Despite an early exit in the Big 12 tournament, Cincinnati’s strong work during the regular season earned the school another berth in the NCAA tournament. Mississippi State eventually bounced the Bearcats in the Regional. Now, Cincinnati will look to get back into the tourney with a familiar-looking roster.
The Returnees
The top hitters are back for the Bearcats.
While Cincinnati lost Jack Natili to the Rockies in the 2026 MLB Draft, Enzo Infelise was a force last season and emerged as the catcher of today. Infelise led the Bearcats with 85 total hits last season as a freshman, a season in which he hit 10 home runs.
Right behind him in the hits category was now-junior Quinton Coats, who had 84 hits this season. Out of that 84, 28 were home runs in a fantastic campaign for UC. That number tied Landon Hairston of Arizona State for second-most among Big 12 hitters, behind OK State slugger Kollin Ritchie (31).
Things were a little tough for Coats in the Cape Cod League this summer. Coats did hit .264 and walked 10 times for Harwich, which were the positives. However, he had six extra-base hits and no home runs in 25 contests. Plus, a Whiff% that ranked among the 10 highest in the circuit this past summer.
Aside from those two, Cincinnati returned five other players who played in at least 50 contests last season: Derrick Pitts, Jackson Smith, Ryan Tyranski, Charlie Niehaus, and Conlan Daniel.
You can add Pitts to the list of star players for the Bearcats, alongside Coats and Infelise. Pitts was named to the USA collegiate national team in July after he slashed .329/.423/.459 with 18 extra-base hits and stolen bases as a sophomore. Before his time with Team USA, he saw limited action with Bourne in the Cape Cod League.
Pitts (40.7% Whiff%) had four hits in five games.
Tyranski is a fascinating player. As a freshman, he finished second on the club in walks (38), had seven home runs to his name, and was one of many contributors for the Bearcats.
He hit just .133 in the Cape Cod League but posted a high .362 on-base percentage. How? Tyranksi walked 27 times and had the third-highest Take%, a list that featured some big players from 2026.
Smith led Cincinnati with 40 walks last season. Niehaus and Daniel hit eight combined home runs in 2026.
As for the pitching staff, ace Nathan Taylor is gone. Logan Knight, a senior who started 14 games last season, is also off the roster. The returning pitcher with the most strikeouts last season was Adam Buczkowski.
Buczkowski, a reliever who worked 20 times, struck out 63 batters over 41 innings. He worked in the Cape this past summer, as he pitched in nine contests for Bourne. A 28.6% Whiff% and 13 strikeouts over eight innings.
Connor Blue was a workhorse in his freshman campaign, as he tossed over 60 innings for the school. Fellow sophomore Chad Brown, who struck out 44 over 38 frames, also returned for 2027.
Other notable pitchers include Brenden Garula, Carson Marsh, and Brennan Eager.
The Newcomers
Some reinforcements for the pitching staff arrived.
Nolan Bernard struck out 36 over 33 innings for the South Florida Bulls last spring. He’ll be joined by Nathan O’Donnell, a sophomore who came over from Minnesota. O’Donnell pitched in five official games for the Golden Gophers, striking out three and walking three over 5.1 IP.
Additionally, the right-hander pitched against the Twins in an exhibition game back in February. O’Donnell did mix up his pitches in that game, which included a low-90s fastball, changeup, and slider.
Cincinnati’s roster also includes 13 freshmen.
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