May 27, 2025 • 11 mins
Miami University's baseball team is headed to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 20 years. Head Coach Brian Smiley joined us on ESPN1530.
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Podcasts of The Mo Egger Radio Show are a service of Longnecks Sports Grill.
Listen to the show live weekday afternoons 3:00 - 6:00 on ESPN1530.
Listen Live: ESPN1530.com/listen
Get more: https://linktr.ee/MoEgger
Follow on X: @MoEgger
Instagram too: @MoEgger
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is ESPN fifteen thirty im oegor thank you for
joining us. Yesterday was Selection Monday for college baseball programs.
The Miami University RedHawks had their names show up on
the screen as MAC Tournament and MAC Regular Season champions
and Miami is headed to the NCAA Tournament for the
first time since two thousand and five. The RedHawks will
(00:21):
play in the Knoxville Region on Friday at six o'clock
against the University of Tennessee. Bryan Smiley was this year's
Mid American Conference Coach of the Year in his second
year with the program, taking the RedHawks to the tournament
again for the first time in a couple of decades,
and kind enough to give us a few minutes this afternoon.
I'm sure what I'm sure has been a very busy day, coach.
(00:42):
It's good to have you. Congratulations.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
How are you, hey, mo, I'm good, I'm good. Thanks
for having me on.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
I appreciate you doing this. Describe the last week. Let's
see you score twenty six runs and clinching a MAC
regular Season championship, you win the MAC Tournament, and you
have your name pop up on this screen yesterday. I
can't imagine all the emotions that you, your staff, and most
importantly your players have gone through.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Well, you bet, man, it's it's been a wild ride
this last few weeks. That the MAC regular season, you know,
you said we wanted it came down with the three
three team race there until the last day of the season.
So it was it was really tight one game basically
separated three teams there literally up until the very last day.
(01:29):
And that that last day where we clinched the one
seed in the regular season title. It was playing at
ball State somewhat of a short yard was like a
forty five mile our wind blown straight out, So it
was an emotional game. I think is an understatement because
there were a lot of runs scores.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
What was yesterday like.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Yeah, yeah, So you know, the select we obviously knew
we were in with the automatic bed. We were just
kind of waiting to see where they where they sent us.
It was just good though, you know, to have the
have a selection show, I have a watch party. You know,
it just hadn't been done. You alluded to that here
at Miami for a long time, and really before two
(02:13):
thousand and five, it had only been done a couple
of times before then you know, they had a really
good run in the mid to late seventies here. Then
after that it's just been kind of, you know, sporadic,
So just trying to get back to winning style of
baseball and make it more of a routine to kind
of be in playing baseball. And you know, late May
(02:35):
and July, in June.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
When when you took this job two years ago, Look,
obviously you want to win as quickly as possible, and
you wouldn't be an Oxford you didn't think you could
get the RedHawks to the NCAA Tournament and win Mid
American Conference championships.
Speaker 3 (02:47):
Did you realistically think you could do it in year two?
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Yeah, you know, I've had that question quite a few times,
and we did. I'm speaking for our whole coaching staff.
We truly believed we could win a championship with this
group because when we got here, we were pleasantly surprised
with you know, the talent that was on the roster.
The roster, we had good players. They just needed a
(03:13):
little bit of rejuvenation and maybe, you know, tweak the
way they were going about their their daily business and
tweak their habits. And we certainly did that, and it
by no means was easy. But the talent was here
and we just needed to change a little bit. But yeah,
we saw a championship team the quest, and the hardest
(03:37):
part was to get the players to see it because
they I'm not sure that they did even until probably
midway through this year, but you could kind of see
their confidence individually, their confidence as a team. It was
just kind of growing each week. We didn't lose the
series all year. After the second week of the year,
(03:58):
we didn't lose the series at all, and you can
just kind of see that that confidence as a team
just continued to grow and grow and grow, and then
you knew, you know, all of a sudden, it's like,
all right, we can do this. We can do this.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
You know, watch no doubt.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
Was there a specific moment or game or series where
you could kind of feel that mentality shifting a little bit.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
Yeah, it's funny you say that, because we just talked
about that just this just the other day. It was
the Bowling Green series, and Bowling Green had a really
good team last year and they won our conference and
they won a lot of games. They were a good,
really good team, and we went to their place this
year and We ended up having to play a doubleheader
(04:45):
on Friday because of weather, and we took both from
or We won both of those games. And after that
second game, you could see it right then. Our players
knew it right then. They were so excited, pumped up,
and you can just kind of see, all right, we
can do It was about the halfway point in the
MAC regular season, and you could just kind of see
(05:05):
I don't know if sense of relief was on there
is the right word, but you could just kind of
see like, Okay, you know we can do this, Like
this isn't a fluke. We're not just getting lucky. We're good,
you know. So that do you you ask if there's
a particular game that was it for sure?
Speaker 3 (05:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
Bryan Smiley is with us, the head baseball coach at
Miami University. The RedHawks play Tennessee on Friday night in Knoxville,
Game one NCAA regional walk walk me through from you know,
maybe mid afternoon yesterday, you guys get done celebrating up
until the first pitch is thrown on Friday.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
What does the calendar look like?
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Yeah, so we had a good lift last night. We
practiced this morning and we lifted again, we'll have team
dinner and then we'll get up early tomorrow morning and
we'll practice, we'll get lift in, then we're gonna take
off for Knoxville probably around noon tomorrow, things about a
four and a half hour drive for us. Then we'll
(06:08):
go to dinner, and you know, we got to practice
I think at two or three o'clock on Thursday, and
just trying to get our guys in the right mindset
to go down there and and not just think of
this as a darn vacation. We're going down there to
prove that that we belong, you know, against the going
up against some of the best teams in the country.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
So yeah, you know, I think folks who know anything
about college baseball know how good Tennessee has been. It's
it's a one game scenario, and obviously, you know, you'll you'll, you'll, you'll,
you'll think about the next day once you're done with Friday.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
But when you look at the volunteers, where do you
even begin.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
Good one? You know, I mean, there's a dependent National
champs for a reason. They're good. I mean, they they
you can't I don't even know where to start, because
they they hit it. They just ended. I mean, they're
they're they hit home runs. They just power is what
comes to mind. Because they hit, they can hit the
ball out of the yard, especially in their yard. I mean,
(07:08):
it doesn't really matter what yards they're playing, and they're
gonna they've got enough power to get it at any yard.
But and then when you look at their pitching staff, it's, okay,
where's the chink in the armor. So we're certainly we
we've got a tall task in front of them. So
our coaches know it, our players know it. We've already
met about since our Tennessee a couple of times as
(07:30):
a team, and we're gonna give them out. I mean
we'll we'll give them our best shot, and and our
guys are excited for the opportunity, and we certainly have
the utmost respect for for for Tennessee. But they're they're
gonna get our best shot, and we're not gonna We're
not gonna not throw any punches, that's for sure.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
Yeah, I love it. Well, we'll be watching on Friday.
Congratulations year two, the RedHawks back in the n c
NBA Tournament for the first time in twenty years.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
In joy the week and give him hell on Friday.
Thanks coach Nick, Thank you.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
That's Bryan Smiley, the head baseball coach at Miami University.
The RedHawks MAC champions, winning the MAC regular season and
tournament titles. They'll play at six o'clock on Friday against
Tennessee in Knoxville. Sports headlines are a service of Kelsey
vala home of lifetime powertrain protection and guaranteed credit approval
from their family to yours for life, Kelsey chev dot com.
(08:29):
Reds are in Kansas City, second game of a three
game series Tonight. Brady Singer pitches against his former team.
Daniel Lynch, a lefty, is going to start the game
for Kansas City. This is expected to be a bullpen
game for the Royal seven to forty. Tonight's first pitch,
it's on seven hundred WLW. You want to starting Lineup'll
give it to you. Friedels in center, Espinal at third,
La Taylor Cruz at shortstop, Austin Hayes and leftfield. Tyler
(08:51):
Stevenson is dhing, Spencer Steer at first, Gavin Lux at
second base, Jose Travino is catching, and my guy Will
Benson in right field and batting ninth. You just heard
our conversation with Brian Smiley. NCAA tournament for college baseball
field announced yesterday. You See will play Wake Forest. They're
in the same regional as Miami. That game is going
(09:12):
to be at one o'clock. RedHawks will take on Tennessee
on Friday night. Obviously, the Bearcats and RedHawks have a chance,
a very good chance of playing against each other. Jordan
Bischel joins US coming up at five thirty five. FC
Cincinnati News friend of the show. We're wishing him the best.
Nick Haglan dealing with a collapsed lung as a result
(09:33):
of two broken ribs he suffered during US Sunday nights
FC Cincinnati game against Atlanta, had a procedure last night
to address the lung issue. Is going to have another
procedure to address the rib fractures. All the best to him.
FC Cincinnati at home tomorrow night against Dallas NBA Tonight,
Eastern Conference Finals Game four in Indianapolis, Nixon Pacers, with
(09:54):
Indie up two games to one. NHL Stanley Cup Western
Conference Final Dallas and Edmonton game for tonight, with the
Oilers holding a two to one series lead, seventeen away
from four o'clock that was fun. Five point three seven,
four nine, fifteen thirty is our phone number. The Rets
have fifty four games between now and the trade deadline,
(10:17):
so one third of their season. They've played what fifty
five games? They have fifty four more to go before
the deadline. Our guy, Gory Wittmeier says the Reds need
to start planning to be sellers at the deadline. I
don't think he's entirely wrong. I wonder if there's a
better idea though. That coming up at four oh five.
(10:38):
It's sixteen away from four. This is ESPN fifteen thirty,
Cincinnati Sports.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
Station, Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.
Speaker 4 (10:47):
Traffic from the UC Health Traffic Center. At you see Health,
you'll find comprehensive care that's so personal it makes your
best tomorrow possible. That's boundless care for better outcomes. Expect
more at ucehealth dot com. Right lane blocked from an
accident westbound US fifty at I seventy one. Police are
there on scene. Traffic also stop and go back from
(11:10):
four to seventy one on northbound seventy one. Accident on
the right shoulder between Smith Edwards and Norwood lateral On
that Ezelic with traffic.
Speaker 2 (11:19):
This report is sponsored by Lows.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
This is Jeff for tri statement
This is ESPN fifteen thirty im oegor thank you for
joining us. Yesterday was Selection Monday for college baseball programs.
The Miami University RedHawks had their names show up on
the screen as MAC Tournament and MAC Regular Season champions
and Miami is headed to the NCAA Tournament for the
first time since two thousand and five. The RedHawks will
(00:21):
play in the Knoxville Region on Friday at six o'clock
against the University of Tennessee. Bryan Smiley was this year's
Mid American Conference Coach of the Year in his second
year with the program, taking the RedHawks to the tournament
again for the first time in a couple of decades,
and kind enough to give us a few minutes this afternoon.
I'm sure what I'm sure has been a very busy day, coach.
(00:42):
It's good to have you. Congratulations.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
How are you, hey, mo, I'm good, I'm good. Thanks
for having me on.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
I appreciate you doing this. Describe the last week. Let's
see you score twenty six runs and clinching a MAC
regular Season championship, you win the MAC Tournament, and you
have your name pop up on this screen yesterday. I
can't imagine all the emotions that you, your staff, and most
importantly your players have gone through.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Well, you bet, man, it's it's been a wild ride
this last few weeks. That the MAC regular season, you know,
you said we wanted it came down with the three
three team race there until the last day of the season.
So it was it was really tight one game basically
separated three teams there literally up until the very last day.
(01:29):
And that that last day where we clinched the one
seed in the regular season title. It was playing at
ball State somewhat of a short yard was like a
forty five mile our wind blown straight out, So it
was an emotional game. I think is an understatement because
there were a lot of runs scores.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
What was yesterday like.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Yeah, yeah, So you know, the select we obviously knew
we were in with the automatic bed. We were just
kind of waiting to see where they where they sent us.
It was just good though, you know, to have the
have a selection show, I have a watch party. You know,
it just hadn't been done. You alluded to that here
at Miami for a long time, and really before two
(02:13):
thousand and five, it had only been done a couple
of times before then you know, they had a really
good run in the mid to late seventies here. Then
after that it's just been kind of, you know, sporadic,
So just trying to get back to winning style of
baseball and make it more of a routine to kind
of be in playing baseball. And you know, late May
(02:35):
and July, in June.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
When when you took this job two years ago, Look,
obviously you want to win as quickly as possible, and
you wouldn't be an Oxford you didn't think you could
get the RedHawks to the NCAA Tournament and win Mid
American Conference championships.
Speaker 3 (02:47):
Did you realistically think you could do it in year two?
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Yeah, you know, I've had that question quite a few times,
and we did. I'm speaking for our whole coaching staff.
We truly believed we could win a championship with this
group because when we got here, we were pleasantly surprised
with you know, the talent that was on the roster.
The roster, we had good players. They just needed a
(03:13):
little bit of rejuvenation and maybe, you know, tweak the
way they were going about their their daily business and
tweak their habits. And we certainly did that, and it
by no means was easy. But the talent was here
and we just needed to change a little bit. But yeah,
we saw a championship team the quest, and the hardest
(03:37):
part was to get the players to see it because
they I'm not sure that they did even until probably
midway through this year, but you could kind of see
their confidence individually, their confidence as a team. It was
just kind of growing each week. We didn't lose the
series all year. After the second week of the year,
(03:58):
we didn't lose the series at all, and you can
just kind of see that that confidence as a team
just continued to grow and grow and grow, and then
you knew, you know, all of a sudden, it's like,
all right, we can do this. We can do this.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
You know, watch no doubt.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
Was there a specific moment or game or series where
you could kind of feel that mentality shifting a little bit.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
Yeah, it's funny you say that, because we just talked
about that just this just the other day. It was
the Bowling Green series, and Bowling Green had a really
good team last year and they won our conference and
they won a lot of games. They were a good,
really good team, and we went to their place this
year and We ended up having to play a doubleheader
(04:45):
on Friday because of weather, and we took both from
or We won both of those games. And after that
second game, you could see it right then. Our players
knew it right then. They were so excited, pumped up,
and you can just kind of see, all right, we
can do It was about the halfway point in the
MAC regular season, and you could just kind of see
(05:05):
I don't know if sense of relief was on there
is the right word, but you could just kind of
see like, Okay, you know we can do this, Like
this isn't a fluke. We're not just getting lucky. We're good,
you know. So that do you you ask if there's
a particular game that was it for sure?
Speaker 3 (05:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
Bryan Smiley is with us, the head baseball coach at
Miami University. The RedHawks play Tennessee on Friday night in Knoxville,
Game one NCAA regional walk walk me through from you know,
maybe mid afternoon yesterday, you guys get done celebrating up
until the first pitch is thrown on Friday.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
What does the calendar look like?
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Yeah, so we had a good lift last night. We
practiced this morning and we lifted again, we'll have team
dinner and then we'll get up early tomorrow morning and
we'll practice, we'll get lift in, then we're gonna take
off for Knoxville probably around noon tomorrow, things about a
four and a half hour drive for us. Then we'll
(06:08):
go to dinner, and you know, we got to practice
I think at two or three o'clock on Thursday, and
just trying to get our guys in the right mindset
to go down there and and not just think of
this as a darn vacation. We're going down there to
prove that that we belong, you know, against the going
up against some of the best teams in the country.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
So yeah, you know, I think folks who know anything
about college baseball know how good Tennessee has been. It's
it's a one game scenario, and obviously, you know, you'll you'll, you'll, you'll,
you'll think about the next day once you're done with Friday.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
But when you look at the volunteers, where do you
even begin.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
Good one? You know, I mean, there's a dependent National
champs for a reason. They're good. I mean, they they
you can't I don't even know where to start, because
they they hit it. They just ended. I mean, they're
they're they hit home runs. They just power is what
comes to mind. Because they hit, they can hit the
ball out of the yard, especially in their yard. I mean,
(07:08):
it doesn't really matter what yards they're playing, and they're
gonna they've got enough power to get it at any yard.
But and then when you look at their pitching staff, it's, okay,
where's the chink in the armor. So we're certainly we
we've got a tall task in front of them. So
our coaches know it, our players know it. We've already
met about since our Tennessee a couple of times as
(07:30):
a team, and we're gonna give them out. I mean
we'll we'll give them our best shot, and and our
guys are excited for the opportunity, and we certainly have
the utmost respect for for for Tennessee. But they're they're
gonna get our best shot, and we're not gonna We're
not gonna not throw any punches, that's for sure.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
Yeah, I love it. Well, we'll be watching on Friday.
Congratulations year two, the RedHawks back in the n c
NBA Tournament for the first time in twenty years.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
In joy the week and give him hell on Friday.
Thanks coach Nick, Thank you.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
That's Bryan Smiley, the head baseball coach at Miami University.
The RedHawks MAC champions, winning the MAC regular season and
tournament titles. They'll play at six o'clock on Friday against
Tennessee in Knoxville. Sports headlines are a service of Kelsey
vala home of lifetime powertrain protection and guaranteed credit approval
from their family to yours for life, Kelsey chev dot com.
(08:29):
Reds are in Kansas City, second game of a three
game series Tonight. Brady Singer pitches against his former team.
Daniel Lynch, a lefty, is going to start the game
for Kansas City. This is expected to be a bullpen
game for the Royal seven to forty. Tonight's first pitch,
it's on seven hundred WLW. You want to starting Lineup'll
give it to you. Friedels in center, Espinal at third,
La Taylor Cruz at shortstop, Austin Hayes and leftfield. Tyler
(08:51):
Stevenson is dhing, Spencer Steer at first, Gavin Lux at
second base, Jose Travino is catching, and my guy Will
Benson in right field and batting ninth. You just heard
our conversation with Brian Smiley. NCAA tournament for college baseball
field announced yesterday. You See will play Wake Forest. They're
in the same regional as Miami. That game is going
(09:12):
to be at one o'clock. RedHawks will take on Tennessee
on Friday night. Obviously, the Bearcats and RedHawks have a chance,
a very good chance of playing against each other. Jordan
Bischel joins US coming up at five thirty five. FC
Cincinnati News friend of the show. We're wishing him the best.
Nick Haglan dealing with a collapsed lung as a result
(09:33):
of two broken ribs he suffered during US Sunday nights
FC Cincinnati game against Atlanta, had a procedure last night
to address the lung issue. Is going to have another
procedure to address the rib fractures. All the best to him.
FC Cincinnati at home tomorrow night against Dallas NBA Tonight,
Eastern Conference Finals Game four in Indianapolis, Nixon Pacers, with
(09:54):
Indie up two games to one. NHL Stanley Cup Western
Conference Final Dallas and Edmonton game for tonight, with the
Oilers holding a two to one series lead, seventeen away
from four o'clock that was fun. Five point three seven,
four nine, fifteen thirty is our phone number. The Rets
have fifty four games between now and the trade deadline,
(10:17):
so one third of their season. They've played what fifty
five games? They have fifty four more to go before
the deadline. Our guy, Gory Wittmeier says the Reds need
to start planning to be sellers at the deadline. I
don't think he's entirely wrong. I wonder if there's a
better idea though. That coming up at four oh five.
(10:38):
It's sixteen away from four. This is ESPN fifteen thirty,
Cincinnati Sports.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
Station, Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.
Speaker 4 (10:47):
Traffic from the UC Health Traffic Center. At you see Health,
you'll find comprehensive care that's so personal it makes your
best tomorrow possible. That's boundless care for better outcomes. Expect
more at ucehealth dot com. Right lane blocked from an
accident westbound US fifty at I seventy one. Police are
there on scene. Traffic also stop and go back from
(11:10):
four to seventy one on northbound seventy one. Accident on
the right shoulder between Smith Edwards and Norwood lateral On
that Ezelic with traffic.
Speaker 2 (11:19):
This report is sponsored by Lows.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
This is Jeff for tri statement
Mo Egger News
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