Following its third 30-win season in six years under head coach Jeff Mercer, Indiana baseball saw a sizeable roster shakeup during the summer transfer window.
According to the IUBase transfer tracker, the Hoosiers gained commitments from two outfielders and four pitchers in the portal. Conversely, 13 members of the 2024 squad, mostly reserves, will depart Bloomington in search of a new team for the 2025 season.
First on the list of incoming transfers is Xavier University graduate outfielder Tyler DeMartino, who played four years for the Musketeers after spending the shortened 2020 season at West Virginia University. He saw action in just nine games in the 2024 season after holding an everyday role for the previous three campaigns, splitting time between outfield and designated hitter.
DeMartino brings a wealth of college experience, a .298 batting average and .879 on-base plus slugging to go with 23 home runs and 95 RBIs in 151 college games played. He is currently playing summer ball for the Gaithersburg Giants of the Cal Ripken Collegiate League.
Another graduate transfer who will spend 2025 in Bloomington is Indiana State University right-handed pitcher Cole Gilley. A native of Columbus, Indiana, Gilley pitched to the tune of a 6.91 ERA and a 1.97 WHIP in 41.2 innings across three seasons for the Sycamores, who made an NCAA Super Regional in 2023. He is primarily a long reliever, though he made three starts in 15 appearances in 2024. Command can be an issue at times, as he holds a career strikeout-to-walk ratio of 1.57. Opponents hit .302 against him in 32.2 innings in 2024.
Junior southpaw Anthony Gubitosi will make the trek west from the University of Delaware to Indiana after two strong seasons with the Blue Hens. He has spun a pair of seasons with a sub-five ERA in at least 20 innings, holding a career 4.83 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP in 59.2 innings pitched, striking out 12.5 batters per nine innings.
With the regression of junior Ryan Kraft, whose ERA ballooned from sub-three to north of six from 2023 to 2024, Gubitosi could step in as the go-to shutdown lefty in Indiana’s bullpen. Gubitosi has made just two starts in 39 career collegiate appearances and may be a high-leverage arm for the Hoosiers in 2025.
University of Louisville junior outfielder Korbyn Dickerson, a 20th-round selection by the Minnesota Twins in the 2022 MLB Draft, saw limited action in two seasons with the Cardinals and now comes to Bloomington searching for an opportunity. He did not play in 2023 and posted a .235 batting average, .658 OPS and three RBIs in 21 games in 2024, making just one start.
Dickerson is a native of Jeffersonville, Indiana, who initially chose Louisville over Indiana and a trio of SEC schools. Try as he might, he could not ignore Mercer and Co. — he’ll join the Hoosiers after he concludes his season with the Madison Mallards of the Northwoods League.
Fellow Jeffersonville native Gavin Seebold is another arm joining the Hoosiers for 2025 after playing two seasons at the University of Southern Indiana. The redshirt-junior right-hander brings a strong pitching resume two hours up Interstate 69, toting second team All-Ohio Valley Conference honors, a 3.93 ERA and 1.24 WHIP across 71 innings in 2024.
Seebold, who made 10 starts across 16 appearances, led the Screaming Eagles with seven pitching wins in 2024. With lefty Ty Bothwell graduating and right-hander Connor Foley bound for the MLB Draft, Mercer could use Seebold as a weekend starter or a long reliever.
Fort Wayne, Indiana, native Deron Swanson will make the jump from NAIA University of St. Francis to the Big Ten after three strong seasons with the Cougars. He made 14 starts in 2024, racking up a 2.65 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and a 10-2 record, striking out 8.2 batters per nine innings and allowing just three home runs in 74.2 innings. He has struck out at least eight batters per nine innings in all three career seasons, but 2024 was his first season with a sub-five ERA.
Swanson holds a 4.73 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP in 173.1 innings, with 35 of his 44 appearances being starts. His 1.69 strikeout-to-walk ratio is a little concerning, but starting pitching depth was at a premium for Indiana in 2024 and Swanson may be able to help the Hoosiers in that department in 2025.
While Indiana has gained commitments from those six players, 13 players — eight pitchers, five position players — from the 2024 team are in the portal.
The pitchers are senior lefty Nate Ball (no appearances in 2024; 5.0 IP, 12.60 ERA in 2023), senior righty Brooks Ey (no appearances in 2024; 22.2 IP, 10.72 ERA in 2023), sophomore righty Cooper Katskee (12.0 IP, 7.50 ERA in 2024), redshirt sophomore lefty Brandon Keyster (21.0 IP, 4.71 ERA in 2024).
Additionally, sophomore right-handed pitcher Ethan Phillips (30.2 IP, 6.16 ERA, Academic All-Big Ten in 2024), freshman left-handed pitcher Ryan Rushing (11 IP, 9.82 ERA in 2024), junior right-handed pitcher Julian Tonghini (36.0 IP, 6.25 ERA in 2024) and sophomore right-handed pitcher Evan Whiteaker (11.0 IP, 12.27 ERA, Academic All-Big Ten in 2024) are in the portal.
The position players are freshman outfielder Brayden Bakes (redshirted due to injury), junior catcher Austin Bode (.273 AVG, 1 RBIs in 17 appearances — six starts — in 2024), junior infielder Brandon Burckel (.114 AVG, 2 RBIs in 26 appearances — 15 starts — in 2024), freshman infielder Hayden Carlson (0-6 in 11 appearances — one start — in 2024) and freshman infielder Cal Sefcik (.167, 2 HR, 10 RBIs in 26 appearances — nine starts — in 2024).
Indiana finished the 2024 season 33-26-1, falling in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals to tournament champion Nebraska. The Hoosiers were one of the last four teams in the 2024 NCAA Tournament and went 1-2 in the Knoxville Regional. They defeated the University of Southern Mississippi but were eliminated following losses to eventual national champion University of Tennessee and a 15-3, blowout defeat to Southern Miss on June 2.
