Why College Baseball Coaches Are Pursuing Older Rosters In Search Of Increased Production


Image credit: Nick Mingione (Photo by Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Nick Mingione was certain about two things heading into the 2023 season, his seventh at the helm of Kentucky’s baseball program.
The first was born from confidence.
“I knew that we could win consistently,” Mingione told Baseball America. “I’ve always felt that we could build this program into something great.”
The second was a matter of strategy in order to make the first a reality. And it required a sweeping recalibration of the roster-building methods previously employed in Lexington that produced only modest returns—five NCAA Tournament regional appearances, one super regional and zero trips to the College World Series over a two-decade stretch.
In an era defined by NIL-fueled recruiting battles for blue chip prospects, Mingione confidently set his sights on building an older, more experienced roster—one forged with grit, physical maturity and the savvy to outlast flashier, but less-seasoned, opponents.
It was a calculated move, designed to level the playing field and capitalize on veteran leadership and toughness that could withstand the pressures of a sport increasingly influenced by off-field dynamics.
“I always joke with my staff that we’re not the New York Yankees,” Mingione said. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t recruit to an identity and bring in guys who want to win at the University of Kentucky. You could say we have to play a little bit more like the Tampa Bay Rays.”
And that’s effectively what Mingione did.
He brought in 10 Division I transfers following the 2022 season, eight of whom were upperclassmen. Doing so raised his average roster age from 21.7 years old to 22.1, making the Wildcats one of the oldest teams among what are now the “Power 4” schools.
Looking back, Mingione believes that change was almost entirely responsible for Kentucky’s staggering growth from a 33-26 overall and 12-18 conference record in 2022—which resulted in an NCAA Tournament miss—to 40-21 overall and 16-14 in the SEC last season, which allowed it to host for just the second time in program history.
Kentucky might not have been the most talented team in the country that year in terms of the quality of its professional prospects, a reality Mingione doesn’t hide from. But it was easily one of the nation’s more disciplined and steady groups, especially on the mound, where its pitchers combined to generate a 4.36 ERA, which ranked toward the top of the SEC.
“Our maturity played such a big role in our improvement,” Mingione said. “If anybody watched us play, I think it was apparent that we really loved each other and competed super hard. Our success has been evaluating really well, bringing in older, experienced, more mature players and being really united as a team.”
Kentucky’s improvement on the heels of its roster age boom isn’t necessarily unique. Just well-executed.
There’s mounting evidence to suggest that older rosters are better positioned to perform. It’s a notion that has permeated the nation and reconfigured how many coaches at all D-I levels are aiming to assemble their squads.
The ideology driving it can be summed up succinctly: Coaches are confident that older, more-developed players with less long term upside are more likely to outplay freshmen with potential to dream on but little to provide as first-year players.
Now teams are trying to strike a new balance.
“It’s just so hard for freshmen to come in and hit right away,” UC Santa Barbara head coach Andrew Checketts said. “I think if you have a bunch of freshmen developmental players long term, you’re going to have to wait for that production. You might get more high-upside players, but you also might take your lumps a little bit more.”
Teams at the Division I level largely constructed their lineups with that sentiment in mind in 2024.
Players who were in their final year of eligibility accounted for 37.8% of D-I at-bats last year, while freshmen and redshirt freshmen trailed them markedly at just 12.6%. It makes sense, too, as the oldest players in the sport widely outperformed their younger counterparts in every category at the plate.
The disparity between them in power—which is becoming a cornerstone of college offenses—is particularly telling.
“We need some guys to come in and perform right away,” Virginia head coach Brian O’Connor said. “But, the reality is, they’re not going to be nowhere near where they’re going to be as sophomores and juniors. Right now it’s about giving them opportunities to learn and grow and that’s how you develop.”
Class | Batting Average | On-Base Percentage | At-bats per home run | Total RBI |
Freshman | .262 | .369 | 38.4 | 10.4 |
Sophomore | .277 | .379 | 29.2 | 18.2 |
Junior | .282 | .386 | 28.7 | 20.9 |
Senior | .286 | .390 | 27.6 | 25.2 |
There were similar trends on the mound.
Last year, players in their final season of eligibility pitched roughly a third of Division I innings, while freshmen barely eclipsed 15% of the total workload. The eldest players in college baseball were also the only ones who maintained a collective ERA below 6.00.
Class | ERA | Strikeouts per nine innings | Walks per nine innings |
Freshman | 6.95 | 8.19 | 5.72 |
Sophomore | 6.20 | 8.47 | 4.90 |
Junior | 6.14 | 8.57 | 4.81 |
Senior | 5.97 | 8.28 | 4.45 |
The statistical gaps between age groups also offer a valuable look at what many coaches believe to be the ideal developmental timeline for their players, particularly with pitchers.
“When younger guys are patient with the process, “Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn said, “we feel like we can get their arms ready for their smaller roles in the spring of their freshmen year, jump into starters roles or closer roles as a sophomore and then go from there. We always tell the pitchers, ‘Scouts want to see what you’re doing now and they’re going to follow your progress, but they’re not too concerned if you were a starter in the SEC as a true freshman.’
“A lot of kids might not believe that but that’s fact. They want to know that you’re healthy and they’ve seen you develop.”
Programs have to stock older talent, though, to create a space where younger players can develop in more insulated, low-stakes roles.
“We’re absolutely seeing that across the board,” Dallas Baptist head coach Dan Heefner said. “It happened with COVID, but now with the transfer portal, it’s made teams older. We’ve seen it, and we’re absolutely utilizing it, but we’re also not fully going to sell out to it.”
Heefner isn’t the only coach who made note of his program’s non-negotiable stance on not fully selling out to the age craze.
In fact, most mid-major coaches who spoke with Baseball America stressed the importance of continuing to grow their talent from the high school ranks, especially on the pitching side where a slower timeline can benefit players’ arm health and, thus, long-term careers. It’s why those coaches are confident that high school players who might have once ended up at high-major schools and are now being pushed out of roster spots by transfers will ultimately still find Division I homes.
“I think the pitching side of it is going to be heavily high school and development,” Checketts said. “I don’t think the model for us is going to change there. I think even with all that’s going on with the portal and the Power 4 schools, they’re trying to get proven commodities and are less willing to take the projection guy, and I think that’s going to leave some of those guys that we’ve had luck with available. I think that plays into our approach and can be an advantage for us. We’ve had one portal arm in the last four years and that won’t change for us.”
It’s the case at high-majors, too, especially those aiming to avoid becoming too reliant on the portal.
“We always see the guys make the biggest jump in their sophomore year,” O’Connor said. “Now, there’s exceptions to that. You do get some 17- and 18-year-olds who are really skilled and really developed at an earlier age, but my belief is that ideally you don’t want kids to peak too soon. You want them to be their best that sophomore and junior year, and a lot of the great players we’ve had follow that model.”
The evolving landscape of college baseball underscores a growing consensus: Experience and maturity often outweigh raw potential when building a competitive roster.
Programs like Kentucky have demonstrated how embracing an older, more-seasoned team can yield immediate results, with veteran leadership and discipline creating a formidable edge on the field. The data is clear: Older players outperform their younger counterparts in nearly every meaningful metric.
Yet, the success of the approach hinges on thoughtful roster management, as teams must strategically integrate transfers and graduates while nurturing high school recruits in lower-stakes roles. This dual approach, blending maturity with development, offers a roadmap for sustained success.
“I think it’s just the maturity,” Mississippi State head coach Chris Lemonis said. “And I don’t even mean the physical maturity—and there is that too—I just mean the mental maturity. I think we all know the most important thing for success at a certain point when you’re at this level is between the ears. I think the kids that take a little slower route—I know a lot of GMs who would tell you that we’re doing it as good as pro ball is doing it.”