• Team Captains: Chase Allen, Jacob Denner, Dylan Stanton, Kyle Dernedde
• Record: 32-28, 14-10 Big Ten Conference (Tied for 4th)
• Big Ten Tournament: Semifinals
The University of Michigan baseball team compiled a 32-28 overall record and a 14-10 Big Ten Conference mark to finish the season tied for fourth place in the league with Iowa. U-M qualified for the Big Ten Tournament as the No. 4 seed and reached the Big Ten Tournament semifinals for the second year in a row under head coach Tracy Smith.
Team Highlights
• At the end of the conference tournament, U-M led the nation with 62 double plays and finished second behind Coastal Carolina in the category. Michigan turned a double play in 41 of its 60 games with a season-high four twice. U-M surpassed the season total for 21 of the past 24 years Wolverines, including the past 14 seasons.
• In Big Ten series, U-M won six of the eight and was 6-1 in rubber matches. The Wolverines opened the conference season with a series win at Penn State and handed Maryland its first conference series loss in three years. Against Minnesota and Ohio State, the Wolverines added series wins before dropping its first conference series to Michigan State (Mayy 3-5). The Wolverines rebounded with a series win against Purdue to end its home season but dropped the final series of the year to Indiana.
• In the Big Ten Tournament, the Wolverines opened with a 3-2 extra-inning win over Iowa, then fell against Penn State in a back-and-forth battle to set up an elimination game against Illinois. U-M defeated the Illini to move on to the semifinals, where Penn State ended Michigan's season with a 7-6 win.
• Seven teams U-M faced this season made the NCAA Tournament, including all three teams the Wolverines faced at the Kubota College Baseball Series at Globe Life Field in late February -- Oklahoma State, Oregon State and Arkansas.
• The 2024 Michigan roster featured 38 student-athletes with 12 returning from the 2023 squad, seven transfers and 19 freshmen. Thirty-five of the 38 saw game action, with Kyle Dernedde being the Wolverine to start every game. All 12 returners -- one graduate student, five seniors, one junior and five sophom*ores -- all made appearances this season led by Mitch Voit and Jonathan Kim at the plate and Kurt Barr and Jacob Denner on the mound. All seven transfers played with six making big impacts led by Dernedde and Stephen Hrustich who played in all 60 games. Sixteen freshmen made their collegiate debuts, with Collin Priest leading the way with 56 appearances.
Individual Highlights
• Hrustich led the team in batting average (.300), home runs (15) and walks (53). His walk total led the conference and set a new Michigan single-season program record, passing Jesse Franklin's 50 in 2019. Hrustich earned All-Big Ten first-team honors with a 1.056 OPS and 17 multi-hit games.
• Denner earned Big Ten first team honors as a relief pitcher, making 28 appearances and finishing with a 9-5 record and 70 strikeouts in 85.2 innings pitched. In conference games, he ranked third with a 2.09 earned-run average among qualified pitchers and held opponents to a .198 batting average. Denner earned Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors twice in 2024, becoming the first U-M pitcher since Tommy Henry to accomplish the feat. He ended his U-M career ranking in the top five in appearances (94), innings pitched (288) and strikeouts (269).
• After a strong freshman campaign, Voit led the team at the plate and contributed on the mound early in the season. Voit led Michigan with 69 hits, 20 doubles and 135 total bases. His 20 doubles were good for second in Big Ten and were tied for ninth in Michigan program history. Voit added 14 home runs, which was second on the team and a new career high. On the mound, Voit tossed 62.1 innings with one complete game and 41 strikeouts. He earned Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors after his complete-game victory over UCLA. He also was named the First Team Utility Player for the Big Ten and made the Big Ten Tournament team for the second year in a row.
• Barr had a breakout season, leading Michigan with a 3.41 ERA which ranked fourth in the conference among qualified pitchers. He finished the season with a 5-3 record in 21 appearances (11 starts). Barr pitched a one-run complete game against Minnesota and earned Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors on March 18 after 11 innings against Toledo and San Diego where he combined to allow just one run, seven hits, seven strikeouts and two wins. In conference play, Barr was 3-2 with 29 strikeouts and a 3.64 ERA.
• Joining Voit as a two-way player this season was Will Rogers, who in conference play was second on the team with a .294 average with a .410 on-base percentage and a .559 slugging percentage. Overall, he had eight home runs, 40 hits and 32 runs and was sixth in innings pitched (49.1) with 16 appearances and 40 strikeouts. His best performance on the mound came in the Big Ten Tournament when he pitched 8.2 innings and kept the Fighting Illini hitless for seven scoreles innings before allowing one in the ninth.
• A Freshman All-American, Priest set a new Michigan freshman record with 11 home runs. On the season, he hit .279 with 22 extra-base hits and 30 RBI. He was third on the team in total bases (85) and second with a .578 slugging percentage. In conference games, Priest had eight home runs, which was good for a tie for fourth in the conference. He earned a spot on the Big Ten Freshman team at designated hitter and was named a second team Freshman All-American by Perfect Game.
• Mack Timbrook slashed .349/.424/.500 through 24 conference games to lead the team. He added 39 runs and 29 RBIs on the season and led U-M with nine stolen bases. Against Eastern Michigan, Timbrook set a new career high with five RBI and added three hits and two runs in the contest. On the season, he was third on the team with a .282 batting average which earned him a All-Big Ten third team spot at second base. Defensively, Timbrook had a .986 fielding percentage and turned 43 double plays along with Dernedde.
• A junior transfer, Cole Caruso held down the hot corner for most of the season. Against Maryland, Caruso set new career highs for hits with four and doubles with three. He tallied four home runs on the season, three coming against Oakland, Minnesota and Long Beach State; the other homer was a three-run shot against Ohio State. Caruso was third on the team in RBI with 44, trailing just Voit and Hrustich. Caruso was solid defensively with a .968 fielding percentage which made him a Rawlings/ABCA Gold Glove finalist spot.
• Chase Allen finished third on the team in innings pitched with 64.1 and struck out 33. He compiled a 3-3 record in 12 starts and 19 appearances. Allen had a strong start to open the season, throwing five scoreless innings against Western Michigan and followed it with nine strikeouts in six innings in a win over USC.
• Kim missed part of the season due to injury but still compiled a strong season, hitting .272 with 22 runs and 15 RBIs in 36 games. He set a new career mark with five home runs on the season surpassing the three he hit lasy year. In Kim's first weekend back in the starting lineup, he went 6-for-15 with two home runs, three runs and three RBI.
Honors and Awards
Chase
Allen
Kurt
Barr
Cole
Caruso
Jacob
Denner
Stephen
Hrustich
Collin
Priest
Will
Rogers
Dylan
Stanton
Mack
Timbrook
Mitch
Voit
Big Ten Conference
All-Big Ten (First Team): Jacob Denner, Stephen Hrustich, Mitch Voit
All-Big Ten (Third Team): Kurt Barr, Mack Timbrook
All-Freshman Team: Collin Priest
Sportsmanship Award: Dylan Stanton
Big Ten Tournament Team: Will Rogers, Mitch Voit
Perfect Game
Freshman All-American: Collin Priest
CSC
Academic All-District: Chase Allen, Jacob Denner, Stephen Hrustich, Mack Timbrook, Kyle Dernedde
Big Ten Distinguished Scholar
Kyle Dernedde, Gr., Graduate Certificate in Real Estate Development
Eamon Horwedel, Gr., Master of Social Work
Ricky Kidd, Jr., Sport Management
Academic All-Big Ten (14)
Chase Allen, Sr, Sport Management
Kurt Barr, So, Sport Management
Jacob Denner, 5th, Sport Management
Kyle Dernedde, Gr., Graduate Certificate in Real Estate Development
Eamon Horwedel, Gr., Master of Social Work
Stephen Hrustich, Gr., Social Work
Ian Kennedy, Sr, Psychology
Ricky Kidd, Jr, Sport Management
Trevor Kilinski, Sr, Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering
Jonathan Kim, So, Sport Management
Joe Longo, Jr, Communications & Media
Dylan Stanton, Sr, Biopsychology, Cognition & Neuroscience
Mack Timbrook, Gr., Master of Sport Management
Mitch Voit, So, LSA Undeclared
Kyle Dernedde, Gr., Real Estate Development
