During the 2022 baseball campaign, some teams decided to pitch to Michael Archie. A lot more of them did not. It is from that latter group the the slugging Golden Bear became a NCAA Division II statistical champion.
Archie, a freshman from Birmingham, Ala., won the bases on balls per game category in Division II, earning 45 free passes in 44 games played. He tied with Kentucky State’s Jared Pierce for the honor and was one of just five players to average at least one walk per game this past season. Archie was an on-base machine for Miles, adding 38 hits and 12 hit by pitches to reach safely at a .543 clip, the eighth-highest at the DII level.
But Archie did more than just draw free passes. The 2022 SIAC Freshman of the Year hit .325 with a 1.210 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) with 10 doubles, 10 home runs and a team-high 54 runs batted in. He also added 11 stolen bases and scored 51 times for Miles, which finished third in the SIAC this past season.