Men - UConn Baseball 2024 | Page 7 | The Boneyard

Men UConn Baseball 2024

It's going to be interesting to see who ends up getting the majority of the playing time in center field for UConn. It seems to be a contest between either TC Simmons and Drew Kron. I have taken a liking to Simmons ever since he arrived at UConn. I also took a liking to Drew Kron when he played summer ball in 2022 for the Norwich Sea Unicorns of the Futures League. I loved Kron's defense and speed as well as his baseball instincts that he showed in Norwich. One thing for certain, defensively UConn would be in very good shape with either of them in center field. Suppose it is always possible there could be a platoon between the two of them in center field, but we will see what happens.
 
dbmill said:
It's going to be interesting to see who ends up getting the majority of the playing time in center field for UConn. It seems to be a contest between either TC Simmons and Drew Kron. I have taken a liking to Simmons ever since he arrived at UConn. I also took a liking to Drew Kron when he played summer ball in 2022 for the Norwich Sea Unicorns of the Futures League. I loved Kron's defense and speed as well as his baseball instincts that he showed in Norwich. One thing for certain, defensively UConn would be in very good shape with either of them in center field. Suppose it is always possible there could be a platoon between the two of them in center field, but we will see what happens.
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I think if Kron hits a little the position is his. His instincts, legs and arm are all better in the outfield. If they go to Tampa the first weekend and Drew looks over matched at the plate maybe that changes the next weekend at Cal Berkeley. Definitely have some depth out there this year.
 
2 years ago TC was a key cog in getting us to 1 win away from Omaha. He was good in the outfield, more than serviceable on the basepaths, and showed occasional pop with the stick. Unless Kron has a higher upside ala Korey Morton, than TC needs to be out there. Just think of the speed with TC Kron and Morton out there
 
hardcorehusky said:
2 years ago TC was a key cog in getting us to 1 win away from Omaha. He was good in the outfield, more than serviceable on the basepaths, and showed occasional pop with the stick. Unless Kron has a higher upside ala Korey Morton, than TC needs to be out there. Just think of the speed with TC Kron and Morton out there
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I agree that TC was crucial for us in that run. However, he looked like a shell of himself last year returning from injury. Would love for him to return to that form but he was given a decent leash last year and it never came to fruition. Would not surpirse me to see Kron start the year or them split time the first few travel weekends before one emerges with a hot bat.
 
PASTE04038! said:
I think if Kron hits a little the position is his. His instincts, legs and arm are all better in the outfield. If they go to Tampa the first weekend and Drew looks over matched at the plate maybe that changes the next weekend at Cal Berkeley. Definitely have some depth out there this year.
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hardcorehusky said:
2 years ago TC was a key cog in getting us to 1 win away from Omaha. He was good in the outfield, more than serviceable on the basepaths, and showed occasional pop with the stick. Unless Kron has a higher upside ala Korey Morton, than TC needs to be out there. Just think of the speed with TC Kron and Morton out there
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HookC22 said:
I agree that TC was crucial for us in that run. However, he looked like a shell of himself last year returning from injury. Would love for him to return to that form but he was given a decent leash last year and it never came to fruition. Would not surpirse me to see Kron start the year or them split time the first few travel weekends before one emerges with a hot bat.
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In my mind Simmons and Kron pretty much share the same strengths and weaknesses in their game. The biggest difference is that Simmons is a lefty hitter, and Kron is a righty hitter. Both are strong defensive outfielders with good speed. The big question is will either one be showing something on offense when the season starts. I expect that will pretty much determine who ends up getting more time in center field during the season. Simmons was also recovering from injury during fall ball, so I doubt that helped him any in trying to take the job.
 
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dbmill said:
uconnhuskies.com

BSB BIG EAST Favorites, Studley & Quigley Preseason Award Winners - University of Connecticut Athletics

NEW YORK - The UConn baseball team has been selected as the BIG EAST favorites entering the 2024 season as announced by the BIG EAST Conference on Tuesday mo...
uconnhuskies.com uconnhuskies.com

<2024 Preseason Baseball All-BIG EAST Team and Awards

Preseason Player of the Year

Jake Studley, OF, UConn

Preseason Pitcher of the Year

Stephen Quigley, SP, UConn>

Garrett Coe also named to the Preseason All-Big East Team
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Perusing the 2024 Preseason All-American Teams. Players Uconn MAY come across in 2024:

1) First team - Northeastern Mike Sirota CF (.346/18/54) - Saw him last year at Elliott had a big day but was overshadowed by Maldonado. Projected first-round pick (high as #11). He's probably helping drive NE to be ranked in some preseason polls.

2) First team - Kansas St. Tyson Neighbors Closer (5-1/1.85/11 saves) May start in '24. (This game at Elliott is a must attend -see Culpepper below)

3) Second team - UCLA Duce Gourson 2B (.319/10/48)

4) Second team- UC Santa Barbara Hudson Barrett Closer (6-1/1.92/6 saves)

5) Second team - Indiana St Jared Spencer Closer (3-2/3.86/7 saves)

6) Third team - UC Santa Barbara Matt Ager SP (5-4/3.12) UCSB pitching is loaded from what I've read. 8 quality arms battling for starting roles.

Additional Comments
1) Player of Year: Nick Kurtz Wake 1B (projected top pick in this year's draft; Btw saw Caglianone at #4 overall)

2) Pitcher of the year: Chase Burns Wake (transfer from Tenn throws 100mph+ projected top third of first-round pick in draft - Understatement but Wake is stacked - I believe 4-5 projected first-round picks)

3) Kaelen Culpepper Kansas St SS projected first-round pick (no all-America honors)

4) Caleb Lomavita Cal C projected first-round pick (no all-America honors) (saw him last year in series at Berkeley - Caught my eye but wasn't thinking 1st round - standard disclaimer - I'm not a scout and small sample size.)
 
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Top 25 Consideration: 15 More Teams To Watch​

From D1baseball. No mention of UConn. IMO this is probably a reflection of our lack of power this year and somewhat unproven pitching.

On the bright side, with our extremely strong OOC slate and relatively under-the-radar preseason (nationally speaking), we have the opportunity to sneak up on some teams.
 
CtBaseball said:

Top 25 Consideration: 15 More Teams To Watch​

From D1baseball. No mention of UConn. IMO this is probably a reflection of our lack of power this year and somewhat unproven pitching.

On the bright side, with our extremely strong OOC slate and relatively under-the-radar preseason (nationally speaking), we have the opportunity to sneak up on some teams.
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I think you're spot on here. Offensively you're most likely plugging in Padilla. Dalena and Kron/TC for Dom, Huber, and Smitty. This is using the jump-off point from Gainesville. You're going to lose production there it's a question of how much and can the remaining shortfall be "mostly" backfilled from other positions. Of course, someone can emerge and/or improve and things will change.

I'm excited for the starting pitching under the caveat that it stays healthy. As you said schedule is tough and the record won't be as gaudy as last year but it might turn out to be a more well-balanced team than in 2023. They are going to be challenged in Feb/early March so have to get out of the gate well.

Looking forward to getting down to Tampa. Interesting opening weekend against 3 good but beatable opponents. 2 out of 3 would be nice. FYI - St. John's is going to play 3 @ Gainesville with Florida opening weekend. Jumping right into the deep end. Haha.
 
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MarkyMark said:
FYI - St. John's is going to play 3 @ Gainesville with Florida opening weekend. Jumping right into the deep end. Haha.
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Historically, St. John's has generally been one of the better baseball teams in the Big East. They have won 9 Big East Tournaments, the most in conference history. They won some of these Tournaments when teams like Louisville and Notre Dame were in the Big East. St. John's baseball has taken a fall for the last several years ago. It would really help the conference if St. John's baseball returned to their ability before they took this recent this down turn.
 
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