College Baseball Daily continues our countdown to the 2018 College Baseball season with an interview today with Sacramento State head coach Reggie Christiansen who is entering his eighth season in charge of the Hornets. You can check out the full interview below.
1. Sacramento State has become one of the most consistent programs in the country with competing for the NCAA Tournaments since you arrived in town. What has been the biggest change you have made in the program?
RC: We are certainly proud of what has been accomplished over the past 6 years with 30 wins in each campaign while having two trips to the NCAA tournament under our belt. I still believe we are a little bit under the radar as a program as I don’t think our conference gets the proper respect, we have good teams towards at the top of the conference every year. I believe we are on the verge of taking that next step as a program as the energy this fall was great.
2. The Hornets are coming off a 32-29 season while making an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. What are your expectations for this upcoming season?
RC: I expect us to compete for a trip to the NCAA tournament and play our best baseball in May. We weren’t very consistent last year but we aim to be more consistent for the entire season day in and day out.
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?
RC: Steven Moretto, Keith Torres, Dylan McPhillips and Chris Daniels were all very good. Steven will likely play third base while Keith at short and Dylan figures to be in the mix behind the plate. Chris will compete for a chance to pitch on Sundays when we get back into the swing of things.
4. Sacramento State sophomores Parker Brahms and Austin Roberts had solid freshmen seasons. Who do you see rounding out the weekend rotation spot that is opened with the loss of Justin Dillon?
RC: Parker Brahms is the only one that has locked in a weekend spot. Chris Daniels, Nick Tabura, and Austin Roberts are all competing for the remaining two spots.
5. Lets say we put you in charge of all of college baseball right now, What is the one thing you would change and why?
RC: I am very interested to see what will happen with the recruiting calendar talk. I believe we need more focus on adding another assistant and more discussion around 11.7 scholarships. Right now, 11.7 scholarships at Cal State or a UC school such as ours, Fullerton or UC Irvine isn’t the same as 11.7 at TCU, Vanderbilt or Virginia. We need to find a way to equal the playing field when it comes to the way 11.7 is being counted across the country.
