FAU baseball wrapped up their season yesterday after being defeated by Tulane in their fourth game of the AAC tournament. The Owls went on an impressive run that saw them come up three wins short of a conference title.Â
After losing their opening matchup against the Green Wave, the Owls went on to eliminate one of the better teams in the conference in UTSA, and eliminated Charlotte in their next game to have a shot against Tulane again. The Owls ran into a Green Wave team in this tournament that was a tsunami on offense. FAU left everything out on the field, but the Tulane offense seems to be clicking more than any team in the conference right now.Â
The Owls have a lot to look forward to heading into next season. While twelve seniors depart from the roster, next season will require many players to step into bigger roles. Trey Beard is the first player that comes to mind when thinking about the future of this team. Beard had arguably the best end to the 2024 season out of any pitcher in the FAU pitching staff. Before the Tulane start yesterday, four of the previous five games Beard started resulted in wins for FAU. Beard in only one of those starts went less than five innings pitched for the Owls. He’ll most likely be given an even bigger role in his sophomore season, and his improvement will be exciting to watch.
Infielders Brando Leroux and Emilio Gonzalez will be exciting to watch as well next year. Leroux and Gonzalez were a big part of this 2024 FAU team, and will most likely play a bigger role next season. Gonzalez showed incredible power upside, recording five home runs with 38 RBI’s. Jake Millan is another bat to watch next year as well. Millan hit .255 with a .922 OPS and eight home runs. He showed off his power in the conference tournament hitting two long home runs against Charlotte.Â
John Schroeder should play one of the biggest roles on the team next season. The switch hitting outfielder/catcher will possibly split time behind the plate with Dylan LaPointe, and time in right field. Schroeder hit .274 in 2024 with ten home runs and 50 RBI’s.Â
The Owls pitching staff is full of guys who can step up next season, like Steven Andrews, Dylan Oborne, Kyle Beaty, Max Martzolf, and more arms that will most likely step up as well. With the departure of important arms in the pitching staff, it’ll be interesting to see who steps up in what roles and situations next season.Â
The 2025 season should be a very exciting one for the Owls. They’ll look to make a run at an AAC championship and continue to make strides in their second season in the conference. For Coach McCormack, there are a lot of players on this roster to be excited about next season.