MSU baseball hasn’t made the Big Ten Tournament since 2018. In order to make the Big Ten Tournament, you have to be in the top eight of the 13 teams in the conference. With three games remaining against first-place Indiana Michigan State was tied for eighth with Purdue. The Spartans held the tiebreaker over the Boilermakers and needed to do better or the same as Purdue in their series against Nebraska. The bright lights were on, and Michigan State baseball was able to take two of three from the Hoosiers and clinch a tournament win on Friday night.

MSU Baseball Regular Season Recap

The Spartans were 24-30 overall last year, with not many additions for 2022. Despite the 12th-place finish in the conference, the Spartans were able to dramatically improve what they had over the offseason. Credit goes to head coach Jake Boss Jr. for sticking with the guys he had and developing them into potential MLB Draft picks. MSU would flip their record to 32-20 overall and clinch the 8th seed in the tournament.

Brock Vradenburg is one of the key pieces on the squad this year and is one of the best first basemen in the conference. The 6-7 junior first baseman led the team with a.397 batting average, 13 homers, and 66 RBIs. The double-play duo of shortstop Mitch Jebb and second baseman Trent Farquhar are lethal with not just their gloves but also their bats. The 6-1 junior in Jebb hit second for the majority of the season until swapping to cleanup for the last week. He’s hitting.335 with seven triples and 34 RBIs, along with 13 stolen bases. Farquhar is a junior who sets the tone for the offense with a.353 batting average, 35 RBIs, and 19 doubles.

Vradenburg and Jebb both have the potential to be drafted in this upcoming draft. Bryan Broecker is a redshirt sophomore catcher with the best arm for throwing out guys in the Big Ten and a ceremonial bat. A.321 average with 8 homers and 35 RBIs is lethal for a catcher. Jack Frank, Sam Busch, and Dillon Kark have all been critical pieces in the lineup as well.

MSU Baseball Big Ten Tournament

MSU takes on No. 1 seed Maryland in Omaha, Nebraska, on Tuesday at 6 p.m. The tournament is double elimination and gives you the opportunity to rally even if you lose. For the Spartans, the bats need to remain hot. And the pitching needs to be stable enough to let their lineup win games.

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