3 storylines from MTSU baseball’s ‘fall ball’ scrimmage with Walters State

Middle Tennessee baseball took to the diamond in front of fans for the first time in the 2025-26 season, defeating the top-ranked National Junior College Athletic Association team in the country, Walters State Community College, 11-3 in a 14-inning exhibition on Sunday afternoon. 

With 12 newcomers in their first live action at MTSU, the Blue Raiders got an opportunity to square off against a different team for the first time with this roster. 

MTSU led 3-0 after nine innings, and the offense turned it on in the later stages of the fall ball matchup to tally 11 total runs against the WSCC staff. 

Here are three takeaways from the first live look at Middle Tennessee baseball this season. 

An Eston Snider sized hole in outfield is already filled 

A four-year Blue Raider and a mainstay in centerfield and the leadoff spot, Snider led MTSU in average (.341), OPS (.954), runs, hits, doubles, on-base percentage and stolen bases. 

While the loss of the program’s all-time leader in hit by pitches will hurt, Snider is one of the only missing pieces from last year’s typical starting nine for MTSU. 

In a move that seems to lessen the blow of losing Snider, Meyers started McHenry County  College transfer Owen Nowak in centerfield and the leadoff spot against Walters, picking up right where Snider left off. 

“It felt awesome, it felt like I was at home,” Nowak said. “The coaches and the players wanted me to be there, and I wanted to step up, but I didn’t perform today. Even though it wasn’t the greatest day outcome-wise, I still feel like I did a great job.” 

While Nowak is certainly not the same player Snider was, he’s going to do his best to slot in and not miss a beat for MTSU. Last season with McHenry, Nowak slashed .390/.469/.610. Each of these numbers would have placed Nowak at the top of MTSU’s leaderboards last season. 

“He plays the game hard,” head coach Jerry Meyers said. “He’s a little bit unorthodox in some things that he does… he’s not a flyer in center field but he’s capable. We like what he’s bringing to the table right now, not just what you saw today, it’s an everyday thing.” 

If Nowak doesn’t immediately slot in as Middle Tennessee’s next starting centerfielder, the Blue Raiders are still littered with potential outfield options. 

It seems likely that Brett Rogers and Keaton Ray will reprise their roles as corner outfielders this season. Kenny McKinley returns as well as one of the best bats off the bench for the Blue Raiders, and Nathan Brewer should be fully healthy after suffering an injury last season after slugging six home runs in 24 games. 

Even if those aren’t enough options for the Blue Raiders’ outfield, Meyers expects some of last season’s redshirt freshmen to step up for MTSU. 

“Layne Akers is one of our best outfielders,” Meyers said. “He’s played all over the place and redshirted last year. He plays the outfield really well and so does Konner Bowden. They’re two of our better defenders out there but they just don’t have the at-bats that some of the other guys have.” 

Between the newcomer Nowak and a grab bag of in-house options, it seems like the Blue Raiders will have center field covered. 

“I think we have the best depth in the outfield in Conference USA,” senior Tyler Minnick said. “We have a ton of guys at each position, a lot of guys that work hard… Having that depth allows us to have more confidence and be able to do a lot more things in the field.” 

Returning talent will give MTSU a leg up compared to last season 

The Blue Raiders’ starting lineup on Sunday against Walters State featured 11 players, with two extra hitters slotted in the lineup for the exhibition. Of those 11, 10 were on the roster a year ago. 

“In terms of getting guys back that have at-bats, Clay Badylak getting that extra year because of Diego Pavia and the lawsuit, that’s a plus,” Meyers said. “Guys like that that have some at bats under their belt, and then some quality innings returning as well.” 

MTSU returns six of seven qualified hitters from last season, losing only Snider, the team’s leader in batting average last season. 

Major returners for the Blue Raiders lineup will include players like Minnick, who will split time behind the plate and at first base, and other productive bats such as the team’s leader in home runs a year ago, Brett Vondohlen, and upperclassmen infielders like Badylak and Matt Wolfe. 

Middle Tennessee has the luxury of returning this many bats to its lineup, as the current roster only has two new position players. Both were brought to campus through the transfer portal. 

“We only have two new guys in the position side of things, so as an offense we have a really good idea of our identity and what’s going on and stuff,” Minnick said. 

A new stable of arms could provide an upgrade to the bullpen 

Across 14.0 innings against WSCC, the Blue Raiders used 14 different pitchers that held a vaunted Patriots offense to only three runs. The staff held Walters scoreless through the first 9.0 innings of the exhibition and surrendered just two earned runs on the afternoon.

“For the most part we threw enough strikes and were pretty clean,” head coach Jerry Meyers said. “We had a good demeanor on the mound, pretty aggressive. We attacked the zone decently except for a couple spurts.” 

The first 3.0 innings saw three big pieces of the Blue Raiders staff take the mound. Left-hander Chandler Alderman made the start, before giving way to right-handers Landen Burch and Drew Horn. 

Horn, who was an All-Conference USA second teamer in 2025, stood out specifically from this group after finding 98 mph on his fastball three times during his inning of work against his former team. This led to two strikeouts across an inning of work for the redshirt junior.

“I have a lot of excitement looking at the consistency on our staff,” Minnick said. “Especially with Horn. You know exactly what you’re going to get from him. You’re going to get a competitor, a guy who’s going to go out there and give it his all every single time.” 

After the three established Blue Raiders took the mound, Meyers turned to five straight newcomers. John Micheal Pickens, Gavin King, Abel Abarran, Landon Sexton and Ethan Robinson combined for 5.0 shutout innings, neutralizing a Walters State offense that ranked towards the top of the NJCAA in nearly every category. 

King and Robinson stood out from this group of newcomers, flashing quality stuff along with imposing frames on the mound. 

A former Vanderbilt Commodore, the six-foot-five Robinson returns to Murfreesboro after attending Donelson Christian Academy as a high school arm. In his inning of work against WSCC, Robinson showed strong traits as he worked out of a jam with runners on second and third and one out while flashing a fastball that reached 91 mph. 

King, a sophomore coming to MTSU after a season at Volunteer State Community College, flaunted a fastball that sat in the mid-90s while striking out two WSCC batters. The right-hander stands at six-foot-seven and looks to play a major part in a reworked bullpen for the Blue Raiders this year. 

The Blue Raiders regular season will begin in mid-February, as they look to return to the CUSA Tournament after missing out on the playoffs last season.