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Baseball Starts Second Half of Pac-12 Play With #21 Beavers

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Baseball Starts Second Half of Pac-12 Play With #21 BeaversBaseball Starts Second Half of Pac-12 Play With #21 Beavers

PHOENIX -- No. 19/18 Sun Devil Baseball returns home this weekend after five straight road games to host No. 21/19 Oregon State in the first ASU home series between two ranked programs (D1Baseball) in Phoenix since 2019. The Sun Devils will look to continue to hold on to the top spot in the Pac-12 against the surging Beavers, with the first pitches on Friday and Saturday scheduled for 6:30 p.m. AZT and concluding Sunday at 12:30 p.m.

#10THINGS (Twitter-Friendly Notes)

1. Khristian Curtis has allowed three or fewer earned runs in four consecutive starts, going at least five innings in all of those.

2.  ASU has three players in the Top-Five in average in Pac-12 only games in Luke Keaschall, Nu'u Contrades and Ryan Campos.

3. ASU is 5-2 in 1-run games this season, a notable tally as ASU went just 1-7 in 1-score games last year. The team is 14-2 in games decided by 3 runs or less.

4. Ross Dunn has allowed just a .316 slugging percentage against him this year with just eight extra base hits allowed - third-best in the league.

5. Khristian Curtis has stranded 78.0 percent of the baserunners he has faced this year, good for seventh among eligible Pac-12 pitchers.

6. Jacob Tobias has posted a team-leading 38 RBIs this season that are sixth in the Pac-12 conference and notable as he had just 29 for the season last year.

7. The Sun Devils have trailed at some point in 12 of the team's last 16 victories and in 14 of the squad's victories overall.

8. Nolan Lebamoff enters the weekend having not allowed an earned run in 15 of his last 16 appearances after allowing three in the first two.

9. The Sun Devils have seven players with 19 or more RBIs this season - second in the Pac-12 behind Stanford (8).

10. The Sun Devils and Stanford are the only teams in the Pac-12 with six different players with five or more homers this season.

BY THE NUMBERS

19 - The Sun Devils are in the majority of the rankings this week, including moving into the No. 19 spot by D1Baseball and at No. 18 by Baseball America . The team also finds itself at No. 19 by both the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and No. 21 in the USA Today Coaches Poll .The Sun Devils are 11-3 in Pac-12 play for a half-game lead on the league at the midway point of the conference season. ASU has won or split all five of its league series thus far. This weekend will mark the first battle of two Top-25 teams (by D1Baseball) at Muni since the 2019 season.

14 - The Sun Devils have shown an ability to be successful in close games, going 14-2 this season in games decided by three runs or less. A year ago the team was 14-16 in those games. More notably, ASU is 5-2 in one run games this season after going 1-7 in those games last year. ASU has also been impressive in its single-game midweek tilts this year, going 7-1 in such games despite Wednesday's loss. ASU was 4-6 in single-game midweek tilts last season. ASU has trailed in 12 of its last 15 victories and  trailed by three or more runs in six wins this year - includong two 7-run comebacks

6 - Twelve different players have logged a home run for ASU and 10 have multiple home runs. ASU and Stanford are the only teams in the Pac-12 with six different players with five or more homers this season. The 8Sun Devils with 3+ home runs this season are the most in the Pac-12. TASU has finally started the get pumps with runners on base. 22 of the last 33 Sun Devil home runs this season have come with runners on base after 14 of the first 17 this season were solo shots. Of the 11 other homers in the last 33, 8were leadoff homers and thus not given the opportunity to happen with runners on base

6 - For the season, ASU is batting .304 off opponent bullpens (compared to just a .250 average against its own). Opponent bullpens have a measly 6.74 ERA against ASU  (compared to 4.95 for ASU) and hold just a 5-8 record (compared to 15-3 for ASU). The team has posted 37 runs in the eighth inning of games this season, over a run per game, and is  batting .340 in the eighth inning of games with a .533 slugging percentage and .306 in the ninth inning of games. The squad has 12 home runs total in innings 7-9 - creeping up on the final total of 17 last season

FOLLOW THE ACTION

  • All three game will be available via the Arizona State Live Stream at: https://pac-12.com/live/arizona-state-university
  • All games will be broadcast live over local airwaves on KDUS 1060 AM with Tim Healey and Max Rossiter providing the highlights.
  • Fans are always encouraged to follow the Sun Devil Baseball team on social media  for any program or schedule updates throughout the week 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.

LAST TIME OUT: WASHINGTON/ARIZONA

  • The Sun Devils split the road series against the Washington Huskies after the Sunday series finale was rained out.
  • Ross Dunn matched his career-high with nine strikeouts but poor defense, passed balls, walks and wild pitches led to UW scoring eight runs on just five hits in the first four innings.
  • ASU bounced back with a massive day from Isaiah Jackson to even the series on Saturday. The six earned runs allowed by UW starter Jared Engman are the most he had allowed in a game in his career – topping his previous worst of five against the Sun Devils last season in Tempe. Engman had allowed just six total earned runs in his previous four starts over 21.0 innings.
  • The 8-6 victory on Saturday improved ASU to 14-2 this season in games decided by three runs or less.
  • ASU recorded nine extra-base hits on its 19 hits in the series.
  • The Sun Devils had an incredibly forgettable outing in Tucson on Wednesday, getting routed by Arizona in a non-conference midweek tilt after sweeping the Wildcats earlier this season in the conference series.

ON DECK: OREGON STATE

  • The series will mark the first time the Sun Devils have hosted a weekend series against a ranked team according to D1Baseball since the 2019 season when 16th-ranked ASU squared off with No. 1 UCLA in Week 11. This game also marks the first time both teams are ranked in a series since that same 2019 season, with Oregon State taking two of three in Phoenix.
  • ASU leads the all-time series against the Beavers, 53-42, and are 31-17 in games played in Phoenix. However, the Beavers have won five of the last six series between the teams and are 13-5 during that stretch.
  • Mason Guerra has hit safely in five consecutive games. He's recorded at least two RBI in four of those five games and has nine total over that stretch. He's upped his average from .261 to .301 during the streak.
  • The OSU bullpen has a 17-2 record and 2.74 ERA in 170 2/3 innings this season, striking out 181 batters to 74 walks. In April alone, the bullpen is 6-1 with a 1.81 ERA in 59 2/3 innings.
  • Garret Forrester is on a six-game hit streak with 11 hits, six RBI and seven walks during it. He has 131 walks for his career, inching closer to Adley Rutschman's school-record 156 from 2017-19.

GOING CAMP-ING

  • Ryan Campos was named to the Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List and also tabbed as the Pac-12 Player of the Week following the Washington State series.
  • Campos leads the team and the Pac-12 with an active 31-game reached base streak. He has reached base safely in 68-of-75 (90.6%) of games with the Sun Devils overall.
  • Campos is currently seven among active Division I players with a career batting average of .380. It is the highest career average among active catchers in Division I.
  • For the season, Campos is now batting .413 - tops in the Pac-12 and 26th in the nation according to the NCAA statistical minimums. It is the second-best average for a catcher in the country behind Virginia's Kyle Teel (.437).
  • He also leads the Pac-12 with a .523 OBP - aided by his team-leading 26 walks, which are sixth in the league. He sits 6th in the Pac-12 with his .661 slugging percentage as well.
  • Campos' 7.9 percent strikeout rate this season is the second-lowest in the Pac-12 while the .46 strikeout-to-walk ratio is tops in the league.
  • The sophomore is also fourth in the Pac-12 with 40 runs - despite missing the last three games for ASU.
  • Campos and Stanford's Braden Montgomery are the only players  in the Pac-12 ranked in the Top-10 in average, OBP, slugging, runs and walks.
  • Campos is fifth in the Pac-12 in weighted runs created (41) and third in weighted runs above average (17), according to D1Baseball's advanced metrics.
  • Campos is successful advancing runners at a .603 clip (38-of-63) - the highest average on the team. He has also been ASU's most efficient hitter when it comes to extending innings, leading the team with a .361 average with two outs (13-of-36).
  • Campos led the Sun Devils with a .357 average last year as a true freshman – 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 in 2021) - 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.

USE THE FORCE, LUKE

  • After a slow start at the dish this season, Luke Keaschall has settled into one of the most consistent batters in the lineup
  • Moved to the cleanup spot in the batting order after leading off for the first month of the season, Keaschall with a .340 average that is 19th among all Pac-12 players.
  • Keaschall is batting .400 in Pac-12-only games - the third-best average in the league, as is his .717 slugging percentage in league-only games. His 17 RBIs in Pac-12 games are fourth in the league.
  • His .610 slugging percentage on the season (7 homers, 1 triple, 15 doubles) has him at 12th in the Pac-12. The 15 doubles lead the league and are 26th nationally and his 23 overall extra-base hits are second in the conference.
  • He is up to 33 RBIs for the season, including a herculean five-RBI effort in the series opening win over Arizona - sitting 11th in the Pac-12 in the process.
  • Keaschall leads the team with four go-ahead/game-winning RBIs this season.
  • Keaschall also finds himself fourth in the conference with 13 steals this season.
  • Keaschall has also been getting it done in the field, turning 97 defensive assists for the year, good for third in the Pac-12
  • In four games against Utah Tech and Utah, the second baseman hit .625 (10-for-16) with 11 RBI, eight runs scored, three doubles, three home runs and a pair of stolen bases en route to Pac-12 Player of the Week honors and recognized by Collegiate Baseball News as one of its National Players of the Week.

JACOB'S LADDER

  • Jacob Tobias got the first RBI of the 2023 season with his RBI single in the first inning of Opening Night and that has been a trend for his season.
  • Tobias leads the team with 38 RBIs this season - good for sixth in the Pac-12. His 12-multi-RBI games are three more than any other player on the team. The tally is especially notable as he had just 29 total RBIs in the entirety of last season.
  • He is responsible for the game-winning RBI in three of ASU last 11 wins - however he also had the big two-run RBI in the eighth inning against GCU to cap the seven-run comeback and tie the game and also homered in the ninth in ASU's walk-off win to open the WSU series to start the rally in that game as well.
  • While not looking the part, his four triples this season give him five for his career, marking him the active career leader in the category at ASU in games played for the Sun Devils. The four triples this season are 18th nationally and third in the Pac-12.
  • 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.

RUNNING UP THAT HILL

  • Luke Hill has not at all looked like a true freshman starting at shortstop over the first couple months of action, showing savy skills with the bat and with the glove.
  • Hill is sitting with a .341 average that is 17th in the Pac-12 and Top-30 among all freshmen nationally - but 10th among freshmen listed officially as infielders according the the NCAA. It is the highest average for a freshman in the Pac-12 - tied with teammate Nu'u Contrades.
  • He had the massive go-ahead RBI in the rubber match against Cal with his eighth inning RBI single that was part of a massive nine-run inning to complete the comeback. He would do the exact same less than two weeks later with a two-RBI single against GCU to cap off ASU's nine-run eighth inning with the go-ahead RBIs in that game as well as part of the team's seven-run comeback.
  • He is tied for first on the team with four game-winning/go-ahead RBIs this season.
  • His  95 defensive assists are fourth  in the Pac-12.

NOT SO QUIET WYATT

  • Transfer Wyatt Crenshaw posted video game numbers last season at Colorado College and has quickly shown that was no fluke, speaking plenty loud with his bat despite saying approximately 18 total words in post-game press conferences this season.
  • Crenshaw is batting .311 on the season, slugging .536 with six homers, a triple and 14 doubles - the latter good for second in the Pac-12 and 43rd in the nation.
  • He has also played a nice right field for ASU, recording all 47 putouts on balls flown his way thus far with no errors.
  • Crenshaw has been at his best late in games, with a .500 batting average/.643 slugging percentage in the seventh innings and a .412 average/.647 slugging in the eighth inning of games this season.
  • Crenshaw has the third best average on the team over the last ten games, batting .341 with a .512 slugging percentage. His current four-game hitting streak is the longest on th team.

WHO'S THE NU'U GUY

  • It was a quiet start for true freshman Nu'u Contrades but he has swung one of the hottest bats in the country over the last month.
  • Contrades is up to a .341 average on the year after sitting below the Mendoza line after the March 7 loss at Oklahoma State.
  • The .341 average is Top-30 among all freshmen in the country this season and top-10 among freshmen infielders. It is tied with teammate Luke Hill for tops among freshmen in the league
  • In league-only games, Contrades has 18 RBIs - third-most in the Pac-12. His .388 average in Pac-12 games is fourth in the league and his .642 slugging percentage in Pac-12 games is fifth in the league.
  • Contrades was the Pac-12 Player of the Week after he single-handedly propelled ASU to victory in the series clinching win on Saturday against rival Arizona, going 3-for-5 with a career-best five RBIs - including the go-ahead three-run homer in the sixth inning. He followed that up with a 4-for-5 outing with another bomb and three RBIs in the series sweeping win on Sunday. He led the team with 10 RBIs (of 31 total for the week for ASU) with a .947 slugging percentage while batting .474 on 9-of-19 hitting.

SHOP AT ROSS

  • Ross Dunn has quietly put up some impressive numbers as the team's Friday night starter, and ASU is 7-2 in Friday night games with Dunn posting a 4-2 record himself.
  • Dunn has a team-leading 58 strikeouts over 39.0 innings pitched and is holding opponents to a .232 batting average against.
  • The 58 strikeouts are good for third in the Pac-12 this season. He has posted six or more strikeouts in his last six starts, with seven or more in five of those.
  • He is striking out 30.4 percent of the batters he has faced this year - fifth in the league.
  • He also has avoided giving up many extra bases, with opponents slugging just .358 against him - the third-lowest tally in the conference as he has given up just eight total extra-base hits.
  • Dunn is posting a 3.69 ERA that is seventh in the Pac-12 overall.

GRABBING THE BULL-PEN BY THE HORNS

  • ASU stranded 497 opponent baserunners last season - an average of 8.6 per game. That total is 279 this season - just under 8.0 per game. ASU relievers have been fairly efficient getting out of jams, stranding 37-of-92 inherited runners for the season (40.2 percent).
  • ASU's has used midweek games as bullpen days and the crew has been absolutely electric, going 7-1 in single-game midweeks this season.
  • For the season, the bullpen is posting a 4.95 ERA with a 15-3 record in decisions and nine saves. The squad has 156 strikeouts to 79 walks and is holding opponents to .240 batting. For comparison, the 2022 Sun Devil bullpen had a 6.71 ERA for the season with a 13-19 record in decisions with 231 strikeouts to 170 walks and a .299 average against.
  • Matt Tieding has been essential in saving the Sun Devil bullpen after tough outings for starters this year. AS A RELIEVER, the newcomer has  a 3.55 ERA in a team-bullpen-high 25.1 innings. He is holding opponents to a .220 average out of the bullpen with 12 strikeouts to just four walks.
  • Nolan Lebamoff has been another that has come on strong of late, posting a 3-0 record out of the bullpen with a 3.07 ERA. After giving up three runs in his first two games over 1.1 innings, Lebamoff has not allowed an earned run in 15 of his last 16 appearances. Opponents are managing just a .185 batting average against him this year.
  • Blake Pivaroff has sneakily posted an exceptional month-plus of baseball. Following his out against Oklahoma State on March 7, Pivaroff sat with a 7.56 ERA over six appearances. Since then, Pivaroff has made a team-leading 12 appearances and posted a 2.31 ERA with a 2-0 record and a save over 11.2 innings of work, holding opponents to a .146 average with nine strikeouts to just two walks.
  • Timmy Manning and Owen Stevenson have solidified valuable roles out of the pen for ASU with Manning posting one or fewer runs in six of his last eighth appearances with 21 strikeouts to five walks in that span. Stevenson has allowed just five earned runs in his last 11 appearances over 19 innings, with 26 strikeouts to four walks in that stretch.
  • Brock Peery has given up just two runs and has stranded a team-high 15 inherited runners on the year. Peery led the league with 10 saves last season year - good for 26th in the country. He added two in the first four games this season and tacked on a win for good measure.The 10 saves last season 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.
  • Christian Bodlovich has inherited 73 runners in his career at ASU, with only 24 scoring (32.9 percent), including an 11-for-37 tally last season.

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 previous two seasons.
  • ASU has 28 double plays this season, second in the Pac-12.
  • The Sun Devils are fielding at a .975 clip this season, good for fourth in the Pac-12 and 70th in the country. ASU was 117th in fielding percentage last year .
  • Luke Keaschall (97) and Luke Hill (95) are third and fourth in the Pac-12 in defensive assists this season.
  • For the third straight season, the majority of position players on the diamond are new faces with only Will Rogers (left field) and Ryan Campos (catcher) starting the season reprising their roles from last year. 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.
  • ASU had four fielders in the Top-30 in fielding percentage in the Pac-12 last 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.
  • 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.

HEADED TO THE GAP

  • ASU got a slow start in the doubles category this season but has come on hot of late. The team has 57 in its last 25 games after posted just 13 in the first 11 of the season.
  • That has brought ASU back up into the Top-100 t in the NCAA in doubles and fourth in the league (70). On March 5, ASU was 252nd in the nation in the category.
  • The team has recorded a double in 29 of 36 games overall with multiple doubles in 17 of those.
  • Luke Keaschall leads the Pac-12 and is 26th in the country with 15 doubles with teammate Wyatt Crenshaw right behind him in second in the league with 14.
  • The Sun Devils 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 had at least one double in all but six games last season and multiple doubles in 36 of 58 games.
  • There were 45 Pac-12 players with double-digit doubles in the regular season, of which ASU had seven (Baez, Lampe, Rogers, McLain, Long, Davis, Murphy). No other team had more than six.

CHICKS DIG THE LONG BALL

  • 12 different players have logged a home run for ASU and 10 have multiple home runs. ASU and Stanford are the only teams in the Pac-12 with six different players with five or more homers this season. The eight Sun Devils with three or more home runs this season are the most in the Pac-12.
  • ASU's 50 homers are fourth in the Pac-12 and Top-65 nationally.
  • The better news is ASU has finally started the get pumps with runners on base. 22 of the last 33 Sun Devil home runs this season have come with runners on base after 14 of the first 17 this season were solo shots. Of the 11 other homers in the last 33, eight were leadoff homers and thus not given the opportunity to happen with runners on base.
  • ASU recorded  seven homers against Washington State, which had entered the series leading the Pac-12 with only 14 allowed through its first 27 games.
  • Of the nine position players with at least 30 starts last season, all nine had 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  improved immesely over the second half of the last season. On 24 of the final 37 homers on the year, ASU had at least one runner on base. That was notable as ASU had runners on base just eight times on the teams first 27 homers. ASU will hope for some deja vu in that area with 14 solo homers on 17 home runs this season.
  • The Sun Devils had four grand slams last year - the most it had had in a season since 2004 (also four).

COMING IN HOT

  • The Sun Devil bats are sitting near the top of the league in most offensive categories.
  • ASU's .310 average as a team is second  in the Pac-12 and 25th nationally while the squad's .500 slugging percentage is fourth in the league and 44th in the country.
  • The team is second in  the league with 387 hits, good for 31st nationally and notable as the team was 115th in the country in the category on March 8.
  • ASU was 92nd in the nation in slugging percentage on March 8, 191st in doubles and 131st in batting average. Just over a month later, those totals sit at 44th, 95th and 31st, respectively.
  • ASU has reached double digit hits in 14 of its last 23 games and 19 games overall. ASU reached double digits in hits in 28 of the last 34 games of 2022 and 37 times in 58 games.
  • Much of the Sun Devil success this year has been its ability to capitalize on opponent bullpens. For the season, ASU is batting .304 off opponent bullpens (compared to just a .250 average against its own). Opponent bullpens have a measly 6.74 ERA  (compared to 4.95 for ASU) and hold just a 5-8 record (compared to 15-3 for ASU)
  • The team has posted 37 runs in the eighth inning of games this season, over a run per game. The team is batting .340 in the eighth inning og games with a .533 slugging percentage and .306 in the ninth inning of games. The squad has 12 home runs total in innings 7-9 - creeping up on the final total of 17 last season.
  • ASU is second in the Pac-12 behind only Stanford (8) with seven players with 19 or more RBIs this season.

HOLD ON TO YOUR SEATS

  • ASU has its part to shake off some of that bad mojo from last season  in close games thus far, going 5-2 in one-run games (after going just 1-7 in such games last season) and 14-2 in games decided by three runs or less - a category ASU was 14-16 in a year ago.
  • ASU has trailed at one point in 12 of its last 16 victories and in 14 of the team's wins overall this year.
  • ASU has been incredibly efficient at closing games out, going 21-2 when leading after six, 22-1 when leading after seven and 23-0 when leading after eight.
  • In a season and a half under Willie Bloomquist, 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. ASU has six wins this season when trailing by at least three runs at some point in the game.
  • Last season, 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.
  • ASU has doubled down at that this season with the victories over North Dakota State and GCU, overcoming a 7-0 deficit in both (and 9-2 in the entering the eighth against GCU) for victories in both.
  • 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).

DO I KNOW YOU?

  • 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.