Indiana University’s 2019 baseball season lasted 60 games, stretched into early June and included a bid to an NCAA regional.
However, as Hoosiers coach Jeff Mercer is constantly reminded, seasons never really end.
Mercer’s offseason has already included speaking engagements, recruiting, consultation with players, coaches meetings, his role as a family man and more. The 2004 Franklin Community High School graduate and his wife, Stephanie, have a 1-year-old son, Grady.
“It was quite the eventful year from a personal standpoint with moving and having a child,” said Mercer, who led IU to a 37-23 record and won Big Ten Coach of the Year in his first season after a two-year stint at Wright State.
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“In baseball, it was very demanding and very fulfilling. But being a father is certainly at the top of the list. It’s a great perspective to be able to walk through the door and see (Grady) smile and laugh. He’s been wonderful. Being a dad is a responsibility I don’t take lightly.”
Neither, it seems, is anything in which the 34-year-old becomes immersed.
Mercer is widely respected for his ability to recruit, develop talent and use his knowledge of analytics in a way that best fits a roster.
For instance, his final squad at Wright State was tailored more for using speed to advance on the bases and ranked eighth nationally in scoring average (7.8) and stolen bases (110). Mercer’s first Indiana squad went an entirely different route by leading Division I teams in home runs with 95. That was 27 more than the Hoosiers hit in 2018.
Mercer’s innate ability to evaluate talent and coach according to each player’s strengths benefits individuals and team alike. Mercer’s wants his players to be what he calls world class in as many of the game’s facets as possible.
That enhances their value once it’s time for the Major League Baseball draft each June. Last month, a program-record 10 players were selected, led by utility player Matt Lloyd (15th round) and Greenwood resident Pauly Milto (23rd), a pitcher and former Roncalli player.
IU assistant coach Justin Parker met Mercer when the two were baseball players at Wright State. The two forged a bond through a mutual interest in breaking down all aspects of the game; later, Parker was the best man at Mercer’s wedding.
Parker feels a part of Mercer’s rapid ascent in coaching is his exposure to baseball at an early age. Mercer’s father, Jeff, was an IU assistant for two seasons (1988-89) and the head coach at Franklin Community High School on three different occasions — 1996-99, 2002-03 and again in 2010.
“Jeff is a master at handling people and investing in the kids. I’ve just seen players run through walls for him,” said Parker, 32. “He’s an older soul. Everything he’s done has been a byproduct of hard work. When we played together at Wright State, we were always very competitive, almost with general manager mindsets on how to coach and recruit.”
The Indiana baseball program currently rides a streak of 12 consecutive winning seasons, an accomplishment attributed to three different head coaches. Former Hoosier mentors Tracy Smith and Chris Lemonis now lead teams at Arizona State and Mississippi State, respectively.
Chances are Mercer is eventually offered the opportunity to interview for a Division I coaching job someplace with a warmer climate and more of a baseball pedigree than Bloomington.
It’s not where his mind it at.
“Indiana is where I was born and raised,” Mercer said. "I want to provide the people of this state with a program that represents them. That’s what I plan to do for a long, long time."
