After a 2009 season that saw the MTSU baseball team win both the Sun Belt Conference regular season and tournament championship, you would think the Blue Raiders were going to take it easy during the summer.

“It was unbelievable,” freshman Brett Wilson said. “I always wanted a ring. It’s an experience that not everyone can get.”

Ten of those players are spending their summer all over the country in summer league action trying to improve and get prepared to defend the title in 2010. An additional trio of players was picked in the 2009 Major League Baseball draft and has moved on minor league action. Also, a former Blue Raider hit his first major league homer off a 300-game winner.

Incoming sophomore pitcher Brett Wilson is one of those players working on his mechanics for the Union City Greyhounds of the KIT Collegiate Summer Baseball League.

“It’s going good,” Wilson said. “I’m getting a chance to meet people from all over the area.”

As of July 1, the Murfreesboro native has an ERA of 2.25 with 29 strikeouts and a mark of 2-1.

Wilson added he has been working on his location and velocity of his pitches.

Two of his MTSU teammates decided to spend the summer with him on the Greyhounds.

Incoming sophomore Justin Guidry has played both ways. He has a 4-3 record with a 2.42 ERA and struck out 23 batters. Fellow future sophomore Robert Lawrence has 25 hits and a .243 average with five doubles, a couple of home runs and 14 RBI.

“It just helps us stay together and learn more about each other,” Wilson said.

He added they are working on keeping the chemistry that helped the 2009 squad have the most single season wins in school history, 44.

Joey McClung is playing in the same league but for the Fulton County Railroaders. He has a 4.32 ERA and a mark of 1-0.

Fellow college teammates Justin Miller and Chad Edwards are playing for the Dubois County Bombers in the Central Illinois League. Edwards has pitched masterfully with a 1.33 ERA and has only given three earned runs. Miller has a .250 batting average.

A member of the Staunton Braves, Blake McDade has already been named Valley League South Division Player of the Week. He has a .292 batting average and 25 RBI.

Nick Montgomery is already 5-0 for the Lake Erie Monarchs with a 34.2 in Great Lakes league action. Tyler Burnett is with the Florence Red Wolves of the Coastal Plain league.

Finally, Bryce Brentz won a chance to represent the United States. Brentz, who won six postseason All-American awards, has an average of .308. In a recent game against Canada, he struck out the side in the seventh inning during a stretch where he got four consecutive outs in 12 pitches.

Earlier in the summer, Rawley Bishop, Nathan Hines and Coty Woods were selected in the Major League Draft. The Detroit Tigers in the 30th round picked Bishop. Currently Bishop is playing for the Oneonta Tigers and is batting .258.

Hines and Woods were chosen by the Colorado Rockies and both were sent to the Casper Ghosts. Hines has a .333 average and Woods has a 3.86 ERA in relief. By the way, the team changed its name to the Ghosts last year and is based on the famous cartoon character.

The Rockies entered the Major Leagues in 1993 along with the Florida Marlins.

Brett Carroll, who played for the Blue Raiders from 2002-04, has made 51 appearances for the Marlins this season. As of July 1, he is batting .286 with two home runs. His first career major league homer came off of future Hall-of-Famer Randy Johnson on June 8 in a 4-0 victory. He was a double away from becoming the first Marlins player to hit for the cycle in a game.

The Marlins hope to give him more playing time in the future.

Three other former MTSU players are in the minor league system. An additional five athletes are participating in Independent ball. Josh Renick and Tjerk Smeets are playing professionally in the Netherlands.