Everything From Virginia Tech Baseball HC John Szefc at Media Day

Virginia Tech baseball head coach John Szefc spoke to the media at the team's media day today; here's the entirety of what Szefc had to say:

Opening statement:

"With us about 10 days or so away, we're all really excited about the beginning of the season. This is probably one of the better teams we've had on paper since I've been here, probably, from a pitching and defense perspective, one of our better teams that we've had. So usually, teams have success when they're solid on the mound in this sport. As you all probably know, we feel like we've attacked some areas that we struggled in in the past, on the mound, defensively, obviously, one of our challenges is going to be keeping the group healthy, because it's a smaller group. Now, as you probably all know, the rosters went from 40 to 34 so it's a smaller group, and we feel like, if I go back to 2022, win the ACC, we have one minor injury that year, and we had a lot of success. In the years since then, we've had good success, but we've also incurred in the range of 15 to 17 injuries to some of our better players. And I only bring that up because I do think we feel like if we can keep our better guys on the field and available, we feel really good about what the outcome would be. I think any coach would probably tell you that in any sport, it's about keeping guys healthy and on the field and available. I think as long as we do that, we'll be in good shape. But to begin, this group on paper is probably one of the better groups we've had, and it's certainly probably the best pitching staff we've had in terms of returning ACC innings, returning ACC starts and guys that project to be very successful on the mound based off of their ability and their experience."

On the specifics of the pitching group that differentiates it from past season:

"Well, when you return a guy like Brett Renfrow, who's would be in his third year of starting on Friday nights, haven't had that before. We return a guy, Griffin Stieg, who was an ACC starter before he got hurt. To have two returning ACC starters is something that I don't think we've had that before. If we have, not quite to the caliber that these guys are. Those are just two guys, and I bring them up, because of their ability and their experience, we have many good guys behind them that are good enough. Maybe they don't have quite the resume those two guys do, but several guys that we feel like we can go with. Different looks, different options, left, right, as far as bullpen stuff goes. But like two guys in particular that make our staff way better than it could have been had they signed a pro contract: Aiden Robertson, who was drafted in the 13th round by the Rangers, chose to come to school. That immediately makes us better. A guy that most of you guys probably don't know a whole lot of, True freshman Ethan Grim, right-handed pitcher from the Reading area in Pennsylvania. When he chooses to come to school and doesn't make himself signable, makes our staff way better before we even play one game. Those two guys. I don't know if I want to use the word luck, but we worked really hard to put this group together, and when it comes together, you just feel much better about it on paper. Another guy, on the position player side, that I think makes our team way better that he's back, we didn't anticipate him being back with the pro draft, is Henry Cooke, catcher. He's way more healthy than he was last year. He had a banged-up knee last year. Should be one of the top defensive catchers in the league, also has three years of experience, has a lot of ACC innings under his belt. And he's as good offensively as he's been since he's been here. So, those are just three examples of several I can bring up that feels like we puts us in a good place before we even start the season."

On Stieg coming back even though Tech could have lost him:

"He did. He did. He's a Northern Virginia guy. He's been here for three years, going through surgery, going through rehab. He has options, just like everybody's got options nowadays. With the transfer portal, man, everybody's got options. So, when you have a guy like that return, or a couple of the guys I mentioned, it makes you feel OK about how things are being run, that guys want to come back. I always tell younger guys, even recruits. If you are chasing a dollar when you're 19, 20 years old, I don't think it's a smart thing, because you're going to chase a dollar the rest of your life. When you got a wife and kids and you're trying to pay bills, if you're trying to chase a dollar to get a new truck when you're 20 years old, as opposed to an opportunity or development or whatever. But if young people make it solely about the money, I think it's a mistake. I understand money is a factor, I get that. But I think in the cases which I've talked about, the money was a factor, but it wasn't the main factor."

On if that's why Stieg came back and whether it came down to Stieg coming to a place that might be more aligned with his values:

"I'd say yes and no. I didn't really sell a whole lot of stuff with Griffin. Griffin's been here for three years. He knows what the program is. I had to get him a little more acquainted with our new pitching operation, which he's very comfortable. He's made very good progress. That was probably more of the sell, if you want to call it that. I didn't really make it a sell. I didn't re-recruit Griffin Stieg to come back here. And I think he would tell you the same thing; he came back because he chose to come back. And I do think that four years, four months down the road, in July, I think he'll be very happy that he did. Because when it comes to money, and guys signing for a certain bonus level, I kiddingly say guys like him or Renfrow, those guys will write their own checks, because they'll be advanced. They'll have a lot of ACC innings and success under their belt, and their value will be dramatically higher this coming July than it was last July. Certainly, in Stieg's case, where he was coming off of surgery, he hadn't pitched in 14 months at the time. I think it'd also be a better place to move through a system in this coming July maybe than he was last July."

On the Hokies' new pitching coach, Doug Willey:

"We were trying to kind of redo our pitching situation. We were looking for a guy that had high-level college experience, who had run his own staff, which he did at Arkansas. He played at Arkansas, too. He ran his own staff at Xavier, and then he had pro experience with the Cubs, running some of their minor-league operations. And so, he checked a lot of boxes. Chase Lummus, our pitching performance guy, we brought him to kind of work with Doug. Came to us from Texas, where he had great experience working with Max Weiner, their pitching coach. So, it took a little while, but when we looked to upgrade our pitching operation, those two guys. And then obviously Doug, since you asked me that, in particular, kind of checked a lot of boxes, experience-wise, that we felt like it was the right fit as far as what he's done. I think he attacks it very individually. It's not like a one-size-fits-all kind of thing, like it's a guy-by-guy. As far as how they use the technology. It might be slightly different than the past. For me to go to dig deep into it is probably difficult. That's probably more of a question for [Doug] and for Chase. But I know there are guys that have really taken to what the operation is there. The competition that's created amongst that group is good to what should be, and I would also say this to this point, knock on wood, the group is healthy. We have guys. We have a lot of multi-positional position players that can play different spots, like three different guys that can play shortstop at any one time. We could put four guys on the infield that have played shortstop before, and usually the shortstops are usually the better athletes in the infield. Our catching operation with Henry Anderson, French, CJ Oxendine, it might be the strongest part of our team as far as depth, experience and talent goes. And I think a healthy Treyson Hughes in center field, in addition to a few other options, will really help us on that side. I will tell you, one of the best young position players we have is a guy that, again, most of you guys don't know. Ethan Ball is a kid from McLean High School, same high school as Griffin Stieg. Probably could have signed out of high school if he wanted to. He profiles as a left-handed second baseman, but he could go out in the outfield. He's probably one of our better young hitters that no one knows about from a bat-speed perspective, and he's made huge leaps since he's gotten here in August."

On having shortstop experience in Pete Daniel and Clay Grady and where they'll go in the rotation:

"I think you'll see, thinking Clay's case. We kind of know what he is like, he's been a tremendous defender here over the last three years. He may end up being our regular everyday guy short, or he might play second, or we might end up putting on the outfield a little bit, believe it or not. Again, we have 16 position players. It's a little different in the past. So I give you an example. If a guy like Hughes goes down, or something like that, because he's had some injuries in the past, that's a situation where you might see something like Grady out in the outfield. I'm not saying on a regular basis, but I mean, for a day or so here and there. We've looked at a lot of different scenarios having a smaller group of position players. What if this happens? What if that happens? And you're trying to put the most experienced, talented group out there, if you can, and the fact that Grady can play short and Daniel can play short. Ethan Gibson is might be our most flexible defender, who can play the left side and the right side, and he's been in the program now for two and a half years. I do feel like we have a lot of options on the position player side, similar to what we have on the pitching side. We can go righty and lefty and match them up if you have to, on any given day or time, assuming that the matchup would be right."

On where Szefc's confidence level is at in regard to offensive production:

"We've, been pretty successful offensively in general, over the last X amount of years. We have several returning position players that have kind of been in the system, and some of the newer guys have really fit in well. The two guys I'd give you in particular, Owen Petrich, a right-handed hitting third baseman we got from Saint Joe's, he'll figure into it big. And then Sam Gates, a left-handed hitting outfielder from GW. Two guys that, again, are not household names around here yet, but those guys will be fine. I think we'll score our share of runs and defend well. I think the work that Kurt [Elbin] and Tyler [Hanson] do, Tyson Petersheim do with those guys, they'll be well prepared even though we've been inside for a few days with this weather. You just got to be really creative and preparing guys, which we will. And we're about a week away, so getting pretty close."

On the team's chemistry and leaning on returners:

"We've been kind of dealing with that practice like any other coach in any other sport, been kind of dealing with that since August. And, it's almost like you're coaching players to help each other outside, hit, pitch, throw, the physicals of it. It's more to create a culture and to create standards. You have to obviously hold people accountable. I know that's like a buzzword in coaching, I guess, but it's true. It's something that we'll talk about quite a bit. Not hammer it, but it's a factor. I honestly think nowadays, with the way rosters are made up, where we have a good chunk of incoming players that are high school guys, and then we supplement them with transfer guys, like most other coaches do. And I think some of the leadership, if you want to use that word, it doesn't necessarily have to fall on returning players. It can fall on anybody, anyone that's got a strong enough personality and that other people feel comfortable following around, you know? And that's one thing that I know, I've tried to impress upon our guys, as well as our staff. Is your, your group of directors, you know, is 80, 90% of going to be from your returning players? Most likely. But there's also going to be another 15, 20% in there that comes from guys that are new to your program. So, my thing with baseball, I mean, nowadays, if you have a really good player in your program for two years, you feel pretty good about it with the amount of draft-eligible sophomores, because all the reclass that goes on and then obviously the transfer portal. It's like most good players are in college for less time than they were in high school, if you think about it from that perspective. So, we have to get these guys ready to not just play, but to be good teammates and direct other guys quickly, very quickly. Because they're here and they're gone. In some cases, a transfer guy is here for nine months if he has one year of eligibility. So, you gotta coach him up and have him ready to be a major factor in what's going on. Not just the physicals, but to your point, the directing side of things and helping others. And this is what's made me successful in the past. Maybe it'll make use. Maybe this can help you, or that can help you. So, it's kind of like players helping players, so to speak. Athletes helping athletes. And I would imagine that's the case in other sports. I don't know, but I know it is in our sport, because it might be the shortest sport of them all, as far as the amount of time that players actually spend in your program."

On Aiden Robertson, in regard to his development and the process of getting him intto the fold:

"In Aiden's case, we recruited him pretty standard. It wasn't like anything out of the ordinary or anything like that. The two things, I think, that we kind of really hang our hats on is, this sounds like a cliche, but it's the whole coaching and development part of it. We've got to spend an awful lot of time one-on-one with the players. We have to get them ready for ACC play and beyond. So, it's a real thing, like we have to do that in order to stay in a good place in this league. We don't. We just don't bring in guys that are plug-in-and-play guys that they might be good enough to do that. But if we're not working with them on a day-to-day basis, then we're probably falling behind the curve. And I think in his case, I think he understood that. To his credit, I think he bet on himself, and the fact that I think he wanted to spend at least one year at the Division I level where he could increase his value on the pro market. But I think also, he can enjoy going to college for a year and win in preparation for going to pro ball. So, it was probably a little bit of a combination of us getting that information over to him, and then his plan, like his personal plan. As far as his development goes, since he's been here, I think he has increased his value, and he's, I think, far better now than when he came in for a lot of different reasons. He's put on some good weight and he's a lot stronger. He should be able to carry his velo. Most likely, he's spending, let's just say he's here for a year, because he's gonna be draft eligible again. Say he's here for one season. I think it'll dramatically help him move through a pro system when he gets there, let's say in July, as it will for most guys. I think the longer guys stay in school, the better off they're going to be. When they become an elite-level pick, a top-three rounder, they're probably ready to go, I would think, and that's for any player across the board, whether it's Aiden Robertson or Renfrow or Ethan Ball or whoever. The time spent playing baseball in the ACC is never going to hurt anyone's development or their value. And I think that's probably one of the things that maybe Aiden recognized, which a lot of people can recognize it, but unless you have enough confidence in yourself, unless you bet on yourself, it doesn't necessarily mean you're going to do it. But you might recognize it. And I think he recognized it, and he chose to do it. And I think he'll be really happy that he did do."

On whether Szefc already knows his ACC rotation:

"I would say Brett coming back with all the ACC starts under his belt, I would have to think he's going to be in that ACC rotation. In Stieg's case, he has, I don't know the number, but he has quite a few ACC starts under his belt and has a lot of ACC experience. I would have to think he's probably going to be part of that rotation. Beyond those two guys, we have a lot of good guys. Robertson is certainly one of them; there's no doubt about it. Ethan Grim is one of them. Logan Eisenreich is one of them. I'm talking about elite-level talent guys that I would have no problem running any one of those three guys out there against Florida State, Mississippi State. Or James Madison on a Tuesday, because those Tuesday games, they're good games. You play a lot of really good RPI teams, and those guys will fight you to the death, as they always do. So, I look at those games as being very important. They're not just games you play for the sake of playing a game on a Tuesday. So, we will make sure that whoever we're starting in that game is prepped and ready to go. Maybe the best way I can answer is this, I think we have very interchangeable guys, a guy who could start on Tuesday could easily start on a Saturday, and vice versa. a guy that can start on, I think your Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday, guys are going to be somewhat interchangeable, right there. I think the whole Friday thing, that's an interesting thing right there. Just because you're always going to face someone else's best guy, but they're going to probably face who we think is our best guy that week, too. I would also tell you that the Saturday start's pretty pivotal too, because if you think about it on Saturday, you're either going to try to win a series or you're going to try to even it up. So, you have to feel really, really good about the guy you're running out there on Saturday, too. I don't know if that answers the question or not, but I do think we have many interchangeable arms. Exactly how we strategize or match them up may have to do with the team we're playing on the weekend. Experience-wise, lefties, righties, ballpark we're playing at, health. There's a lot of factors that go into it, but I can tell you that the group is pretty deep. And we feel good about multiple, multiple guys there."

On this year's pitching staff being deeper than any previous pitching unit under Szefc:

"The answer to that question is yes, if that makes sense. I know that's a short one, but is it unprecedented? Yes, I could talk for 10 minutes about it, but I would just answer that by saying yes. It's just become that way for different reasons. It's not because of one guy or this guy or this guy. It's like, it's, it's because of the combination of guys. You mentioned [Preston] Crowl. Crowl might be our, one of our best arms right now. Like, his preseason has been awesome. He's, he's really good. So, I even talked about him. The guy, he's gonna be a pro arm here real soon."

On Eisenreich's velocity nearly hitting triple-digits:

"Yeah, he's come a long way. My God, like he didn't pitch a senior in high school because he had surgery. So, like last year, we started him because we had a lot of injuries. And was he ready for that? I don't know. But the experience will certainly help him this year, having logged that many starts last year. He's way more advanced mentally than he was this time last year, as any sophomore probably would be. But sometimes you force at-bats on a guy, a young guy, sometimes you force innings on a young guy. I think in Logan's case, that would probably be the explanation for that. We probably force some things on him, but that'll definitely help him, both now and in the future."