Heading into their second season in the American Conference, Head Coach John McCormack has a lot to look forward to about his group. The Owls are returning a big chunk of their key pieces from the 2024 season, and both the leaders and the newcomers are all feeling great heading into this season. Here’s some aspects of this team to look forward to as the Owls play out their Fall Ball schedule before their Spring 2025 season. One of the biggest if not the single biggest returner this season is outfielder and catcher John Schroeder. The senior had a massive summer, participating in both the MLB Draft League, and the Cape Cod League. Schroeder hit for a slash-line of .296/.354/.455 for an OPS of .808 with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers in the MLB Draft League, with nine extra base hits in 25 games. In his eight games in the CCBL, Schroeder recorded an .833 OPS showcasing his power with a pair of home runs. The biggest takeaway from there (MLB Draft League), was the coaches you saw a lot of different coaching styles between each team and a lot of different players from all different areas. Everyones competing and trying to produce, Schroeder added about his experience this summer. Going into his fourth season with the Owls, Schroeder will undoubtedly be looked at as a leader, and thats something that hes looked forward to. Being able to split time in the outfield and behind the plate, Schroeder provides some very useful versatility to the Owls again in 2025 to pair with his leadership. Very, very, very excited we got a good group of guys that want to win, compete and work their hardest out there everyday, Schroeder said about his feelings towards being looked at as a leader on this team. In addition to Schroeder, the Owls are adding an intriguing piece to the outfield in Kyle Boylston. A two-sport athlete, Boylston also plays football but has been limited due to a nagging injury. However, he could be expected to make his return to Coach McCormack’s (photo center below, Rick Henderson) squad and could bolster the FAU outfield significantly. He is definitely a player to keep an eye on this season. Another key returner to this FAU baseball roster comes out of the pitching staff with Tyler Murphy. The Palm City native had a big summer of his own, also playing up in Cape Cod while spending the rest of his summer playing in South Florida for the Boynton Beach Bucs in the SFCL. Murphy (top photo right, Rick Henderson) excelled in the SFCL, recording a 3-0 record in five games started with an ERA of 1.38. He also excelled at striking out hitters, tallying 39 strikeouts in those five starts for a K/9 rate of 13.5. After his time in the SFCL, Murphy was given the opportunity to play up in the Cape, against some of the nations best competition, while receiving some top tier coaching as well. Playing in the SFCL was awesome, it was a good amount of innings to get ready to go, worked on a lot of stuff to get ready to go play in the Cape. Then I carried that up north in the Cape which went really well for me and the team as a whole, Murphy added about his summer in South Florida and in Cape Cod. One of the most important factors for a successful college baseball team is its depth. In such a long season, having guys you can turn to consistently is a huge weight lifted off not only the coaching staff’s shoulders, but all of the players as well. When discussing the 2025 Owls and what they can accomplish, Murphy noted how much depth he’s seen already with this group. “I’ve been here three years, and this is the first year where after the first inter squad I was like wow we have a lot of depth as a squad. Everyone that went out there I was thoroughly impressed with,” Murphy added about the team’s depth. Another key pitcher returning to this staff is left hander Trey Beard (top photo center). The now sophomore had a great freshman campaign last season that saw him being one of the go-to starters, recording 65.1 innings pitched. Going into his second season for Coach McCormack and the Owls, Beard is looking to make some slight tweaks to his pitches. Just working on spinning stuff, I was big fastball-changeup last year, just working on my curveball and slider, Beard said about his tweaks and adjustments within his pitch mix. The coaching staff has been crucial to Beards improvement as a pitcher. Through film, drills, and consistent reps, this FAU pitching staff is getting better every single day. When looking deeper into the pitching staff, theres a newcomer that has garnered attention since transferring to FAU. Ryan Buckler (top photo left) a Massachusetts native and right handed pitcher transferred to FAU from Virginia Tech. After his first season at Virginia Tech, Buckler described what the deciding factor was to drawing him down to Boca Raton and Coach McCormacks squad. A lot of it was the coaching staff I really connected with them, they told me a lot of good things about the program, Buckler added about his decision to come to FAU. After his first season with Virginia Tech, Buckler put up incredible numbers in summer ball in the New England Collegiate Baseball League. In 12 games with North Shore, Buckler recorded a 1.89 ERA in 38.0 innings pitched, striking out 36 batters. Buckler spent some short time in Cape Cod as well this summer, but a majority of his games this summer were out of New England. The young right hander has impressed so far reaching up to nearly 92 MPH in FAU’s inter squad scrimmage this past Monday. He looks poised to be another great arm added to this Owls pitching staff that is looking to take strides forward in 2025. The second season in AAC play should be an exciting one for this group of Owls. With some reinforced depth added to this team and the combined leadership from the upperclassmen, this 2025 FAU baseball team is looking to accomplish things that they have never accomplished before.
