As outfielder Marty Costes entered his first Maryland baseball practice under coach Rob Vaughn, some changes struck him immediately.

The country music, a staple of former coach John Szefc before he left for Virginia Tech last summer, was gone. So were the required stirrup socks — and shortstop Kevin Smith and right-hander Brian Shaffer, who were drafted in the fourth and sixth rounds, respectively, of last year’s MLB Draft.

Yet Costes, who returned to Maryland after being drafted in the 25th round, quickly noticed the plethora of similarities that make the Terps an expected contender in the Big Ten again.

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Vaughn, a first-time head coach, isn’t new to Maryland. He spent five years as an assistant in College Park. Four of his assistant coaches have either held other positions or played for the Terps in the past. Plus, Maryland returns four of its top six hitters in batting average from 2017, along with pitchers Taylor Bloom and Tyler Blohm, who started more than half the team’s games last year.

“It’s a difference in terms of leadership. It’s only been a positive for me,” Costes said. “We want to win at least 30 games. A dream for us is to host a regional. … We were so close last year in the Big Ten tournament that we see ourselves returning right back there.”

In the first inning of an intrasquad scrimmage Friday, the Terps rallied off a base hit followed by an infield single down the third-base line. Then Maryland used a double steal to put both runners into scoring position. After a walk loaded the bases, infielder Barrett Smith cleared them with a grand slam over the left-field fence, illustrating the multifaceted offense Vaughn has.

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Maryland features several mainstays in its batting order, and Vaughn has nearly 15 hitters he’s comfortable starting regularly, with a mixture of speed and power.

“It’s going to be a different guy every night to come through for you,” Costes said, “and that’s the best team to be on.”

Costes, who tied for a team-high 13 home runs last year, may bat leadoff instead of outfielder Zach Jancarski in certain contests, creating another hurdle for an opposing pitcher to face out of the gate. Vaughn predicts Maryland will be a long-ball threat this year, but he believes the mix of players he has available prevents his offense from being too one-dimensional.

“I’m not doubting they’re going to put runs up on the board,” Bloom said. “It’s just inevitable, with how many good guys we’ve got up and down the lineup.”

But for as deep a lineup as the Terps have, Maryland’s pitching staff features the most turnover. Bloom and Blohm will replace Shaffer, the reigning Big Ten Pitcher of the Year, and right-hander John Murphy will take over for right-hander Ryan Selmer in late-game situations, but Maryland’s middle relief core is shallow.

Eight relievers who threw for a combined 160 innings last year departed via transfer, graduation or the draft.

Right-hander Hunter Parsons is slotted to make Sunday starts after following up an impressive freshman season with a disappointing 12.05 ERA in 21.2 innings last season. Costes saw the junior improve over the summer playing for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in the Cape Cod Baseball League.

Vaughn said he’s seen rookie pitchers Sean Fisher and Grant Burleson make progress since the fall, and Costes said Buffalo graduate transfer Alec Tuohy adds an experienced arm.

“We have enough veteran leadership and young guys who are going to step up,” Bloom said. “We’re going to be solid all the way around. … There’s just all around a little more energy.”

Student assistant coach Kevin Martir bobbed his head during Friday’s scrimmage and mouthed the words to Kendrick Lamar’s “HUMBLE.” as it blared throughout Bob “Turtle” Smith Stadium. Left-hander Jon Dignazio chose the songs from the press box, and coaches bantered with the sophomore between an inning, as his first attempt to connect a phone to the stereo system resulted in static feedback.

There’s a new atmosphere around the park despite many of the same faces being present.

“The worst thing I can do is try to go in and do everything exactly like [Szefc] did it, and I lose kind of who I am,” Vaughn said. “What I’ve tried to do is take a lot of the lessons I’ve learned from coach Szefc … and blending that a little bit with my own style and my own beliefs that kind of create the culture we’ve created out there.

“Come by the park on an afternoon. We have some fun out there.”

CORRECTION: Due to an editing error, a previous version of the story incorrectly stated the Terps had an infield single before a base hit in their first-inning rally during the intrasquad scrimmage. The infield single occurred after the base hit. This article has been updated.