Multiple impact starters from Memphis will compete for spots at the corners
Welcome to the Mizzou Baseball Roster Preview series. In this series we’ll walk you through what happened last year at these positions, this year’s expected major contributors and depth, and our projections for this season.
Previously in this series:
2024 in Review
Ross Lovich, Cam Chick and Trevor Austin made up a solid trio of contributors at Mizzou’s corner outfield spots in 2023. But with Chick’s graduation, Lovich’s transfer to Arkansas and Austin’s shift to an infield-heavy role, Kerrick Jackson was forced to look for new options at the corner positions last year.
Jackson Beaman took over as a mainstay in right field and had a breakout season in his return from injury, hitting for an OPS above .900. The solution in left field was more complicated; the Tigers filled the position with a rotating cast of characters including Jeric Curtis, Brock Daniels and Tucker Moore.
Mizzou will again look toward new solutions at both positions this season. Curtis and Daniels return but will likely fill other positions this year, while Moore transferred to Liberty and Beaman jumped to Iowa. The Tigers also lost Juju Stevens, whose playing time diminished in 2024 and prompted a move to Georgia Southern, and RJ Jimerson, who followed Kerrick Jackson from Memphis to Mizzou but is now at Pepperdine.
Replacing all of these players will be two Memphis transfers, an NAIA All-American, and one returning depth piece. The two former (Memphis) Tigers are the leading candidates to earn their stripes in the Mizzou’s starting lineup.
The Favorites
Pierre Seals, RF – Seals exploded onto the D-I scene last year after transferring from Dyersburg State Community College to Memphis, where he led the team with a .327 batting average and had a .989 OPS while playing 54 games in right field. The 6-0, 210 senior brought a power-speed combo to the AAC, hitting 10 home runs and leading the Tigers with 16 stolen bases.
Unlike some other projected starters for the Tigers (Goldbeck, Basler), Seals’ success in a strong mid major conference like the AAC allows for more confidence about his ability to comfortably make the jump to the SEC. He’s also done it before, going from the JUCO level to thriving at Memphis. Expect him to be a middle of the lineup mainstay and regular starter in right field this season.
Cameron Benson, LF/SS – This will be Benson’s first season in action for the Tigers after redshirting last year and his third stop in college as a junior. He’s displayed potential at both Akron and Memphis, starting in both seasons with a .251 average and .753 OPS so far in his career.
But the outfielder’s stats don’t tell the full story of his potential. He’s earned spots in two of the most prestigious collegiate summer leagues in the nation, the Cape Cod League and this summer in the Coastal Plain League, where he hit .301 with a .928 OPS and 26 RBI in 28 games for the Boone Bigfoots.
Benson also displayed some major power in the Fall World Series and was a consistent threat at the plate in each game he played. Expect him to be the regular starter in left field and a middle of the lineup (possibly in the cleanup spot) bat for the Tigers.
The Upstart
Cayden Nicoletto, LF/RF – If anyone can supplant Seals or Benson as a starter (outside of a highly unlikely scenario I’ll list below), it will likely be the two-time NAIA All-American Nicoletto. He joins the Tigers from Columbia College, where he was named the American Midwest Conference Player of the Year in 2024 after hitting .412 with a 1.381 OPS, 27 home runs and 81 RBI in 55 games.
The Aussie also had a strong summer league performance with the Boone Bigfoots in the Coastal Plain League, one of the top collegiate summer leagues in the country, playing 24 games and hitting .300 with an .836 OPS and 21 RBI. Nicoletto should bring more much-needed power to the Mizzou lineup and is a top candidate to start at designated hitter when not in the outfield.
The Returner
Isaiah Frost, LF/CF – Frost will be playing his final season with the Tigers this year and is likely to continue his longtime role as a fourth or fifth outfielder. He’s made 38 appearances with the team over his three seasons, including seven games played and four starts in 2024. Last season was by far his best as a Tiger, recording five hits in 16 at bats and finishing the year with a 1.013 OPS.
The Young Gun
Brady Picarelli, RF/1B – Picarelli was the top outfielder in the state of Missouri during this class, according to Prep Baseball Report, and slugged .797 at Eureka High School – power which he also displayed during Mizzou’s Fall World Series. He’s gotten an early start to his collegiate career, hitting .207 with a .637 OPS this summer for the Appalachian League’s Elizabethton River Riders. The freshman manned first base during the Fall World Series and will likely back up Brock Daniels this season, limiting his outfield contributions in the short term.
Outlook
This position group is easily the most improved of any on the team this year. The Tigers had some solid contributors at corner outfield last season (Beaman, Daniels), but Benson and Seals give the team two everyday, SEC caliber starters in left and right field.
The group is also quite deep with the addition of Nicoletto, a two-time NAIA All-American, and a returning depth piece in Frost. That’s before bringing Picarelli, who had some strong moments in fall ball, into consideration.
This team struggled greatly on offense during SEC play last year, but the power and speed provided by Benson and Seals give the Tigers a chance to surprise some outsiders this season. The Memphis to Mizzou pipeline initiated by Kerrick Jackson’s return to Columbia seems likely to pay dividends for the Tigers in 2025.