Like a lot of Indiana residents, Mike Wyman isn’t a fan of cold weather.
Still decades away from being able to relocate to Florida to retire, the former Center Grove baseball player didn’t bother waiting.
Wyman, a senior first baseman at Saint Leo University in Florida, remembers playing in a series against Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee, early in what would become the pandemic-abbreviated 2020 season.
The first game was postponed due to snow.
“It was funny because all the Florida guys on our team wanted to go play in the snow, and I just sat in the motel,” said Wyman, a lifelong Indiana resident who graduated from Center Grove in 2018. “I really enjoy it down here and don’t like the snow. I’d rather be warm.”
More often than not, Wyman is.
Saint Leo, a Division II school 30 minutes northeast of Tampa, is a charter member of the 11-member Sunshine State Conference, formed in 1975. Among the Lions’ league rivals are Tampa, Rollins College, Florida Southern and Palm Beach Atlantic.
Geographically, destinations such as Boca Raton, Miami Shores, St. Petersburg and others are pitches in Wyman’s warmth-craving wheelhouse.
“It’s been great,” Wyman, a business management major, said of his time at Saint Leo. “My first year was pretty tough not knowing anybody, but once I settled in, there were no problems.”
Wyman wasn’t exactly phased into what the Lions were doing at the plate and on the field. A three-year starter while at Center Grove, he started Saint Leo’s very first game his freshman year, a 7-4 extra-inning win over North Greenville to kick off the 2019 season.
Entering this year, Wyman had started 57 and played in a total of 69 games — numbers that would have been greater had COVID-19 not limited the amount of games the past two springs.
The Lions, who open a two-game homestand against Minnesota Crookston today, are 12-7 this season and 2-4 in conference play. Wyman, who usually hits fourth or fifth in the lineup, has a .250 average with four doubles. In February, he delivered a single, double and home run in an 11-4 victory over Flagler.
“We’re usually in the middle of the pack in our conference, but the goal this season is to be at the top,” Wyman said. “We have a pretty solid team with a lot of depth.”
Lions coach Rick O’Dette, like his first baseman, is a native Midwesterner. He grew up in Chicago and coached at St. Joseph’s College in Rensselaer for 17 seasons prior to taking the Saint Leo job.
“We threw Mike in the fire immediately,” O’Dette said. “It surprised him a little bit, and he’s worked through it. From a mental standpoint, he’s grown up. His leadership qualities are amazing.
“Mike has always handled his own business, and now he’s handling others’ too. Mike can be vocal, but people also see how hard he works. He’s going to be successful in everything he does.”
Wyman is scheduled to graduate from Saint Leo in May, but he plans to return for the 2022-23 school year to pursue a master’s degree and take advantage of his extra year of athletic eligibility.
And, of course, the weather.
“You can’t beat playing baseball with palm trees in the background and sun,” Wyman said. “It’s awesome.”
