Rock Hill, S.C. – Fall practice is underway for the Winthrop Baseball Program under 1
st year head coach
Mike McGuire. McGuire was hired in June following a five year stint as the head coach at USC Upstate where his program averaged 37 wins per year, established numerous program records and appeared in the Big South Championship game each of the last two years.
"It's great to be on the field together as a team. Individual work has a lot of value and we really tried to maximize our time on the field but it's not the same as getting on the field together as a team on a daily basis," McGuire said.
McGuire and his coaching staff had a busy summer as they added 23 new players over the course of the summer. In all the program has 31 new players in addition to 17 returning players from last year's squad.
"In many ways everyone is new. It's a new coaching staff, with a different style, a different way of doing things and different expectations," says McGuire. "While some of the players were in the program before, it's a different program now. So we have a large learning curve over the course of this fall. We have to keep stacking days throughout the fall. Our players are learning a lot but we are also learning a lot about them."
"I'm very pleased with where we are at this point 10 days into fall practice. We have a lot of competition within our roster and the guys are working hard every day. They are learning the practice habits and work habits it takes on a daily basis to compete for championships."
The Eagles have a busy fall ahead as they have numerous inter squad scrimmages scheduled as well as three games vs. outside competition in addition their own Fall World Series. Highlighting the fall docket are three games vs. outside competition.
The Eagles will host the Ontario Blue Jays on Sunday, Oct. 20; make a trip to Statesboro, Ga. on Saturday, Oct 26 to battle Georgia Southern and will host Coker on Sunday, Nov. 3,
"We compete against each other so much over the course of the fall- it's always nice when we can compete together vs. someone wearing a different uniform," McGuire said.
In addition, the program will be hosting Alumni Weekend Nov. 1-3 with several events planned over the course of the weekend including the scrimmage vs. Coker.
The fall will wrap up with a Fall World Series Nov. 15-17, which will coincide with Parents Weekend. In addition to the series, the weekend features a dinner on Sat., Nov. 16 for the entire roster as well as any parents and family members in attendance.
"I'm excited to see our growth as a program over the course of the fall," says McGuire. "The players have brought a great attitude every day. They can recognize that we are talented but we are also a long way from our ceiling. I believe they are a hungry group and want to win."
Winning is something McGuire is used to. He is currently one of only three current head coaches in all of Division I baseball that has won 35 games or more each of the last seven full seasons.
Winthrop's 2025 roster includes two returning sophomores: utility player
Jaylen Hernandez and right-handed pitcher
Owen Sarna, both of whom were named to the 2024 Big South Baseball All-Freshman Team.
Hernandez had himself a terrific freshman season. He finished tied for 7th in the Big South in doubles with a team-leading 15 doubles; starting in all 45 games he played in, finishing the season with 157 at-bats. He was also tied for the team lead in games started and home runs with seven and led the team in RBI's with 30 and walks with 19. He was named the Big South Freshman of the Week on May 6, which was the first weekly award of his career.
Sarna finished 9th in the Big South in overall pitching with an ERA of 4.74. His most notable performances this season were pitching a season-high 6.0 innings vs. Longwood on Mar. 17 and a season-high six strikeouts vs. Maine on Mar. 3. Sarna ended his freshman campaign having pitched 49.1 innings this season with a record of 4-4 in 13 games played. He was 2nd on the team in ERA and wins with four. Sarna started nine games, striking out 38 batters, which was good for 4th on the team.
In addition, returning senior catcher
Nate Chronis and senior right-handed pitcher
Brady Houston were named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team. Chronis started in 33 of 44 games played, batting in a season-high two runs vs. Radford on May 5 while Houston played in 16 games, striking out a season-high five batters in relief at Charlotte on Mar. 12.
The 2025 season will begin in February with the full schedule for the Eagles' to be announced at a later date.
Below are tentative inter squad dates and scrimmages vs. outside competitions. All inter squads, scrimmages and practices are open to the public. Official exhibition games at the Winthrop Ballpark are in
BOLD.
10/14 6 PM Inter squad
10/15 Scout Day-6 PM Inter squad
10/16 3 PM Inter squad
10/17 4 PM Inter squad
10/19 2 PM Inter squad
10/20 2 PM Exhibition vs. Ontario Blue Jays
10/21 3 PM Intersquad
10/24 3 PM Inter squad
10/26 2 PM Scrimmage @ Georgia Southern
10/28 3 PM Inter squad
10/31 5 PM Inter squad
11/2 2 PM Inter squad ALUMNI WEEKEND
11/3 1 PM Scrimmage vs. Coker ALUMNI WEEKEND
11/5 3 PM Inter squad
11/8 2 PM Inter squad
11/10 2 PM Inter squad
11/13 5 PM
FALL WORLD SERIES
11/15 - 11/17 Times TBA FALL WORLD SERIES (PARENTS WEEKEND)
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All Times Eastern; All Times Subject To Change
