- Campbell is coming off a 41-21 campaign while going 18-8 in Big South play. What are your expectations for the 2015 season?
The expectations are going to continue to be the same that they are every year. We are going to be committed to the process, and work hard to get better every single day. The important thing for our guys to understand is that if we are able to consistently put ourselves in a position to be successful, we will be able to come out on top more times than not. If we are able to buy in to that attitude on a daily basis, I think we will have an opportunity to be in the mix for a conference championship at the end of the season.
- The Camels return only one pitcher from last year’s rotation in Heath Bowers. Who do you see finishing out the weekend rotation?
Yes, losing two quality weekend starters in Hector Cedano (where we were 15-1 in his 16 starts last year) and Ryan Koopman (who through just short of 100 innings last year) will be an area that we need to address. We have a number of new guys, and few returners that may fill out those spots. Junior Nick Thayer from Iowa Western CC has been very solid for us, as has freshman Wes Noble and junior Grant Yost from Sac City College. We also have senior Bobby Thorson who was one of our better long relievers at the end of last year, and sophomore LHP Andrew Witczak who has the stuff to be a very quality weekend arm for us. Coley Thompkins, another senior, showed last year in the conference tournament that he can be effective at the beginning of the game. The options are certainly there, and we will have some early season matchups that will allow us to see how it shakes out before we get into conference play.
- Have any of the incoming freshmen impressed you during Fall workouts? Do you expect any of them to break into the starting lineup/rotation this spring?
We have a very good freshman class, maybe underrated in the eyes of the recruiting world, but I really like their make-up. 3 guys that have a chance to help us right away are:
RHP Wes Noble, from Cincinnati, OH, has been very good in the early spring on the mound, and has showed signs of developing into a quality arm. He has worked with senior, Heath Bowers every day, and that mentor-mentee relationship looks to be paying off.
INF Dustin Krob, from Chicago, IL, has some of the best hands on our team. His biggest question mark was if he was going to mature physically enough to play every single day, and he is getting there. So, he is one that we could see a lot of before its all said and done.
C JD Andreessen, from Lancaster, NY, is going to be a beast before he is finished here. Physically he is strong enough and ready to play. He receives, probably at a Double A level, and can throw with a lot of guys in our conference. He will have to be more consistent at the plate to be THE guy, but he is as hard of worker as we have, and I am excited about his future.
Dark Horse:
Freshman LHP Matt Meyer, from Palm Bay, FL, had a great fall for us until he hurt his back in his last outing. When he gets healthy and back on the mound in the second half of the season for us, he will have a chance to log significant innings. He will be a special arm sooner rather than later.
4. Coming into your first season as the head coach of the Campbell program, what differences are you trying to make with the squad?
Having been here for the last 7 years as the assistant, I have been fortunate enough to at least have an opinion in a lot of the things that have helped build our program, so not a lot of the basics are not going to change. But, now as the head coach my personality is going to shine through a little bit more. We are going to continue to play fast and pressure the defense, we are going to try and continue to be fundamentally sound on the mound and in the field, and make others try to beat us. My choice of BP music might be a little different than Coach Goff’s and the pace of practice might be a little more frantic, but the core beliefs and values that we have built this thing on are not going to change.
- One of the stories in College Baseball has been the decrease in offense. How do you feel with the new ball going into play during the 2015 campaign?
I think that it is certainly going to help, to some extent. I don’t think that we are going to be getting back to the “Gorilla Ball” days like it used to be when I played, but I think that it will help. One of the things that people haven’t talked a lot about with the ball, that I think will make a bit of difference, is going to be the pitchers’ feel for secondary pitches with the lower seams. The breaking balls and sliders may not quite be as tight as they used to be with these new balls, which will have a major effect on offensive production as well.
- Campbell opened up a new baseball indoor facility. How important was it to upgrade your program and what is your favorite feature?
The upgrade to our indoor facility has been tremendous. I, personally, spent a lot of hours thinking up the design and look that I wanted in that building. The building now looks great, and is as functional of an indoor facility of its sizes as there is out there. The best feature is shell net. It allows you to open up the entire room and really see the flight of the ball…which hitters love. But, it also has pull nets on the interior that allow you to separate the hitting areas in to up to 5 different cages…which is awesome for group work. And it big enough to be able to throw live to hitters in there and have simulated games if it is too wet outside. So, from a developmental standpoint it is awesome, and from a recruiting standpoint, it is impressive.
- Who has been your biggest influence on your coaching philosophy or career?
The very first influence that I ever had in this game was my Dad…his love for this great game was passed to me, and I have never been able to let go of it, so I think that my passion started there. From a coaching standpoint, I have been around so many good ones, starting in high school. I played football for a Ohio HS coaching legend, Terry Malone, who retired as the winning HS coach in Ohio HS Football history, which is impressive. I am pretty sure he invented “old school” and was the master at being in expert in one thing. My HS baseball coach was also a huge influence, Mark Maus, who won a couple of state titles as well. Those two men showed me what it was like to have a passion and a love for the game and the players that played for them…and that has always stuck with me. But I played for Coach Danny Schmitz at Bowling Green who has been there for 25 years, and Coach Gary Vaught at the University of Indianapolis who has been there for 20+ years, and I worked for Coach Greg Goff here at CU for 7. Those guys are all big-time winners, and I have taken bits and pieces from all of them, and not a week goes by that I don’t find myself saying or doing something that I learned from one of them. I have certainly been very fortunate to be around a lot of really good coaches, winners, and men of character.
