TicketsCINCINNATI – The University of Cincinnati baseball program unveiled a new space dedicated to bunting and baserunning, dubbed the Cheetah Lab, on Wednesday.
Located on the first floor of the Richard E. Lindner Center, the space includes room for the Bearcats to practice bunting and baserunning techniques.
“Our baserunning and bunting approach, led by incredible leadership from Coach [Tom] Winske, has become arguably the single most dynamic and efficient operation in the country,” head coach Jordan Bischel said. “Not only has it tremendously helped our offensive production, but it has set our student-athletes up for increased success at the professional level. We play incredibly fast-paced baseball that creates an electric dynamic for fans. Our consistent focus on this area of the game is unique to college baseball, and the addition of our ‘Cheetah Lab’ is equally unique to player development.”
Since Bischel and Winske arrived at Cincinnati ahead of the 2024 season, the Bearcats’ ability to bunt for hits and run the bases has become a calling card of the program. UC has led all Power Four programs in bunt hits in each of the last three seasons, including this past year with 31.
On the bases, Cincinnati has swiped 364 bags since the start of the 2024 season and set a program record with 134 steals in 2025. However, it’s not just the number of stolen bases the Bearcats rack up year after year, it’s their efficiency in doing so. UC ranked fourth among Power Four programs in stolen base success rate this year (87.1%) and successfully stole bases at a 90.5% clip in 2025.
Cincinnati’s proficiency in these two facets of the game has led to the best three-year stretch in program history. UC has won 103 games since 2024, the most in a three-year stretch ever, and has advanced to back-to-back NCAA Tournaments for the first time in school history. Cincinnati is one of just five Big 12 teams with at least 50 conference wins since 2024 and one of just three teams with a better than .500 conference record in each of the last three seasons, joined only by Oklahoma State and West Virginia.
The Bearcats held their first official practice of the fall on Monday and will play four fall exhibition games in the coming weeks. UC will visit Purdue on Sunday, Sept. 27 before playing Kentucky (Sunday, Oct. 4), Dayton (Saturday, Oct. 10), and Xavier (Saturday, Oct. 17) next month. The game against UK will be held at Prasco Park, while the matchups against the Flyers and Musketeers will be played at UC Baseball Stadium.