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Auburn HC Butch Thompson - 2026 Season Preview · The Auburn Undercover Podcast

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on starting spring practice and we'll
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jump into any questions. If you got a
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question, raise your hand and we'll get
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you a microphone.
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>> Man, we're excited. We're right in the
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throws of it and if everybody's been
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looking at the weather forecast the last
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few days this baseball season as we're
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walking in talking about let's play two.
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So, we're just trying to navigate around
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weather. Um, fortunate thing with the
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baseball schedule for the first time
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ever, we were able to start like 12 days
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sooner than in the past of the whole
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team getting to practice together in a
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20our full segment instead of that 8
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hour. So, some of that's good. Some of
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that's been a challenge. We got to inter
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squad. We've had three squad games 12
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days earlier and it looked like it was
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12 days earlier with the guys being
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separated from us for 30 35 40 days,
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whatever that window was. Um, but I I
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can kind of see it as a positive moving
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forward that we got to lay some tracks
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earlier and get to play the game of
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baseball a little sooner. So, as we
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start up for this second round, um, I'm
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really u looking forward to trying to
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clean up and brush up on some things. I
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I think we I got a group that believes
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in themselves. Um, coaches believe u
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outside noise um is kind of favorable on
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this ball club, but um we're far away
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from living up to that uh with the first
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tracks that we laid, but that's what
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we're here for and that's why we're
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trying to push through getting the
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second round of squad games going. Um
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schedule's great. you know, the four or
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five years here that we've tried to
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intentionally build a top five schedule
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in America. Um, that's gotten us like
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blasted one year. It's helped us be a
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top 16 seed three of the last four
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years. It helped us be a number four
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national seed last year. Um, and this
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schedule will present it again. Um, I
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was looking at the the Division One top
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25 preseason rankings and there's other
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really good ones. Um, and and our
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players probably see where we were
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ranked. A coach looks at it and sees
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that there's 26 games against 10 other
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teams that are in their top 25 that has
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my undivided attention. But that was the
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goal. So that's about half your
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schedule. And then um we'll play as it
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sits right now 33
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top 50 RPI teams from last year. That's
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well over half our schedule. So you
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start talking about the Arlington trip
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again in those three opponents. You
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start talking about Georgia Tech, a top
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five preseason team home and away right
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down the road. you start talking about a
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series against Nebraska at home and then
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we'll throw in 10 weeks of Southeastern
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Conference play to boot with some other
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good challenges along the way. Um our
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entire schedule is is littered with
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quality and I think you know our our
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success or lack thereof wherever our
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watermark is with this club. Um, we just
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feel like our program is in position,
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you know, from the first five, looking
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at the second five and now starting a
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third five of our time here that we're
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trying to potentially as a season shakes
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out to play one of the hardest schedules
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um that we can in the country and our
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conference affords us an opportunity to
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do that. I understand that. Um, who's
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going to fill their shoes? Is that a
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George Jones song? I think about that
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with a whopping 11 players that entered
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professional baseball last year. So
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before everybody starts pounding the the
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table, understand half this team's new
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and you you lost more in my 24 years of
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guys entered professional baseball in
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one season. Um maybe our biggest fan
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since I've been here, somebody that's
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yelled as loud as he can has been a huge
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part of our deal. Mike Cooper, uh,
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helmet helmet guy, uh, is a huge loss to
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to us. And I think about, you know, all
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those boys, those players, who's going
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to fill those shoes? I think about Mike
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Cooper. Think about his wife, Nancy. Why
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I wanted to mention him today, but I
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also think about who's really going to
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fill those shoes. We've done so much to
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bring more atmosphere to Plansman Park
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and to everything we do. And uh, that's
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a loss. and somebody's got to step up to
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the plate, step in that gap for for
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that. So, that's a call to arms to who
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needs to hear that to to try to fill
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those shoes. That's what Mike would
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want. I know. Um, but
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our our deal is just our plan every day
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and execute and debrief and try to
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consistently repeat it. Um, that is how
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we're going to determine our success,
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not by what you say or what somebody
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else is doing that's not in this frame
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with us. that's not seeing us on a
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day-to-day deal. Um, and and just try to
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get better every day. This group's been
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amazing to work with. I thought last
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year's group, um, it felt like a failure
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personally because I wanted so much. I
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wanted another step or two or all the
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way for that group last year. They did
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us right. Um, and I wanted them to have
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more. And this group, ever since we've
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got started in August, it's been been a
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joy to be on the this. So, if they keep
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making good steps, um I'll be wanting
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the world for them. And anything short
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of a couple more steps from what we're
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able to do last year will will, you
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know, be tough because these guys are
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doing a nice job for us.
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>> What you talk about in the fall, I
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guess, the the maturity of of this group
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and needing to see a little growth
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there. Just how has that been
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progressing? And I guess have you kind
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of seen this this group kind of take
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steps in maturation?
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>> Yeah, we're trying. We just try to put
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strategies in there. And you know,
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sometimes quality and something real is
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not something you can just instantly
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snap your fingers to. So just felt like,
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you know, you go like Ike Irish, he was
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a junior, but he was even more mature
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than that. I think like a Ryan Bliss in
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the past. I think about Cooper McMurray
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was one of those players that a coach
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loves in this new day and time of the
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just a common influence even bigger than
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the numbers. What you see from that
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maturity standpoint now it feels like
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all right who's your best players and
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you start going Rbert and Freighic and
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you got a steel you got you still have
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some of those pieces but you just see a
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nucleus of maybe arguably what may be
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deemed as your best players are
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sophomores instead of juniors or or
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seniors per se. Um, so we were just
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trying to fill in those gaps. Um, I
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don't think I know what a deal that is,
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but that's what coaches do. We're trying
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to forecast out front what could the
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challenges be. Uh, our players did is
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our I think George put it out a couple
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of days ago. Our our legacy leaders, our
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captains were voted on by our players
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and they came up with Lucas Steel who's
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done a marvelous job. It's one of the
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best stepins. Eric Gvar is a quieter
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player. Um, but those players absolutely
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adore him, respect him coming back from
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that ACL and just working every day.
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Another a guy by example. I'd put Chris
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Rebert in there as well. Uh, just his
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play, how hard when he hits the ball,
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how he runs, uh, how he prepares every
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day. Um, we were playing a squad game
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the other day and you know a player goes
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straight into second base like they're
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supposed to and he's tagging him out but
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you know there's a little finger exposed
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and you know take a spike or two right
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in there and you know he just he just
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hangs in there and battles and wants to
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keep preparing and he wants hard instead
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of easy. Um he's one of our captains and
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the mild surprise for me and I didn't
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know at the moment but Alex Petravic
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uh has been around it's like we've built
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him up. He's had a couple of injuries,
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had a couple of nice starts, but uh has
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missed a lot of time honestly, but those
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players say he is the pitcher that
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absolutely has done the most to teach
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younger guys and do all that. So
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maturity has been a word where I haven't
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tried to force it, but something we paid
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attention to and really tried to talk to
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these four captains and and really tried
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to see whatever we could do. I was
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having them run laps the other day, but
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I had them run with partners just to try
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to get, you know, young and old any
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which way we can to like be intentional,
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but kind of let that organically grow.
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Um because, you know, we had three
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freshman All-Americans last year that
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were pretty good. Um, but I do I just I
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wonder with what we left, where's our
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maturity at? That's something I've been
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thinking about for a while.
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>> But in this day and age where teams are
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older and everybody's getting older. You
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did you had three freshman that that
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stepped up last year. Look this year and
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you go Ethan Bingaman, Mason McCraine,
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you got a couple of those young guys.
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Just just talk about the opportunities
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that you see for maybe a couple of those
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young guys even though this is an older
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team, too. Well, I think everybody's
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trying to do strategies now, right, for
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their program. And even if it's the same
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sport, even if it's a different sport,
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you're trying to grab stuff. Ours is
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still young and old. We feel like if we
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can get some of the best high school
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players in America that is ready to play
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and we have that feeling, we're going
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all in. Um hope hopefully last year's
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not one of those that like can't keep
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recreating that. And I'm kind of bullish
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on it because I believe in Ethan Bman.
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He's going to get the ball first to
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start the squad game today. I want him
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to earn it. Um, and he's earned it. He
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threw 73% strikes the first round.
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That's the one flag we're waving for our
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pitchers. And I don't care. Maturity,
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freshman, senior, we've already got 15
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starts in you. I think it's okay for
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these guys to earn it. I think they're
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good with that. Um, maybe not crazy
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happy, but they understand the journey
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where we have to prepare and not be
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given stuff. Um, you know, now more than
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ever, maybe
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Um, and then Mason McCraine is I don't
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know, left-handed, 67,
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has all the tools, but but talent alone,
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you know, if you're if you're naked with
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talent, you you just it's hard, you
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know, you got to have some charisma, you
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have to have confidence, all those
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things that you see with freshman, it's
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less about the talent for them to get on
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the field and be freshman all-Americans.
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It's skill. A lot of guys have skill
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that aren't even on the field or playing
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well. It's Um, it's the maturity. It's
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handling adversity. It's failure. I
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think I I still think our failure is
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more packed in than any other sport. And
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you take a hitter and it kills seven out
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of 10 times and he's a good hit good
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hitter and potentially can be something
10:44
for you. And sometimes when you're
10:46
young, your ability to do it now or have
10:49
to wait a little longer is how you can
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fail seven out of 10 times and feel
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great or feel good and confident about
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yourself. So, those are two guys. I
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think there's more, but um LJ Cormier is
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one of those guys that we think has that
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confidence uh now. Um is it as electric
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as it's going to be as he continues to
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grow? No. But he's showing some of those
11:13
elements and a few more without forcing
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it. A lot of guys to talk about maybe
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ahead, but we're going to continue to do
11:20
that because we built this team to do
11:22
that for another year. So, if those guys
11:25
aren't ready to go, somebody's gonna
11:26
have to fill in those shoes because we
11:29
have built this to get us a couple of
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position players, a couple of pitchers
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young to keep coming to this program to
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mix in with older players as we're
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talking about a lot in college athletics
11:43
today.
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>> But, you mentioned uh the outside noise.
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you know, there's there's no question
11:48
that uh they all see where you're being,
11:51
you know, talked about and picked. A lot
11:53
of times in the past, it's been try to
11:55
prove and earn the respect. You've got
11:57
that respect now, but does that change
11:59
the way you approach things here or how
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do you handle uh them, you know, the
12:05
players and everybody knowing what's the
12:07
what the expectations are.
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>> Yeah. I just think I just I I say it's
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work from the past. I keep telling our
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guys I don't I sure don't um apologize.
12:18
I'm I'm greatly thankful. A lot of
12:20
gratitude for you know seeing how
12:23
Plainsman Park is coming along. Seeing
12:24
how people continue to we've already
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sold more season tickets than ever
12:28
before. We've done that four years in a
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row. There's no apologizing for us
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growing and and people thinking more of
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our program. The only time that becomes
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a problem is if our ego gets out of
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whack. Um, I know Scott Adams, he had
12:41
the just passed away. Did the Dilbert
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comic strips for forever and he had a
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thing on ego. One of my friends sent me
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it's like, you know, you can't start
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feeling like you're you're something or
12:52
greater than you are. Um,
12:55
that'd be kind of like thinking you're
12:57
an original Picasso. You know, you would
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handle yourself with kid gloves. You
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wouldn't want contact. You would you
13:03
would shy away saving it for a game.
13:05
When you think too much of yourself,
13:07
it's hard to get down and get dirty
13:09
every day. And you know, the difference
13:10
in walking a original Picasso, I think,
13:13
was the deal two blocks to a gallery.
13:16
You know, you'd be scared of the rain.
13:18
You'd be worried that somebody's going
13:19
to try to take it from you because it's
13:21
so priceless. And and and then if you go
13:24
back and they say, "Okay, here's take
13:26
this potato over there over there now."
13:28
And you okay, no problem. You drop it in
13:30
your pocket. You walk a little bit. If
13:32
it fell on the ground, you pick it back
13:33
up. No problem. give a potato. Our ego
13:35
needs to be a little bit more like a
13:36
potato right now. We threw 55% strikes
13:40
the other day in a squad game. So if
13:42
you're this somebody, the world's
13:44
telling you this or the world's telling
13:45
you that. If we if we go three and five
13:47
to start, we'll be out of the top 25. I
13:50
mean, it's no game to play with the
13:51
external stuff. It's just we have to get
13:55
to the point where whatever our standard
13:56
is, you know, of trying to suffocate the
13:59
strike zone is 62 64% we're 9% off.
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That's what I mean by plan, execute, uh,
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debrief it every day, and then
14:08
consistently repeat it. How good we are
14:10
at that is our success. Um, John Wooden
14:14
called in straight lines. I brought my
14:15
balloon to that
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and you know, y'all have heard me do the
14:21
John Wooden before. was just talking
14:22
about straight lines and he wouldn't
14:24
watch in the scoreboard. But if you
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watch and see how your guys were running
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straight lines, if if they did good at
14:29
that, they would get open more and
14:31
they'd be in get in better positions for
14:33
rebound when they rounded everything off
14:36
and just wasn't performing their
14:38
straight lines. They couldn't get open.
14:40
They couldn't get in good positions. And
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that's all I want pitchers to do. As
14:44
much analytics as we got floating
14:45
around, I want 62 64% strikes. Period.
14:50
That's the one flag we're waving. Our
14:51
offense, all we're asking them to do is
14:53
to get the leadoff man on because last
14:56
year in the SEC teams in our league
14:58
scored 1.8 runs per inning when the
15:00
leadoff man got on. That's a straight
15:02
line for the offense. And with half our
15:04
team knew, which means, you know,
15:06
whoever plays short, he might have a new
15:07
third baseman to his right, new second
15:09
baseman to his left. We must communicate
15:12
on defense. And I'm not talking about
15:14
needing a PMP pom. I'm talking about I'm
15:16
one step in the hole. I'm one step
15:18
deeper. I'm here with two strikes. I'm
15:20
up and over and in to defend the flare
15:23
here because it's more likely for an
15:24
offspe pitch. So, let the guy in front
15:27
to your right know where you're at and
15:29
where you vacated positioning because
15:30
it's probably somebody new than last
15:32
year. And I blew up this balloon the
15:34
other day for our for our pitchers in
15:37
front of y'all and the whole team.
15:45
When you throw 55% strikes, it looks
15:48
like that.
15:50
And what I want is you to get I want
15:54
your arm to get up. I want you to get
15:55
firm. I want you to get on top behind
15:57
the ball. And I want you to create a
15:59
straight line for 60 ft, six inches
16:02
because I want late movement. I don't
16:04
want movement out of the hand. I don't
16:05
want it going everywhere. I want
16:07
straight lines until we go from 55% to
16:11
64% as a pitching staff or at least 10
16:14
or 12 of them until we can get the
16:17
leadoff man on. And it means something
16:20
right now. I think one of my meanest,
16:23
best, most prepared guys is Chris Rbert.
16:26
One of my hardest players. The most
16:28
coveted position in this lineup for 2026
16:31
is our leadoff man. We think that gives
16:34
us the best chance to create offense. If
16:37
I'm wrong, I'm wrong. But I don't have
16:40
them trying to master 20 things. I want
16:43
Chris Roer leading that thing off right
16:46
now. And he might should be somewhere
16:47
else in the lineup. But right now, I'm
16:50
sold out to like who do we trust the
16:52
most to get lead off? Because now that
16:55
pitcher's forced to go to a set
16:56
position. That first base is giving up
16:58
real estate. He's going to hold back.
17:01
The middle infielders have to talk
17:03
because now they're starting to think
17:04
about double play as they take three,
17:07
two, four spots closer. They have lost
17:11
the real estate proposition of the three
17:12
acres already. That's how we want to
17:15
start innings. And we saw in our league
17:17
how it produced something and then every
17:20
hour infield shakes out and our outfield
17:23
communicate like crazy. We can master
17:25
that then I can add something else. Last
17:27
year, we wanted to run as hard as we
17:29
could from home to first base as anybody
17:31
in America. This year, those are the
17:33
three flags that we're waving.
17:36
If I can just keep beating that in their
17:39
head and tell them nothing else matters.
17:43
The quality of what we are is what we
17:44
put on that field today. That's where
17:46
we're ranked. And we're just ranking
17:48
against ourselves. Are we a better club
17:50
tomorrow than today? And can my voice,
17:54
even though it's not working right now,
17:56
can it compete against every bit of that
17:58
that don't matter?
18:00
I think truth's in what we put out there
18:02
today. And I think it's in the Bible,
18:05
everything else. That's why I got off
18:06
social media three years ago, and I
18:08
don't do it anymore.
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I just I can't handle all of it.
18:14
And I know I couldn't handle handle it
18:16
when I was these guys age. They're all
18:19
young to me. Um And if I can just get
18:22
them on the plan, execute, debrief,
18:24
consistently, repeat. That's my best
18:26
shot to answer the question. Everything
18:29
else will take care of themselves. It
18:31
don't matter till you get to the end and
18:33
see if you put yourself in position to
18:35
have four teams standing in your way of
18:37
postseason and going to Omaha. That's
18:40
how we tried to build it. That's what
18:42
we'd love to get in position for again.
18:44
But when you play a top five schedule,
18:46
you can't count anything before it
18:50
hatches where we have to have our head
18:52
down and we must grow in these next
18:54
couple weeks to be even competitive
18:57
opening day. That's our charge. That's
19:00
where our focus needs to be. We'll see
19:03
how mature we are to be able to to deal
19:05
with it.
19:08
>> Something that's been kind of
19:09
complicated is you've been pretty
19:11
patient with your starting weekend
19:13
rotation. as they've had initial
19:15
struggles given that top five schedule
19:17
in the country. Do you feel like you can
19:19
give a guy multiple starts over multiple
19:21
weeks if he's not hitting that standard
19:23
or do you have to play week by week
19:25
almost?
19:26
>> I don't know if it's a positive or
19:27
negative. I think that's one of the best
19:28
questions because I would honestly have
19:30
to say that's what I've been wrestling
19:31
with the most. It feels like even
19:36
you know you would think like what are
19:37
they going to do with the rotation? I
19:38
keep hearing that
19:40
>> and I think that's a I think that's an L
19:42
on the head. I'll give it. I'll give
19:44
that. I don't think I know. So, I don't
19:47
know how anybody else would know. And
19:49
so, I turned it into earn it. And I
19:52
don't know if it's a positive or a
19:53
negative
19:55
because it might be a positive. We might
19:57
have more options than what we've had.
20:00
The problem may be if I can't get there
20:02
and get these guys in the right spots to
20:04
begin with. So, I I can see it going
20:08
either way, but I'm playing the earning
20:10
game now because I do I mean I care
20:12
about every one of them
20:14
>> and I think there's a lot of amazing
20:17
bright futures,
20:19
but I won
20:22
their track record, their blah blah
20:24
blah, their everything else right now.
20:28
Who is throwing the baseball the best?
20:31
And that's what I'm marching toward. I
20:33
would have to say the same thing. I have
20:35
the same problem. Um, positionally,
20:40
you know, Freigh's really good.
20:43
Still has done an amazing job. Gregorio
20:47
is also a left-handed hidden catcher.
20:48
That's three of them. First base. Major
20:52
is coming back at some point. And to
20:54
keep you from asking again, is it April?
20:57
I don't know. I'll give you that. Run
21:00
with that today. That's a good player.
21:03
Um, you know, Bristol, Bub, Belaloo, you
21:08
know, you feel like you got three real
21:09
defenders that I know give some quality
21:12
to us. Um, but when you go Mason
21:14
McCraine and you go a Bingaman who
21:18
you're starting to get to five and I can
21:19
go three more. Um, Fabian made less than
21:23
five errors. So did Brody Moore.
21:27
Bliss. I mean, our last few guys that
21:29
really held down a short stop position.
21:31
You start playing mid50s, more than 60
21:34
ball games, handling that position like
21:37
that. Everybody in the world's begging
21:39
for that. Who's going to feel those
21:41
shoes? You know, is Ryan Farber going to
21:44
be able to do that? Is Gavvara got to
21:46
move over? Um Todd Clay was our our
21:51
players voted him as our MVP playing
21:54
third base last year. He's playing with
21:56
one hand more. It feels like he's
21:58
growing there. Um, Brandon McCraine,
22:01
Mason's brother, the older brother that
22:03
red shirted last year is toled up. We
22:06
were so fortunate that he's a freshman
22:08
again, but he's not. Um,
22:12
we're jammed up. Not everybody's going
22:13
to be able to play there either. How are
22:15
we going to manage that? And I'm just
22:17
saying it might be a great problem and
22:20
it might be a negative thing. This might
22:21
be because it is a little more jumbled
22:24
up on both sides of the ball. this three
22:27
game series, we've already already tried
22:28
to plan it out because we need to see
22:30
guys in different spots because the
22:33
competition's getting real. And I think
22:36
we're capable of putting more than eight
22:37
position players out there. If we can
22:39
put 12 guys out there that we believe in
22:43
that can give us the same skill thing
22:45
we're looking for, who can give us the
22:47
best synergy to figure out in the next
22:49
two or three weeks now, what's the best
22:51
synergy? What pitching stuff goes
22:54
together? If I'm waving this flag, who
22:56
can throw the strikes? What's the
22:57
grouping of those guys? But then how do
22:59
I they play off of one another? We got
23:02
some lefties I'm excited about. You
23:04
know, we feel like Graves is here's some
23:06
maturity with Graves now. Third year,
23:09
think he's ready. Marciano
23:11
looks the part to us and is throwing a
23:13
good high percentage strikes. We can go
23:15
left-handed to work to righties or
23:17
lefties to stay lefty, you know, but
23:20
really when you got new guys and you're
23:22
putting with old guys, how do you really
23:24
know from playing the Savannah bananas
23:27
in 12 or 14 innings against Kennesaw who
23:31
in a real ball game really packages the
23:34
best going ahead and behind and around
23:37
one another. This isn't just like keep
23:39
putting a guy guy. This is about
23:41
creating a synergy for a nine inning
23:43
ball game that helps you get to finish
23:45
lines, helped you to tackle where we're
23:47
looking at 55 to 58% left-handed hitters
23:50
in an SEC lineup, you know, and then on
23:54
a Tuesday, you know, we're playing like
23:57
the Georgia Techs of the of the world.
24:00
Um, and playing all the people in state
24:02
that give us such a hard time that are
24:04
that are more right-handed.
24:06
we have to figure out and it's a little
24:08
jumbled and it's been a little thinner
24:10
and less uh options. The more options is
24:14
new for us. We must figure that out. So,
24:18
you're all over it. And I think most
24:20
teams it feels like are ahead of us in
24:22
our league of like this guy's going to
24:24
throw here, here, and here. And can
24:26
throw that out there and tell you guys
24:28
I'm behind on it a little bit. And um
24:31
I'm trying to find a way to pick the
24:33
guys that are the most ready now. And
24:35
for me, that means I'm not missing a
24:39
pitch of the squad game today. And I
24:42
want the rain to hold off and find us a
24:44
window because we're we're behind where
24:46
we've been in the past. But we do have
24:49
more options. And I don't again, I don't
24:50
know if that's a positive or negative
24:52
yet.
24:55
>> Coach, you just mentioned him, Todd
24:57
Clay, the hometown kid. Can you just
24:58
talk about what uh impact you hope for
25:00
for him and why he was voted MVP in your
25:04
debate?
25:05
>> Yeah,
25:07
I I think I think players just respect
25:10
players. I when I first got here, I was
25:12
picking the captains.
25:14
I was an assistant for 23 years. I
25:16
didn't try this head coaching thing and
25:18
I just learned that much. I think it's
25:20
more powerful when it comes from your
25:21
peers.
25:23
When y'all get I don't know how y'all do
25:24
y'all stuff. when y'all get voted for
25:25
something, it comes from your peer
25:27
group. I just think he's more powerful.
25:29
Um, I would just say, I mean, he just he
25:33
has a great repeatable approach. We see
25:35
a great approach to hit every day thus
25:37
far. Um,
25:40
we've seen him grow defensively and
25:42
we've seen him commit to that. Um,
25:46
his body's changed, and I don't mean it
25:48
had to. They don't have to look pretty
25:50
in uniform to be a great baseball
25:51
player. Uh, a lot of us have proved that
25:54
through the years. Um, but it's just
25:57
been an increased work. He's locked in.
26:01
Um, and I think they respected him.
26:04
We've run four or five baseball camps. I
26:07
heard through the grapevine his mama
26:09
makes him work those camps because
26:11
they're right here in town and when we
26:12
do something, that's how you connect to
26:14
this community. That's how you make a
26:16
difference and you're going to invest.
26:18
So, I think he's been given some really
26:19
good advice on how you walk in the door
26:22
and you're new and how you're going to
26:24
fit in. And it's it's getting in there
26:27
and grinding and doing everything
26:28
instead of running away and doing the
26:30
bare minimum. I think it's harder when
26:33
you're close and you're two miles away
26:35
to play. I think it's easier to travel
26:37
further,
26:39
not have those same pressures. I think
26:41
it's hard to live up. I think like where
26:44
you ranked or whatever people thought of
26:45
you or you got more people saying, "Hey,
26:48
your coach is no good." Or, "You got
26:51
more people around town asking you
26:52
questions, man, you're not hitting good
26:54
now or all that." It's harder close when
26:57
you're in a frame like that. And all
26:59
he's done is put his head in every time
27:02
we do something to build, try to promote
27:03
our program. Um, he's been engaging in
27:07
that. Um, so he's done everything
27:11
everything to this point to be enduring.
27:12
But you can't fool your teammates.
27:14
They're in that locker room. We're in
27:17
there. We're with them every day. That
27:19
locker room is theirs. And
27:22
no locker room is going to let you walk
27:24
in off the street and then in three
27:27
months time say they were our MVP. When
27:30
you have players that have done some
27:32
things in that locker room, he did
27:35
something. And I don't have the full
27:37
story, but he has instant street cred,
27:40
which is hard to walk off the street and
27:43
do that in a locker room in a short
27:45
period of time. So I tip my hat to it
27:47
and hadn't played a game yet, but that's
27:50
pretty good walking in the locker room
27:52
getting instant respect. So what it does
27:54
tell me is they think he's a player that
27:56
they believe in that can help us, you
27:59
know, be successful.
28:01
>> Last one.
28:02
>> Yeah, but not as good questions as my
28:06
fellow riders, but who's been swinging
28:07
the hottest bat so far for you guys or
28:09
some guys that have really been doing
28:10
well against so far?
28:12
>> Yeah, it was three different days. It
28:14
was kind of a pingpong the first game,
28:17
just kind of boring. You know, I'd watch
28:19
a couple of points and then, you know,
28:20
just back and forth generic type stuff.
28:24
I would say the collapse game one or our
28:27
challenge was uh our defense and it was
28:30
like uh you know, they've been hitting
28:32
in the cage, they've been throwing, they
28:33
doing all the all the guys do a nice
28:35
job. I think around the country there's
28:37
more more training and stuff going on
28:40
ever in our sport. Uh but the
28:43
communication getting to the right spots
28:45
playing on a threeacre field again the
28:47
popups
28:49
um some little things like that team
28:51
defense was a struggle. The second game
28:54
was our unacceptable blatant deal by our
28:58
pitchers. Um, and we just started
29:01
harping immediately to finish the day to
29:04
start the next day. And they come out
29:06
for five innings on game three. And, you
29:10
know, we took a few called strike threes
29:11
and some things we haven't done. Those
29:13
pitchers turning it around and and and
29:16
getting back to, you know, mid60s and
29:20
guys really throwing a percentage of
29:22
strikes. The pitchers got in between
29:24
pitches. There was called strike three
29:26
and didn't pull the trigger a few times
29:27
and just, you know, they let the express
29:30
go right by thinking something else when
29:32
you start. It's such a difference when
29:34
you have the count in leverage, when you
29:37
get ahead, stay ahead, and when the
29:39
count is 10 and 20 and 21 and 31 too
29:42
often. I mean, it's always been that
29:45
way. You're not going to beat those
29:46
numbers. Nobody.
29:49
When I see you, I think of the Braves. I
29:51
mean, Maddox didn't beat those numbers.
29:52
was like 350 deficient in the camp. But
29:55
the boy didn't live there. He didn't
29:57
visit that town very often. But it
30:00
wasn't even successful for him. He just
30:03
dude would not go there. I mean, he had
30:05
what three or four years where he had
30:06
more wins and walks in a season. He was
30:08
bumping 200 innings a year. I I told him
30:12
I wrote I was so mad at our pitchers. I
30:15
told him about Fluky, you know, the
30:17
Coastal Carolina starter coming here. If
30:20
we can't create a standard in the room,
30:22
let me tell you what a real standard is.
30:23
If we want to take another step or two,
30:25
that's throwing 608 fast balls at 95
30:29
miles per hour last year in 2025.
30:33
608 fast balls,
30:36
95 miles per hour,
30:39
75.1%
30:40
strikes.
30:43
So don't think you're this with your
30:47
ranking. This is what we're doing. And
30:50
let me tell you what the best is doing.
30:53
We got to keep something for these guys
30:54
to be chased and focused on instead of
30:57
somebody telling them that they for one
31:00
of these years you get some pre-season
31:02
stuff and somebody tells you you're a
31:03
Picasso. We need to work act like it's
31:06
going to rain on us today. We're going
31:08
to get our innings in. We're going to
31:10
fill up that strike zone today.
31:13
We got to like take our ego out of this
31:15
thing and understand that there a
31:18
pitcher in the same division one
31:20
baseball we played in that threw 608
31:23
fast balls last year at 95 miles per
31:26
hour for 75.1%
31:28
strikes.
31:30
We are not there yet.
31:33
And that's
31:35
good question Brian. Good question.
31:39
>> All right. Make Arabai.