COLUMN: May SEMO’s diamond dynasty continue

From the first time I saw Dylan Dodd on the mound and big hits from Andrew Keck and Wade Stauss, I could easily tell Southeast Missouri State had a special baseball program.

That was in 2021, the beginning of the Redhawks’ current Ohio Valley Conference dynasty.

I missed out on 2022 and saw 2023 end in a free fall, but 2024 was the redemption year, and their win over No. 5 Arkansas that shocked the nation served as a culmination of the Andy Sawyers era at SEMO. Most importantly, that win put them in the NCAA Regional final for the first time in school history.

"We finished up winning 14 of our last 18 and in terms of what that relates to like a March Madness, we were one of the last 32 teams standing," Sawyers said. "For our program, for any of our programs in the OVC to finish in that spot, you're certainly proud of your kids.

"We would like to balance the pride of the accomplishment with the understanding that we really haven't done anything yet. So, hopefully, we can continue to make strides forward and, hopefully, win one more round in that thing and make it to the Super (Regional)."

Now the Redhawks enter 2025 with expectations to win the conference crown once more. SEMO was picked to finish first in the OVC by the league’s head coaches and sports information directors. Of course, when asked about such distinction during OVC media day, Sawyers said with a smirk, "means nothing".

"It matters where you're ranked at the end of it," Swayers said. "It means nothing where you're ranked right now."

The Redhawks are coming off their sixth OVC Tournament championship and, with 13 seniors/grads on the roster, return much of the talent that made them victorious last year.

Probably the biggest key for Sawyers entering the season is team chemistry and, as he put it, how much do the players love each other by the time the Redhawks fly into the OVC Tournament in May.

"I would say in any eight-team tournament, there's probably four teams that want the season to be over and there's probably four teams that want to keep playing," Sawyers said. "In 2023, we were a one-and-done, lost the first game in the elimination round and went home and I thought that team didn't want to play anymore. I thought they were over. I thought last year's team, they loved each other, and I thought they wanted to play. How you get there is up to you, that's the secret sauce."

Hayden Dow is back as the ace of the staff after finishing last year among the conference’s top 15 in ERA and strikeouts.

The Redhawks saw their top two home run hitters move on, but return Bryce Cannon (14 HR, 53 RBIs) and Michael Mugan (12 HR, 47 RBIs), who also was among the top 10 in hits (76) with a .311 batting average.

Brooks Kettering is SEMO’s player to watch, according to the OVC, after starting all but one game and batting .308 with nine home runs, 12 doubles and 40 RBIs. The baby-faced second baseman was the only freshman last year, but won't be the only sophomore this season. Joining his class is pitcher Kolton Lyman, who posted a 10.22 strikeouts-per-nine-innings mark out of the bullpen at Kirkwood Community College in 2024.

The Redhawks will play 30 of their 55 games at home in 2025, which begins on the road at Memphis on Valentine's Day. The Redhawks will host Northern Illinois, Purdue-Fort Wayne and Indiana State, and will travel to Jacksonville State to face former SEMO manager Steve Bieser.

Like many baseball seasons, there will be ups and downs but, come tournament time, you can expect the Redhawks to celebrate on the mound and return to the NCAA Tournament for a fourth time in five seasons.

"I think it's anybody's ballgame, every year," Sawyers said. "I don't think we got the inside track just because we were picked to win it."

A fun new rule proposal

During OVC media day, Sawyers jokingly proposed his take on the rumored golden at-bat rule that was floated around by MLB.

The golden at-bat would allow a team to send its best hitter to the plate regardless of his place in the lineup.

It was an idea that originated on the Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz in 2018 and proposed to Manfred on air. However, Sawyers has a different take on the idea.

"I think SEMO is going to propose coming this year the 'golden coach', where at any point in the game you can send a coach to the plate or the mound for one at-bat or one hitter."

Sawyers has always had a good sense of humor, so whether or not he was serious is irrelevant. No sense in letting that get in the way of the fun here.

The idea of hitting coach Trevor Ezell, who played in the Gulf Coast League for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2019, grabbing the bat like Thanos and muttering under his beard, "Fine, I'll do it myself," is quite the intriguing idea. The same goes for pitching coach Matthew Kinney, who was the closer of a Florida State team that went to the Super Regional in 2016.

"I think that would bring a level of excitement to our game but, also, I think that would be a pretty good deal for SEMO," Sawyers said.

Could you imagine the potential matchups this season? There are a lot of teams on SEMO's schedule with coaches who have played in the minor leagues. The idea of Dow having to strike out Jacksonville State head coach Steve Bieser, who played for SEMO and made the majors with the New York Mets in 1997 and Pittsburgh Pirates in 1998, or Mugan having to get a hit off former SEMO pitcher and Southern Illinois coach Lance Rhodes is candy for the mind.

And of course, the OVC has its fair share of coaches who could rival Ezell and Kinney.

"(UT Martin head coach) Ryan Jenkins is probably the strongest coach in the league, although he's never seen Trevor Ezell deadlift," Sawyers said. "I do feel like we'd have a big advantage with that and I'd like to see if we can get that pushed forward with the NCAA.

"We're changing so much about college sports as it is. Why not the golden coach, right?"