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| Maryland baseball is back and better than ever. |
The Dirty Terps are back! Feels so good to say. And let me tell you, it's shaping up to be a great year. It may not feel like Baseball weather right now, but the season has already begun. The Big Ten may be a rigorous conference to play in, however these guys are up to the task. The Terps have always had a solid baseball program, and while you may think of the powerhouse schools first in the SEC like Vanderbilt, Florida, LSU, and Tennessee, as well as other schools out west like Texas A&M and Oregon State among others, Maryland should be on your radar. They've produced talented big leaguers like Tampa Bay Rays infielder Brandon Lowe, who has produced when healthy and Lamonte Wade JR, an above average first baseman for the San Fransico Giants as well as Matt Shaw, who is a top 40 prospect in the game with the Chicago Cubs and is primed to earn the starting third base job as he carries a prolific bat with him to spring camp. I listened to an interview of Maryland's head coach Matt Swope (who went to DeMatha, which is awesome!) on the podcast of Just Baseball Media On The Clock, which covers the MLB draft, and Swope sounded confident in his guys. The Terps finished 10-14 last year in the Big Ten, but they seemed primed for a step forward to have a better season with Big Ten Championship aspirations maybe even reach Omaha for the College World Series. I will admit, I don't know THAT much about Maryland Baseball, but I'm super excited to follow even more than I did last year, and I have some great sources behind me. This isn't much, but here are four names to keep an eye on.
INF Eddie Hacopian Senior
Hacopian has simply hit throughout his Maryland Career. The senior has inherited the number three, which means a lot to the Maryland Baseball program. It shows the three pillars of toughness, ownership, and growth mindset that the program exemplifies every year, and is typically worn by the first baseman, which is Eddie's slated position. There was a world where Eddie went in last year's draft, but unfortunately that didn't happen, and he's back for another year. He's been a model of consistency durability and production wise, playing all 56 games last year as he earned a spot on the First Team All-Big Ten, all 63 games in 2023, and 41 games in 2022, which is a pretty good amount of playing time for a freshman. His career .352/.439/.526 slash line as a Terrapin tells you all you need to know. He can mash. He also led or tied the team lead in many offensive categories in 2024, such as hits with 83 (also a career high), walks with 36, and stolen bases with six. As you can see, he's that middle of the order guy as well as leader for the Terps, and we'll enjoy him for one more year in College Park.
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| Eddie Hacopian will be a team captain in his last colligate season. |
UTL Chris Hacopian Sophomore
Yes, this is Eddie's brother. Many people in the Terps circle, especially people I know, are super excited about what the younger Hacopian can do and what his potential is. A star at Winston Chruchill High School, he started all four years there and was Maryland Gatorade Player of the Year and Washington Post All-Met Selection in 2022 as well as PG Preseason All American and Atlantic All-Regions 1st team in 2023. He is already off to a hot start in his Maryland career by being a Second Team All-Big Ten Selection and Big Ten All-Freshman Team Selection. He already has a .322/.436/.586 career slash line (look familiar?) and started in 55 games last season. And 2025 got started right, as he whacked a grand slam against the University of Alabama Birmingham on Opening day. Could there be a passing of the torch between him and Eddie? Possibly, since they have similar playstyles. Both can really swing it, and you worry about defensive positioning later. He has a ton of mileage on him, and it'll be fun to track how he produces in the next 2–3-year window.
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| Youngster Cris Hacopian could be very exciting for the Terps. |
LHP Kyle McCoy Sophomore
McCoy is a more specifically a red shirt sophomore since he was hurt for all of his actual sophomore season. As a high schooler, he was ranked as the 17th best left hander in the nation by Perfect Game before the New Jersey native landed at UMD. Back in his freshman season, he appeared in 15 games, 12 of which were starts, and was named to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team. In those 15 games, he finished the year with 53.1 innings, 39 strikeouts, and held opponents to a .263 batting average with a 5.91 ERA (which doesn't carry as much weight in college ball vs pro ball, so don't worry). The lank machine has a 6'6'' frame, which is on full display while he's on the mound as he uses those long levers and limbs to his advantage. He's also up to the mid-90s which is massive for his game as a crafty lefty, and even head coach Matt Swope during the interview with On The Clock compared getting him back from injury to "getting a blue-chip guy in the (transfer) portal," which is high praise. He's primed to be the ace Maryland needs, and he got the win on opening day throwing four innings, giving up three hits and a run, and striking out four with no walks. McCoy is the big-time arm for the Terps this year.
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| Kyle McCoy is poised to be the Friday-night ace for UMD. |
INF Jordan Crossland Sophomore
Crossland is more of a personal pick for me, since I got a chance to meet him over the summer at Play-by-Play Camps after his freshman season and he's a great guy, but he very well could be an x-factor/wild card in his second year. He received many accolades as an underclassman in Virginia as he made Preseason All-American teams in 2021 and 2022 and was even crowned as Perfect Game's #1 shortstop in the state. Upon arrival at Maryland, he got limited looks as a freshman, as he played in 29 games, 15 of those being starts. He put up a .250/.375/.400 slash line in 60 at bats, with three home runs and eight runs driven in 2024 but is poised for bigger things in 2025. He's a true athlete that's versatile on the dirt, and he's already hit a homerun against Mercyhurst in the third game of the year. Swope mentioned Crossland in the interview as a breakout candidate for the Terps this year, and it could very well happen if given an adequate amount of run.
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| Jordan Crossland could serve as a Swiss-Army knife all over the diamond. |
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