Trace Phillips arrived at Middle Tennessee with a clear identity: a position player who could also pitch. Most college programs viewed him the same way — valuable as a two-way player, but with the bat leading the way.
That projection held true during his freshman season when he hit .304 with 13 home runs and flashed raw tools on the mound, even as his 7.13 ERA over 41 2/3 innings showed he was still a work in progress.
However, Phillips treated the offseason as an opportunity to improve. He added strength, refined his pitch mix and attacked the flaws in his game. Now, he’s emerging as more of a pitcher, serving as Middle Tennessee’s No. 1 starter. This spring, His development and success have allowed him to play his way into the early-round conversation for the 2025 MLB draft.
“It’s very surreal,” Phillips said. “I try not to think about it as much as possible, but you definitely have to. I go into it, making it all about the team. When you go out and focus on the team, better things will happen. When the time comes, I will pray about it and see what path God leads me to.”
Phillips is a 6-foot-4, 205-pound right-handed pitcher who throws a four-seam fastball, two-seamer, slider, changeup and curveball from a three-quarters arm slot and athletic delivery.
The righty relies heavily on his four-seam fastball. It has experienced a slight uptick in velocity, sitting 93-95 mph and touching 97 mph, about a 2 mph increase from last season. He credits his increased velocity to his physical maturity, as he added about 10 pounds to his frame in the offseason.
Phillips’ slider has evolved over the last year. It wasn’t a pitch he relied on a ton last year. He has developed more consistency with the low-to-mid-80s offering to give him a swing-and-miss pitch. His curveball is a quality high-70s pitch that might be his best secondary pitch and generates swings and misses. Right now, he mostly uses his curveball as a get-me-over pitch.
“I use the four-seam a lot and try to establish the presence of that early and get ahead with that,” Phillips said. “I use the fastball and then work off that with my other pitches.”
As a freshman last year, Phillips made nine of his 13 appearances as a starter while receiving 226 plate appearances as a first baseman. He experienced mixed results, recording a 7.13 ERA with 27 strikeouts and 19 walks allowed in 41 2/3 innings. He has taken a step forward as a sophomore this spring, registering a 2.86 ERA with 29 strikeouts and three walks allowed in 22 innings.
“Definitely cool to see my development,” Phillips said. “I’m blessed. It’s humbling because of how much work you put in. Seeing myself succeed puts me in a good perspective of how I see myself. God definitely blessed me with some good abilities.”
Middle Tennessee went 20–36 last season, finishing eighth in Conference USA. This year, the league’s 10 head coaches once again picked the Blue Raiders to finish eighth in the preseason poll. However, Middle Tennessee has other plans, aiming to defy expectations and capture its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2009.
“Our goal is to win a conference tournament,” Phillips said. “We are really driven to do that and make a regional. I’m really excited about this team. We have the tools to do it. We will see what happens and go from there.”
Dan Zielinski III has covered the MLB draft for 10 years. He has interviewed 580 of the top draft prospects in that period, including four No. 1 overall picks. Multiple publications, including Baseball America, USA Today, MLB.com, The Arizona Republic and The Dallas Morning News, have quoted his work, while he has appeared on radio stations as a “MLB draft expert.” Follow him on Twitter @DanZielinski3.
