In the premier episode of Hudson Homers, CB and Gary preview the ODU lineup and chat with Monarch Centerfielder Steven Meier.

Yeah.

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Hello, Monarch fans and

welcome to the first episode

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of the Hudson Homers podcast.

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I guess you can call it now

the Monarchist podcast network.

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So if you go to our website, we're

no longer two podcasts, one group.

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We are three podcasts, one group,

and we are certainly excited to

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get this one rolling because we're

going to talk all about ODU baseball

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here on the Hudson Homers podcast.

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I am Gary and I'm joined

by my awesome co host.

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You've probably seen his work all

over our website and social media.

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Mr.

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C.

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B.

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Wilkins, thanks so much for

jumping into this venture.

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Yeah, I mean, I'm very excited.

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I'm looking forward to, you know, one

of my favorite things in the world

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is ODU baseball, so I'm very excited

to They talk about him a bunch.

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I'm not sure that anyone that's not

directly affiliated with the program

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knows more about ODU baseball than cb.

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He's around them year round.

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He's plugged into the high

school baseball scene.

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Other colleges, if you follow him on

Twitter or Instagram, you're constantly

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seeing stuff from baseball in the area.

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So a wealth of knowledge.

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Joining me here to talk all about

the good ODU baseball stuff.

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So you're gonna get two episodes

here before this season starts.

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One each either Monday or Tuesday

before the regular season gets started.

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We're going to break it into one episode

where we talk a lot about the offense

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and the bats and dollars for dingers.

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We're going to have a special guest

join us for that episode as well.

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Then we'll have a second episode come out.

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That's talking more about the pitching,

the bullpen, the fielding, and we'll

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have another Monarch join us to talk

more about the pitching staff and the

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bullpen and all of that good stuff.

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So getting you two episodes before

the season gets kicked off here.

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With George Washington

starting on February 16th.

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So CB, you are nice enough to

throw together a little projected

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depth chart for ODU this season.

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So I was hoping we could kind of

dive in and talk about new faces

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and just an overview on the roster.

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And then we can go position

by position from there.

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Yeah, that sounds great.

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I'm, I'm.

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You know, my depth chart obviously is

not at all accurate, but it's the best

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I can come up with based on what I saw.

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I mean, obviously it'll get blown

up within a week, uh, but you

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know, that's how it goes when you

just look, yeah, that's baseball.

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That's college baseball for sure.

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Yeah.

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Well, awesome.

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I know we've got quite a

few new guys on the team.

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I think you had a clock that wasn't

20 new guys coming to the team.

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I think we actually came up with 22.

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I think that's where we ended up

at was 22 new guys, which is a lot.

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I think we had 20 or 21 last year.

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So it's, I mean, that's, I

think it's just how college

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sports are going to be anymore.

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I think.

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You're just going to have a lot of

turnover and just guys are always

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trying to find some place that

they can play and contribute and

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do what they know they can do.

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Teams are always looking

for those guys too.

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So hopefully the guys we brought in,

we brought in a bunch of great kids.

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That's one thing I know

is that they're out there.

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They're great kids.

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And I know in the fall, when I was seeing

a few of the guys, even before they, I

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really got to some practices, I saw them

just at some random sporting events.

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And without me even saying a thing,

whoever I was talking to, they'd be

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like, man, we're going to be really good.

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You know, we're going to be really good.

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I was like, I like that.

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I like them saying that.

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Yeah, you love hearing that, you

know, coming off the last season that

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started off really well, but really

kind of faltered down the stretch.

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But even with kind of a quote

unquote disappointing season for ODU

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baseball, there were still 32 and 23.

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They're 15 and 15 in conference.

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I think that's really from

the back half of the season.

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They're not the way they wanted

to end it, but certainly not a

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disaster of a season by any means.

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But I think you hit the nail on

the head with the roster management

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and bringing in 20 plus new guys.

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I just think that's the way of

college baseball these days, both

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with the transfer portal and a lot of

guys moving, but also you're really

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seeing the effects of the MLB draft

shrinking and those minor league

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systems shrinking and guys are staying

in college for a couple extra years.

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And maybe in the past, there

would be a later round draft pick.

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And get the chance to go.

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So I'm sure that coach Fenwood is loving

having to do all this roster management,

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but as a college baseball fan, the overall

product across really all of college

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baseball has gone up because you have

more talent staying in the college ranks.

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Yeah, I think it's absolutely true.

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I was telling the guy the other day,

I was talking about how much he loves

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college basketball and football.

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I was like, man, you got

to start watching baseball.

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It's always fun.

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You know, the intensity level is

always fun, but man, the product is

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really raised up because, and we get

to see, we get to the Sunbelt, which

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is, it's a power five conference.

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We are probably by most metrics about the

fourth best conference in the country.

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Um, so you get to see some

really phenomenal baseball.

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You're going to see guys who are

going to be playing in the pros.

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I know ODU's draft history

is pretty fantastic.

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We've got a lot of guys that

are in there and hopefully we're

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going to be able to talk to.

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Some of them throughout the course

of the season and kind of see what

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their experience has been like, but

there's some great ball in the Sunbelt.

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I think we have a pretty solid non

conference schedule too, with a couple

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of ranked opponents getting Virginia and

East Carolina and a few others in there.

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Uh, I mean, I'm excited for the

season mainly just cause it means

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warmer weather and getting to

watch some baseball, hopefully some

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warmer weather here in February.

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But yeah, I think there's a lot to

look forward to with this new team.

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And one thing I think coach

Fenway did a good job of is.

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You know, these 22 new guys that

are coming in, they're not all

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freshmen, they're not all just juco.

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It's kind of a mix of guys that actually

have quite a bit of playing experience,

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whether it's at the D3 level, the juco

level, kind of, I think mimicking the

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model that coach Milton Jones had for ODU

women's basketball, where I'm going to

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go out and find people from all different

tenures, but with a background of

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coming from programs that have a history

of winning, or they've grown up in a

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culture of winning to kind of continue.

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The winning ways here at O.

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D.

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U.

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And I thought coach was done a really

good job of that, especially with

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the in state division three schools.

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Yeah, I mean, you always want

to find guys who have competed

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and guys were used to winning.

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And that's how you not

just build a culture.

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They have obviously have a culture,

but keep that culture going is by

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having guys who are really focused

on competing and playing hard and

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understand what it takes to win.

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I think that's a lot of times that yeah.

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You know, winning in high school is great.

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We want guys who went to high school,

but having some guys who won at

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the college level at different,

different levels really is important.

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I mean, we got Brandon pond is one of our

new pitchers and he won a, the national

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championship last year with Lynchburg.

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Like that's a big deal.

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That's a cool thing.

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And there's a couple of those guys.

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I mean, Hunter Cole coming from Randolph

Macon, they built a powerhouse of a

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program there and he was really the

best player in the ODAC conference.

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So him moving up a little bit

in competition, I mean, it's

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probably the perfect spot for him.

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Ray Hedrick there at Randolph Macon

does a great job of developing guys

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and has just built a powerhouse there.

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And then I think we have, we

have a couple of others too.

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Someone from Christopher

Newport, is that right?

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Yeah, we got Jay Cassidy.

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He came from Christopher Newport.

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And he's, he's the guy a couple of summers

ago, he pitched in the Summer League for

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the Pennsylvania Pilots over in Hampton.

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And it was just one of those

weird things that I think, I

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only got to like seven games.

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It was a weird summer for me.

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But I think he started four of them.

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So I probably saw him throw,

you know, 25, 27 innings.

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And the guy is just, was phenomenal.

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Um, it was kind of thing I was, I

actually was bugging Marin because I

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was telling him all of a sudden, you

gotta get this kid, gotta get this kid.

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And then he's, he's like, I can't go

get some kid from Southern school.

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Like, yeah, you know, me as a fan, I'm

like, but it turned out we got him.

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So it was great.

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A couple of years later, you know,

when he ended up and ready to move

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up to a level and just a great

kid and a really good pitcher.

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And yeah, so, so getting those guys,

especially guys already used to playing

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in Virginia and ready to compete.

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It's a big deal.

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It's good.

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I look at it too.

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We're almost the victims of our

own success a little bit, right?

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The amount of talent that we have put into

Major League Baseball or have come close

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to putting into Major League Baseball

the last couple of years, it's, it takes

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its toll on the roster at a certain point

when you have that many guys going out.

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So being able to refill some of those

roles and add some weapons to your

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arsenal that are already kind of.

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Proven known quantities, right?

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Like we, we know these guys

can hit, they can play.

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There's going to be a little bit of

adjustments to the level that they're

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facing, but not having to start from

scratch, I think is a big advantage

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and lets you kind of load balance.

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where people are in their seniority with

the team to not too many freshmen, not

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too many seniors and keep the turnover

relatively the same year over year.

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It is, it's not upsetting, but it

is, it's a good problem when you

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start moving guys onto the pros,

but it also, that success leads to

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guys wanting to come play for you.

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If they know I can come

play it over to you.

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And success there will lead me to

be a playing pro ball, then it's

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very easy to say, well, I'm going

to come play there because I know

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they're going to coach me up.

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I mean, we do a really good job,

particularly with infielders.

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Infielders know like they come here,

they're getting some high level

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coaching and going to really take off.

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That's just going to drive more talent up.

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It's obviously an exciting time for

ODU baseball with the new stadium on

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the horizon, really not that far away.

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Just kind of putting the final touches

on dates and what that's going to look

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like for a year, not playing at the bud.

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Yeah.

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There are some really big things ahead

for ODU baseball, and I think this is the

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first team that's going to help make that

push into what will likely be an even

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better era of ODU baseball moving forward.

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Yeah, I look at the current bud

with the Rally Alley and the

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Paul Keyes hitting facility.

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And even just the brick around the back

behind home plate and the way the dugouts

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are now, I mean, it wasn't 10 years ago.

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It was all, it was chain link fences

out in the back and the dugout was the

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ugly little, it didn't have the front,

uh, armrest to the fence lean on.

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I mean, it wasn't that long ago.

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It was.

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So for me watching, just seeing

what now it looks like a palace

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compared to what it used to.

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And then to have this idea that

within a couple years we're going

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to have this just gorgeous place.

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I mean, that's very exciting.

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It's, it's a pretty awesome thought

of what's right around the corner for

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ODU baseball and just the big upswing.

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So they definitely need your support.

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All of you fans out there coming

to games, checking out the team,

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supporting them, all that good stuff.

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But.

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I want to jump into the depth chart

here a little bit and talk about what

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to expect coming back this season

because we do see some familiar names

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on here but also some very new ones.

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So CB, I'll, I'll let you take it

from here as far as what position

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you want to cover first from a very

projected non official depth chart.

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All right.

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Well, I'll tell you what, let's start

in the infield because we, I think the

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infield is where we're going to find the

most names that we kind of recognize.

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So third base, we got

Cain LaVarie coming back.

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Cain LaVarie, he's a senior lefty hitter.

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He's a phenomenal third baseman.

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The guy, honestly, it bothers

me he's still playing for us.

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I don't know how he's not

playing professionally.

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I will never stop being upset about that.

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I mean, as much as as happy as I am that

Kenny's here, I don't know what teams are

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looking at that they don't see him and

say, I got to have him playing pro for me.

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So Kenny, he's our third baseman,

but he's also going to do some

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pitching for us this year.

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Kenny, when he came out of high

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been for that weird 2020 COVID year

and the shortened draft, he probably

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definitely would have been drafted

maybe in that six to 10 round range.

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Maybe we never got to us, but he was

every bit as good a pitcher coming

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out of high school as he was a hitter.

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So they finally kind of have this come

around to say, okay, we want to let

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Kenny's arm do some work this year.

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And so they talk about it every

year, but this year I think

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it's actually going to happen.

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This is the first time I saw them

actually having some times where he

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was going to play, he's going to pitch.

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So he's playing first base.

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the days he's going to pitch.

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So you might see Kenny playing some

first base in addition to third.

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He looks very good over at first base,

despite not really having done it much.

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So those days where Kenny is not

playing third, you'll probably

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see Alex Boucher playing third.

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And Alex had a phenomenal season last year

as the everyday shortstop as a freshman.

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And so you'll see him playing third

when Kenny's not there, but you'll also

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probably see him playing first base a lot.

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He's probably the main

option at first base.

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So right there just with two guys

that are returning, but they're both

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kind of going to be in different

positions that maybe we've seen them in.

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The long way to return

to the bump for Kenny.

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Yeah, he is look, look dirty.

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I haven't seen him.

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I didn't get to go out this past

weekend, but when I was out there

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in the fall, he looked good.

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It looked really good.

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So that's Kenny's a gamer.

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He's a leader.

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Um, he's a talker on the field and down

there a lot and you can hear him talking

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light and it's all positive stuff.

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So he's, it's, he's a guy that's, it's,

as I said, I, I wish he was playing

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pro just for him, but for us, man,

uh, asset to have that guy around.

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Absolutely.

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And the position flexibility is a huge

plus for Kenny as well, but I think you,

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you hit it with the leadership angle.

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I think that it's going to be a very

solid leader for this team, especially

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getting going down the stretch.

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Yeah, for sure.

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So then going to shortstop Alex Boucher.

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As you said, he was the every

day shortstop last year.

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Um, I think if some different, I

think if we don't realize he was

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going to play shortstop every day,

we might have made some, if we

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knew he was going to be that good.

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I mean, I think they knew he was going

to be really good, but I didn't know if

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they knew he was going to take over, but.

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This year, Kyle Edwards

is gonna be the shortstop.

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Kyle had a phenomenal second

half of the season last year.

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Really just pounded the ball.

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He looked like he looked in high school.

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I mean, I've seen Kyle play

since he was about 14 years old.

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And the first year or so

here, he just didn't have the

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same swagger and confidence.

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And he's got it back.

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He, again, he's a leader.

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He has fun.

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He's got that long, wiry body.

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He just has that whip with his arms.

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And he's a phenomenal shortstop.

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So he's going to, he's going to

be the everyday shortstop again.

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If he occasionally isn't playing at

Boucher, we'll probably be there.

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Because Kyle might also play some outfield

if the lineup just needs it that day.

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Then, moving over to second

base, we're definitely going

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to have somebody new, right?

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It's going to be somebody we

haven't seen in the bud before.

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I would say most days our second

baseman is probably Maverick Stallings.

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He is a junior college kid, um, from St.

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John Rivers down in Florida, where

he had a very nice year for him.

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Yeah, St.

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John River State down in Florida.

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I had a very good year for him.

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So between him and then Gavin Abram,

who actually came to us from Clemson,

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spent the last two years at Clemson.

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He was a really highly sought

after guy out of high school.

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Went to Clemson, didn't play a ton

at Clemson, but I don't know what's

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going on at Clemson because I've,

again, I've seen him out here in the

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fall and Gavin looks outstanding.

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He was seeing time at second base.

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He saw some time at third and he's

been playing out in right field

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and looks good at all of them and

is really hitting the ball well.

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So that's, both those guys are

going to be very strong options.

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We have, one thing we have with our

depth chart is a lot of flexibility.

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And a lot of talent and a lot of it's

gonna be hard for Finney to figure out

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I think how to use it all but it's gonna

be fun to figure out how to use it all

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It seems like a lot of kind of utility

guys that you can plug and play anywhere

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Which is a blessing and a curse curse

for a coach of who do you put where

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and who has the hot bat at the time?

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so i'm sure that'll get figured out

over the first year 10 to 15 games,

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but I like to look at that as a great

weapon to have, especially when you

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start looking at conference play

and the conference tournament at

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the end of the year, being able to

rotate guys like that is a huge win.

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Yeah, I mean, you know, a

baseball season is a grind.

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They play 56 games in a very short

amount of time, and guys get nicked

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up and beat up, and guys slump and

struggle, and some guys get hot, and

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I think it's gonna be one of those.

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Nobody ever wants to slump, but man, if

you slump in this, in this lineup, you

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might not get back in there for a while.

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Because there's a lot of options,

iron on iron for these spots.

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I mean, that's how you get better.

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You just bring in, you just have a

roster full of really good ballplayers.

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That helps.

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Yeah, it does.

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It does.

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And so, speaking of, so we already

talked about First Base having Boucher

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there a lot, Bavari there some.

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Another guy who was probably going

to see some time at First Base is

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Hunter Cole, who you mentioned before.

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He came to us from Randolph Macon, from

Granby High School right here in Norfolk.

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So it's again, the guy, I got to see a

bunch of play in high school, phenomenal

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kid, just a great kid, great family.

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And I've been a fan of his forever.

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I was so excited when he was playing

for the pilots this summer over there

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in Hampton and told me he was going to

come play ODU and I was like, I love it.

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Had a phenomenal summer too.

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And like you said, he was the ODAC player

of the year last year for Randolph Macon.

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So just a really, and he can also

play right and left field and

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play some very, kid runs well,

so there's more versatility.

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I'm excited to see what he can do.

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Obviously, getting up to speed

with the higher level of pitching

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is probably the only hurdle.

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But if he was playing well like

that in the summer against other

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college pitchers from all over the

place, I think that's going to be a

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pretty short learning curve for him.

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With his position flexibility, I mean,

got some options to sneak him in the

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lineup, especially if he gets hot.

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I'll tell you the catching in the

summer ball usually isn't as high level

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as it could be because a lot of times

you're dealing with guys who didn't

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play much and the reason they didn't

play much is not the best catchers,

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but he stole 30 bases this summer.

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In like half a season, so it's

just the fact that he's willing

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to run and has the speed to run.

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So I wouldn't expect him to

get 30 bags, but he can add

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some speed to your lineup too.

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That is a very nice weapon for us to

have, especially where it seems like maybe

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we won't have quite the number of home

run hitters that we've had in the past.

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Could be more of a double

singles kind of team.

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So to have some dudes with some

wheels and get in scoring position

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is going to be big for us.

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Yeah, somebody asked me the other

day on on twitter If I thought we're

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gonna see the same amount of home runs

and my answer is i'd be surprised if

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we saw another 100 home run season,

but I was also surprised The first,

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second and third time it happened.

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So, who knows?

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I, I agree.

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I think there's a lot of guys

who can really hit the ball.

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There's definitely some pop.

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And so speaking of pop, we'll go to

another, another spot in the lineup.

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Designated hitter.

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Uh, the DH, Jake Tyser is back.

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Man Mountain, the, the

giant from out west.

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He is one of the largest human

beings you'll ever see in your life.

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He's also one of the nicest.

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And the guy just hits

the ball extremely hard.

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I mean, he hits singles off the

wall because he hits it so hard, he

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just can't get to second base yet.

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It's incredibly fun.

400

It's a shame.

401

He got hurt.

402

He's the guy who also

should be playing pro.

403

I think you were talking about if

they still have a couple of minor

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league levels, they still have

a few more rounds of the draft.

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He'd be playing pro right now, but

unfortunate for him, but thankful

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for us that he's here because I

mean, if he's healthy, that guy

407

could hit 30 home runs himself.

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He hit 16 last year and he

only started in 38 games.

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So I mean, that's.

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If he's able to stay healthy throughout

the season, he could do some big

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numbers and probably be one of the

Sunbelt leaders in home runs and

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slugging and all of those really

nice, fun stats you like to see from.

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Yeah.

414

And even in those 38 games, he had

a wrist injury and a hand injury.

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And then was still playing a little bit

at the end with the hamstring injury.

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So even those 38 isn't,

it wasn't a real 38.

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He probably got about 20, 25 games

where he was actually healthy.

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If he's feeling good, I mean, he's

going to put up some monster numbers.

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They're going to have to put

some boards up on that chemistry

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building just to save some windows.

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I think the car is in the

parking garage across Elkhorn.

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They're going to be in peril.

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Yes.

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Didn't he hit one?

425

Was it him or Fitzgerald last year?

426

The hit went on top of the parking deck.

427

I, I don't know.

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I don't know if that was confirmed

or not, but that's, I believe it.

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It's one of those stories.

430

I would, any story you tell me

about either one of them hitting the

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ball very far, I would believe you.

432

I'd have to go to the

film and try to find that.

433

But yeah, it's.

434

There's, there's, there's still

definitely some pop, but yeah, I think,

435

yeah, but I think that the contact, the

gappers and the speed may be something

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we rely on more this year than before,

or we'll do, we're just going to hit

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another a hundred home run season.

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That's what I was speaking

of contact and speed.

439

Let's talk about our guy.

440

Who's probably going to Rome

center field for Stephen Meyer.

441

Stephen Meyer coming to us from

Columbia Basin now in Washington.

442

So Stephen, he, I'm pretty sure he

led that league in stolen bases.

443

He hit well over 330.

444

He is a phenomenal ball player.

445

He hits the ball very hard.

446

He runs very hard.

447

He plays great center field.

448

Like I am extremely excited to

watch this kid get to play at this

449

level coming up from junior college.

450

He is absolutely one that we

want to want to keep an eye on.

451

I think one that's going to stand

out quite a bit just with the speed,

452

if nothing else, in center field.

453

You've pumped him up to me.

454

I'm excited and he'll be joining us.

455

Here later in this episode to hear more

and learn more about Stephen Meyer.

456

He's a great kid really fun.

457

That's the reason I wanted to come on as

a real personable kid, but Really good

458

outfielder and I am very excited about

what he can do in a lineup with both the

459

power speed Just hitting the ball around.

460

So then standing in the outfield,

as you said, Gavin Abrams is going

461

to see some time in right field.

462

I see Hunter Cole having

some time out there.

463

We've got Luke waters who ended up being

mostly right field last year for us.

464

And it had an outstanding

year as a sophomore.

465

It was kind of like he was,

came in as an infielder.

466

Good infielder, not necessarily at our

level of infielder, and so they just, once

467

they put him out in the outfield, they

don't have to worry about him or he can

468

just go out and run and catch the ball.

469

He took off offensively, did what

he could do, and so he, if he could

470

come back and have a very similar

season or elevate that, man, you

471

got a, you got a really great ball

player on your hands as a junior.

472

Just being able to keep his bat in the

lineup, I think, is a key aspect of that

473

too, so it goes back to that position

flexibility and Being able to put the

474

hot bats in at the right spot in the

lineup and then mess around with him on

475

the field umpires scorecards Probably

pretty ugly at the end of most of our yeah

476

We have and then so another option out

there in the outfield is Nick Mueller.

477

I think it's Mueller I'm gonna say

boy, I believe it's a Nick Mueller

478

is another option out left field.

479

So he's a another juco kid from

out in In Texas, I think he started

480

out at Texas A& M, and so he's

a lefty hitter, a lot of pop.

481

So you play left field, play

some right field, might DH

482

depending on how things go.

483

But there's another good

option in the outfield.

484

Then T.

485

J.

486

Aiken is a freshman from South Carolina.

487

Really just tall, rangy, athletic.

488

He was a little bit nicked up, so I didn't

get to see a ton of him in the fall.

489

With the deep depth of this lineup, I'm

not real sure how much he's going to get

490

to play, but he's a very good ball player.

491

He's definitely one of those guys

in a couple years that might be a

492

team leader as far as batting goes.

493

And who knows what comes out of the

early part of spring camp and who's able

494

to get some spots, but I mean, having

some young talent that you were able

495

to ease into division one baseball, in

my opinion, I think is a good thing.

496

And something that doesn't get to

happen a lot anymore in college

497

baseball with the transfer portal.

498

But I think if, if you're in

that spot, you're looking ahead

499

at some pretty good guys that.

500

should be challenging you to continue to

raise the bar of what your performance is.

501

Yeah, absolutely.

502

And to that, to that end, I skipped

over a couple of our young infielders.

503

So they're kind of in the same boat as TJ.

504

So Rowan Massey, who is from

Connecticut, is you may remember if

505

you're a old time Yankees fan, his

dad, Billy Massey, he played for the

506

Columbus Clippers for about four years.

507

I remember seeing Billy

Massey when I was a kid.

508

Going out the old Met Park pre

Harbor Park, planning the tides.

509

And then Carter Sunderman,

who's an infielder from Ohio,

510

and they're so they're both.

511

You're going to see time at third

base, second base, shortstop.

512

Again, not real sure how much time

they're going to play, but they're

513

both excellent ball players.

514

They're both definitely big

parts of the future here.

515

If, and if they can find a way to work

themselves in the lineup, man, that's

516

the, you're going to have some, so

again, Finney has some good problems.

517

It'll be interesting to see the

lineup combos over the first 15, 20

518

games and seeing what works and what

doesn't and when to pull what levers.

519

I think that'll be a lot

of fun to watch this year.

520

I think you're going to see

more guys kind of rotate through

521

the lineup that maybe even.

522

Some of our years prior, I think the last

position we went to look at was catcher.

523

And I know we've had a good bit of

turnover there coming into this season.

524

We did actually right

before I get to that.

525

So Jack Spites, another

guy, he's an outfielder.

526

I'd be surprised to see him, but I think

he's going to be a pinch hitter DH option.

527

And so he's the guy, he's actually

originally from Chesapeake and

528

then moved down to Florida.

529

And so he ended up back here.

530

He was with us a little bit last

year, an elbow injury kind of limited

531

him, but he's a very good hitter.

532

Who's going to, I think, see some

time, maybe not as much in the

533

field, but at the plate for sure.

534

So yes, catcher.

535

All right.

536

So catcher, we definitely, we

have out of our four catchers,

537

three of them are brand new to us.

538

One of our returners was Jake who played.

539

Just a little bit last

year, but played very well.

540

He got a lot of walks in

the few appearances he got.

541

Very good hitter from Western Branch in

Chesapeake, which they just, Roland out

542

there just produces good ballplayers.

543

But our two guys who I think are really

going to split the time, I really couldn't

544

tell you how they're going to split

it, but Evan Holman and Jack Slater.

545

Slater played at the same JUCO that

Gavin Abrams played at out in St.

546

John's River State College in Florida.

547

Holman's from Bellevue

College in Washington.

548

He's originally from Oregon,

but he played in Washington.

549

And he's a switch hitter.

550

Slater's a lefty hitter.

551

So there's just a little bit different for

catchers, usually just righty righty guys.

552

But again, both very solid hitters.

553

I don't think either one of them

has kind of that home run pop that

554

we've had in the last few years.

555

But just both guys who are

really good at those bat to ball

556

skills, putting the ball in play.

557

Um, and just making things happen

and both very good catchers.

558

So I think it's going to be interesting

to see if one or the other kind

559

of takes over more of the playing

time, but they both are very good

560

ballplayers, good catchers, good leaders.

561

So it's going to be interesting

to see how that all shakes out

562

with the firepower in the lineup.

563

If they can draw some walks,

they can put the ball in play and

564

avoid strikeouts and double plays.

565

That's a, that's just bonus.

566

I feel like with this lineup, you're

getting that from the catcher position,

567

plus just being strong defensively,

being able to call games well, like

568

there's a lot to like there, but it

will be interesting to watch that

569

dynamic unfold of who's taking the

lead from a playing time standpoint.

570

Yeah, this is definitely a lineup

where hitting eighth or ninth

571

is not like a slight on you.

572

It's just, well, somebody has to

go down and hit eighth or ninth.

573

Realistically, you can just

be turning the order over.

574

I think that's the way I look at

it, especially if you are stacked.

575

You see some of the really good Major

League teams are basically doing that,

576

where they've got a really good hitter in

their eight and their nine hole, and it's

577

so that their leadoff hitter can be, have

a little bit more power, hit some more

578

home runs, and come up with guys on base.

579

So, I'm excited for it.

580

I think it's going to be a slightly

different offense than maybe what we're

581

used to, but I like the direction that

it's going to, where we're bringing in all

582

this talent with different backgrounds.

583

We're adding to the talent that we

already had here that's coming back.

584

I mean, it's just, it feels like a

reload from coach Finwood and his

585

staff rather than What I think most

programs will be suffering a pretty

586

substantial rebuild this year.

587

Yeah, I think most teams, you're bringing

in 20 new guys, you're rebuilding.

588

But I think if you look at who's come

back, I mean, again, LaVarie's back,

589

Kyle Edwards is back, Boucher is

back, Waters is back, Tyser is back.

590

That was a pretty substantial

segment of your lineup.

591

Uh, that's there.

592

The biggest loss we had,

obviously, was Hunter Fitzgerald.

593

That guy was just all world for us.

594

But the rest of these guys that we

kept and the guys we brought in,

595

it really doesn't feel like I'm not

looking at this lineup thinking like,

596

Oh man, I wish we had what we had.

597

Like, no, this lineup is outstanding.

598

And like I said, in very interchangeable,

a lot of moving pieces, you could

599

come up with a different lineup every

day and still have a good lineup.

600

Again, Finney has got his work cut out.

601

Yeah.

602

Finney definitely has his work

cut out for him this year.

603

Working with this lineup, finding the

right combos and all of those good things.

604

But I'm excited for it.

605

I'm excited to see these guys in

action here in a couple of weeks.

606

Stick with us here.

607

We are going to have an interview

with Stephen Meyer shortly, and then

608

we will be back in episode two to

chat through pitchers, some defense,

609

and then talk with another monarch.

610

So thanks again for tuning into

the Hudson Homer's podcast.

611

Welcome back to the Hudson homers podcast.

612

Monarch fans.

613

We are lucky today to be

joined by Stephen Meyer.

614

He's an outfielder for the

Monarchs transfer him from Columbia

615

basin college, originally from

the great state of Washington.

616

Stephen, thanks so much for joining us.

617

Of course.

618

I'm glad I can be on the podcast.

619

Glad we were able to steal you away

for a couple of minutes here, but

620

we'd love to hear a little bit about

your recruitment process and how

621

you ended up here at Old Dominion.

622

Of course.

623

So I played two seasons at

CBC, Columbia Basin, and I had

624

a pretty solid freshman year.

625

I didn't finish the way I

wanted and got not the greatest.

626

I got kind of big leagued by the schools

in the West Coast, which happens, and

627

I came back for my sophomore year and

in the fall early coach last year,

628

came out to a showcase for Washington,

Oregon, Idaho, Canada, kind of schools.

629

And that's where we touched base and flew

me out and we had a nice visit and they

630

checked every single box that I needed

and that I wanted, that I cared about.

631

And that's about it really.

632

Came a great place from there.

633

Think about those check boxes.

634

Like what was maybe like one or two

for you that ODU really checked off?

635

I mean, really, it was basically

I needed my school to be

636

partially paid for at least.

637

I needed a place where we can

go win a conference, go play

638

in a regional, and go win.

639

I wanted to win.

640

Obviously have a great camaraderie

and team morale and culture,

641

as some people like saying.

642

Every facility, obviously.

643

I needed to get everything out of it.

644

You know, obviously there's

little things here and there, but

645

everything overall kind of check.

646

That's a great checklist.

647

See, that's a really good checklist.

648

Thank you.

649

Yeah, I tried to, there's definitely a

lot of, I wouldn't say flashier options.

650

during my recruiting, but there's

places that try to win me over by their

651

facilities and buy cool new Oakleys and

their gloves and their bats and all that.

652

And that wasn't exactly

what I was looking for.

653

I know ODU fans will be happy to hear that

winning part and believing in the program

654

can win and win this season coming up.

655

So certainly glad to hear that, but.

656

What's, did you just get to campus

for the spring semester or were

657

you here for part of the fall too?

658

I was here for the entire fall.

659

So I came August 20th.

660

I drove here actually.

661

Oh, all the way from Washington?

662

Yeah, that was a fun, that was a fun trip.

663

Oh, that is awesome.

664

Any, any good spots you

stopped at on the way here?

665

I mean, we kind of saw everything.

666

We drove through nothing of Nebraska and

Wyoming and saw, ended up in the Midwest

667

where we saw Royals game and part of

Indiana and Illinois and West Virginia.

668

So we kind of saw all you can

see out of other states, which

669

isn't much, to be honest.

670

I mean, covered the whole, the whole

nation there, but what's it been like

671

for you on campus since you've got a

full semester under your belt now and

672

fall ball and all that good stuff.

673

What's your experience been like so far?

674

It's been great to be honest.

675

I think part of the reason I committed

here was the supporting staff.

676

There's a lot of good people that

are around us that helps a lot and

677

also the relativity to our like

teammates in the houses are great.

678

Like the fact that I can knock

next door and there's a teammate

679

there or walk down a block and we

can go play poker or something.

680

You know what I mean?

681

Like there's a lot of good camaraderie

and there's also people like Amy Lynch

682

in the Academics who kind of feels like

the mom away from mom sometimes and the

683

coaches you see it real good with and

really enjoyed my first semester here

684

more, not more than I thought I would,

but that, like, it's just kind of all

685

clicking exactly how I hoped it would.

686

We are definitely glad to hear that.

687

CB, I think you had an

outfield related question.

688

Did I have an outfield related question?

689

So Steve, you're going to play

center field probably, right?

690

I mean, that's realistically where

you're going to end up, right?

691

Yeah.

692

So, how would you rate yourself as an

outfielder and then further as a hitter?

693

How do you see yourself?

694

I think as an outfielder, I don't

think I'm going to let a ball drop

695

this year if I'm being honest.

696

We'll see how my legs come up with

me, but I love playing outfield.

697

I believe it.

698

Yes.

699

I was talking you up earlier here to Gary.

700

I'm a, I'm a big Stephen Meyer fan.

701

I really appreciate that.

702

Was pumping you up with the wheels and the

fielding and the bat and all that stuff.

703

So Sunbelt player of the year, I

think we'd go ahead and light it up.

704

Let's do it.

705

I mean, might as well, right?

706

You choose for the stars.

707

You might hit the moon,

that kind of thing, right?

708

Hey, it's great.

709

Yeah.

710

I'm like that.

711

Don't spike.

712

Let's do it.

713

So, so as a hitter, how

do you kind of do it all?

714

Like you, you're not like a, you

know, the big time Jake Tyser

715

power hitter, but you got pop.

716

Yeah, of course.

717

I, so coming from a Juco in

Washington, it's not very warm there.

718

played in a lot of 15 degree

weather games, doubleheaders in

719

the week, weekdays coming here.

720

We played with wood bats as well.

721

So coming here early in the fall, I

came out with my like, wow, I'm, if

722

I can hit bombs with wood bats at

practice, I can hit some bombs here, you

723

know, on the east coast, this is easy.

724

And then I found it real quick.

725

If I don't stay within myself,

I end up not doing as well.

726

And so I think honestly, it's just

about staying within, it'll be a lot of.

727

Hustle triples, hustle doubles, and

then when they fly, they'll fly.

728

So, just keep playing my game.

729

I think the power will be there,

and I think it'll complement guys

730

like Tyser, like you said earlier.

731

No, I love that.

732

That's one thing I noticed about you, is

you are going to hit the ball hard and

733

then run even harder, which is, as a fan,

I think you couldn't ask for much more.

734

Yeah, I think I owe it to my

parents to run real hard every time.

735

I don't think there's a reason not to.

736

I think I was sacrificed by them too

much to not hustle every single second.

737

That's great.

738

How often are they going

to come out and see you?

739

I'm hoping once or twice.

740

I think maybe, I think they

said maybe once a month.

741

That's fantastic.

742

So I think it.

743

March, April, and May, so

maybe three times, hopefully.

744

We'll find out, but

they'll come September.

745

Are they planning on, is it all

here at Old Dominion, or are

746

there going to be any road trips?

747

I think it's scheduled for my mom

to come out on the Northeastern

748

Series, which will be a great one.

749

And then maybe against

Louisiana, we'll find out.

750

That's excellent, that's

a lot, that's great.

751

We've had a lot of kids from out West

there, and I know it varies how often

752

they're able to come out and see them.

753

It's a neat pipeline we have going

with all the talent out there.

754

Yeah, for sure.

755

I mean, the best part is, you know,

ESPN Plus, you put that on it.

756

It might be 10 p.

757

m.

758

our time, but it's 7 p.

759

m.

760

their time for me.

761

So for, for my parents.

762

So it's, that's bad.

763

That is such a blessing to

have that ability for them

764

at home to be able to watch.

765

That's great.

766

Exactly.

767

You know, they're already paying

for it anyway, because it's

768

bundled with Hulu and Disney plus.

769

And all that.

770

Might as well catch all ODU

and Sunbelt stuff you can, but

771

you're talking about your mom.

772

And I was just reading the bio

that your mom played softball and

773

volleyball, the division one level.

774

Yeah, she's a baller.

775

I'll tell you that much.

776

She was a catcher.

777

So she understands game for sure.

778

Yeah, nothing much to say there She's

about five foot three of pure grit.

779

So just the perfect trainer for you

coming up to get all that hustle

780

in you Yeah, definitely might not

know how to hit a baseball exactly

781

but she knows how to hustle.

782

So it's been great Oh, that is awesome

So just before we start recording you're

783

talking about you're in one of the

baseball houses with a couple of the guys

784

you got other teammates right around you

Is there anyone that like you connected

785

with first when you got to campus, anyone

that you've gotten super close with,

786

aside from, and it could be the guys

that you're actually living with now.

787

Yeah.

788

I mean, there's a lot of guys who

it's been a slower process for me to

789

connect with guys, just cause I didn't

want to, you know, junior transfer.

790

I didn't want to put myself out there

too far and rub anyone the wrong way.

791

And I think I realized that I

probably did more harm than good.

792

I should've just been myself earlier and

it would have turned out just the way

793

it is now, but definitely my roommates.

794

I mean, Dylan Brown and.

795

Dylan Brown is not who I expected him

to be, but I love him because of that.

796

Like he's such a good dude.

797

Uh, John Holabat's obviously Kyle Finn.

798

Great guys.

799

I can't really say there's like

anyone, like if anyone, I'll

800

hang out with all these guys.

801

Like there's no one I'm like, there's

no one above the rest, I think they're

802

all just great dudes, which is so

good to have because I've played on

803

some teams where it's been, sometimes,

you know, you get a little, you get

804

some interesting characters on there.

805

For sure.

806

That's great to hear.

807

That's one thing I've been telling

everybody, you know, we talked about

808

there's like 22 new players, as I said,

but they brought in just a bunch of

809

great guys, which is really good to see.

810

Yeah.

811

Yeah.

812

So I gotta know, cause Dylan Brown,

love Dylan Brown, guy, I mean,

813

nicest kid in the world, I think.

814

What did you think he

was going to be like?

815

What was about him that you,

what was the perception?

816

Just you know, assuming going into a

college house, I was like, all right,

817

these guys are probably like frat boys.

818

You know, you never know.

819

Big D1, cool guys.

820

I'm like, all right, Dylan

Brown, he looked like a pretty

821

good ball player last year.

822

Who knows what he's going to be like.

823

And so obviously I don't assume

the worst, but I assume, you know,

824

I put in my two cents of what it

could be and then hope for the best.

825

And obviously me and him, we mean him

nerd out all the time about weird things.

826

So that's great.

827

That's excellent.

828

That is really cool to hear.

829

I'm glad to just hear that chemistry.

830

Cause it seems like this from

coach Finn was recruiting strategy.

831

It was definitely bringing good guys

and bringing guys from all different

832

styles of background, whether it's Juco,

division three, division other power

833

conferences, but really all based in.

834

Like teams and backgrounds that have

won and continue that culture of winning

835

while not being that weird guy that

people don't like to hang out with.

836

Exactly.

837

Like it's been great.

838

Like seeing someone like Brandon Pond

from Lynchburg who won a national

839

championship and a guy like Gavin Abrams

who played in the ACC for two years.

840

Like, it's like, you just get a lot

of people from different walks of life

841

that you kind of can learn more from.

842

So it's been great.

843

Awesome.

844

Steven, we'll finish up

with one more question.

845

Uh, so.

846

Allegedly this summer, we're going to

get a new EA sports college football

847

game, which I obviously be super excited

about, but I'd be even more excited if

848

they brought back the EA sports college

baseball game for a couple of years.

849

I know those may have been a

little before your time, but.

850

You know, if you were to, if they were

to make an EA college sports baseball

851

game, what would be your ratings on there?

852

And how badly would you dominate

your teammates in that game?

853

I don't think I've ever

really ever played.

854

I've never been much of a MLB the show

or a college baseball kind of guy, but

855

I would compete and I think my ratings

would be, I mean, 99 speeds all I

856

really need and then I'll find a way.

857

That's fair enough.

858

We can build on the rest there.

859

Steven, thanks so much for joining us

today and being one of the first guests

860

here on the Hudson Homers podcast.

861

Hope to talk to you quite a bit

throughout the season and definitely

862

looking forward to you guys getting

things kicked off here in a couple weeks.

863

Sounds good.

864

It'll be good to see you out there.

865

Thanks for tuning in to the first

episode of the Hudson Homers podcast.

866

CB and I will be back next

week to give you a preview.

867

of Old Dominion starting

rotation and their bullpen.

868

We'll also have an interview with

someone from the Monarch pitching staff.

869

We're also gonna take a look forward

to Old Dominion's schedule this year,

870

pointing out some key opponents,

key road trips, and of course

871

diving into a little bit of the

history into some of the matchups.

872

Hope that you, uh, join us

for episode two next week.

873

Go Monarchs!

874

Okay.