UConn Baseball 2021

[Tmill15]

Saw today that cancer survivor Josh Cohen will be attending Bergen Community College. He will be a strong pitcher at that level. He tops out at 95 and wish him all the best!

 

[huskymedic]

 

[Fairfield_1st]

Saw today that cancer survivor Josh Cohen will be attending Bergen Community College. He will be a strong pitcher at that level. He tops out at 95 and wish him all the best!

That's too bad. Hopefully we can still be in his future. I was looking forward to watching that story unfold.

 

[dbmill]

Connecticut​

The Huskies were supposed to compete in the Big East last spring, but that didn’t happen because of COVID. Now, their first official season back in the league continues with a loaded club. UConn has an intriguing pitching staff with North Carolina transfer Ben Casparius leading the way. Casparius was up to 94-95 mph with his fastball with electric stuff in the fall, while the back end of the bullpen is in good shape with the return of Caleb Wurster. Offensively, the return of Kyler and Christian Fedko is huge for Connecticut, while Pat Winkel is a star backstop and Reggie Crawford, who hit .365 as a freshman last season, is expected to have a monster second freshman campaign.


(They are also high on BC and Southern Miss who we scheduled).

The big question is whether or not Caleb Wurster will be in the back of the bullpen or used as a starter. Interviews with Coach Penders during fall ball seemed to indicate that Wurster may have a weekend starting role for the Huskies. Stay tuned in to see what happens.

 

[huskymedic]

 

[businesslawyer]

That's too bad. Hopefully we can still be in his future. I was looking forward to watching that story unfold.

Without knowing anything, one has to wonder if that’s a baseball decision, meaning for whatever reason he doesn’t think he’s ready to contribute at UConn, or if that’s a health decision, that as a cancer survivor he’s going to live at home until the world is safe again, and this is just a way to pitch while living at home while he waits for the vaccine to be available to him.

 

[dbmill]

Some of us aren't that patient.

 

[dbmill]

You didn't see this before with UConn baseball:

 

[billybud]

I noticed a possible change for this covid year in team roster management. Maybe because of the experiences of basketball-football.

Example.....Normally a school like FSU prepares 4-5 starting pitchers...but their coach announced at the beginning of practice that he is preparing to go with 8 starters....and has stockpiled 23 on the roster as full time or part time pitchers.

I had hoped that by baseball season, this Covid would be handled...but maybe preparing to have a pitcher or two out on quarantine may be a strategy.

 

[dbmill]

I noticed a possible change for this covid year in team roster management. Maybe because of the experiences of basketball-football.

Example.....Normally a school like FSU prepares 4-5 starting pitchers...but their coach announced at the beginning of practice that he is preparing to go with 8 starters....and has stockpiled 23 on the roster as full time or part time pitchers.

I had hoped that by baseball season, this Covid would be handled...but maybe preparing to have a pitcher or two out on quarantine may be a strategy.

The way the UConn baseball schedule is currently constituted, UConn would have two weeks where they would need 6 starters, and several weeks where they would need 5 starters. It wouldn't surprise me if they have a few others ready to go as well. The UConn coaches in fall interviews have also talked about UConn's apparent pitching depth, which includes a very deep bullpen. The coaches indicated in these interviews that they were going to take advantage of this pitching depth and simply use a lot of pitchers in games.

 

[huskymedic]

 

[billybud]

I see 22 pitchers on the Husky roster...3 of which are also utility players...pretty deep pitching roster.

 

[dbmill]

I noticed a possible change for this covid year in team roster management. Maybe because of the experiences of basketball-football.

Example.....Normally a school like FSU prepares 4-5 starting pitchers...but their coach announced at the beginning of practice that he is preparing to go with 8 starters....and has stockpiled 23 on the roster as full time or part time pitchers.

I had hoped that by baseball season, this Covid would be handled...but maybe preparing to have a pitcher or two out on quarantine may be a strategy.

One other thought. In previous seasons college baseball had a mandated roster limit of 35 players. This season due to the pandemic, returning seniors from last year are basically freebies who do not count towards the normal 35 player limit, so teams can carry more than 35 players. So you can certainly carry more pitchers than you normally would have in previous seasons.

 

[Tmill15]

I would be on the lookout for D1Baseball’s 2021 Big East season outlook write up! They seem to be flying through the conferences this week and could be getting to the BE soon

 

[huskymedic]

Here’s the BaseballAmerica Big East preview (should be accessible



Player of the Year - KFed
UConn predicted to finish first:

-> Expectations are high for the Huskies in their first season back in the Big East. They have made three of the last four NCAA Tournaments, have the most talented roster in the conference and this spring will open the new Elliott Ballpark. It all sets up well for a memorable return to the Big East. The Huskies have a deep, potent lineup, led by the Fedko and Winkel brothers. Kyler Fedko is coming off an impressive 2020 season and his older brother Christian (.275/.316/.353), anchors the infield as a fourth-year junior second baseman. Third-year sophomore catcher Pat Winkel missed last season due to injury but is the conference’s top prospect. His older brother Chris (.348/.404/.457, 5 SB) is a fifth-year senior center fielder, who has been a captain the last two seasons and has played 192 career games. In addition to that core, second-year freshman first baseman/lefthander Reggie Crawford (.365/.414/.558) gives the Huskies another powerful hitter with upside in the lineup. On the mound, UConn must replace ace Nick Krauth but receives a boost as righthander Ben Casparius is now eligible after sitting out last season following his transfer from North Carolina. The fourth-year junior will step in at the front of the rotation and has pro upside thanks to his athleticism and a fastball that gets into the mid 90s. Fourth-year junior righthander Joe Simeone (1-1, 3.00) returns to the rotation and third-year junior lefthander Caleb Wurster (1-0, 1.29, 2 SV) is back at the back of the bullpen. The Huskies will have to find some more depth around those core pitchers, possibly from third-year sophomore righthander Jimmy Wang (0-0, 7.71) taking a step forward or the addition of third-year sophomore righthander Austin Peterson, a junior college transfer. UConn has been strong on the mound throughout pitching coach Joshua MacDonald’s 10-year tenure in Storrs and if this staff continues that tradition, UConn is capable of making an NCAA Tournament run. <-

 

[huskymedic]

 

[dbmill]

These baseball publications and websites in their preseason previews all seem to have Caleb Wurster in the bullpen, where obviously he has been rather effective. I wonder if they have talked to Coach Penders about that, or listened to any of the fall ball interviews that the coaching staff did where it they were giving big consideration to moving Wurster to the starting rotation.

 

[Tmill15]

I think Casparius or Wurster can make a run at pitcher of the year. Also didn’t see many mentions of Christian Fedko which is surprising because he can definitely be one of the better players in the conference. These reports get me fired up for the szn!!!

 

[huskymedic]

 

[BaseballDog]

It's nice to see Pat behind the dish.

 

[huskymedic]

Can only hope that by late spring (and outdoors) - things may change:

Athletics Limits In-Person Attendance to Friends and Families of Student-Athletes and Coaches for All Sports - University of Connecticut Athletics

UConn athletics has announced that its policy for in-person attendance at men's and women's basketball home games will be adopted for all sports until further notice.

uconnhuskies.com

"UConn athletics has announced that its policy for in-person attendance at men's and women's basketball home games will be adopted for all sports until further notice. After receiving guidance from the State of Connecticut Department of Public Health in November, UConn athletics limited attendance to student-athletes' friends and families, with each receiving a maximum of four tickets."

 

[JeannoCT]

Can only hope that by late spring (and outdoors) - things may change:

Athletics Limits In-Person Attendance to Friends and Families of Student-Athletes and Coaches for All Sports - University of Connecticut Athletics

UConn athletics has announced that its policy for in-person attendance at men's and women's basketball home games will be adopted for all sports until further notice.

uconnhuskies.com

"UConn athletics has announced that its policy for in-person attendance at men's and women's basketball home games will be adopted for all sports until further notice. After receiving guidance from the State of Connecticut Department of Public Health in November, UConn athletics limited attendance to student-athletes' friends and families, with each receiving a maximum of four tickets."

Hopefully baseball will be allowing fans. Fingers crossed.

 

[hardcorehusky]

Hopefully baseball will be allowing fans. Fingers crossed.

I had season tickets last year and was hoping to get them again this year.

 

[JeannoCT]

I had season tickets last year and was hoping to get them again this year.

Me too!

 

[BaseballDog]

2021 Media Guide is up:

2021 Media Guide (PDF) - University of Connecticut Athletics

2021 Media Guide (PDF)

uconnhuskies.com