TCU Baseball: Klecker Reflects On Outstanding Season

The "one pitch at a time" mentality is much easier said than done, but it is the mindset that true freshman pitcher Kole Klecker has employed all season.

On February 18, Kole Klecker saw his first collegiate action against a top-10 Arkansas team in an MLB stadium in front of over 20,000 fans. But he was unbothered. Klecker pitched 4.1 innings and allowed three hits and one run while striking out six batters. While TCU fans didn't know then, this game would be a sign of things to come for the talented freshman. Fast forward four months to TCU's first Super Regional game against Indiana State, a game in which Klecker would also dominate, but this time as the starter.

If you told a TCU fan two months ago that Klecker would be lights out in a Super Regional game in Fort Worth, they wouldn't have believed you for a couple of reasons. The first reason being that for a while, it looked like the Frogs may miss the postseason altogether.

On April 30, TCU lost to Texas and fell to 23-20 on the season, and things were bleak in Fort Worth. But the Horned Frogs turned it around largely thanks to the improved individual play from many players on the team, including Klecker. After his April 29 start against the Longhorns, where he allowed eight hits and six runs in just 2.2 innings, his season ERA rose to 4.53. Since that game, he has appeared in six games, winning three games. In those six games, his ERA was an impressive 2.17, bringing his season ERA back down to 3.84. Klecker's elevated play helped the Frogs go 19-2 in their last 21 games, which included a Big 12 Tournament Championship and dominant showings in both the Regional and Super Regional. It wasn't just Klecker that leveled up when the team needed it, but guys like Brayden Taylor, Anthony Silva, and Tre Richardson all saw their numbers rise down the stretch.

"We knew that if things kept going the way it was going, we might not make the postseason, and we might not make a regional," Klecker said. "All the parts started to figure out where they had to be for us to be the best team, and we started to roll."

The other reason a TCU fan may have had a hard time believing you about Klecker in the Super Regionals is that the kid is a true freshman. It is extremely rare to find a team that has A) a head coach confident enough in a freshman to hand him the ball in the biggest game of the season and B) a freshman who can handle it. TCU had both.

It was a slight surprise when Klecker learned that he'd be on the mound for the Friday night game against Indiana State because his role as a pitcher had bounced around during the season.

"The whole season, I kind of bounced around roles. I started out in the bullpen, and then I started some Sunday games and was able to work a couple Saturday games, and then I kind of ended up in the Friday role towards the end of the season," Klecker said. "I obviously knew that was my role, but in the postseason, a lot of things can change. Coach Saarloos talked to me, and he told me I'd be getting the ball and that he was excited for me. I'm glad he has the confidence in me to allow me to do that."

This brings me to my next point.

In his first Super Regional game ever as a head coach, Kirk Saarloos hands the ball to a true freshman who had obviously never pitched in a game of that caliber. Saarloos deserves endless credit for continuing to trust his guys, which helped turn the season around in dramatic fashion. A team that sat three games above .500 at the end of April is now one step closer to winning it all.

The Game

Before Game 1 against Indiana State, Klecker had never been more nervous about playing a baseball game. But the laid-back "one pitch at a time" attitude returned, and Klecker pitched a masterclass.

"[The nerves] kind of affected me just a little bit in the first inning, but once I settled down in the second and third innings, I kind of started to cruise, and I just started to enjoy the moment. That was the biggest part for me," Klecker said. "[I tried not to] take it so seriously and had fun with it. We're just playing baseball, and once I started enjoying the moment, things went well for me."

Things indeed went well for the freshman right-hander. Klecker pitched seven shutout innings, allowed just three hits, and struck out nine batters. TCU won the game 4-1. The following day, a 6-4 win would clinch the program's first College World Series appearance since 2017. Just days later, Klecker would be named a Freshman All-American alongside teammate Silva by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.

What a game from Kole Klecker!#RoadToOmaha x 🎥 ESPNU / @TCU_Baseball pic.twitter.com/Q3AsYxNP1h
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) June 9, 2023

Next up for Klecker and the Frogs is Omaha. TCU sits in Bracket 1 along with Florida, Virginia, and Oral Roberts. The Frogs will take on Oral Roberts on Friday at 1 pm CT. As of now, the starting pitcher has not been named, but it is safe to assume that Klecker has earned a chance to do it all again. The competition continues to stiffen for TCU, but the Frogs are unbothered.

THE BRACKET 👀#MCWS pic.twitter.com/38B0RJLvld
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) June 13, 2023

"The standard here at TCU is Omaha – I think we treat [the CWS] the same way we treated all the other games," Klecker said. "It's still the same baseball game we're playing. We're going to stay together and enjoy the moment and not really think about all the outside noise. We're just going to keep taking it one pitch at a time. Every single one of these teams can win it all, so why not us?"

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