IU will have to adjust to the role of the hunted this season, as College Baseball Insider, Perfect Game USA and Baseball America all tabbed the Hoosiers as favorites to win the Big Ten in 2013.
College Baseball Newspaper projected the Hoosiers as preseason favorites on Jan. 3. The paper also deemed sophomore Sam Travis as Preseason Player of the Year. Last season, he led IU with 74 hits, 50 RBI and a .509 slugging percentage.
Per IU Athletics, the Hoosiers return players that accounted for 92 percent of the team's home runs, 85 percent of doubles and stolen bases and 77 percent of triples.
However, designated hitter Dillon Dooney, a second team All-Big Ten player in 2012, will not return due to personal issues.
The Hoosiers return two-thirds of their weekend rotation, as junior pitcher Joey DeNato and sophomore hurler Kyle Hart are penciled in to start on Friday and Saturday, respectively. The Hoosiers need to find a replacement for senior Chad Martin, however, as the Chicago Cubs selected him in the 10th round in the 2012 Major League Baseball Draft.
B1Gbaseball.com reporter Chris Webb predicted that freshman Will Coursen-Carr will step into the Sunday starter role.
Though senior Jonny Hoffman will not return, the Hoosiers appear to have sufficient depth in their pitching corps to sustain his loss.
The Hoosiers open their season next weekend at the Big East/Big Ten Challenge in Dunedin, Fla., against the University of Louisville, with the first pitch at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 15.
