Live Updates and Preview: Opening Day - Miami Vs. NJIT - CanesCounty: Miami Hurricanes Football & Basketball Recruiting

The Hurricanes ended its 2023 season with a 10-6 loss to Texas in the NCAA Regionals. Miami was eliminated from postseason contention at home for the second consecutive year in the first round.

Miami enters the season unranked in the major baseball polls.

The ACC has a total of six teams ranked in the Preseason D-1 Baseball poll in including Wake Forest, which is ranked as the number one team. Clemson (ranked 10th) is the other team in the top ten.

Duke (12th), NC State (13th), Virginia (14th), and North Carolina (15th) are the remaining conference teams ranked in the top 25. Florida (2nd), Virginia, North Carolina, Clemson, and Duke are the current ranked opponents on its 2024 schedule.

Miami has qualified for the College World Series 25 times - the second-most of any program nationwide, trailing only Texas (37). The Hurricanes' four national championships (1982, 1985, 1999, 2001) are tied for fifth-most all-time.

Names to Know

Junior right-handed pitcher Gage Ziehl earns his second straight Opening Day start opposite NJIT southpaw Aidan Kidd. Sophomore left-hander Rafe Schlesinger will start game two, and junior Herrick Hernandez will start game three for the Hurricanes.

Ziehl, who was tabbed to the preseason Golden Spikes Award watch list, posted an 8-4 record with a 4.30 ERA a year ago.

Blake Cyr leads all returning hitters in 11 offensive categories, including average (.305), homers (17), RBI (63) and OPS (1.047).

A 2023 consensus Freshman All-American, Cyr was tabbed to the Bobby Bragan National Collegiate Slugger Award watch list.

The Hurricanes have 18 newcomers on their 2024 roster, joining the 17 returning letter winners from a season ago. Freshmen hitters Daniel Cuvet, Antonio Jimenez, Jake Kulikowski, and pitchers Nick Robert and Jordan Vargas figure to play key roles early.

JUCO transfer Herick Hernandez, as well as transfers Lucas Costello, Drew Dwyer and JD Urso are expected to contribute from the start of the season.

Head coach J.D. Arteaga also overhauled his coaching staff, bringing in Laz Gutierrez, Darren Fenster, and Rob Cooper.

Gutierrez returns to his alma mater after spending the past four years as the head coach at Nova Southeastern. Before coming home to South Florida in 2019, Gutierrez worked 13 years with the Boston Red Sox organization, helping the Red Sox win three World Series Championships (2017, 2013, 2018).

Fenster came to the U after 12 years with the Red Sox. Fenster groomed the next crop of major-league stars during his time with the organization, helping the franchise win two World Series rings in 2013 and 2018.

A Double Cane, Cooper rejoins the program after working the past 19 seasons as the head coach at Penn State and Wright State. Cooper's resume is also filled with international experience, as he has been selected for four coaching stints with USA Baseball in 2000, 2007, 2009, and 2013.

Potential Returners to Starting Lineup

Senior catcher Carlos Perez, sophomore infielder Jason Torres, redshirt sophomore outfielder Lorenzo Carrier, junior outfielder Edgardo Villegas, and junior infielder Dorian Gonzalez Jr. are the returning Canes that should see plenty of playing time this season.

Perez hit 13 home runs last season, good for fourth on the team. In 16 at-bats, Torres led the team in batting average (.472) last year, and Carrier, in 75 at-bats, hit 20 RBIs, good for ninth on the team.

Villegas, who started in nearly every game last season (57 out of 63), was sixth in on-base percentage (.419), and Gonzalez Jr. fielded a perfect fielding percentage last season.

The Opponent

Several Highlanders, led by veterans Albert Choi and Luke Longo, received recognition before the season. Choi was named the Preseason America East Player of the Year by D1Baseball.com, while Longo was named one of the Top 50 catchers in the nation by the same publication. Choi was also named the top pro prospect in the conference by D1Baseball.com.

In Perfect Games Preseason America East Preview, it named Choi, Longo, Kidd, Ray Ortiz, and Ty Sallie Preseason All-Conference and Cade Ladenhoff, the league's Preseason Rookie of the Year.

NJIT will field one of the older teams in the country this season, with seven graduate students on its roster, including Joe Georgini, who is in his sixth year with the program. Choi, Longo, and Kevin Putstky are each in their fifth year of the program and were key pieces of the 2021 NCAA Regional team.

Starting Pitchers

Miami: RHP Gage Ziehl will start as the Friday night opening day starter for the second straight year. A year ago, Ziehl posted an 8-4 record with a 4.30 ERA and 100 strikeouts over 92 innings, earning All-ACC Second Team distinction. The junior went 10-6 last season, making 16 starts. He has a career ERA of 4.23 and has 152 career strikeouts.

The 6-foot, 223-pound hurler paced the club in wins, innings pitched, and punchouts in his first season as the Hurricanes' ace.

NJIT: LHP Aidan Kidd made 14 starts last season, posting a 4.48 ERA and 92 strikeouts over 66.1 innings. The senior has made 34 appearances and 24 starts in his career with a 5.07 ERA and a 7-5 record.

Miami Athletics Athletics and NJIT Athletics contributed to this report

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