UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – With the 2020 college baseball season approaching, Penn State is eager to get going.
"This time of year you get to start team practice and we've been very fortunate with the mild weather, so we've been outside quite a bit," head coach Rob Cooper said.
"It's been a fun team to coach and be around during the fall and looking forward to watching these guys get better and improve and get going this season."
The Nittany Lions open the 2020 season on the road at the USA Baseball Complex in Cary, North Carolina against Bucknell at 2 p.m. Friday.
Penn State will host Binghamton in its home opener March 18 at 4 p.m.
Stepping Up/Leadership/Filling the Gaps
With 20 returners and 12 newcomers, Cooper is looking to his veterans to fill the gaps that the former players left both baseball-wise and leadership-wise, an opportunity for the younger players to step up.
"They all have a chance to step up and take that spot and so that's kind of the exciting thing right now is that these guys have been going at it that way, trying to take that spot, not to be them, but to take that spot," Cooper said.
Several pitchers have that opportunity to step up this season, including Bailey Dees, Connor Larkin, Jared Freilech, Mason Mellott, as well as players back from injuries like Ralph Gambino and Cole Bartels. Even the younger players have real potential such as sophomores Tyler Shingledecker and Hutch Gangon, and freshmen Logan Evans and Braden Halladay.
As far as leadership goes, several players have showed their capability to be a leader on this 2020 team.
"Kyle Virbitsky has really stepped up. He stayed here this summer and lifted in the summer. Him and Mason Mellot and guys like that really took the younger guys under their wing in the summer, pushing them, helping them get acclimated. Curtis Robison, Gavin Homer, Jared Freilech, all these guys," Cooper said.
"It's not so much catching somebody doing something wrong, it's more of, 'this is our standard,' and really pumping a guy up when they do it right, or when somebody's struggling, picking them up. Everything that they have been talking about has been 'team first, team first.' As of right now, we have a bunch of guys that have that kind of mindset, that leadership mindset to help others and see them succeed."
The older players know how crucial it is to step up into those leadership roles.
"I think the biggest thing about being a leader isn't necessarily being vocal or playing well, it's more so just being there for the guys," said Robison. "Showing them that you're always there for them no matter what happens, whether it's in a game, practice, school or outside of school."
Improvements
Junior pitcher Kyle Virbitsky stayed in Happy Valley during the summer to take classes and focus on improving for the upcoming season.
"This fall, I focused a lot on actually adding another pitch," Virbitsky said. "So I'm going to throw a cutter this year along with my fastball, curve ball and changeup. But I think adding a fourth pitch is going to open up a lot for me to be able to keep guys off balance and get more hitters out."
The team's increase in analytics technology has helped Virbitsky with the development of his fourth pitch. Learning the data behind his pitches, such as spin rate, tilt axis and release point, allowed him to essentially split his four-seam fastball, which was starting to naturally cut, into two pitches: a true four-seam and a more biting-cutter.
Sophomore Justin Williams had a stellar season but focused on consistency during this offseason.
"I'm just trying to stay consistent and keep the same mental approach that I had last year and to work on it, to improve on it, to sharpen it, and to hopefully continue consistency and keep improving and having success," Williams said.
Staff Changes
Penn State's coaching staff shifted a bit but only one newcomer is on the staff.
Cooper promoted former director of operations and player development, Sean Moore, to assistant coach. For Cooper, having Moore slide into the coaching role has been helpful because Moore knows the program and knows the players, which helped keep things consistent between last season and this season.
Volunteer assistant coach Dallas Burke remains in his position, also providing consistency for the players.
"We're very fortunate that he stayed in that volunteer role because he's a heck of a coach, so there's some continuity with both those guys [Moore and Burke] being in the program."
With Moore and Burke both hailing from Iowa, Cooper brought in another Iowa connection, Jake Stone, to fill Moore's former operations and player development role.
"He's really built a lot off of what Sean did in that role to make it even better," Cooper said.
For the players, a familiar face is still with the program. Shea Sbranti, who was a player on the team last year, joined the Penn State baseball staff as director of player personnel.
"He's done unbelievable job in his short time and has an amazing future in this game if he continues to want to get into coaching," Cooper said.
