Season Preview by Josh Schwam - Sun Devil Media Relations
*Sun Devil Opening Weekend Game Notes located following the season preview at bottom of page.
PHOENIX – Sun Devil Baseball opens the 2023 campaign this weekend with a three-game home series against San Diego State at Phoenix Municipal Stadium beginning Friday, Feb. 17. Opening Night will get underway with a 6 p.m. first pitch, followed Saturday at 1 p.m. and Sun day at 12:30 p.m.
Led by second-year Head Coach Willie Bloomquist, Arizona State was picked to finish sixth in the Pac-12, an improvement on Bloomquist's first year.
Of ASU's 38 student-athletes, just 10 return from last year's squad.
Returning hitters are headlined by Ryan Campos, Jacob Tobias and Ethan Long, who were all named to the All-Pac-12 Preseason Team. The trio combined for 150 hits, 16 home runs and 87 RBI in 2022. Incoming transfer Luke Keaschall was named a Preseason All-American by Collegiate Baseball News, earning a spot on the third team.
On the mound, Christian Bodlovich and Brock Peery highlight ASU's returners. Bodlovich 32 innings in 28 outings striking out 25 batters to just 11 walks and was pivotal in getting ASU out of jams throughout the year. Peery led the league with 10 saves. Arizona State welcomes multiple pitchers with collegiate pedigree, including the Opening Weekend rotation of Ross Dunn, Khristian Curtin and Timmy Manning.
"In the recruiting process, getting to know the players on a personal level before bringing them in is obviously a little bit different," Sun Devil Baseball Head Coach Willie Bloomquist said. "Given the chance to work with them for the last 4-5 months has been good. Personally, I'm not going to say I'm overly relaxed but I'm sleeping better this time of year than I was last year. I've been through it once now, I have an idea of what to expect. For me, it's been a little better."
Below is a position by position breakdown of the Sun Devil Baseball roster.
CATCHERS
Returning: Ryan Campos, Bronson Balhom, Will Rogers
Incoming: Trey Newman
Ryan Campos leads an esteemed group of catchers into his second season at Arizona State. Campos will see predominant innings behind the plate after a stellar freshman campaign.
He batted .357 with 30 RBI and just three errors in 43 games, good for a .990 fielding percentage. For his efforts, Campos was named a freshman All-American (NCBWA) and one of three Sun Devils named to the 2023 Preseason Pac-12 team.
As a sophomore, Campos will serve as an example for the new players in order to guide them through their first season at Arizona State.
"I try to lead by example," Campos said. "I don't say a whole lot, just go out there and do my job."
In the field for the catchers, ASU has brought in 15 new pitchers. The class features arms from established programs that have already had a strong impact on Sun Devil Baseball.
"They're all great guys," Campos said. "Obviously, they're great pitchers, so that helps, and they all have a knockout pitch that's really hard to hit. They work hard and I've enjoyed working with all of them."
Will Rogers and Bronson Balhom ate seldom innings behind the plate for the ASU last season and will assist when needed, but also plug different holes for the Sun Devils.
Rogers has been working on his pitching and has reached 92 miles an hour on the mound. Last season, he made two relief appearances, including a scoreless outing with two strikeouts at UCLA. He will also see time in the outfield during 2023.
At the plate, Rogers belted nine homers along with a .299 average and drove in 25 runs. He has spent the offseason growing as a hitter on offspeed pitches.
"I've definitely worked on my approach and pitch discipline," Rogers said. "Early in counts, really being aware of where the zone is and trying to see that pitch and then trying not to get outside of that. I got benched for a little bit and Willie really worked with me a ton on spin and trying to recognize the pitches that I wanted to hit."
While Campos will provide significant steadiness behind the plate, the core of Rogers, Bahlhom and Newman will allow ASU important flexibility for a physically demanding position.
INFIELDERS
Returning: Jacob Tobias, Ethan Long
Incoming: Nu'u Contrades, Luke Hill, Willie Cano, Luke Keaschall, Resse Beheler, Wyatt Crenshaw, Johnny Weaver, Drake Varnado
A nationally elite group of infielders returns to Sun Devil Baseball and is accompanied by one of the most transfer portal classes at the position.
Jacob Tobias joined Campos as the 35th and 36th players in Sun Devil Baseball history to earn freshman All-American honors. Tobias enters his sophomore campaign after belting seven home runs in 2022, the eighth most for a freshman in ASU baseball history. In fact, His 23 RBIs in Pac-12 games were the second-most on the team, 20th in the league and third among Pac-12 freshmen.
He will slot into the designated hitter spot in ASU's season-opening lineup against San Diego. Ethan Long will play first base and allow CPreseason All-American Luke Keaschall to find a spot in the middle-infield.
Keaschall joins the Sun Devil baseball team after two outstanding years as the offensive catalyst for the University of San Francisco. He smacked .312 with 12 home runs and 64 RBI during his time as a Don and took home the West Coast Conference's Freshman of the Year award in 2021. He hit .320 with four homers, four triples and 30 RBI in his freshman campaign.
He spent his summer in the Cape Cod Baseball League, where he was an All-Star. He finished his time on Cape with a .320 batting average.
"At the end of the day, I think we're doing good," Keseachall said. "We went into the transfer portal to get some weapons and that's exactly what we did. I'm excited and have enjoyed working with these guys.
Long joined Campos and fellow-infielder Tobias on the Preseason All-Pac-12 team. LOng had an outstanding freshman campaign for the Sun Devils, during which he raked a 19-game stretch of .444 with 40 RBI, 15 home runs, eight doubles, a 1.181 slugging percentage, a .500 OBP and an absurd 1.681 OPS. Of his 32 hits in that span, 23 were for extra bases. Long battled injuries throughout his sophomore season but was coming on strong offensively before a hand injury sidelined the last month of the year. Despite that, four of his seven homers during the 2022 season came in the sixth inning or later.
"We've seen what he can do," Keschall said of Long. "It's been fun to watch him and all these guys work."
The freshmen have also impressed, both earning praise from Keaschall and Bloomquist.
"I don't want to say it's a surprise, because we knew they were going to come in and compete for playing time, but Nu'u Contrades and Luke Hill have been really good," Bloomquist said. "Along with guys at other positions, they have been chomping at the bit to get into the lineup, which is exactly what we wanted. I wanted to have to make tough decisions on who we're going to play. That was a situation we were not in a year ago at this time."
The mainstays of Long and Tobias and an established bat in Keaschall combined with hungry freshmen give Arizona State high potential in the infield.
OUTFIELDERS
Returning: None
Incoming Nick McLain, Kien Vu, Jose Vargas, Isaiah Jackson
An entirely new cast of characters will patrol the outfield grass for Arizona State. Nick McLain followed brother Sean to Arizona State after the former spent his freshman campaign with UCLA. McLain saw him at centerfield during the fall, including a jarring leaping, backwards catch in scrimmage.
Isaiah Jackson impressed Bloomquist during the fall season and will look to see early-time in the outfield.
"He's been really good and that's what we wanted," Bloomquist said of Jackson. "We wanted guys to come in and compete for starting jobs."
Jackson's athleticism will likely cause him to spend most of his time in the corner outfield positions and provide a needed-sturdiness for ASU's defense.
"I'm very confident defensively right now," Jackson said. "Defense has always been my thing. I've always been an outfielder."
Additionally, when Rogers is not behind the plate, he will assist in the outfield. Outfield lineups will depend on situationals and vary on a nightly basis.
RIGHT-HANDED PITCHERS
Returning: Josh Hansell, Brock Peery, Christian Bodlovich, Tyler Meyer, Blake Pivaroff
Incoming: Khristian Curtis, Nolan Lebamoff, Jesse Wainscott, Ryan Hanks, Jonah Giblin, Tyler Valdez, Will Armbreuster, Matt Tieding, Dylan Gardner, Owen Stevenson
Two of ASU's prime innings-eaters from last season - Brock Peery and Christian Bodlovich - return for the Sun Devils and will look to empower the back end of ASU's bullpen.
Pitching Coach Sam Pereza also praised incoming transfer Jesse Wainscott and his potential in the bullpen.
"He's been 94-96 mph," Pereza said of Wainscott. "We are confident that if we need him to, he can close games. He's a really good two-pitch mix guy with a heavy fastball. And of course, Peery did a great job with us last year. I want this decision to be as tough as possible."
Curtis joins Sun Devil Baseball as a transfer after a season-long injury in 2022. He will start ASU's first Saturday contest against the Aztecs. He has a four pitch mix and sat 93-94 mph in January.
"All my pitches came back better than they were before," Curtis said. "I'm really excited. It's gone really well and I'm 100% healthy."
In five outings at Texas A&M, Curtis hurled a 1.42 ERA with 15 strikeouts over 19 innings. He never made an error in the field and allowed just three walks his time with the Aggies.
"I have never been apart of such an in-depth rotation like we have here," Curtis said. "It's really exciting to see down the road how it turns out. We're a bunch of strike throwers, competitors and guys that won't give up. We're going to attack, attack, attack and never let down."
As Campos discussed the rotation from a catching perspective, he harped on Curtis's changeup.
"Nasty," Campos said. "It really moves."
When prompted to name the top three best pitches on the squad, Campos named Curtis' changeup first.
Owen Stevenson will start the 2023 campaign in a long-relief role as he continues to increase innings. The 2022 opening day starter at San Francisco pitched two years with the Dons and struck out 79 career batters in 94.2 innings pitched to just 42 walks. In those nearly 100 innings, he gave up eight home runs.
"I think he'll look to move into the rotation," Pereza said. "He's been that good. That'll allow us to move one of those three [Dunn, Curtis and Manning] into a midweek role. That'll take us to a next-level."
Stevenson was up to 95 mph in January bullpens and has progressed steadily in rehab over the winter.
"He came in here as a Friday night starter, left the game in the fifth inning and we were down 2-1," Pereza said. "We came back and won that game, but now we're talking about him being a hybrid guy. When you have that type of flexibility, it makes you feel better than last year."
LEFT-HANDED PITCHERS
Returning: None
Incoming: Timmy Manning, Stephen Hernandez, Austin Humphres, Ross Dunn, Brandon Compton
Ross Dunn headlines a transfer class of southpaws for Arizona State and has earned the starting nod for ASU's season opener against San Diego. Timmy Manning will start for the Sun Devils on Sunday, meaning two of ASU's three opening weekend starters are lefties.
Dunn will start on an innings restriction of around three in the season-opener. He will parlay with Owen Stevenson as both work back to full strength.
"We're hoping that Ross Dunn can anchor the staff," Pereza said. "He's a proven arm. He's won a gold medal with team USA. Timmy Manning has done a really good job. This year, we have more options and keep more guys well rested."
Dunn pitched two seasons on an elite-Florida State staff, shoving 60.2 innings and 92 strikeouts to 37 walks before transferring to Arizona State.
Manning is another experienced arm, transferring in from Florida. He concluded UF career with a 1-0 record and 5.50 ERA across 37 2/3 innings of work, talling 18 appearances, 11 starts, 42 strikeouts, 27 walks, 40 hits allowed and a .270 batting average against.
He shut down No. 5 Texas A&M over five scoreless innings at the SEC Tournament, allowing five hits and one walk while tying his career high with six strikeouts.
"We went into the portal looking to get proven arms, and we did," Pereza said. "These guys have been really good, strike throwers and I'm excited to get out there with them.
CONCLUSION
Sun Devil Baseball opens the 2023 season against the San Diego State Aztecs Friday night with a renewed energy and new-found flexibility in strategy. Baseball at Phoenix Municipal Stadium is sure to engage and captivate fans of ASU's rich tradition.
"I've had my experience and it was three of the best years of my life, which is why I'm back here now in a different capacity," Bloomquist said. "I will be living a little bit vicariously through them and watching them take the field for the first time, knowing the emotion that brings." SUN DEVIL BASEBALL GAME NOTES - OPENING WEEKEND
#10THINGS (Twitter-Friendly Notes)
28 - The Sun Devils recorded double-digit hits in 28 of the final 34 games last season and 37 times in 58 games overall. The Devils were 23rd in the country with 577 hits in the regular season (on March 20, the team was 72nd in the nation in total hits). . As a team, ASU bat .297 on the year which is good third in the Pac-12 behind Oregon and Stanford. Ryan Campos was one of just 19 freshmen to crack the Top-250 in the NCAA in average last year (.357) and the only freshman Power Five catcher to do so.
28 - The Sun Devils welcome an incredible 28 new faces to the roster in 2023. ASU went hard in the Transfer Portal during the offseason, recording the No. 2 transfer portal class in the nation according to several outlets. The new batch was highlighted by a total overhaul of the pitching staff, which will feature three transfer starters this weekend in LHP Ross Dunn (Florida State), RHP Khristian Curtis (Texas A&M) and LHP Timmy Manning (Florida). Preseason All-American Luke Keaschall (San Francisco) highlights the incoming position players).
6 - Last year, true freshman Ryan Campos led the Sun Devils with a .357 average on the year – the sixth best freshman average in program history and just ahead of head coach Willie Bloomquist's .356 average. It was the seventh-highest average in the Pac-12 prior to the NCAA tournamen It was the 11th-highest batting average for a catcher in the NCAA prior to the tournament and the fourth-highest for a Power Five catcher. It was the 10th-highest batting average for a freshman in the NCAA prior to the tourney and the best freshman catcher average in the country.
2 - The Number Two was a theme on both offense and defense for the Sun Devils last season. ASU finished 19th in the nation with 134 doubles last year - good for third in the Pac-12 - and recorded multiple doubles in 36 of its 58 games on the season. On the flip side, ASU turned 50 double plays on the campaign, a total that was good for 21st in the country and fourth in the Pac-12. ASU also had two players record 20 doubles and 10 homers on the year (Joe Lampe and Nate Baez) - something that had't happened since at least 1998 (as far back as easily researched numbers are available).
FOLLOW THE ACTION
*Sun Devil Opening Weekend Game Notes located following the season preview at bottom of page.
PHOENIX – Sun Devil Baseball opens the 2023 campaign this weekend with a three-game home series against San Diego State at Phoenix Municipal Stadium beginning Friday, Feb. 17. Opening Night will get underway with a 6 p.m. first pitch, followed Saturday at 1 p.m. and Sun day at 12:30 p.m.
Led by second-year Head Coach Willie Bloomquist, Arizona State was picked to finish sixth in the Pac-12, an improvement on Bloomquist's first year.
Of ASU's 38 student-athletes, just 10 return from last year's squad.
Returning hitters are headlined by Ryan Campos, Jacob Tobias and Ethan Long, who were all named to the All-Pac-12 Preseason Team. The trio combined for 150 hits, 16 home runs and 87 RBI in 2022. Incoming transfer Luke Keaschall was named a Preseason All-American by Collegiate Baseball News, earning a spot on the third team.
On the mound, Christian Bodlovich and Brock Peery highlight ASU's returners. Bodlovich 32 innings in 28 outings striking out 25 batters to just 11 walks and was pivotal in getting ASU out of jams throughout the year. Peery led the league with 10 saves. Arizona State welcomes multiple pitchers with collegiate pedigree, including the Opening Weekend rotation of Ross Dunn, Khristian Curtin and Timmy Manning.
"In the recruiting process, getting to know the players on a personal level before bringing them in is obviously a little bit different," Sun Devil Baseball Head Coach Willie Bloomquist said. "Given the chance to work with them for the last 4-5 months has been good. Personally, I'm not going to say I'm overly relaxed but I'm sleeping better this time of year than I was last year. I've been through it once now, I have an idea of what to expect. For me, it's been a little better."
Below is a position by position breakdown of the Sun Devil Baseball roster.
CATCHERS
Returning: Ryan Campos, Bronson Balhom, Will Rogers
Incoming: Trey Newman
Ryan Campos leads an esteemed group of catchers into his second season at Arizona State. Campos will see predominant innings behind the plate after a stellar freshman campaign.
He batted .357 with 30 RBI and just three errors in 43 games, good for a .990 fielding percentage. For his efforts, Campos was named a freshman All-American (NCBWA) and one of three Sun Devils named to the 2023 Preseason Pac-12 team.
As a sophomore, Campos will serve as an example for the new players in order to guide them through their first season at Arizona State.
"I try to lead by example," Campos said. "I don't say a whole lot, just go out there and do my job."
In the field for the catchers, ASU has brought in 15 new pitchers. The class features arms from established programs that have already had a strong impact on Sun Devil Baseball.
"They're all great guys," Campos said. "Obviously, they're great pitchers, so that helps, and they all have a knockout pitch that's really hard to hit. They work hard and I've enjoyed working with all of them."
Will Rogers and Bronson Balhom ate seldom innings behind the plate for the ASU last season and will assist when needed, but also plug different holes for the Sun Devils.
Rogers has been working on his pitching and has reached 92 miles an hour on the mound. Last season, he made two relief appearances, including a scoreless outing with two strikeouts at UCLA. He will also see time in the outfield during 2023.
At the plate, Rogers belted nine homers along with a .299 average and drove in 25 runs. He has spent the offseason growing as a hitter on offspeed pitches.
"I've definitely worked on my approach and pitch discipline," Rogers said. "Early in counts, really being aware of where the zone is and trying to see that pitch and then trying not to get outside of that. I got benched for a little bit and Willie really worked with me a ton on spin and trying to recognize the pitches that I wanted to hit."
While Campos will provide significant steadiness behind the plate, the core of Rogers, Bahlhom and Newman will allow ASU important flexibility for a physically demanding position.
INFIELDERS
Returning: Jacob Tobias, Ethan Long
Incoming: Nu'u Contrades, Luke Hill, Willie Cano, Luke Keaschall, Resse Beheler, Wyatt Crenshaw, Johnny Weaver, Drake Varnado
A nationally elite group of infielders returns to Sun Devil Baseball and is accompanied by one of the most transfer portal classes at the position.
Jacob Tobias joined Campos as the 35th and 36th players in Sun Devil Baseball history to earn freshman All-American honors. Tobias enters his sophomore campaign after belting seven home runs in 2022, the eighth most for a freshman in ASU baseball history. In fact, His 23 RBIs in Pac-12 games were the second-most on the team, 20th in the league and third among Pac-12 freshmen.
He will slot into the designated hitter spot in ASU's season-opening lineup against San Diego. Ethan Long will play first base and allow CPreseason All-American Luke Keaschall to find a spot in the middle-infield.
Keaschall joins the Sun Devil baseball team after two outstanding years as the offensive catalyst for the University of San Francisco. He smacked .312 with 12 home runs and 64 RBI during his time as a Don and took home the West Coast Conference's Freshman of the Year award in 2021. He hit .320 with four homers, four triples and 30 RBI in his freshman campaign.
He spent his summer in the Cape Cod Baseball League, where he was an All-Star. He finished his time on Cape with a .320 batting average.
"At the end of the day, I think we're doing good," Keseachall said. "We went into the transfer portal to get some weapons and that's exactly what we did. I'm excited and have enjoyed working with these guys.
Long joined Campos and fellow-infielder Tobias on the Preseason All-Pac-12 team. LOng had an outstanding freshman campaign for the Sun Devils, during which he raked a 19-game stretch of .444 with 40 RBI, 15 home runs, eight doubles, a 1.181 slugging percentage, a .500 OBP and an absurd 1.681 OPS. Of his 32 hits in that span, 23 were for extra bases. Long battled injuries throughout his sophomore season but was coming on strong offensively before a hand injury sidelined the last month of the year. Despite that, four of his seven homers during the 2022 season came in the sixth inning or later.
"We've seen what he can do," Keschall said of Long. "It's been fun to watch him and all these guys work."
The freshmen have also impressed, both earning praise from Keaschall and Bloomquist.
"I don't want to say it's a surprise, because we knew they were going to come in and compete for playing time, but Nu'u Contrades and Luke Hill have been really good," Bloomquist said. "Along with guys at other positions, they have been chomping at the bit to get into the lineup, which is exactly what we wanted. I wanted to have to make tough decisions on who we're going to play. That was a situation we were not in a year ago at this time."
The mainstays of Long and Tobias and an established bat in Keaschall combined with hungry freshmen give Arizona State high potential in the infield.
OUTFIELDERS
Returning: None
Incoming Nick McLain, Kien Vu, Jose Vargas, Isaiah Jackson
An entirely new cast of characters will patrol the outfield grass for Arizona State. Nick McLain followed brother Sean to Arizona State after the former spent his freshman campaign with UCLA. McLain saw him at centerfield during the fall, including a jarring leaping, backwards catch in scrimmage.
Isaiah Jackson impressed Bloomquist during the fall season and will look to see early-time in the outfield.
"He's been really good and that's what we wanted," Bloomquist said of Jackson. "We wanted guys to come in and compete for starting jobs."
Jackson's athleticism will likely cause him to spend most of his time in the corner outfield positions and provide a needed-sturdiness for ASU's defense.
"I'm very confident defensively right now," Jackson said. "Defense has always been my thing. I've always been an outfielder."
Additionally, when Rogers is not behind the plate, he will assist in the outfield. Outfield lineups will depend on situationals and vary on a nightly basis.
RIGHT-HANDED PITCHERS
Returning: Josh Hansell, Brock Peery, Christian Bodlovich, Tyler Meyer, Blake Pivaroff
Incoming: Khristian Curtis, Nolan Lebamoff, Jesse Wainscott, Ryan Hanks, Jonah Giblin, Tyler Valdez, Will Armbreuster, Matt Tieding, Dylan Gardner, Owen Stevenson
Two of ASU's prime innings-eaters from last season - Brock Peery and Christian Bodlovich - return for the Sun Devils and will look to empower the back end of ASU's bullpen.
Pitching Coach Sam Pereza also praised incoming transfer Jesse Wainscott and his potential in the bullpen.
"He's been 94-96 mph," Pereza said of Wainscott. "We are confident that if we need him to, he can close games. He's a really good two-pitch mix guy with a heavy fastball. And of course, Peery did a great job with us last year. I want this decision to be as tough as possible."
Curtis joins Sun Devil Baseball as a transfer after a season-long injury in 2022. He will start ASU's first Saturday contest against the Aztecs. He has a four pitch mix and sat 93-94 mph in January.
"All my pitches came back better than they were before," Curtis said. "I'm really excited. It's gone really well and I'm 100% healthy."
In five outings at Texas A&M, Curtis hurled a 1.42 ERA with 15 strikeouts over 19 innings. He never made an error in the field and allowed just three walks his time with the Aggies.
"I have never been apart of such an in-depth rotation like we have here," Curtis said. "It's really exciting to see down the road how it turns out. We're a bunch of strike throwers, competitors and guys that won't give up. We're going to attack, attack, attack and never let down."
As Campos discussed the rotation from a catching perspective, he harped on Curtis's changeup.
"Nasty," Campos said. "It really moves."
When prompted to name the top three best pitches on the squad, Campos named Curtis' changeup first.
Owen Stevenson will start the 2023 campaign in a long-relief role as he continues to increase innings. The 2022 opening day starter at San Francisco pitched two years with the Dons and struck out 79 career batters in 94.2 innings pitched to just 42 walks. In those nearly 100 innings, he gave up eight home runs.
"I think he'll look to move into the rotation," Pereza said. "He's been that good. That'll allow us to move one of those three [Dunn, Curtis and Manning] into a midweek role. That'll take us to a next-level."
Stevenson was up to 95 mph in January bullpens and has progressed steadily in rehab over the winter.
"He came in here as a Friday night starter, left the game in the fifth inning and we were down 2-1," Pereza said. "We came back and won that game, but now we're talking about him being a hybrid guy. When you have that type of flexibility, it makes you feel better than last year."
LEFT-HANDED PITCHERS
Returning: None
Incoming: Timmy Manning, Stephen Hernandez, Austin Humphres, Ross Dunn, Brandon Compton
Ross Dunn headlines a transfer class of southpaws for Arizona State and has earned the starting nod for ASU's season opener against San Diego. Timmy Manning will start for the Sun Devils on Sunday, meaning two of ASU's three opening weekend starters are lefties.
Dunn will start on an innings restriction of around three in the season-opener. He will parlay with Owen Stevenson as both work back to full strength.
"We're hoping that Ross Dunn can anchor the staff," Pereza said. "He's a proven arm. He's won a gold medal with team USA. Timmy Manning has done a really good job. This year, we have more options and keep more guys well rested."
Dunn pitched two seasons on an elite-Florida State staff, shoving 60.2 innings and 92 strikeouts to 37 walks before transferring to Arizona State.
Manning is another experienced arm, transferring in from Florida. He concluded UF career with a 1-0 record and 5.50 ERA across 37 2/3 innings of work, talling 18 appearances, 11 starts, 42 strikeouts, 27 walks, 40 hits allowed and a .270 batting average against.
He shut down No. 5 Texas A&M over five scoreless innings at the SEC Tournament, allowing five hits and one walk while tying his career high with six strikeouts.
"We went into the portal looking to get proven arms, and we did," Pereza said. "These guys have been really good, strike throwers and I'm excited to get out there with them.
CONCLUSION
Sun Devil Baseball opens the 2023 season against the San Diego State Aztecs Friday night with a renewed energy and new-found flexibility in strategy. Baseball at Phoenix Municipal Stadium is sure to engage and captivate fans of ASU's rich tradition.
"I've had my experience and it was three of the best years of my life, which is why I'm back here now in a different capacity," Bloomquist said. "I will be living a little bit vicariously through them and watching them take the field for the first time, knowing the emotion that brings." SUN DEVIL BASEBALL GAME NOTES - OPENING WEEKEND
#10THINGS (Twitter-Friendly Notes)
1. The Sun Devil defense turned 50 double plays last season, a total good for 21st in the country, despite not advancing to the NCAA Tournament.
2. ASU had four players (Lampe, Murphy, Campos, Davis) in the top-30 of the Pac-12 in fielding percentage (min. 100 chances), tops in league.
3. The Sun Devils finished 19th in the nation with 134 doubles last season and had multiple doubles in 36 of 58 games.
4. ASU had double digit hits in 28 of its last 34 games last season and 37 times in 58 games over the course of the year.
5. Ryan Campos was one of just 19 freshmen to crack the Top-250 in the NCAA in average last year and the only freshman Power Five catcher to do so.
6. ASU has had at least one runner on base on 24 of the last 37 homers. It had a runner(s) on just 8 of the team's first 27 homers this year.
7. Will Rogers' had 27 extra-base hits (17 doubles, one triple, 9 homers) good for third among Pac-12 frosh. His 9 homers were tied for 4th in ASU frosh lore.
8. ASU's 127 regular season doubles were the fifth-most in a regular season since 1998 and the most in the BBCOR era (since 2011).
9. Christian Bodlovich has allowed just 16-of-59 inherited runners score in his career (27.1 percent), including a 11-of-37 tally last year.
10. Brock Peery led the Pac-12 with 10 saves - tied for 7th-most at ASU since 1998 and first in double digits since 2016.
#BYTHENUMBERS28 - The Sun Devils recorded double-digit hits in 28 of the final 34 games last season and 37 times in 58 games overall. The Devils were 23rd in the country with 577 hits in the regular season (on March 20, the team was 72nd in the nation in total hits). . As a team, ASU bat .297 on the year which is good third in the Pac-12 behind Oregon and Stanford. Ryan Campos was one of just 19 freshmen to crack the Top-250 in the NCAA in average last year (.357) and the only freshman Power Five catcher to do so.
28 - The Sun Devils welcome an incredible 28 new faces to the roster in 2023. ASU went hard in the Transfer Portal during the offseason, recording the No. 2 transfer portal class in the nation according to several outlets. The new batch was highlighted by a total overhaul of the pitching staff, which will feature three transfer starters this weekend in LHP Ross Dunn (Florida State), RHP Khristian Curtis (Texas A&M) and LHP Timmy Manning (Florida). Preseason All-American Luke Keaschall (San Francisco) highlights the incoming position players).
6 - Last year, true freshman Ryan Campos led the Sun Devils with a .357 average on the year – the sixth best freshman average in program history and just ahead of head coach Willie Bloomquist's .356 average. It was the seventh-highest average in the Pac-12 prior to the NCAA tournamen It was the 11th-highest batting average for a catcher in the NCAA prior to the tournament and the fourth-highest for a Power Five catcher. It was the 10th-highest batting average for a freshman in the NCAA prior to the tourney and the best freshman catcher average in the country.
2 - The Number Two was a theme on both offense and defense for the Sun Devils last season. ASU finished 19th in the nation with 134 doubles last year - good for third in the Pac-12 - and recorded multiple doubles in 36 of its 58 games on the season. On the flip side, ASU turned 50 double plays on the campaign, a total that was good for 21st in the country and fourth in the Pac-12. ASU also had two players record 20 doubles and 10 homers on the year (Joe Lampe and Nate Baez) - something that had't happened since at least 1998 (as far back as easily researched numbers are available).
FOLLOW THE ACTION
- All games in the tournament will be streamed live through the Arizona State University Live Stream in conjunction with the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism. The games will be available at https://pac-12.com/live/arizona-state-university
- Additionally, the Saturday game of the series will be broadcast over the airwaves on KDUS 1060 AM with the Jeff Munn on the call alongside analyst Max Rossiter.
- Fans are encouraged to follow along pre-game and in-game content and any schedule updates throughout the weekend on the Sun Devil Baseball Twitter account: @ASU_Baseball.
HONORING THE PAST
- The Sun Devils will wear black SB and MG tribute patches on batting helmets throughout the 2023 season to honor the loss of two great alumni this past offseason in Sal Bando and Mike Gallagher.
- Friday night, the team will wear Bobby Winkles era uniforms that both Sal and Mike played in during the 1964 CWS and 1965 National Championship seasons.
- Ben Bando (Sal's nephew who also played at ASU) will throw out the ceremonial first pitch on Opening Night as well.
ON THE AZTECS/SEASON OPENERS
- As a team, the Aztec pitching staff led the Mountain West in numerous categories last year, including ERA (4.97), strikeouts (504), fewest hits allowed (491) and opposing team batting average (.256). In addition, SDSU topped the conference with fewest hits allowed per nine innings (8.85) and strikeouts per nine innings (9.1), which ranked 55th and 85th in the nation, respectively.
- Offensively, the Aztecs will be led by junior Cole Carrigg, who will take over the center field position to start the season after playing a combined 38 games as a middle infielder last year. The Turlock, California, product was named the preseason Mountain West Player of the Year by D1Baseball.com in its conference preview earlier this month before earning a spot on the preseason all-MW team in a vote of the league's head coaches.
- Collectively, the Aztecs are predicted to finish third in the 2023 Mountain West preseason coaches poll, as announced by the conference office on Feb. 9.
- ASU leads the all-time series, 18-16, after taking 2-of-3 in San Diego last season.
- The Sun Devils are 48-15-1 in season openers and have won or split (evenly) 16 of their last 17 season opening series. ASU has won 13 of its last 16 season openers, including last season over Utah Tech in Willie Bloomquist's debut as head coach
WE WANT EZ
- Ethan Long was tabbed as the No. 37 overall collegiate prospect in the 2022 MLB Draft class by Baseball America last season and was selected with the very final pick of the 2022 MLB Draft though he will look to prove he is, in fact, Mr. Relevant for the Sun Devils this season. He was named to the Preseason All-Pac-12 Team earlier this month.
- Due to a left wrist injury last year, Long was unable to bat over the last month of the season, though he contributed on the mound.
- The big bat was a little slow getting going last year, but Long settled into a nice pace and he was fourth on the team with seven homers on the year despite missing the last month-plus of the year.
- He used 18 walks and 3 HBPs to post a .384 OBP over his .300 average.
- He was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week for the fourth time in his career following his efforts in the Washington series.
- Long homered twice in the USC series, one on a three-run shot breaking a 7-7 tie in the sixth inning en route to a 14-12 victory and again in a tight 4-2 game in Game Two with a two-run blast in the seventh that effectively shut the door on the Trojans.
- Four of his seven home runs last season came in the sixth inning or later.
- Long became the 129th Sun Devil to be named an All-American last seson, becoming a consensus selection after being named to teams by Collegiate Baseball News, NCBWA, and Baseball America
- Also earned two freshman All-America nods (CBN/NCBWA) and was a First Team All-Pac-12 pick as well as an ACBA All-West Region second team selection and Pac-12 All-Conference first team pick
- Long finished the 2021 regular season 22nd nationally and second in the Pac-12 with 16 home runs while finishing 13th nationally and leading the league with a .725 slugging percentage on .340 hitting. He was sixth in the league with 53 RBI. His .340 average was the ninth-highest freshman average in Sun Devil history.
- Finished with a team-best 54 RBI, tied with Barry Bonds for fourth in ASU freshman history while his 16 homers on the year surpassed Bonds for second in ASU freshman history behind only Spencer Torkelson (25) and good for Top-Five in the league.
- Behind Long's bat, ASU won five straight weekend series in the last half of the year. In a 19-game stretch, Long bat .444 with 40 RBI, 15 home runs, eight doubles, a 1.181 slugging percentage, a .500 OBP and an absurd 1.681 OPS. Of his 32 hits in that span, 23 were for extra bases.
GOING CAMP-ING
- True freshman Ryan Campos led the Sun Devils with a .357 average last year – the sixth-best freshman average in program history and just ahead of head coach Willie Bloomquist's .356 average.
- It was the seventh-highest average in the Pac-12 prior to the NCAA tournament and the 11th-highest batting average for a catcher in the NCAA prior to the tournament and the fourth-highest for a Power Five catcher.
- It was the 10th-highest batting average for a freshman in the NCAA prior to the tourney and the best freshman catcher average in the country.
- He was one of just 19 freshmen to crack the Top-250 in the NCAA in average and the only freshman Power Five catcher to do so.
- It marked the second straight season a true freshman led the team in average (Ethan Long last year) - something that has never happened in consecutive years in program history and just the fourth time in program history overall that it had happened.
- His .363 average in league-only games was the fifth-highest in the conference.
- His .438 OBP in league games was also tops on the team and ninth in the Pac-12 and tops among league catchers
- Campos had the best average on the team with runners in scoring position at 21-for-59 (.356).
- He had 20 multi-hit games last year – good for third on the team despite starting 13-15 fewer games than the majority of the other starters on the team.
- He threw out seven baserunners on the year despite catching in 10+ less games than the other league catchers.
ROGERS THAT
- Will Rogers had nine homers last season, tied for fourth in ASU freshman school history.
- From April 1 on, Rogers had the second-highest average on the team at .373. respectively. He led the team with a .746 slugging percentage in that time with nine doubles, a triple and five homers.
- His 27 extra-base hits on the season were the third-most of any Pac-12 freshman and 19th in the league overall.
JACOB'S LADDER
- Jacob Tobias was named to the Preseason All-Pac-12 team after being a first team selection as designated hitter last season.
- His 12 bases (two homers, two doubles) against Utah in the series finale were tied for the most by a Pac-12 player in a game last year.
- His seven homers last year were tied for eighth in ASU freshman history.
- His 23 RBIs in Pac-12 games were the second-most on the team, 20th in the Pac-12 and third among Pac-12 freshmen.
WELCOME TO THE JAM
- Christian Bodlovich has inherited 59 runners in his career at ASU, with only 16 scoring (27.1 percent), including an 11-for-37 tally last season.
- ASU stranded 497 opponent baserunners last season - an average of 8.6 per game.
- Brock Peery finished 10th in the nation with 34 appearances last season, a tally good for second in the Pac-12.
- Peery led the league with 10 saves on the year - good for 26 in the country.
- The 10 saves were tied for seventh-most at ASU since the 1998 season and marked the first time a closer reached double digits in the category at ASU since 2016.
PLAYING THE FIELD
- ASU turned 50 double plays last year - a tally good for 21st in Division I and fourth in the Pac-12. The squad has turned 110 double plays over the last two seasons.
- Sean McLain had the second-most defensive of assists of any player in the Pac-12 (179) - the second straight season an ASU player accomplished that feat following Drew Swift (171) in 2021.
- ASU had four fielders in the Top-30 in fielding percentage in the Pac-12 this year (min. 100 chances) in Joe Lampe, Kai Murphy, Ryan Campos and Conor Davis. That was tied with USC and Oregon State for the most in the Pac-12.
- For the third straight season, the majority of position players on the diamond will be new faces with only Will Rogers (left field) and Ryan Campos (catcher) expected to reprise their roles from last season. ASU had just two players start last season in the same position they finished in 2021 (Joe Lampe in CF, Nate Baez at C and Sean McLain at 2B, though McLain was playing shortstop by the second weekend while Baez moved around the field by Week Two as well). ASU's only veteran starter in 2021 was Drew Swift - who shifted over to shortstop after spending the majority of his career at second base. All other positions on the diamond that season replaced by newcomers.
BOOM GOES THE DYNAMITE
- The Sun Devils have recorded 134 doubles last year, good for 19th in the nation and third in the Pac-12.
- The 127 doubles during the regular season were the most for a Sun Devil team in the REGULAR SEASON in the BBCOR era (since 2011) and tied for the fifth-most in a regular season since 1998.
- ASU has at least one double in all but six games last season and multiple doubles in 36 of 58 games.
- There are 45 Pac-12 players with double-digit doubles in the regular season season, of which ASU had seven (Baez, Lampe, Rogers, McLain, Long, Davis, Murphy). No other team had more than six.
- ASU has reached double digits in hits in 28 of the last 34 games and 37 times in 58 games. The Devils were 23rd in the country with 577 regular season hits. For comparison, on March 20, the team was 72nd in the nation in total hits.
- Of the nine position players with at least 30 starts last season, all nine have multiple home runs. ASU had ten total players with multiple homers.
- ASU had five players with at least seven homers last year, tied for the second-most at ASU since 1998.
- The timing of the home runs has improved immesely over the second half of the year. On 24 of the last 37 homers, ASU has had at least one runner on base. That is notable as ASU had runners on base just eight times on the teams first 27 homers.
- The Sun Devils had four grand slams last year - the most it has had in a season since 2004 (also four).
HOLD ON TO YOUR SEATS
- ASU has played no shortage of tight games this season - for better or worse - with 26 of the teams 58 games being decided by one or two runs - the most since it also played in 26 in 2017.
- Unfortunately, ASU was 1-7 in one-run losses and 15 of the teams 32 losses came by way of 1-2 runs.
- That said, the Sun Devils have shown that no opponent lead is safe, showing off plenty of grit in erasing multi-run deficits.
- On 11 occasions last season, ASU erased a lead of at least three runs.
- The seven-run deficit overcome by the Sun Devils to defeat and take the series from Cal was the most since March 3, 2000 against Arizona. The Wildcats jumped to a 7-0 lead before ASU rallied to win 9-7.
- Three times last season ASU rallied from a deficit of five or more runs to tie or win the game - the first time that had happened since 2010 (also 3).
WHO'S THE NEW GUY?
- The Sun Devils welcome an incredible 28 new faces to the roster in 2023. ASU went hard in the Transfer Portal during the offseason, recording the No. 2 transfer portal class in the nation according to several outlets.
- The new batch was highlighted by a total overhaul of the pitching staff, which will feature three transfer starters this weekend in LHP Ross Dunn (Florida State), RHP Khristian Curtis (Texas A&M) and LHP Timmy Manning (Florida). Owen Stevenson (San Francisco) also figures to find a spot in the rotation over the course of the season.
- Dunn competed for Team USA on the Collegiate National Team this past summer.
- Preseason All-American Luke Keaschall (San Francisco) highlights the incoming position players).
- Among the newcomers, freshman Isaiah Jackson ('22, Astros, 18th Round), Dunn ('19, Yankees, 11th Round) and Drake Varnado ('21, Diamondbacks, 17th Round) have all been drafted at some point in their careers.
- The Sun Devils didn't have a single freshman arm in the clubhouse last season but welcomes four this season (Ryan Hanks, Brandon Compton, Austin Humphres and Stephen Hernandez).
- After the departure of Sean McLain to the MLB Draft following last season, the Sun Devils will welcome his brother Nick McLain to the clubhouse this season with the youngster expected to be the Opening Day center fielder.
- ASU will feature an entirely new infield this season, highlighted by standout freshmen Nu'u Contrades, Luke Hill and Reese Beheler with a deep group of veteran transfers in Keaschall, Vernado, Jonny Weaver, Willie Cano and Wyatt Crenshaw.