Big 12 Media Day Quotes
February 3, 2005
Baylor Coach Steve Smith: “Out theme this year
is experience, and all our possible signable junior pitchers stayed
with us. 3B Kevin Russo is our only new projected starter in the infield,
and Michael Griffin, the consummate utility player, is now at second
base. The outfield is a little deeper and more stable. Reid Brees
had a good year at the plate last year and should be solid in left.
Kevin Sevigny can be a good backup anywhere in the outfield. We had
a very though schedule last year, and I liked the team. We just need
to find a way to score a few more runs and win the close games. This
year’s senior class is anxious to go out on a good note. We
were eight games under .500 when we started conference play, and I
think if we could have won two more games, we might have gotten an
NCAA at-large bid. Ryan LaMotta may be go-to guy to get to our closer
Abe Woody, but those roles will develop as the season starts. (Catcher)
Josh Ford had a pretty decent year and could have signed, but we’re
the beneficiary of that decision. We will be having in-season conference
calls to determine tryouts for Team USA and have an outstanding coaching
staff.”
Kansas
Coach Ritch Price:
“We have made great progress. We had a team which had five straight
losing seasons and then have been better the last two years. We have
seven players who hit better than .300 last year, and we’ll
start three freshmen against Hilo. The Feb. 1 practice starting date
and around Mar. 1 will help us at Kansas, but I coached in California
for 20 years, so I have some mixed emotions. It would help the Northern
teams, and we have drawn record crowds in NCAA tournaments and great
television interest, so I like the move of the schedule back a few
weeks. Our next step is to compete on a national basis, and we have
three starting pitchers who can pitch on weekends in the Big 12 series.
We have started non-conference play at 20-6 in 2003 and 20-9 last
year and have been able to compete with teams in our region outside
the conference such as Oral Roberts and Wichita State. Having better
pitching will allow us to stay in some games and try to manufacture
runs in the later innings. This is a conference of shortstops (standout
Ritchie Price at KU), and I expect as many as five to be selected
in the first five rounds of the 2005 Major League draft.”
Kansas
State Brad Hill: “We’re still playing arena baseball
up here. The prospectus for the upcoming year is that we will have
many new faces in the field. We do have three returning guys in the
outfield, and we’ll rely on them to give us great leadership.
Other than returning pitcher Eric Rollins, we don’t have enough
experience on the mound. We have more athleticism, but the number
of new players concerns us against the schedule we have. There’s
so much depth and so many great coaches in this league, the Big 12
is a quality baseball conference. I like the possible uniform starting
date in March (2007), and I’m all for playing in warmer weather.
We have recruited well in Texas, and there are numbers in the high
schools and junior colleges down there of quality players. A lot of
credit goes to (assistant coach) Sean McCann for the work he has done
in that area. We need to get outside and go play. Our guys have been
getting a little testy seeing each other every day for over a month,
and we’re anxious to see how some of our new kids will play
in actual game situations.”
Missouri
Coach Tim Jamieson:
“For the 2005 team we feel confident. The last couple of years
have given us confidence with the postseason, but we have had quite
a few people leave the team (graduation and signings). The talent
level of this year’s squad is probably as good as the last two
years, but we don’t have quite as much experience. We lost some
marquee guys like Cody Ehlers, Lee Laskowski and Ryan Rallo and some
quality pitchers, but I think our pitching staff will be a quality
group again. A lot of the credit goes to how well our kids played
in the Big 12 tournament and the conference’s reputation. Those
enhance your confidence level. The offense is hard to tab at this
point; we have been facing our own pitchers for the last nine months.
We need to be disciplined hitters like we’ve had the last two
years. We may not have that much power, but we have been able to score
runs. That’s what we’re shooting for again this year.
We are on the road the first three weekends, and we need to play well
during that time.”
Nebraska
Coach Mike Anderson: “We have an interesting group
this year. We ended up with some seniors back and have an interesting
mix of veterans and freshmen, who have been rated as one of the best
recruiting classes in the country. 3B Alex Gordon (preseason National
Player of the Year) is a unique leader. Pitchers Phil Shirek and Brian
Duensing are great comeback stories. We’ll play 60 games and
go out to Hilo to start the season. We had a great start to 2004 and
then lost some close games down the stretch. We have a great tradition
of offense at Nebraska, and a lot will depend on the pitching staff.
The six or seven key seniors on our team give us a great nucleus,
and the trip to Hawai’i gives us a chance to get some games
under our belt before we go to the Rice tournament. We have sold out
our season ticket base of 4,300-4,400 tickets, and we could use 6-7
more home games financially. Having the College World Series in Omaha
later gives us a chance for great weather, and college baseball brings
a lot of enthusiasm and energy to later spring and summer baseball..”
Oklahoma
Coach Larry Cochell: “We have to replace only one player,
1B Ole Sheldon (2004 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year), and have eight
guys who can step in there. We have confidence in the players we have
returning on the mound and four junior college players who can help
us immediately. I think our fans will appreciate the newcomers we
have coming back. We lost our two good rotation pitchers in Mark Roberts
and David Purcey, and we are trying to determine if Daniel McCutchen
will start or come out of the bullpen. Garrett Patterson, who hurt
his arm and didn’t pitch last year, is showing some promise.
There will be a lot of people who will contend. Last year we were
picked to finish sixth and ended up a half-game behind Texas (NCAA
runnerup) in the Big 12 race. The tournaments helped give us confidence
last season, and this year we have Arizona State, Cal State Fullerton,
UCLA, Nevada, and South Alabama.”
Oklahoma
State Frank Anderson:
“We lost so many quality kids last year and have so many kids
who have yet to play Division I baseball that there will be a good
battle at several positions. We have a drafted catcher in Matt Clarkson
and a senior who caught in 150 games at Virginia Commonwealth in Jeff
Parrish. Jeff has come down with mononucleosis, but we hope to have
him back soon. At first base Adam Carr is a great hitter and will
come into some games in the late innings in relief. Rusty Ryal will
be moving over to third base from second and feels comfortable over
there. I feel good about our defense, and we may be a little younger
but very athletic. I like the uniform possible start date because
it allows everyone to start on the same page. There are a lot of ramifications
about playing up into late June or July with school and summer leagues.
I’m not sure whether going to Oklahoma City is going to be a
great advantage for Oklahoma State or Oklahoma, but the people in
Oklahoma City have always treated all the Big 12 teams very well and
have embraced the tournament. We’re looking forward to the opening
Minute Maid Classic.”
Texas
Coach Augie Garrido: “Basically, we’re going
to start more seniors than we have in the past. With that experience
we will be able to field a championship-type team. We have an adequate
defense, a confident offense and a pitching staff that is capable.
Buck Cody (P) and 2B-OF Seth Johnston have been in the College World
Series for three consecutive years, and catcher Taylor Teagarden and
(closer) J. Brent Cox provide a lot of leadership and help our younger
kids with the little things. Cody will be a weekend starter. (New
assistant coach) Greg Swindell will be a great asset, and we were
sorry to lose Dennis Cook, who has triplets and family obligations.
Greg dispenses coaching, personality and wisdom that a person who
has been ‘in the show’ gives a team. I have coached at
Illinois and know how the elements can affect the season. Once television
came into the NCAA picture, the seeding of the top eight teams brought
the best teams from throughout the country through the tournaments.
The ‘southern section’ of the Big 12 normally has formed
the top half of the division, and Missouri and Nebraska have great
talent and coaching.”
Texas
A&M Coach Mark Johnson: “We’re excited to
get started like everyone else. We have the toughest schedule we have
had since I’ve been here. We appreciate the preseason national
recognition, and there’s hard to get a base for it, but we felt
good about our NCAA Regional play last year. We have six position
starters returning, and some quality pitchers in Jason Meyer and Robert
Ray and a quality closer in Kevin Whelan, who had a great season in
the Cape Cod League. We feel Clayton Turner, a transfer from Northwestern
State, has pitched well and could help us immediately. We need to
be pretty sharp pretty quickly. Parker Dalton has come along pretty
strong and could be the starter at 2B. We have some very solid returnees
and some freshmen who could push for playing time. This could be a
banner year for the Big 12. There are a lot of returning veterans
and depth in the conference. The tournaments help us get ready for
a lot of different competition on a neutral site, but we have a very
challenging format and schedule. Our guys were also pleased to be
playing in the well-conceived Texas Collegiate League—it can
become one of the best in the country.”
Texas
Tech Coach Larry Hays:
“We’re excited about the season, and it’s going
to be a learn as you go situation and an almost totally new outfit.
We have our shortstop Cameron Blair and two or three position players
like Cooper Fouts catching, Madison Edwards in the outfield, and Cody
Fuller in the outfield, and our Sunday pitcher Michael McGowan returns.
We hope that Adam Fry and Randy Gattis (who has had arm surgery) will
help us and eight newcomers will be able to come in and help us immediately.
We return pitchers with just five of the 40 victories and need some
people to step up quickly. Our freshman infielder Drew Roberts of
McKinney, Texas, has been out throughout all our spring practice with
some health issues, and he had a good round of fall practice. Everyone
is looking for Texas to win the 2005 title, but this is the Big 12.
Any team in the conference can beat anyone else on a given weekend.
2005 Big 12 Preseason
Order of Finish (Voting by Head Coaches)
School (First
Place Votes) Points
1. Texas (9)
81
2. Texas
A&M 70
3. Oklahoma
State (1) 62
4. Baylor
55
5. Nebraska
50
6. Texas
Tech 39
7. Oklahoma
37
8. Missouri
30
9. Kansas
15
10. Kansas
State 11
Points based on
nine for first place, eight for second, etc.)
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