Michigan State University Athletics
Photo by: Matthew Mitchell/MSU Athletic Communications
MSU Baseball Feature: Seymour Adapting And Acclimating To Wearing Many Hats In Playing Different Positions
5/12/2026 11:35:00 AM | Baseball
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Senior infielder Randy Seymour has played shortstop and third base during his time as a Michigan State baseball player, but has faced a new challenge for his senior season.
He switched positions once again, moving to first base.
When Seymour  started at MSU, he was a shortstop, but switched to third base during his junior year after facing some fielding struggles. Too valuable a bat to lose, the decision to switch once again, going into his senior season, seemed like an easy decision for Seymour and the coaching staff.
"Coach Boss and I talked about it a lot. It's an easier position, and it takes some pressure off me defensively and lets me work on my hitting," Seymour said.
The switch has allowed Seymour to use less energy on his fielding, allowing him to focus more on his batting. The focus has paid off as Seymour smacked his 15th home run of the season last week, climbing up to tie for No. 5 on MSU's single-season HR list, matching former teammate Sam Busch's homer total from last season, and also tying Chris McCuiston with 15 in 2002.
Seymour is now just one homer from tying Spartan great Kirk Gibson with 16 in 1978, along with Matt Riggins (1996) and Bob Malek (2002), for No. 2 on the list. Mike Eddington is MSU's single-season HR king with 20 homers in 1984.
Entering the final week of the regular season, Seymour not only leads the team in HR, but also with 49 RBI and 42 hits, all while being only one of two Spartans to both play and start in all 49 games so far.
"Offensively, Randy is a middle-of-the-order guy; we wanted to keep the bat in the lineup," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. "But he struggled at shortstop a year ago, and we moved him to third."
During the 2025 season Seymour was a bat the team could depend on. He had the fifth best batting average of .268.
"I've missed the athletic part of it, being able to move around a lot and use my arm," Seymour said. "I think my arm is one of my biggest strongsuits, but at the same time, the arm will always be healthy at first base."
Seymour said how he missed the wider range of movement needed to play his former positions, but understands that it has helped his health for the season. Switching to first meant he won't have to worry about throwing to get the batter out, saving his arm.
"I really like a couple of our young guys at third base," Boss Jr. said. "Randy is a big, tall target at first base, so we thought it might be a good fit, and it has."
In his former positions, Seymour was taller than average, standing at 6-foot-4. This could explain some of his struggles at the positions, not having as much mobility compared to some of his other teammates.
"At third base, CJ Deckinga is a freshman who was pretty highly touted out of high school, and Cole Van Ameyde is another one who is going to have a bright future," Boss Jr. said. "We feel good about the other parts that we have, and Randy is the consummate team player and has always been willing to do whatever he can to help the team and his teammates."
Replacing the gap left at third base this season have been two of the newcomers to the team. Deckinga came to MSU highly-touted and ranked as the best third basemen/outfielder in all of Illinois by Prep Basketball Report. Van Ameyde was an in-state recruit, from Lake Orion. Boss and the Spartan coaching staff thinks highly of both and haven't had issues with them filling the third base position.
Not only did the switch make sense with the new coming talent, but also the players who have left. MSU lost its starting first baseman from the 2025 season. Sam Busch graduated, so there was a hole that needed to be filled.
"I trust all my guys over here, they are young athletic guys, and they have the mind for it," Seymour said.
Seymour gives his statement of approval for the freshmen replacements. He trusts not just their abilities on the field, but the mindsets needed for the game.
"It's a much different position; there are some intricacies he needed to learn, but he picked up on it really quickly," Boss said. "I think the other infielders like throwing to him at first base."
Seymour has grown into the new position, Boss thinks that Seymour has made the change smoothly. The rest of the team also seems to appreciate Seymour's tall frame to throw to.
"The picks off and the things I didn't really think about over at shortstop," Seymour said. "The double play turns are tough, but nothing that a little practice didn't fix."
Seymour thinks the biggest learning curve has been turning a first-to-second double play, but throughout the season, Seymour has gotten comfortable with them. As his final season is winding down, he just wants to build on last season. In 2025, MSU was able to make the Big Ten baseball tournament, but unfortunately was unable to get a win there.
"I just want to go back to the tournament and win some games," Seymour said. "I want to make our mark and be a part of a team that's going to win."
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Seymour and the Spartans have four home games left in the 2026 regular season, starting on Tuesday, May 12 vs. Eastern Michigan in a 6:02 p.m. first pitch.Â
The senior Seymour will then have the honor of playing for the Green & White one last time at home this weekend with a non-conference series against Illinois State, as the Spartans drew their bye in the conference schedule on the final weekend, and will host the Redbirds, Thursday-Saturday, May 14-16 in Spartan Senior Celebrations weekend, with Seymour being recognized as part of Saturday's celebrations.
Thursday and Friday's games are also both 6:02 p.m. start times, with Saturday's regular-season finale slated for a 1:02 p.m. first pitch, with pre-game Senior Celebrations recognitions on Friday and Saturday, with Bright and Williams among Saturday's recognitions.
MSU's schedule is subject to change, fans can stay tuned to MSUSpartans.com and @MSUBaseball on Twitter for schedule updates, along with follow action with "Watch Live," "Listen Live" and "Live Stats" links where available.
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Michigan State baseball tickets for games at Jeff Ishbia Field at McLane Stadium, are available online, at msuspartans.evenue.net, by contacting the Spartan Ticket Office at 517-355-1610 or by email at tickets@msu.edu for questions or more information, or fans can visit the MSU Ticket Office in person, located in 1855 Place.
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He switched positions once again, moving to first base.
When Seymour  started at MSU, he was a shortstop, but switched to third base during his junior year after facing some fielding struggles. Too valuable a bat to lose, the decision to switch once again, going into his senior season, seemed like an easy decision for Seymour and the coaching staff.
"Coach Boss and I talked about it a lot. It's an easier position, and it takes some pressure off me defensively and lets me work on my hitting," Seymour said.
The switch has allowed Seymour to use less energy on his fielding, allowing him to focus more on his batting. The focus has paid off as Seymour smacked his 15th home run of the season last week, climbing up to tie for No. 5 on MSU's single-season HR list, matching former teammate Sam Busch's homer total from last season, and also tying Chris McCuiston with 15 in 2002.
Seymour is now just one homer from tying Spartan great Kirk Gibson with 16 in 1978, along with Matt Riggins (1996) and Bob Malek (2002), for No. 2 on the list. Mike Eddington is MSU's single-season HR king with 20 homers in 1984.
Entering the final week of the regular season, Seymour not only leads the team in HR, but also with 49 RBI and 42 hits, all while being only one of two Spartans to both play and start in all 49 games so far.
"Offensively, Randy is a middle-of-the-order guy; we wanted to keep the bat in the lineup," MSU head coach Jake Boss Jr. said. "But he struggled at shortstop a year ago, and we moved him to third."
During the 2025 season Seymour was a bat the team could depend on. He had the fifth best batting average of .268.
"I've missed the athletic part of it, being able to move around a lot and use my arm," Seymour said. "I think my arm is one of my biggest strongsuits, but at the same time, the arm will always be healthy at first base."
Seymour said how he missed the wider range of movement needed to play his former positions, but understands that it has helped his health for the season. Switching to first meant he won't have to worry about throwing to get the batter out, saving his arm.
"I really like a couple of our young guys at third base," Boss Jr. said. "Randy is a big, tall target at first base, so we thought it might be a good fit, and it has."
In his former positions, Seymour was taller than average, standing at 6-foot-4. This could explain some of his struggles at the positions, not having as much mobility compared to some of his other teammates.
"At third base, CJ Deckinga is a freshman who was pretty highly touted out of high school, and Cole Van Ameyde is another one who is going to have a bright future," Boss Jr. said. "We feel good about the other parts that we have, and Randy is the consummate team player and has always been willing to do whatever he can to help the team and his teammates."
Replacing the gap left at third base this season have been two of the newcomers to the team. Deckinga came to MSU highly-touted and ranked as the best third basemen/outfielder in all of Illinois by Prep Basketball Report. Van Ameyde was an in-state recruit, from Lake Orion. Boss and the Spartan coaching staff thinks highly of both and haven't had issues with them filling the third base position.
Not only did the switch make sense with the new coming talent, but also the players who have left. MSU lost its starting first baseman from the 2025 season. Sam Busch graduated, so there was a hole that needed to be filled.
"I trust all my guys over here, they are young athletic guys, and they have the mind for it," Seymour said.
Seymour gives his statement of approval for the freshmen replacements. He trusts not just their abilities on the field, but the mindsets needed for the game.
"It's a much different position; there are some intricacies he needed to learn, but he picked up on it really quickly," Boss said. "I think the other infielders like throwing to him at first base."
Seymour has grown into the new position, Boss thinks that Seymour has made the change smoothly. The rest of the team also seems to appreciate Seymour's tall frame to throw to.
"The picks off and the things I didn't really think about over at shortstop," Seymour said. "The double play turns are tough, but nothing that a little practice didn't fix."
Seymour thinks the biggest learning curve has been turning a first-to-second double play, but throughout the season, Seymour has gotten comfortable with them. As his final season is winding down, he just wants to build on last season. In 2025, MSU was able to make the Big Ten baseball tournament, but unfortunately was unable to get a win there.
"I just want to go back to the tournament and win some games," Seymour said. "I want to make our mark and be a part of a team that's going to win."
Â
Seymour and the Spartans have four home games left in the 2026 regular season, starting on Tuesday, May 12 vs. Eastern Michigan in a 6:02 p.m. first pitch.Â
The senior Seymour will then have the honor of playing for the Green & White one last time at home this weekend with a non-conference series against Illinois State, as the Spartans drew their bye in the conference schedule on the final weekend, and will host the Redbirds, Thursday-Saturday, May 14-16 in Spartan Senior Celebrations weekend, with Seymour being recognized as part of Saturday's celebrations.
Thursday and Friday's games are also both 6:02 p.m. start times, with Saturday's regular-season finale slated for a 1:02 p.m. first pitch, with pre-game Senior Celebrations recognitions on Friday and Saturday, with Bright and Williams among Saturday's recognitions.
MSU's schedule is subject to change, fans can stay tuned to MSUSpartans.com and @MSUBaseball on Twitter for schedule updates, along with follow action with "Watch Live," "Listen Live" and "Live Stats" links where available.
Â
Michigan State baseball tickets for games at Jeff Ishbia Field at McLane Stadium, are available online, at msuspartans.evenue.net, by contacting the Spartan Ticket Office at 517-355-1610 or by email at tickets@msu.edu for questions or more information, or fans can visit the MSU Ticket Office in person, located in 1855 Place.
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Players Mentioned
INF
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INF/OF
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INF
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INF
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