Justin Haire is turning Ohio State baseball around in his second year as head coach

Ohio State baseball had a rough year in 2025. In head coach Justin Haire's inaugural season, Ohio State was bad. There's no way to sugarcoat it. The Buckeyes went 13-37. They finished the season 5-25 in the Big Ten, ending dead last in the standings of the 18-team conference. But when you hit rock bottom, the only place left to go is up.

This year, through 27 games, Ohio State may just be turning a corner. The Buckeyes started the season with a series sweep of St. Louis, the first series sweep for Ohio State since 2023. They then split two games with Memphis and Louisiana Tech, starting the season 5-2. After that promising start, it looked like Ohio State may go back to 2025 form. The Buckeyes would go on an eight-game skid. They'd lose to two top teams in UCLA and Texas, but also to in-state foes Xavier and Kent State.

The Buckeyes would find themselves sitting at 6-12 with only one Big Ten win two weeks ago. They played Xavier again, but the Buckeyes avenged their earlier 13-4 loss, beating the Musketeers in Cincinnati, 8-4. That was the start of the hot streak Ohio State has found itself on since.

Ohio State has won eight of its last nine games, with the only hiccup being on the road in a 10-8 loss against Wright State. They've swept Butler out of the Big East, and Big Ten foe Minnesota on the road. Ohio State hadn't gotten a series sweep since 2023, and now they've gotten three before the halfway point of this season. The Buckeyes started off a nine-game homestand last night with a 10-5 win over the Toledo Rockets.

The Buckeyes have the opportunity for some crucial wins in this homestand. They'll host Maryland and Penn State for three games each. Maryland is currently dead last in the Big Ten, and Penn State is 14th of 18 in the conference standings. Ohio State is 14-13, already having one more win than they did last year. At 4-5 in the conference, they're one win away from matching the conference wins from 2025.