond Bar, California 26 OF Joey Velazquez L/L 6 ft 0 in(1.83 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So St. Francis DeSales Lewis Center, Ohio 27 LHP Steve Hajjar R/L 6 ft 5 in(1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Central Catholic Andover, Massachusetts 28 RHP Keaton Carratini R/R 6 ft 2 in(1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr La Costa Canyon Encinitas, California 29 RHP Blake Beers R/R 6 ft 4 in(1.93 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr Loyola Manhattan Beach, California 30 LHP Jack White L/L 6 ft 3 in(1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Athens Academy Bethesda, Maryland 32 RHP Joe Pace R/R 5 ft 9 in(1.75 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Notre Dame Valley Village, California 34 RHP Ahmad Harajli R/R 6 ft 4 in(1.93 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Fr IMG Academy Dearborn, Michigan 35 LHP Walker Cleveland L/L 6 ft 2 in(1.88 m) 145 lb (66 kg) Jr North Gwinnett Suwanee, Georgia 36 INF Trevor Kilinski L/R 6 ft 1 in(1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Zeeland West Zeeland, Michigan 37 RHP Chase Allen R/R 6 ft 5 in(1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Regis Jesuit Littleton, Colorado 39 LHP Cononr O'Halloran R/L 6 ft 5 in(1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr St. Martin Mississauga, Ontario 40 LHP Angelo Smith L/L 5 ft 9 in(1.75 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Sr Richards Thornton, Illinois 43 OF Patrick Mastrian R/R 6 ft 0 in(1.83 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Bishop Chatard Indianapolis, Indiana 45 INF Logan Pollack L/R 6 ft 2 in(1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Notre Dame Academy Los Angeles, California 47 LHP Jacob Denner L/L 6 ft 0 in(1.83 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So Bergen Catholic Closter, New Jersey 48 RHP Noah Rennard R/R 6 ft 3 in(1.91 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Maria Carrillo Santa Rosa, California 49 OF Ian Kennedy R/R 6 ft 3 in(1.91 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Fr Whitefield Academy Douglasville, Georgia 51 RHP Carlos Anziani R/R 6 ft 5 in(1.96 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Fr James Monroe Bronx, New York 51 INF Jack Van Remortel R/R 6 ft 1 in(1.85 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Carmel Carmel, Indiana 54 RHP Ryan Zimmer R/R 6 ft 5 in(1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr St. Clair High School St. Clair, Michigan 55 RHP Cameron Weston R/R 6 ft 1 in(1.85 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Canon-McMillan Canonsburg, Pennsylvania	Head coach Erik Bakich Assistant coach(es) Nick Schnabel Pitching coach(es) Steve Merriman Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: January 27, 2021

Schedule

2021 Michigan Wolverines baseball game log
Regular season (27–17)
March (11–4) # Date Opponent Rank Stadium Site Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Record B1G Record 1 March 6 vs. Iowa Dell Diamond Round Rock, Texas 4–2 Weiss (1–0) Beutel (0–1) — 150 1–0 1–0 2 March 7 vs. Iowa Dell Diamond Round Rock, Texas 3–8 (7) Nedved (1–0) Weston (0–1) — 150 1–1 1–1 3 March 7 vs. Iowa Dell Diamond Round Rock, Texas 7–0 Denner (1–0) Baumann (0–1) — 150 2–1 2–1 4 March 8 vs. Iowa Dell Diamond Round Rock, Texas 11–4 Dragani (1–0) Lee (0–1) — 150 3–1 3–1 5 March 12 vs. Purdue Fluor Field Greenville, South Carolina 9–1 Hajjar (1–0) Johnson (0–1) — 225 4–1 4–1 6 March 13 vs. Purdue Fluor Field Greenville, South Carolina 4–0 (7) Weston (1–1) Schapira (0–2) — 225 5–1 5–1 7 March 13 vs. Purdue Fluor Field Greenville, South Carolina 9–2 Dragani (2–0) Starnes (0–1) — 225 6–1 6–1 8 March 14 vs. Purdue Fluor Field Greenville, South Carolina 11–6 Pace (1–0) Daniel (0–1) — 225 7–1 7–1 9 March 19 Illinois No. 22 Ray Fisher Stadium Ann Arbor, Michigan 4–7 Lavender (2–0) Dragani (2–1) — 250 7–2 7–2 10 March 20 Illinois No. 22 Ray Fisher Stadium Ann Arbor, Michigan 8–1 Weston (2–1) Gowens (1–1) — 250 8–2 8–2 11 March 21 Michigan State No. 22 Ray Fisher Stadium Ann Arbor, Michigan 8–7 Smith (1–0) Beatson (0–1) — 250 9–2 9–2 12 March 22 Michigan State No. 18 Ray Fisher Stadium Ann Arbor, Michigan 0–3 Powers (1–1) Beers (0–1) Iverson (3) 250 9–3 9–3 13 March 26 at Penn State No. 18 Medlar Field State College, Pennsylvania 2–3 (10) Mellott (1–0) Weiss (1–1) — 238 9–4 9–4 14 March 27 at Penn State No. 18 Medlar Field State College, Pennsylvania 17–4 Weston (3–1) Larkin (0–3) — 1 10–4 10–4 15 March 27 at Penn State No. 18 Medlar Field State College, Pennsylvania 8–6 (10) Weiss (2–1) Miller (0–1) — 351 11–4 11–4
April (8–5) # Date Opponent Rank Stadium Site Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Record B1G Record 16 April 3 Northwestern No. 25 Shipley Field College Park, Maryland 5–2 Pace (2–0) Boeckle (1–2) Weiss (1) 100 12–4 12–4 17 April 4 Northwestern No. 25 Shipley Field College Park, Maryland 1–4 Lavelle (4–0) Dragani (2–2) Lawrence (3) 100 12–5 12–5 18 April 4 at Maryland No. 25 Shipley Field College Park, Maryland 6–5 Weiss (3–1) Falco (1–1) — 150 13–5 13–5 19 April 5 at Maryland No. 25 Shipley Field College Park, Maryland 7–17 Blohm (2–0) Paige (0–1) Bello (3) 100 13–6 13–6 20 April 9 Ohio State No. 25 Ray Fisher Stadium Ann Arbor, Michigan 4–7 Gahm (1–0) Pace (2–1) Brock (7) 250 13–7 13–7 21 April 10 Ohio State No. 25 Ray Fisher Stadium Ann Arbor, Michigan 7–0 Weston (4–1) Lonsway (1–4) — 250 14–7 14–7 22 April 11 Ohio State No. 25 Ray Fisher Stadium Ann Arbor, Michigan 16–7 Denner (2–0) Neely (1–1) — 250 15–7 15–7 23 April 16 at Minnesota No. 25 Siebert Field Minneapolis, Minnesota 21–5 Hajjar (2–0) Fredrickson (0–2) — 100 16–7 16–7 24 April 17 at Minnesota No. 25 Siebert Field Minneapolis, Minnesota 4–0 Weiss (4–1) Duffy (0–4) — 96 17–7 17–7 25 April 18 at Minnesota No. 25 Siebert Field Minneapolis, Minnesota 9–5 Denner (3–0) Culliver (0–2) Weiss (2) 87 18–7 18–7 26 April 23 Rutgers No. 23 Ray Fisher Stadium Ann Arbor, Michigan 6–4 Pace (3–1) Muller (1–2) Weiss (3) 250 19–7 19–7 27 April 24 Rutgers No. 23 Ray Fisher Stadium Ann Arbor, Michigan 2–4 Wereski (5–2) Weston (4–2) McLain (2) 250 19–8 19–8 28 April 25 Rutgers No. 23 Ray Fisher Stadium Ann Arbor, Michigan 2–3 Teller (2–2) Denner (3–1) Sinibaldi (1) 250 19–9 19–9 — April 30 at Northwestern Rocky Miller Park Evanston, Illinois Cancelled due to COVID-19 protocols [10]
May (8–8) # Date Opponent Rank Stadium Site Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Record B1G Record — May 1 at Northwestern Rocky Miller Park Evanston, Illinois Cancelled due to COVID-19 protocols 29 May 1 Illinois Rocky Miller Park Evanston, Illinois 4–5 (7) Kirschsieper (3–3) Weiss (4–2) — 80 19–10 19–10 30 May 1 Illinois Rocky Miller Park Evanston, Illinois 18–8 Beers (1–1) Lavender (5–1) — 80 20–10 20–10 31 May 2 Illinois Rocky Miller Park Evanston, Illinois 7–13 O'Hara (3–0) Denner (3–2) — 45 20–11 20–11 32 May 2 Illinois Rocky Miller Park Evanston, Illinois 19–4 Dragani (3–2) Lader (0–1) — 45 21–11 21–11 33 May 7 at Michigan State Drayton McLane Baseball Stadium East Lansing, Michigan 5–1 Hajjar (3–0) Eria (3–5) Weiss (4) 300 22–11 22–11 34 May 8 at Michigan State Drayton McLane Baseball Stadium East Lansing, Michigan 3–1 Weston (5–2) Bennett (0–1) — 300 23–11 23–11 35 May 9 at Michigan State Drayton McLane Baseball Stadium East Lansing, Michigan 2–10 Benschoter (2–4) Denner (3–3) — 300 23–12 23–12 36 May 14 No. 21 Indiana Ray Fisher Stadium Ann Arbor, Michigan 10–3 Hajjar (4–0) Sommer (5–3) — 250 24–12 24–12 37 May 15 No. 21 Indiana Ray Fisher Stadium Ann Arbor, Michigan 8–13 Brown (5–2) Weston (5–3) — 250 24–13 24–13 38 May 16 No. 21 Indiana Ray Fisher Stadium Ann Arbor, Michigan 6–1 Denner (4–3) Bierman (5–3) Proctor (1) 250 25–13 25–13 39 May 21 Maryland No. 24 Ray Fisher Stadium Ann Arbor, Michigan 8–11 (11) Ramsey (4–1) Proctor (0–1) — 250 25–14 25–14 40 May 22 Maryland No. 24 Ray Fisher Stadium Ann Arbor, Michigan 14–3 Weston (6–3) Savacool (7–2) — 250 26–14 26–14 41 May 23 Maryland No. 24 Ray Fisher Stadium Ann Arbor, Michigan 3–7 Burke (4–3) Denner (4–4) — 250 26–15 26–15 42 May 28 at No, 20 Nebraska Hawks Field Lincoln, Nebraska 0–1 Povich (6–1) Hajjar (4–1) Schwellenbach (8) 5,434 26–16 26–16 43 May 29 at No. 20 Nebraska Hawks Field Lincoln, Nebraska 2–0 Weston (7–3) Hroch (5–2) Weiss (5) 7,650 27–16 27–16 44 May 29 at No. 20 Nebraska Hawks Field Lincoln, Nebraska 3–5 Perry (2–0) Dragani (3–3) Schwellenbach (9) 7,650 27–17 27–17
Postseason (0–2)
South Bend Regional (0–2) # Date Opponent Rank Stadium Site Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Record Regional Record 45 June 4 vs. UConn Frank Eck Stadium South Bend, Indiana 1–6 Peterson (8–1) Hajjar (4–2) — 1,825 27–18 0–1 46 June 5 vs. Central Michigan Frank Eck Stadium South Bend, Indiana 2–8 Patty (9–2) Weston (7–4) — 1,825 27–19 0–2
Win   Loss   Postponement Bold: Wolverines team member Reference: [11] Rankings from D1Baseball.com. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Rankings

Main article: 2021 NCAA Division I baseball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend:██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Final
Coaches'	RV	RV*		RV	24	19	23	23т	24	23	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV
Baseball America	20	20	21	22	20	19	24	24	24	23	—	—	—	23	—	—
Collegiate Baseball^	18	18	18	19	13	10	16	17	18	17	22	22	23	23	26	RV
NCBWA†	34	RV	RV	RV	25	21	23	23	24	22	28	RV	RV	26	RV	RV
D1Baseball	—	—	—	—	22	18	25	25	25	23	—	—	—	24	—	—

^ Collegiate Baseball ranked 40 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranked 30 teams weekly during the season.
† NCBWA ranks 35 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranks 30 teams weekly during the season.
* A 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

All-Big Ten Player Selection Ref. Ted Burton First Team [12] Steven Hajjar First Team Griffin Mazur Second Team Benjamin Sems Second Team Tito Flores Second Team Cameron Weston Second Team Jimmy Obertop Third Team Willie Weiss Third Team

Major League Baseball Draft

The following Wolverines were selected in the 2021 Major League Baseball draft: ^{[13] [14]}

List of Drafted Players
Name	2021 Class	Pos.	Team	Overall
Steven Hajjar	RS Sophomore	RHP	Minnesota Twins	61st
Benjamin Sems	Fifth year	SS	Colorado Rockies	440th
Blake Beers	Senior	RHP	Oakland Athletics	578th

References

1. "Big Ten Conference standings". BigTen.org. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
2. "Big Ten Conference standings". d1baseball.com. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
3. "Big Ten, Michigan Cancel Remainder of Winter and Spring Sports Seasons". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. March 11, 2020. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
4. Svoboda, Kurt (November 6, 2020). "Fetter Named Detroit Tigers Pitching Coach". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive . Retrieved January 28, 2021.
5. Svoboda, Kurt (January 29, 2021). "Merriman Rejoins U-M Baseball as Pitching Coach; Inge Named Volunteer Assistant". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive . Retrieved January 29, 2021.
6. "2021 College Top 25". baseballamerica.com. Baseball America. January 25, 2021. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
7. "Collegiate Baseball Div. I Poll - Pre-season". baseballnews.com. Collegiate Baseball. December 21, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
8. "2021 D1Baseball Third-Team Preseason All-Americans". D1Baseball.com. January 25, 2021. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
9. "Michigan Tabbed Big Ten Baseball Favorite". Big Ten Conference . Big Ten Conference. March 4, 2021. Archived from the original on March 4, 2021. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
10. Svoboda, Kurt (April 28, 2021). "Games vs. Northwestern Canceled; Michigan to Play Four Against Illinois". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive . Retrieved April 28, 2021.
11. "2021 Baseball Schedule". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive . Retrieved January 27, 2021.
12. Svoboda, Kurt (May 30, 2021). "Burton, Hajjar Highlight Eight Wolverines to Earn All-Big Ten Honors". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive . Retrieved May 31, 2021.
13. Svoboda, Kurt (July 12, 2021). "Hajjar Selected by Minnesota Twins in Second Round of MLB Draft". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive . Retrieved July 13, 2021.
14. Svoboda, Kurt (July 13, 2021). "Sems, Beers Selected on Final Day of MLB Draft". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive . Retrieved July 13, 2021.