Pettorini stays true to the Buckeyes while eyes turn to his bat
From Wooster to the Big Ten, Tyler Pettorini’s baseball roots run deep — and his bat keeps writing the story.
Anyone who follows Ohio State baseball knows the program has had its struggles in recent years.
The Buckeyes are on their third coach in four years, but no player has remained more consistent or loyal than Tyler Pettorini.
The fourth-year starter led Ohio State in batting average (.326, 56-for-172) and home runs (10) entering the week while ranking second in RBI (40), runs (35) and doubles (10).
Pettorini, a 5-foot-10, 180-pound second baseman from Wooster High School, is on pace to bat over .300 for the third straight year.
That’s the good news for Pettorini.
The bad news: Ohio State's record under first-year coach Justin Haire was just 11-30 (3-18 Big Ten) as of April 28.
Bill Mosiello stepped down as coach last June following a two-year stint, and the Buckeyes lost several players to the transfer portal including two of their top three pitchers and a starting infielder.
Pettorini said he never considered throwing his name into the college free-agent pool.
“Ohio State has always felt like home for me,” Pettorini said. “I didn’t even think about the portal after any of the coaching changes. This is where I want to be.”
It’s players like Pettorini who Haire wants to build his program around.
“Tyler's been great,” Haire said after an 11-5 win over Akron at Bill Davis Stadium on April 22. “He comes from a baseball family and is a guy that cares a lot. He loves to hit. I love to hit, so we kind of hit it off when it comes to that.”
Haire learned all about Pettorini’s baseball pedigree soon after taking over as Ohio State’s coach. Pettorini’s grandpa Tim Pettorini Sr. was a Division III coaching legend at Wooster, his dad Tim Jr. played for the Fighting Scots and his uncle Terry Pettorini is a fellow Wooster H.S. alum who played for Ohio State and Akron.
What’s impressed Haire just as much as Pettorini’s left-handed swing and baseball IQ is the kind of leader he’s been in 2025.
“I've just seen him continue to grow and mature in the game,” said Haire, who compiled a 317-212 record at Campbell over the previous 10 seasons and played for Bowling Green and Indianapolis. “Tyler has taken on more of a vocal leadership role. He's been a blast to coach. I’m thankful for him that he trusted us to stay here and finish out his career as a Buckeye.”
Pettorini hasn’t let the losses affect his play on the field, staying laser-focused game by game and at-bat by at-bat.
“I'm just treating every day the same, just going out, putting my head down, playing hard as I can,” said Pettorini, who’s also made a good impression playing in several college summer leagues over the past three years.
Despite leading Ohio State as a junior in home runs (nine), RBI (49) and batting .309, Pettorini was passed over for All-Big Ten honors.
The Big Ten has gotten even stronger, expanded to 17 teams in 2025. Iowa (20-4 conference), UCLA (16-5), Oregon (14-7) and USC (14-7) lead the way, with Ohio State ranking last.
The Buckeyes took two of three games from Oregon during a series in Columbus March 27-29 but haven’t had the pitching to hold off the powerful teams on their Big Ten schedule.
Ohio State made a trip to play at USC April 4-6 but dropped games by scores of 5-3, 12-9 and 10-9. It was a sign of things to come, good but not quite good enough.
“It was pretty fun going out to California to play USC,” said Pettorini, who was 5-for-14 with a home run in the series. “I'm sure those guys are gonna have a blast if they get to go to UCLA next year.”
Haire said he plans to explore every type of recruiting option, from high school and junior college to the portal, as he tries to bring Ohio State back to prominence in the Big Ten.
“We want really talented guys that fit our system — power bats and power arms — and be able to do a lot of different things, offensively and defensively,” Haire said, “finding those players, whether they're in-state or wherever they are across the country, that want to come and be part of Buckeye Nation and get this thing going.”
Pettorini was passed over in the 2024 MLB Draft, but teams have been reportedly eyeing him more seriously this spring. Pettorini said he’s focused on finishing the season strong and not even thinking about the draft at this point, but it’s always been his goal to play at the next level.
Haire said it’s an opportunity Pettorini greatly deserves.
“That dude definitely has a chance to continue his playing career,” Haire said. “He's a guy that I think can hit at just about any level. He's athletic enough to do a lot of different things, and he's improved defensively. I'm just hopeful he'll get that opportunity. We're working hard to make sure that he's getting seen. He’s also putting up the numbers that he needs to garner that opportunity.”