Holliday Talks Baseball Signees and Upcoming Season and Schedule
STILLWATER -- Oklahoma State head baseball coach Josh Holliday met with the media on Friday morning, Friday the 13th, but the day and this week were anything but unlucky for Holliday and the Cowboys baseball program. Earlier this week Oklahoma State collected a top flight recruiting class in baseball including one of the top prospects in California and a pair of highly-rated prospects in Florida. There is also a talented left-handed pitcher from Colorado and the best players in Oklahoma.
"It's a very, very talented bunch of kids and I really like the type of kids we are getting with attitude and personality to go along with the physical talent," Holliday said of a class that still has some signed Letter of Intents left to be sent in. "Those are the kind of kids you are looking for."
Holliday said that he and his staff were able to adapt and get the most out of recruiting that was not in person and involved phone calls, face time, Zoom meetings, texts, email, and social media.
"Those kids, along with the players that arrived this fall, and the kids that we have our eyes on in the upcoming years, you really like them and you get to know them through this unique time with notes and texts and whatever you are allowed to do since you can't be with them in person."
Holliday is really happy about Simi Valley, Calf. catcher, outfielder, and middle infielder Roc Riggio. The 5-9, 180-pound Riggio is multi-talented.
"Roc Riggio is one of the best players in the state of California and is one of the best players in the country," Holliday said. "A couple of years ago I went out to the underclass area code games in California and I came home and said "Roc Riggio was the best player in the tournament.' For us to get a commitment from him three months later and then get his signature earlier this week then that is a big thing for us. He really stands out and is one of those kids that could play every position on the field and stand out but he is a remarkable hitter."
The pair of signees from the Sunshine State are shortstop Alex Ulloa out of Calvary Christian Academy from Cutler Bay and big 6-2, 205-pound third baseman Aidan Meola of Palm Beach Gardens.
"We went to the state of Florida and got two kids in Alex Ulloa and Aiden Meola. Those two kids bring similar presence to the field with big personalities and talent," continued Holliday. "They are both really good and shine. Tyler Collins from the Dallas area is the same way. He is one of the best athletes in the state of Texas. We are really pleased with the Oklahoma kids and it is important for us to stay strong with those kids in the state that can really play and want to be at Oklahoma State. We got a pitcher from Colorado in Ryan Ure that we saw at the area code games two summers ago and he was one of the most impressive kids that I saw go to the mound from the left side."
Collins is a 5-10, 175-pound speedy outfielder from Boyd High School in McKinney, Texas. Ure is a 6-7, 225-pound left-handed pitcher that has big time stuff.
Then there are the four Oklahomans in the class in Stillwater left-handed pitcher Drew Blake, Kingfisher catcher Ian Daugherty, Edmond Santa Fe shortstop Caden Brumbaugh, and Yukon shortstop Carson Benge.
Holliday also spoke about the fall workouts and how well his team worked with the Oklahoma State sports medicine staff to get through fall practice and maximize their efforts and time. The fall included moving into O'Brate Stadium and getting the opportunity to work in the new facility.
"You are always kind of gauging in your mind about your team by the way things are going and I have to be honest with you, I thought the first three weeks of getting the kids back here, getting them tested, and getting them back into the routine of things went really well," Holliday said. "The school handled the testing and getting back onto campus in such good fashion that we were lucky that we had all of our kids back up and going. Then from Sept. 17 until Nov. 1, which was our first day and then until we closed I thought we had a tremendous fall. We were able to get our work in and the new facility has so many more training possibilities and we got so much done. I thought the team portion of the fall was an A plus."
Now, Holliday and his staff as well as all other Big 12 and most Division I baseball programs will say good-bye to their teams after the next week and a half as most in-person semesters at the majority of schools end with the Thanksgiving break.
The schedule for next season is still supposed to be the regular 56 games, but it could mean more conference games, longer series with teams that have passed their COVID-19 tests going into competition.
"I think that makes a lot of sense Robert, I think that is something that has been spoken on," agreed Holliday. "I think from my point of view and from the Big 12 perspective there are a lot of good people that are putting in the though on how to get games in and get two healthy teams on the field against one another. They are good at the testing, the contact tracing, and the testing on competition days. People are doing a great job and our campus I have been super impressed with the thoroughness and thoughfulness with the science being used. If it's four-game series versus three-game series that give us the best chance of getting games played then we're going to do it."
A great recruiting class, likely a top 25 class with two of the top 40 players (Ulloa and Riggio) in the country included, and next a season to play would be nice.