Mitch Canham Reveals Starters, Praises Coaches, Ahead of Opener
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At 11 AM Friday, 6'4" 228 pound junior lefty Nelson Keljo, a Portland native who starred at Jesuit HS, will throw the opening pitches of the 2025 Oregon State Beavers baseball season.
That's according to Beavers head baseball coach Mitch Canham, who spoke with the media yesterday ahead of the Beavers' season opening series.
Oregon Slate will travel to Surprise Arizona for four games in four days - beginning on Friday, Valentines Day, at 11 AM. A video stream can be viewed on FloSports, and a free radio broadcast can be heard across statewide radio affiliates of the Beavers Sports Network.
Here are some highlights from Canham's conversation with the local press.
On the growth of junior outfielder Easton Talt:
"He's definitely done a phenomenal job developing. Freshman year he was having the nerves that any normal freshman would. Last year he was still working through acknowledging some of that stuff. This year, taking that big jump, you see just how he approaches his batting practice every day. He's taking professional batting practice. It's hard - when you hit with Jacob Krieg or [Gavin] Turley, you watch them put balls off the hitter's eye and naturally you wanna do the same thing - but I think he's pushed his ego aside and just said this is what I'm really good at, I need to be able to push drag, and I need to be able to go gap to gap. So it's fun watching him mature."
On his starting rotation this weekend in Surprise, AZ:
"[Nathan] Keljo is gonna start Friday, and then Dax [Whitney] will be behind him. You've already heard some of the other pieces (note: Ethan Kleinschmidt spoke with the media on Tuesday) ... early on guys are stil building up pitch count, but every game is a big game, so I wanna make sure we are thriving through the end of the season but I also wanna make sure we're not pushing guys to the limits right out the shoe."
On his message to the Beavers' pitching staff:
"I think the one consensus we have is that it doesn't matter if you're starting or not. We're going to line guys up with the best spots for success, and if that means coming in and starting but you might not go that long, fine. If that means going as long as possible, great. If that means coming in and being a bridge guy, getting multiple touches, that's something that we've been building up for."
On Sophomore pitcher Eric Segura missing the opening rotation:
"Eric wants to win! Eric's gonna do whatever it takes. We just have four games down there, right? So we'll see when we see him, but I know he's gonna pitch. He's been looking really sharp, but it also has to do with how guys are building up."
On the Oregon State alumni in his coaching staff:
"Every alumni group wants what's best for this place, and is willing do whatever it takes to make it happen. I don't ever have to worry about someone showing up without having a great attitude. I know [Joey] Wong's gonna bring it, I know Dor's [assistant coach Rich Dorman] gonna bring it, I know Zak Taylor's gonna bring it, [Ryan] Gorton, every day I walk in and Gorton is like Skip, Go Beavs"
On Ethan Kleinschmidt's journey from 2A baseball at Kennedy HS (Mount Angel, OR) to starting on the three-time national champions:
"He's obviously a good-sized human being, left-handed, which I know a lot of people get excited about right away. But watching him compete, that's always the big thing, you see that and there's a different monster in there."
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Matt fell in love with radio during his college days at Oregon Tech, and pursued a nine year career in sports broadcasting with Klamath Falls' and Medford's highest-rated sports radio stations. He currently lives in McMinnville wine country and is excited to talk about the Beavers again.