TicketsCINCINNATI – The University of Cincinnati baseball team began fall ball a few weeks ago, enough time to get in several practices and scrimmages as well as an exhibition game vs. Purdue.
Entering his third year with the program, head coach Jordan Bischel has seen his squad take strides since the first fall practice. For newcomers, whether they arrived via the transfer portal or as freshmen, this means learning the ways of Bearcats Baseball.
“We start with explaining the things we hang our hat on, and doing a lot of learning of those things, and then hopefully by the end of the fall, seeing a lot more application of it,” Bischel said. “I think our program, compared to others, has a pretty specific style we play. That gets talked about some with the short game, but there's other things with hitting approach and how we want to pitch, and it takes time. We know we’re going to see some hiccups early on, but the hope is by the time we hit the end of October we're seeing a lot less of them. The result may not always be there, but we’re looking for these guys to buy into that identity and that development. I think we're making some progress towards that.”
The Purdue exhibition game last Saturday gave the coaching staff and fans in attendance a glimpse at the future of Cincinnati Baseball. The second half of the game was predominantly newcomers, mostly freshmen, and allowed Bischel and his staff a chance to see how the newest players on the roster react to live game situations against another team.
“The second half of the game on Saturday was exciting, we had seven freshmen on the field,” Bischel said. “We know they're going to struggle a little bit in September, but it’s exciting to know those guys are going to grow with us and be a part of it for a long time.”
The 2025 season was a special one for Cincinnati, which made its seventh NCAA Tournament appearance in program history and earned its first at-large tournament berth since 1974. Several key contributors from last year’s team return for the 2026 season, but the roster also features a healthy number of newcomers as well. Twenty-one new players, including eight from the transfer portal, are getting their first doses of Cincinnati Baseball.
“Last year we were almost 60% new faces,” Bischel said. “This year, it's down to about 50% and hopefully that number continues to drop. But with new faces, comes a lot of learning opportunities, and so hopefully we're working through some of that.”
Cincinnati’s transfer portal class ranked among the Top 30 nationally for the second straight season and included two position players and six pitchers. Half of the portal additions are sophomores, a deliberate move by Bischel and his staff.
“As we get established, we want guys that can grow for several years in our program,” he said.
Outfielder Conlan Daniel and infielder Jackson Smith are the two position players UC added through the portal, and they’re two of the sophomores that joined the roster this season. Daniel started in center field during the first half of the game vs. Purdue, and Jackson Smith started at shortstop in the second half.
“They're young, athletic, and provide some real versatility and ability to do a lot of good things on the field,” Bischel said. “And they're young, so they've got room for growth and development.”
Six of the eight transfers are pitchers: Brennan Eager, Adam Brouwer, Dominic Mauro, Logan Knight, Charlie Dieruf IV, and Dillon Schueler. Four of them – Brouwer, Eager, Knight, and Schueler – pitched two innings apiece vs. the Boilermakers. Once this group is settled, they should pitch important innings for UC in the spring.
“Transfer pitchers tend to take a little while to settle in our pitching philosophy,’ Bischel said. “They’re getting comfortable with their routines and who they're around, and we're seeing that a little bit right now. We think as they take some roots we expect them to compete for some big roles.”
The talent infusion that has taken place since Bischel and his staff arrived on campus has helped the program achieve success rarely seen on the diamond in Clifton. But The Bearcats aren’t content yet; they know there is much more to achieve.
“We feel good about what we did the last two years, but we don't want it to be a flash in the pan,” Bischel said regarding the success of the 2025 team. “We think there's more upside than that. We think we can be better than that.”
Below is a brief look at Cincinnati’s eight transfer portal additions this year:
#4 Conlan Daniel | OF | So. | Wright State
Daniel played in 36 games for Wright State last season, hitting .314 with six home runs, 18 RBI, and 14 stolen bases. He was the starting center fielder in all four of the Raiders’ NCAA Tournament games, homering against No. 1 seed Vanderbilt in their first game of the tournament. A Cincinnati native, Daniel starred at Moeller High School, helping the team win a state championship in 2023. He was high school teammates with current Bearcats Carson Marsh and Charlie Niehaus.
#10 Brennan Eager | LHP | So. | Louisiana-Monroe
Eager spent the 2025 season at Louisiana-Monroe, making 13 starts and posting a 3.79 ERA. He struck out a season-best seven in his first career collegiate outing vs. Grambling State. He was a key cog in two state championships at West Monroe High School, earning State Championship MVP honors in 2022.
#14 Jackson Smith | INF | So. | Bradley
Smith started 36 games as a true freshman at Bradley last season, hitting .301. He made his collegiate debut at Alabama, going 2-for-3, and ended the year on a hot streak with five multi-hit efforts over his last seven games. He was a two-time all-state honoree in high school and helped Providence Catholic to a state championship as a senior.
#16 Adam Brouwer | RHP | R-Sr. | Northern Illinois
Brouwer comes to UC after spending the last two years at Northern Illinois. He started 27 games combined over the last two seasons in DeKalb, totaling 141.2 innings during that time. Brouwer ranked second on the team in both innings pitched and strikeouts each of the last two seasons, and he earned a MAC Pitcher of the Week nod after striking out a career-best 13 at SIUE on Feb. 28 last season.
#20 Dominic Mauro | RHP | Jr. | Northwood
Mauro comes to UC from NCAA Division II Northwood, where he was a part of one of the best seasons in program history last year. His play helped the team to an NCAA Championships berth, the first in school history, as he pitched in 19 games with a 3.02 ERA and three saves. As a freshman in 2024, Mauro pitched in 12 games, making 10 starts.
#24 Logan Knight | RHP | Sr. | North Dakota State
Knight was a two-time All-Summit League selection at North Dakota State and earned a spot on the league’s all-tournament team last year. He started 15 games this past season and pitched two complete games, which led all pitchers in the conference. One of his complete games was a three-hit shutout vs. Oral Roberts in the conference tournament. Off the field, Knight is a two-time CSC Academic All-District honoree.
#26 Charlie Dieruf IV | RHP | So. | Miami (Ohio)
Dieruf made 16 appearances for the RedHawks last year, all of which came out of the bullpen. He has already pitched at UC Baseball Stadium, logging 1.2 scoreless innings against the Bearcats last season on March 11. He pitched vs. Wake Forest in the NCAA Tournament.
#39 Dillon Schueler | RHP | Sr. | UIC
A 2025 All-MVC pick, Schueler was UC’s highest-ranked addition according to 64 Analytics. He struck out 62 in 83.0 innings last season, ranking fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference in innings pitched and seventh in batting average against (.266). He was also a CSC Academic All-District selection in 2024.