Times are changing in college baseball nationwide with new rules and criteria and that change has definitely rolled over to the new-look Southeastern baseball team under the direction of Alan Trayler.
Thanks to a large influx of talent from the transfer portal, Trayler has beefed up as well as aged the Savage Storm roster considerably to what will be one of the oldest squads in recent history.
The new Southeastern skipper did the research in the offseason and figured out that Mike Metheny Field produced the most home runs of any ball park in the Great American Conference last year by a fairly wide margin with 89 total homers in all Southeastern home games.
“We knew we had to build a roster toward that style to have success,” Trayler said. “We narrowed it down to guys in recruiting that could produce here and elevate the ball. Pitching-wise we went for guys that could sink it and slide it to keep the ball down. We needed guys that we knew could make an impact as soon as they stepped foot on campus.
“The portal was really good to us. We were able to find some guys, especially on the offensive side. Several of them came in from Division I colleges. This is the oldest team we have had since I have been here and they can really swing it. A lot of them are 23-, 24- and 25-year-olds that are still playing due to getting extra years. They are mature hitters that have seen just about everything in college. It’s nice to have those types of guys with experience to lean on as a first-year head coach.”
Although the roster is predominantly filled with newcomers, the Savage Storm does have some key holdovers that will be key leaders.
Leading that group is senior catcher Brady Evans, who played just 26 games a year ago before a season-ending injury. While known for his defensive prowess, Evans put on solid offensive numbers in that short span a year ago as well with a .309 batting average, including four doubles, a triple and five home runs as well as 23 batted in.
Utility man Wesley Mitchell is the squad’s top returning power threat, coming off a campaign in which he hit .325 while smacking 12 doubles, eight homers and drove in 31.
Cache Stone and Austin Thorp will be back as full-time starters this year on the left side of the infield with Stone at third and Thorp at shortstop. Stone was a .385 hitter and knocked in 29 runs in 35 games while Thorp provided a .274 offensive average while contributing five doubles, one triple, two home runs and 15 RBI.
“Those four are all mature guys that we tried to build around,” Trayler stated. “They will be tremendous leaders for us.”
The transfer portal definitely played a big part in the Southeastern pitching staff, which incredibly returned just two percent of last year’s innings, which was one of the lowest marks in NCAA Division 2 baseball nationally.
Two of those pitching additions came at the semester break with Ryan Rauss and Daniel Collins joining the squad from Stephen F. Austin University.
That group along with Western Texas Junior College transfer Colton Clawson, southpaw Michael White from Three Rivers JC and freshman John Gailey are currently expected to vie for roles in the squad’s starting rotation. Junior Brock Zimmer, another Western Texas product is penciled in as the team’s closer on the mound if the season started today. Trayler also has expectations for senior Coby Grimsley, who battled through arm issues as a position player last season and will move into the pitching equation back healthy this time. Zimmer finished in the Top 10 in the nation a year ago with seven saves.
Several newcomers will also dot the heart of the batting order, several of which saw time at various Division I colleges a year ago.
Those include Chase Keeton from McNeese State, lefty Nick Mueller from Old Dominion and Colton Sagely from Central Arkansas. Keeton had the most action as a full-time starter, batting .250 with 14 doubles, a triple, six home runs and 34 batted in over 58 games.
They’ve also added the massive Carter Olson out of Dodge City Community College, who blasted 10 homers just last season.
Southeastern starts the season Saturday against Emporia State in the Edmond First Pitch Classic before starting the home slate on Wednesday, February 5 against Northeastern.