After leading Maryland baseball to a pair of conference regular season championships and its first-ever Big Ten Tournament title, infield stalwarts Matt Shaw and Nick Lorusso traded in their collegiate metal bats for wooden professional ones.

Shaw, the 2023 Big Ten Player of the Year, was selected 13th overall by the Chicago Cubs and is among the organization’s most promising prospects. Lorusso arrived in 2022 from Villanova but was crucial to consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances in his two seasons in College Park. After accumulating a program record 175 career RBIs, Lorusso was drafted in the ninth round by the New York Mets.

Even with this potent duo departing, the Maryland infield group is an intriguing one, containing a couple key returners, a pair of brothers, and several new faces.

Let’s start with the returners.

Kevin Keister – Senior

 In 2022, Keister burst into the limelight of Big Ten baseball, earning first-team all-conference honors with a. 317 batting average, 11 home runs, and 44 RBIs in only 53 games. He followed that up with another strong campaign last season, once again eclipsing a .300 batting average, driving in 51 runs and clubbing 10 home runs.

With Shaw and Lorusso no longer accompanying him in the infield, Keister’s success at the plate will be crucial if the Terps are going to have one of the Big Ten’s most feared offenses.

Eddie Hacopian – Junior

In addition to Shaw and Lorusso, Hacopian was a menace to opposing pitching last season. He hit .328 with eight home runs, 16 doubles, and 49 RBIs. The Potomac native and Winston Churchill High School graduate also finished third on the team with eight stolen bases.

For this season, the Terps need more of the same from Hacopian, whose younger brother Chris has now joined the team. For the elder Hacopian, another season of smart, consistent hitting along with the occasional home run or stolen base will do plenty to ensure a successful season.

Jacob Orr – Junior

In Friday’s season opener against Georgia Southern, Orr had a crucial two-run home run and scored the go-ahead run in the ninth inning. The junior from Frederick had a strong opening weekend in Statesboro, driving in four runs and hitting .400 in the series.

After appearing in 21 games as a freshman in 2022, Orr grew into a bigger role with the Terps last season. He appeared in 44 games, starting 35, hitting .273 with 15 extra base hits and 30 RBIs.

Orr manned right field against Georgia Southern but is listed as an infielder on the roster still. Over the past two seasons, Orr has provided a steady bat, but if this weekend was a preview of his 2024 season, there may be another budding star in College Park.

Now, for a couple key transfers.

Alex Calarco – Junior

After two seasons at Northwestern, Alex Calarco made an inter-conference transfer to Maryland. Calarco’s older brother Anthony had a strong college career at Northwestern and Ole Miss before a stint with the Texas Rangers farm system last year.

Calarco can provide depth at catcher, as well as in the infield. However, he was the DH and hit fourth in the lineup for the Georgia Southern series. He hit .333 and had a single RBI.

Last season at Northwestern, Calarco hit .287 with four home runs and 29 RBIs. If he’s consistently hitting cleanup this season, expect that RBI numbers to skyrocket.

Sam Hojnar – Redshirt Senior

Hojnar, like Calarco, arrives in College Park via another Big Ten school. After starting 57 games for Iowa, the Big Ten preseason favorite, Hojnar will play his final college season with the Terps and seems penciled in as the team’s starting second baseman.

Last season Hojnar hit 10 home runs, drove in 59 runs, and had a batting average of .255. It was somewhat of a breakout season for Hojnar, who had 16 multi-RBI games.

Hojnar has the potential to be a mainstay in the middle of the Maryland lineup, he just needs to consistently produce like he did last season.

Randy Carlo IV – Junior

Carlo started his career at Bryant University in New York, appearing in 32 games as a freshman in 2022. After a successful year at Hartford Community College, he hit .325 in 35 games and helped the team to the NJCAA Region 20 Championship.

Carlo provides quality depth at the hot corner, with the occasional ability to swipe a bag, stealing seven bases at Hartford last season.

With the incoming transfers out of the way, let’s discuss the freshman.

Chris Hacopian – Jordan Crosland – Riley DeCandido – Michael Iannazzo

Of this group, Hacopian should have the most prominent role for the Terps this season. The younger Hacopian was one of only three freshmen included in the Big Ten Players to Watch List before the season. He started the entirety of the series against Georgia Southern, logging his first career home run. 

Crosland is from Suffolk, Virginia, and graduated from the Combine Academy. Crosland was the top-ranked shortstop in Virginia, according to Perfect Game.

DeCandido, also from Virginia, was ranked the No. 4 first baseman in the state, according to Perfect Game. DeCandido is a left-handed bat, who hit .402 his senior season en route to him being named the Region 5A Player of the Year.

Iannazzo, one of two Terps from Connecticut, was ranked as the No. 2 shortstop in Connecticut and the state’s 13th-best player.