After one of the worst seasons the Pack has had under coach Elliott Avent, where the team went 25-31 (10-20 in the ACC) and missed out making the ACC tournament, Avent and pitching coach Tom Holliday went out and brought in a top recruiting class.
The 15 person class includes a mixture of both junior college transfers and freshmen, including multiple players that where drafted in the major league draft but choose to come to school. Overall the class was ranked 11th in the nation by Baseball America and many of the players figure to play big roles this season for the team.
This regrouped, revamped squad will look to help bring Pack baseball back to the successful streak it found just two short years ago.
“I believe our freshman class is one of the best in the country and I think we will make a big impact this year, especially because we have a good number of young pitchers,” freshman outfielder Tarran Senay said.
The seasons starts today when State takes on La Salle University. The players’ biggest focus is forgetting about last season and trying to improve this year and with plenty of fresh faces, the team feels the new guys will help the veterans forget about past hardships.
“We have to forget about it. Last year is in the past,” sophomore Andrew Ciencin said. “We have 15 new guys here that weren’t here for it. But that season is in the past, we are ready for a new year and better things.”
Even though the freshman class looks good on paper, going out and actually performing up to that level will be a whole different story. One of the biggest question marks for this team will be how the new pitchers are able to adjust and perform at the ACC level.
“We are very unsure about our pitching staff. We have a lot of young guys. Guys who will be pitching in the ACC for the first time,” Avent said. “We have some very talented players but it is a very grueling and grinding season. It is a big difference going from high school to the ACC and they are talented but there are other things they have to learn.”
But with the younger players having over a semester to adjust to college life, learn how the team operates and see how team members conduct themselves, senior infielder Dallas Poulk does not see the new guys as freshmen anymore, but rather just like any other teammates.
“We expect them to come in and fit in. We don’t really think of them as freshmen anymore,” Poulk said. “They have been here a whole semester and we are excited to have them and looking forward to seeing what they can do.”
The biggest thing Poulk believes the new class will have to learn is how to bounce back from bad games. In addition, they’ll have to understand that they will face tougher competition than they have ever played against before.
“They just have to relax and have confidence each and every day they go out,” Poulk said. “None of us had really struggled ever before coming to school here, but it is a long season and they just need to learn to be able to bounce back after a bad game or two.”
No matter the outcome of a single game or series or how each player plays, the best thing for the developing athletes will be the chance to fulfill their dreams of playing baseball at the Division I level, especially in a conference as highly regarded as the ACC.
“I am really excited for opening day,” Senay said. “I have been waiting to play Division I ball all my life.”
