College Baseball Daily continues our series of interviews as we preview the 2016 College Baseball season with Virginia Tech head coach Pat Mason. He is entering his third season in charge of the Hokies program as they look to rise in the highly competitive ACC. You can check out the interview below.
1. Virginia Tech is coming off a 27-27 campaign while going 13-16 in ACC play. What are your expectations for the 2016 season?
PM: We made a big jump from 2 years ago to last year and with the returning talent and the new talent I expect we will make more steps forward.
2. The Hokies lost top starting pitcher Sean Keselica to graduation. Who do you see stepping into his role this season?
Sean was the only pitcher we lost off last years team, so we have a good group of guys competing for weekend rotation role. I expect Packy Naughton, Jon Woodcock, Kit Scheetz, Aaron McGarity, Luke Scherzer to be in the mix. We also have Nick Anderson returning from injury.
3. 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?
I was very pleased with our Freshman this fall. Stevie Mangrum, Grant Maiorana and Stephen Polansky all did a very good job offensively and will be in the mix for playing time., Nic Enright and Culver Hughes had very good falls on the mound and should compete for innings this spring.
4. Coming into your 3rd season as the head coach of the Virginia Tech program, what is the biggest difference you have made on the program?
Helping to create a long-term vision for success for Virginia Tech baseball.
5. One of the stories in College Baseball has been the decrease in offense over the last ten years but it came back last season with the introduction of a new baseball. How do you feel that this ball has impacted your coaching and recruiting plans?
I like the new baseball a lot. The ball seemed to be perfect for our game, not too many cheap home runs and the majority of well hit balls were rewarded. In terms of recruiting I don’t think it has changed how I want to recruit, we will continue to prioritize pitching. I think from a coaching perspective we now make in-game decision knowing that runs can be scored, two years ago that wasn’t the case.
6. Who has been your biggest influence on your coaching philosophy or career?
I’ve been fortunate to have been around some really great people in baseball but definitely my career has been most influenced by Pete Hughes. Being able to spend 7 years in a dugout with him as a coach and 3 as a player I learned a ton about the game of baseball and life.
My parents have also played a major role, they raised me to be the person I am today and I think that plays a heavy role in how I go about my business. Growing up in a house with 8 kids and 1 income you learn how to Love, Share, and Compete, I think those are great qualities for any team.
