SEATTLE - Redhawk baseball is entering its 15th season back at Seattle University, and have their sights set on a Western Athletic Conference title run. The team, which was picked 8th in the preseason coaches' poll, has an abundance of returning players alongside a talented oncoming class of freshman and transfers.
Preview from head coach Donny Harrel:
Starting Rotation:
We are really excited to get back on the diamond for the 2024 season. The valuable innings our younger guys got on the mound last year, due to season ending injuries to some of our more reliable arms, really sets the tone for an experienced pitching staff. Only losing Nestor German (2023 MLB Draft Pick, Baltimore Orioles), is a big deal, as we return the rest of our rotation for the weekends. Sophomore Blake Smith will move up to Friday after a very solid first year and veteran Peter Chronowski will pitch on Saturdays to start the season, with the most experience of any arm we have in the organization. Sophomore Luke Alwood had a terrific summer and will be our Sunday guy. Getting Brady Liddle back, who was a starter before missing last season due to injury, gives us a lot of options, and sets us up nicely for a WAC title run.
Bullpen:
Our bridge in the bullpen always is an important piece of the puzzle, but we gain great experience as our two top lefties looked really good in the fall. Cameron Dayton will continue to be one of the best two-way guys in the conference and Kian Hogan made some nice changes with his delivery and looks to be a major contributor out of the pen and may get some midweek starts as well. Newly acquired righties Matt Rowatt, Ryan Morrison and Jarek Woodward had good numbers in the fall and can help sophomore returner Kaden Alberghini, who was so reliable for us during the 2023 season. Senior lefties Ethan Brown and Sam Hanson give us good match up combos against left-handed bats and Riley Sinclair and Thomas Williamson can do the same for us as right-handed pitchers.
Offense:
Offensively we will have no excuses for not being able to be competitive at the plate. We return offensive starters in Cole Kleckner (LF/CF), Jackson Reed (RF), Derek Gellos (3B), Trevor Antonson (SS), Cameron Daytron (1B/DH), and catchers Grant Heiser and Jackson Lind. Those guys will be our core and other returners who accumulated important at-bats last year are Ryne Hays (1B) and Colin Curry (OF), who missed a lot of the season with injuries. Other returners in Kellen Carr (SS/2B), Michael Tsoukalas (1B), and infielders Sebastian Lopez and Andrew Wong all improved and look to make more of an impact this season.
Freshman/Transfers:
Our freshman class and a nice batch of transfers created great depth across the roster. Our players write themselves into the line-up based on what they have done in the past. These newcomers made quite an impression on our returners. Freshman infielders Royce Hale (3B/1B) and Brandon Stinnett (2B/SS) made nice strides physically and mentally to adjust to the speed of the game. Transfer infielders Tyler Peterson (SS/2B) and Luke Porter (1B/DH) give us needed experience at the college level.
The outfield gained a wave of new players as freshman JJ Abner and Same Kane progressed nicely in the fall, with redshirt freshman transfer Hunter Komine also working towards innings this spring. Freshman catcher Jake Wagoner really improved and gives us tremendous depth behind the plate.
We feel as a coaching staff that this is as deep a club as we have had and compares nicely to better teams we have had here at SU. Now we simply must show we are that good and consistent on the field and I know we are all looking forward to the opportunity.
Preview from head coach Donny Harrel:
Starting Rotation:
We are really excited to get back on the diamond for the 2024 season. The valuable innings our younger guys got on the mound last year, due to season ending injuries to some of our more reliable arms, really sets the tone for an experienced pitching staff. Only losing Nestor German (2023 MLB Draft Pick, Baltimore Orioles), is a big deal, as we return the rest of our rotation for the weekends. Sophomore Blake Smith will move up to Friday after a very solid first year and veteran Peter Chronowski will pitch on Saturdays to start the season, with the most experience of any arm we have in the organization. Sophomore Luke Alwood had a terrific summer and will be our Sunday guy. Getting Brady Liddle back, who was a starter before missing last season due to injury, gives us a lot of options, and sets us up nicely for a WAC title run.
Bullpen:
Our bridge in the bullpen always is an important piece of the puzzle, but we gain great experience as our two top lefties looked really good in the fall. Cameron Dayton will continue to be one of the best two-way guys in the conference and Kian Hogan made some nice changes with his delivery and looks to be a major contributor out of the pen and may get some midweek starts as well. Newly acquired righties Matt Rowatt, Ryan Morrison and Jarek Woodward had good numbers in the fall and can help sophomore returner Kaden Alberghini, who was so reliable for us during the 2023 season. Senior lefties Ethan Brown and Sam Hanson give us good match up combos against left-handed bats and Riley Sinclair and Thomas Williamson can do the same for us as right-handed pitchers.
Offense:
Offensively we will have no excuses for not being able to be competitive at the plate. We return offensive starters in Cole Kleckner (LF/CF), Jackson Reed (RF), Derek Gellos (3B), Trevor Antonson (SS), Cameron Daytron (1B/DH), and catchers Grant Heiser and Jackson Lind. Those guys will be our core and other returners who accumulated important at-bats last year are Ryne Hays (1B) and Colin Curry (OF), who missed a lot of the season with injuries. Other returners in Kellen Carr (SS/2B), Michael Tsoukalas (1B), and infielders Sebastian Lopez and Andrew Wong all improved and look to make more of an impact this season.
Freshman/Transfers:
Our freshman class and a nice batch of transfers created great depth across the roster. Our players write themselves into the line-up based on what they have done in the past. These newcomers made quite an impression on our returners. Freshman infielders Royce Hale (3B/1B) and Brandon Stinnett (2B/SS) made nice strides physically and mentally to adjust to the speed of the game. Transfer infielders Tyler Peterson (SS/2B) and Luke Porter (1B/DH) give us needed experience at the college level.
The outfield gained a wave of new players as freshman JJ Abner and Same Kane progressed nicely in the fall, with redshirt freshman transfer Hunter Komine also working towards innings this spring. Freshman catcher Jake Wagoner really improved and gives us tremendous depth behind the plate.
We feel as a coaching staff that this is as deep a club as we have had and compares nicely to better teams we have had here at SU. Now we simply must show we are that good and consistent on the field and I know we are all looking forward to the opportunity.