8 minute read
KELLY'S HEROS
UW Men’s Baseball has a 2023 squad ready for a ride through Pac-12 and postseason play
BY BOB SHERWIN • FOR GO HUSKIES MAGAZINE
When Jason Kelly was selected to replace longtime Washington Head Baseball Coach Lindsay Meggs last summer, Director of Athletics Jen Cohen rightly pointed out his vast experience, his recruiting competence and his successful seven-year stretch as the Huskies pitching coach (2013-19).
Yet what factored in as much as anything was that Kelly is a ‘been there, done that’ hire. As the team’s pitching coach in 2018, he was a significant influence in helping to propel the Huskies to their first appearance in school history at the College World Series in Omaha. Though, no players or coaches remain from that team, Kelly brings that cache back home.
Coach Jason Kelly
Cam Clayton
“I know I had to fight and claw for this job. There were some great candidates,” said Kelly, who was the pitching coach for LSU last season. “I had hoped to come back, selfishly, but nothing was ever arranged. I’m lucky it went my way.
“I think I filled those boxes for her (Cohen),” he added. “And I know she wants to go back to Omaha, for sure.”
Washington had advanced to the regionals 10 times in its history, the first time in 1959. But no Husky team had ever managed to weave through the brackets as that 2018 team did. The Huskies went 5-1 in the two-tier playoff system to reach Omaha. They would lose both of their games.
“It was an incredible season because we didn’t start well. We might have been like 14-14 going into conference play. We hadn’t shown signs of pulling out of our spiral,” said Kelly, who earned Division I National Assistant Coach of the Year that year. “Then that weekend against Arizona, we had some key guys hurt and (other) guys stepped up. That kind of galvanized our group.
“Then we got all the (injured) guys back and got momentum. They just took control and started playing for each other. The whole atmosphere changed. We can do this. We went on a run. It was fun. Everything really aligned for that group.”
It takes skilled players peaking at the right time. It takes good fortune, breaks in your favor. And it takes what Kelly referred to as ‘atmosphere,’ which is really team chemistry. That’s the hard one to obtain because of college's ever-evolving, ever-changing locker rooms and leaders.
Kelly might have a head start on building back that chemistry, as he has familiarity with several UW players. He has known players such as catcher Johnny Tincher, right-handed pitcher Reilly McAdams, and infielders Michael Snyder and Will Simpson “since they were freshman and sophomores in high school.” Kelly added that those players helped smooth his transition back to UW by talking him up. Since he arrived, no players have used the transfer portal.
“That really helped with those guys going to bat for me,” he said.
Kelly replaces Meggs, who retired last year after 13 seasons on Montlake. Meggs, who had a 35-year career coaching college baseball, finished with 932 victories, 317 at Washington. He also guided the team, along with Kelly handling the pitching staff, to the NCAA Tournament two other times, in 2014 and 2016. The school had just one NCAA appearance in 13 seasons prior to Kelly's arrival.
Michael Snyder and Cole Miller
In 2014, the team ERA was 3.11, third-best in the Pac-12 and lowest for a Husky team since 1985. That season, Washington was ranked as high as fifth in the nation, the highest in school history. Kelly has mentored 15 Major League draft selections.
He was hired away by Arizona State in 2019 to be the Sun Devils’ pitching coach. He stayed there two seasons followed by one year at LSU.
What helped the Huskies enjoy their success during Kelly’s years here, and ultimately their World Series berth, were several highly regarded recruiting classes. “I think she (Cohen) saw the totality of the recruiting program,” Kelly said. "It’s kind of its own world up here.”
It’s a world that Kelly understands. He knows that he needs to battle Washington State, Gonzaga and the Oregon schools, among others, for the best baseball talent in the Northwest. And local talent is critical to the team’s success, as this season there are 23 players on the roster from the Northwest, including 20 from Washington.
“It’s a mad scramble. In order to have success, we have to get the best kids within 100 miles of Seattle, and keep them here,” he said. “The day I got the job, I was on the road re-establishing relationships with local high school coaches and summer coaches. It’s exciting to see us getting back in the mix for the best players in the Northwest.”
College baseball recruiting also is considerably knottier than the other sports. Besides the scrum among Northwest coaches vying for local talent, they all are forced to take a back seat to the professional game. Major League Baseball recently moved its annual free-agent draft from June to July. If bigleague teams draft players who have been offered college scholarships, those players have until Aug. 1 to decide what to do. Colleges start training camps Aug. 15. So, if the player goes pro, that gives schools just two weeks to fill the shortfall gap.
“It’s a very, very complicated process,” he said. “That’s why you see schools bringing in more players than they need. You can lose five or six players that you had the opportunity to sign. A program could be decimated.”
The Huskies, who finished 30-26 (14-16 in the Pac-12) a year ago, but won 12 of their final 14 games, have a good measure of their offense returning. Tincher (.314), Snyder (.282) and Simpson (.281) filled three of the top five batting average spots, as Simpson also led the team in home runs (11) and RBIs (43). Junior outfielder McKay Barney led the team in hitting (.315) and freshman outfielder Al Guerrero was third in average (.299), second in home runs (10) and RBIs (42).
“It’s a really cool combination of veteran guys, third- and fourth-year players with a bunch of at-bats,” Kelly said. “We’re excited about that group.”
Promising young infielders such as sophomore Cam Clayton, who hit .280 last season, and true freshman Aiva Arquette are expected to fill spots around the infield.
Jared Engham
Aiva Arquette
The pitching staff is less certain, or, as Kelly says, “to be determined.” There are a number of solid arms, some registering fastballs in the high 90s, but unproven in competition.
“The talent is there but not a lot of consistency,” Kelly said. “That’s been our focus this fall. The mentality really needs to be developed for strike throwers and being really competitive. There’s a lot of upside, but we haven’t seen it against a different uniform yet.”
One right-hander whom Kelly calls “a hot commodity” is junior Kiefer Lord, whose fastball tops out at 99 mph. He transferred from Carleton (Minn.) College but has never faced Division I hitters.
Junior right-handers Colton McIntosh, who is coming off Tommy John elbow surgery, junior Jared Engham and versatile redshirt sophomore right-hander Case Matter are among the starter candidates.
Right-hand redshirt sophomore Josh Emanuels “is our mainstay out of the bullpen,” Kelly said. Emanuels tied for the team high with 31 appearances. His brother, Stevie, — one time coached by Kelly — was a fifth-round draft choice by Oakland in 2020.
Kelly said his starters won’t have many, if any, complete games.
“Maybe five innings with a combination (of pitchers). We may have two (closers) to do whatever to win a game. We’re not going to ride a horse into the ground. We want to keep everyone healthy for a 56-game season and hope for a postseason run as well.”
This season, of course, will have the usual ‘murderers’ row’ of powerful Pac-12 teams, including 11time NCAA champion USC as well as Oregon State, which has won the title three times since 2007.
“It’s a great baseball league,” Kelly added. “Stanford is bringing back a very good team that went to Omaha last year. The Beavers are our nemesis. Mitch (Canham) has done a great job there. The Ducks are bringing back a lot. USC again. UCLA is always in the top 15 and Arizona is one of the powers.
“I think we fit in that top third, if we stay healthy.”
Johnny Tincher
Cam Clayton
