Pitt Baseball Schedule 2024: What To Know

A heavy injection of new blood into the Pitt baseball program has the Panthers hoping they can hold their own in a brutal ACC during the 2024 season.

Feb 22, 2024 by Briar Napier

Pitt Baseball Schedule 2024: What To Know

Nothing is given in a harsh ACC, and while PItt had an unwhelming 2023, winning 24 games in one of the hardest conferences in college baseball is still a feat. Still, for a program that hasn’t made a regional trip in almost 30 years, underwhelming years can get particularly tiring.

With an injection of new players and the changing landscape of collegiate conferences, will Panthers change for the better?

The ACC around them—which gets Cal and Stanford for next season—isn’t exactly getting any easier, after all.

Here’s all you need to know about Pitt baseball heading into the 2024 season.

How Did Pitt Baseball Do In 2023?

The ACC was brutally tough last season, as eight teams made the NCAA Tournament, and both Wake Forest and Virginia made the College World Series.

Pitt finished 24-31 overall and last in the Coastal Division, losing to the top-seeded Demon Deacons in the ACC Tournament to finish its 2023 season.

There were some highlights, such as a series win over Virginia in Charlottesville and a shutout win at home over Wake Forest, but Pitt struggled overall. The program finished second to last in the conference in team batting average (.256) and last in team ERA (7.16), while a stretch of no NCAA Tournament appearances since 1995 continued.

It was a bit of a step backward for the program after entering 2023 with back-to-back winning seasons, but a giant roster overhaul with 25 newcomers coming in for the 2024 campaign should give the Panthers plenty of different looks on the diamond in the months ahead.

Kyle Hess, a graduated outfielder, was Pitt’s lone All-ACC nominee a season ago, earning a spot on the league’s third team after batting a team-best .327.

Who Coaches Pitt Baseball?

It’s Mike Bell’s sixth season in charge of the Panthers’ baseball program, and while he has led Pitt to three consecutive ACC Tournaments, the team hasn’t really been able to break through or challenge toward the top of the conference consistently, even with the occasional upset over a ranked opponent.

A former minor-league pitcher and longtime assistant with stints at Tennessee, Oklahoma and Florida State before being named Pitt’s coach in 2018, Bell is a mound specialist who has helped multiple Panthers get selected in the MLB Draft.

Has Pitt Baseball Ever Won The College World Series?

No, Pitt baseball has never won the College World Series.

The Panthers have only appeared in the NCAA Tournament three times in program history—in 1959, 1965 and 1995—so their opportunities to get to Omaha have been limited.

Notable Returning Players

C.J. Funk, OF

It was a breakout year for C.J. Funk, who became one of the best power options on an offense that sometimes tended to sputter, and he’ll be relied on quite a bit in 2024, as the Panthers lost their top three hitters from last season.

Funk tied for the team lead with 13 home runs and finished second on the team with 14 doubles and 43 RBIs, though his average did take a bit of a dip from his sophomore season, going from .298 to .267.

Regardless, just about every other major offensive statistical category jumped up for Funk between the two seasons, and for a Pitt program trying to gain some steam in just about any way possible, player development is a good sign.

Jack Sokol, RHP

The winning pitcher in two of Pitt’s victories against top-10 programs in the course of a week—No. 7 Virginia and No. 2 Wake Forest—Jack Sokol returns after leading the Panthers’ staff in wins (six), starts (14), innings (68) and strikeouts (69).

The high ERA (7.54) and opposing batting average allowed (.338) will need improvement if Sokol wants to evolve into one of the ACC’s premier aces. But after a year off from Division I ball—Sokol spent his freshman season at Auburn and played junior college baseball in 2022—it was a solid return year to the big time.

Notable Newcomers

Luke Cantwell, INF

Likely bound to hold down at first base for Pitt this year, Luke Cantwell—an offseason transfer from Fairleigh Dickinson—became a coveted capture for the Panthers in the portal after a stellar sophomore season with the Knights.

After a middling rookie season in which he batted only .255 with six homers and 20 RBIs, Cantwell exploded for a huge by batting .331 with 14 home runs, 51 RBIs and a .709 slugging percentage. The surge helped him become the only underclassman to be selected to last season’s All-Northeast Conference first team.

Cantwell, who is from the Philadelphia suburbs, is back in Pennsylvania and looks to shine with an in-state program, while getting a step up in competition.

Ryan Andrade, RHP

Pitt’s pitching wasn’t the greatest in 2023, but Ryan Andrade, a Rhode Island transfer, has arrived hoping to be one of the Panthers’ top options this season.

An All-Atlantic 10 second-team performer for the Rams a season ago, Andrade had seven saves in 33 innings with 38 strikeouts, though early indications from Pitt suggest he will be a starter for the 2024 campaign.

Andrade started Pitt’s fall scrimmage against Toledo, striking out two of the four batters he faced, and was tabbed by D1Baseball.com as one of its Preseason Top 150 Starting Pitchers entering this season.