2024 Purdue Baseball Preview

This Friday marks the universal start date for Purdue baseball, and it is a big one for coach Greg Goff. It is year five for him at Purdue and the program has seen up and down results. His first season was cancelled after 14 games due to COVID, and since then the Boilers have just had one winning season. Purdue was the last undefeated team in the country in 2022, winning its first 15 games, but it finished just 29-21 after an overall 18-1 start. Last season Purdue lacked consistency as it went 24-29 overall and it missed the Big Ten Tournament at 11-13.

Can Purdue bounce back this year? Not much is expected. Baseball America has Purdue finishing 12th in the 13 team league with Iowa, Indiana, and Maryland as favorites. It does have the advantage of a program record 30 home games scheduled. The season begins this weekend in Sugar Land, Texas where Purdue will open with four games against Stony Brook.

Hitting

Goff’s teams have always tried to cause havoc on the basepaths. It has been aggressive in pursuing steals and keeping runners in motion. The return of fifth year senior Mike Bolton Jr. will help with that. He has had 28 stolen bases in each of the last two seasons and he brings a veteran presence both at the plate and in the outfield. Senior outfielder Couper Cornblum also had 26 steals last season, so this duo will help near the top of the lineup. Cornblum and Bolton are also the top two returning hitters by average, as Cornblum batted .310 and Bolton batted .281.

Connor Caskenette at catcher batted .279 in 40 starts and he had the most home runs of any returning player with six. Having power will be a concern early on. Paul Toetz and Jake Jarvis each had 10 home runs to lead Purdue last season, but both are gone.

Purdue is going to rely heavily on some veteran transfers to try and turn things around. Grad transfer Thomas Green was a two-year starter at Oakland and will likely hold down one of the infield spots. Aaron Dolney was also a two-year starter as a catcher at Eastern Michigan.

Purdue was in the middle of the pack at the plate last year in the Big Ten, batting .277. it was second in the conference with 99 stolen bases only behind Iowa. Overall the roster has a lot of experienced players, as there are a whopping 19 seniors on the roster, many of them transfers at one time or another from either junior colleges or elsewhere.

Pitching

If there is hope for a turnaround it lies on the mound, as Purdue has a very experienced staff on the mound. Johnathan Blackwell (5-6, 6.22 ERA in 14 starts) and Kyle Iwinski (3-5, 4.54 ERA in 11 starts) returns as members of the starting rotation in 2023. The Boilers also added Luke Wagner from Georgia, who had 17 starts in three years including an NCAA Tournament start for the Bulldogs. He was in the weekend rotation in 2021, so he brings some good experience. CJ Backer, who has both started and been a top reliever in his career, also returns.

In the bullpen Jackson Dannelley and Aaron Suval both return after leading the team in appearances last season. Dannelly pitched in 25 games and had three saves, while Suval had five saves in 21 appearances. Jordan Morales joins them as a player with four years of D-1 experience (two at LaSalle, two at Penn State) in the bullpen. Cal Lambert and Carter Doorn are also experienced arms that should make a difference.

Overall Purdue had a team ERA of 5.75 last season, but home runs were a problem as it gave up 67.

Schedule

Purdue’s schedule is more challenging in 2024 than in recent seasons. The second weekend of the year features four games against George Mason in Holly Springs, NC. The Patriots were an NCAA Tournament team a year ago and won a pair of games once there. Purdue is also playing in the Keith LeClair Classic against a very good East Carolina team and perennial power Cal State Fullerton. East Carolina also has one of the more inspirational stories in all of sports, as Parker Byrd is attempting to play after losing his right leg below the knee in a 2023 boating accident. After 22 surgeries and nearly dying he is attempting to play with the aid of a prosthesis.

Purdue has a non-conference road game at Notre Dame and will have a home and home with Indiana State, who won an NCAA regional last season as a host. They also host an NCAA team in Ball State and four games against Samford, who won a game in last year’s NCAAs. The Boilers host league favorite Iowa on March 22-24 and they host Indiana May 3-5. Both Iowa and Indiana were in the tournament last year and each won two games.

The 2023-24 season means a new TV deal for the Big Ten. Football and basketball will have games scattered across FOX, FS1, BTN, NBC, CBS, and Peacock. If you're looking for a service that has live sports consider both FuboTV and Hulu (with live sports). Boiler Upload is also an affiliate sponsor with Peacock, where new Peacock subscriptions help keep the lights on here.

Finally, the best way to see a game is in person, so book a room at the Hampton Inn & Suites near campus and get your tickets via Stubhub.