The Rice Thresher 2019 Baseball Preview | Wednesday, February 13, 2019

THE

CHANGING OF THE

GUARD

BRAGGA PREPARING TO LEAD OWLS BACK TO POSTSEASON

photo illustration by tina liu photos courtesy rice athletics

PROJECTED POSITION PLAYERS

C

1B

Dominic DiCaprio senior

AVG: RBI: .190 7

HR: 2

Justin Collins sophomore

AVG: RBI: .265 26

2B

HR: 6

Cade Edwards junior

AVG: RBI: .324 24

HR: 1

SS

Trei Cruz

sophomore

AVG: RBI: .279 45

3B

HR: 6

all headshots courtesy of rice athletics

Bragga determined to revitalize Rice baseball the zone, they can throw them wherever they want. A lot of them are throwing lowEDITOR-IN-CHIEF to-mid-90s.”

While Rice has a lot of pitching depth, The folding chair former head coach the lineup is more of a question mark. The Wayne Graham used to occupy was team is carrying more pitchers than position nowhere to be found at last Wednesday’s players, meaning there is little depth at Rice baseball practice. many key spots according to junior second Head coach Matt Bragga was standing by baseman Cade Edwards. home plate, his voice already hoarse from Bragga said he is still working through bellowing loud enough for the outfielders his lineup, with outfield spots still up for to hear him, jotting down notes and yelling grabs even as the season begins. His infield, out stats as each player stepped up to bat. however, is mostly set with Comeaux at “[Bragga’s] very high energy,” third, Edwards at second and senior designated hitter sophomore Trei Cruz at Andrew Dunlap said. shortstop. Cruz, who is “You look at practice, making the transition we don’t take any from second baseman time off. It’s just go, to shortstop, said go, go.” the strength of According to Rice’s lineup is its junior pitcher versatility.

Matt Canterino, “We may not 2018 batting average 2018 winning 2018 earned run the change in necessarily have style has players percentage average the most power excited for the overall, but we don’t upcoming season. need power,” Cruz “There’s a little said. “We’ve got a lot of bit of a different vibe guys who will hit for a higher around the clubhouse,” average. Slugging percentages will be Canterino said. “A lot of people are wouldn’t vote us No. 1. We’re not. We’re really getting after what we need to do to be up. We’re athletic so we can do anything; we looking forward to playing under Coach anything but that.” a good pitching staff,” Canterino said. can bunt, we can steal, you name it.”

Bragga just because they want to achieve The Owls come into the season with a Meanwhile, senior Kendal Jefferies and Rice is hoping its veteran pitching staff the things that we know we can achieve.” veteran pitching rotation. Canterino is the junior Garrett Gayle, each of whom appeared and versatile lineup can carry it back to the Exactly what Rice can achieve is up ace of the staff and was voted the C-USA in more than 20 games last season, will be NCAA Tournament. Edwards, however, isn’t for debate. The Owls missed the NCAA Preseason Pitcher of the Year. Junior Addison two of Rice’s primary bullpen arms. afraid to set his sights even higher than just Tournament last season for the first time Moss and seniors Jackson Parthasarathy and Junior third baseman Braden Comeaux reaching the postseason. since 1994 after posting a record of 26-31- Evan Kravetz will also have major roles in the said facing Rice’s pitchers in intrasquad “Obviously you’re shooting for Omaha, 2 and finishing seventh in the conference. pitching rotation, according to Bragga. games has been valuable to the hitters as that’s the bottom line,” Edwards said. “This Dunlap said he thinks last year was a fluke According to Canterino, the they prepare for the season. program has been there seven times. So given the legacy of the program. upperclassmen in the Owls’ pitching staff “They do a really good job commanding you’re not going to shoot for any lower than “It’s sort of a hiccup in our history,” notice the mounting pressure. the strike zone,” Comeaux said. “Most of that. We 100 percent believe we can take Dunlap said. “Whatever people say we’re “Guys are starting to step up and realize our pitchers have command of at least three home a conference championship and take gonna do this year doesn’t matter, as Coach this is getting to the end and we really pitches. They can command them all over it even further than that.”

Bragga has made a point to say. It’s not so much about getting back to where we were as it is looking at what we’re capable of and believing in that.”

This year, Rice is picked to finish fourth in the Conference USA preseason poll and only received one first place vote from the 12 conference coaches. The first place vote was from Bragga himself.

“I don’t know any other way,” Bragga said of his vote. “There’s no shot I’m gonna be like oh, you know what, we’re a fifth place team. My mind does not process that. If we were flat bad, I

haven’t had the season we have wanted to since we have been here,” Canterino said.

“It’s getting to that point where we have to turn it on its head now — [each player knows] I have to step up and fill a role.”

Among Parthasarathy and Kravetz, only one will start on the weekend and the other will likely come in for “competitive situations,” according to Bragga. Canterino said the experience of the pitching staff will be extremely valuable to the team.

“A lot of these juniors and seniors are stepping up and buying into what the team has to offer and

0.276

0.456

PROJECTED TOP PITCHERS

1

Matt Canterino junior

ERA: 3.06

K: 116

2

Addison Moss junior

ERA: 2.43

K: 53

3

Jackson Parthasarathy senior

ERA: 6.28

K: 44

4.48

4

Evan Kravetz senior

ERA: 4.28

K: 38

5

Kendal Jefferies senior

ERA: 4.06

junio

AVG: RBI: .319 36

*Stats from Chandler-Gilbert Community College

ANDREW GROTTKAU

Brad

K: 51

Braden Comeaux

unior

RBI: 36

LF

HR: 2

Rodrigo Duluc junior

OBP: RUNS: HR: .222 2 0

CF

Dominic Cox

sophomore

AVG: RBI: .182 12

HR: 0

RF

Bradley Gneiting junior

AVG: RBI: .247 12

DH

HR: 0

Andrew Dunlap senior

AVG: RBI: .260 20

HR: 5

infographic by tina liu

New manager takes the reins MICHAEL BYRNES SPORTS EDITOR

For the first time in 27 years, Rice baseball will begin the season without the familiar visage of Wayne Graham at the helm. In his stead is the new manager of the Owls: 46-year-old Matt Bragga, who arrives at Rice with a quite legacy of success to build upon.

Before coming to Rice, Bragga spent 15 years as the head coach of Tennessee Tech University.

His first few years were none too successful. In his first three seasons, the team won fewer than a third of its games and failed to crack the top six in the Ohio Valley Conference standings. According to Bragga, though the losing was challenging, he never lost his faith in the team’s ability to become relevant on the national stage.

“When I interviewed I said, ‘I will get this program to [the College World Series]. I don’t know how long, but [I will],” Bragga said. “We came a game short, but I always believed in that program.”

Slowly but surely, the team’s tides began to turn. Tennessee Tech advanced to the NCAA Regionals in 2009, won its conference in 2010 and 2013, and accomplished both feats in 2017. But it was during the 2018 season that the team truly took a leap forward. Bragga’s team went 53-12, leading the nation in wins and setting both a school and conference record for wins in a season. The team’s offense led the country in several categories, including runs, hits, home runs and on-base percentage. For the first time under Bragga’s tenure, the team advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals, coming just one win short of making the College World Series in Omaha. Despite all this success, Bragga said the decision to leave Tennessee Tech to come to Rice was not difficult.

“I’m a goal setter,” Bragga said.

“I write goals down, and one of my [early] goals was I want[ed] to be an SEC coach. Rice is, to me, every bit of that “goal”

I had when I was a young coach, of being in the SEC. We’re talking about the fifth-winningest program in college baseball since the year 2000. We’re talking about a team that’s been to Omaha seven times in recent memory [and] won one national championship.

As long as my wife and our kids were on board, it was a very easy decision, and they were on board.”

Our plan is to win a championship this year, and hopefully multiple championships. I think we have a championship roster.

Matt Bragga BASEBALL HEAD COACH Bragga now takes over a program that parted ways with the coach under whom all this success was achieved. To some, this may seem an intimidating venture. But Bragga said he doesn’t see it that way.

“I respect what Coach Graham did, but I’m not focused there,” Bragga said. “It doesn’t even matter to me, other than how great of a guy he is and how great [a job] he did. My focus is totally on what I know and who I am and what I believe we’re going to accomplish in the future.

photo courtesy rice athletics

And I’m confident about what’s going to happen in the future.”

Last year was Rice’s worst season in over two decades. The team struggled with injuries and with defense, among other issues, and ultimately finished with a losing record for the first time since 1991. But Bragga said he is confident that he has a roster to rival any team in the conference.

“This is not taking over a rebuild,” Bragga said. “This is not a totally demolished program. Now, we’ve got to stay healthy. But if we do — no, when we do — our plan is to win a championship this year, and hopefully multiple championships. I think we have a championship roster.”

One of the key steps on Rice’s road to future success is to improve its hitting. Of last year’s 12 Conference USA teams, the Owls were ninth in batting average, 10th in slugging percentage, and second in strikeouts.

Bragga said his hitting philosophy can be boiled down to one key concept.

“Get a good ball to hit,” Bragga said.

“Get a good ball to hit. Cause the better the ball I get to hit, the harder I’m going to hit it. The harder I hit it, the more chance I reach base. The more times I reach base, the more runs I score. The more runs I score, the more games I win. It all starts, if you go backwards: wins, runs, reach base, hit the ball hard, and rewind here; it all started with ‘get a good ball to hit.’ So we practice that every single day.”

But more than anything, Bragga said he’s itching to get started. According to him, he’s eager to see what this new challenge brings.

“When I’m here, when I’m at this field, when I’m coaching I’ll give you everything I’ve got,” Bragga said. “And I did that last year, did it the year before: I’ve done it for 23 years of coaching. But my wife told me the other day [that] she sees a little something different in me; a little extra flair, a little extra hop in the step,” Bragga said. “And I’m excited about that: I feel it too, a little extra vigor to see how great this [team] can be.”

SCHEDULE HOME AWAY Rhode Island Texas

2/15 - 2/17 2/19

Arizona

2/20 2/22 - 2/24

UC Irvine Prarie View A&M

2/27 3/1

Texas State (neutral)

3/2

Baylor (neutral)

3/3

TCU (neutral)

3/5

Houston

Sam Houston State 3/6 3/8 - 3/10 Oklahoma 3/12

Lamar

3/13

Texas State

3/15-3/17 3/19 3/22 - 3/24 3/26 3/29 - 3/31 4/2 4/5 - 4/7 4/9 4/12 - 4/14

Florida Atlantic Texas A&M UTSA Texas State Old Dominion Sam Houston State FIU Texas Charlotte

4/18 - 4/20 Middle Tennessee 4/26 - 4/28 5/1 5/3 - 5/5

Louisiana Tech Houston Western Kentucky infographic by tina liu

should build each other up, because that’s what being a team is all about. In the end, it is the team that flourishes or dies.”

MADISON BUZZARD | ASST SPORTS EDITOR In seven starts at Reckling Park last Golden Spikes Preseason Award season, Canterino finished 5-1 with 2.49 Watch List, which recognizes the most ERA and .155 opponent batting average outsttnding college baseball players in allowed. Canterino said he benefits from a pregame routine established during his the country.

Baseball America named Canterino to stint as a two-year varsity starter at Carroll its preseason second-team All-America, High School in Southlake, Texas.

“I have a simple and collegiate routine,” Canterino baseball writers said. “It goes from placed him as a stretching to watching preseason third- In the end, I don’t the team to reading team All-American. want this program the scouting report to Last season, watching some film.

Canterino earned to be good when I’m I have it pretty down his place among All- here, I want it to be pat [so] that I know Conference USA’s first good afterwards too. preparation isn’t much team; this season, of an issue for me. I he was tabbed the know that if anything preseason C-USA Matt Canterino goes wrong on the pitcher of the year.

JUNIOR STARTING PITCHER mound, it is because Despite reaping individual success, Canterino said he was of something that I did wrong when I was frustrated with his 7-5 pitching record and pitching, not because of anything I did wrong beforehand. I know if anything Rice’s 26-31-2 campaign last season.

“It wasn’t necessarily a function of goes awry, I have to make the adjustment one particular thing or a [immediately].”

Canterino said he strives to teach whole,” Canterino said.

“Some things happen. compartmentalization to younger pitchers You lose a little bit of on the squad.

“We have a lot of young pitchers that fire over the course of a long season. What other [college] sport coming on, so I am trying to use my plays 60 games in a year? Considering experience to help them have success,” our games are three hours each? You’re Canterino said. “I’m not necessarily telling them what to do, I’m just showing talking about some adversity.”

According to Canterino, he is them some things that work for me. In comfortable with the team’s transition the end, I don’t want this program to be from Wayne Graham to newly-hired Owls’ good when I’m here, I want it to be good afterwards too.” skipper Matt Bragga.

With the option of signing with a Major “I am beyond grateful for everything Coach Graham has done for me,” League Baseball organization after this Canterino said. “[Graham] has made season, Canterino said this could be his me a better ballplayer, a more intuitive last year on Rice’s campus.

“Playing professional baseball has ballplayer, and he really showed me what it takes to succeed at this level. been a dream of mine since I was a little What Coach Bragga has provided, both kid,” Canterino said. “If it presents itself to myself and the team as a whole, is a most clearly this year, then [I will pursue different level of energy to build from. the draft]. That’s not saying I haven’t We know we will face adversity, so we appreciated my time at Rice thus far. need to have the energy and confidence But it’s like Coach Bragga preaches: you to overcome that adversity — that’s what have to have expectations for yourself Coach Bragga has been teaching and you have to have the confidence to us. He always says that we go get them.”

MATT CANTERINO For the opening game of each weekend series, Rice baseball ace Matt Canterino will be entrusted to propel the Owls to wins on the mound. From each Monday morning to Friday evening, however, Canterino said his focus will be to prioritize his degree in mechanical engineering.

“What I’ve come to find is that I really like mechanical engineering and I really like baseball, and if you really like a couple of things, you’ll be able to find enough time to make it work,” Canterino said. “I have a good group of friends that I am able to work on assignments with or work on pitching with. You’re talking about grinding through some of these things — it’s the people around me who make it possible.”

Canterino enters spring 2019 chockfull of momentum: over the summer, he was the winning pitcher in the Cape Cod League All-Star Game and also pitched for the United States Collegiate National Team. Canterino was one of 55 players named to USA Baseball’s

TREI CRUZ

in scoring position (.328). Against crosstown rival University of Houston, Cruz registered a career-high seven During his freshman season, Cruz putouts. According to Cruz, greatness led Rice in walks and runs batted in, exists in his DNA. “Playing at Reckling Park gives me hit for a .279 average and sustained an eight-game hitting streak. Accordingly, goosebumps because I know of all the Cruz was named to Collegiate Baseball’s great players that have played on this Freshman All-America Team and the field, including my dad,” Cruz said. “If Conference USA All-Freshman Team. I’ve learned anything from great players, Cruz said he felt an immediate pressure it’s that to be consistent, you must come out ready to play every to perform. single minute of every “I wouldn’t say I inning of every game. am a ‘big-name star’ What I try to do every right now at Rice I don’t want to be game is something because I have yet to treated like a star special.

Whether really prove anything it is defensively or yet, but I do say that or like I’m royalty offensively, the game my name brings a lot because at the end will decide.” of attention alone,” of the day, I need to Cruz must play at Cruz said. “I don’t want to be treated earn superstar status. least two more years for Rice before he like a star or like I’m Trei Cruz is re-eligible for the royalty because at SOPHOMORE SHORTSTOP MLB draft. In that the end of the day, I time, Cruz will strive to revitalize an need to earn superstar status.”

Last season, three-year starter Ford offense which last season declined by Proctor played shortstop for Rice. 20 percent in production. According To allow himself into the starting to Cruz, he must focus on his own lineup amongst upperclassmen, Cruz performance rather than satisfying volunteered to play at second base; expectations.

“When I was younger, I faced a lot there, he started all 58 games.

“I was able to start every game at second of pressure to succeed on the field base because I proved to the coaches that because of my last name,” Cruz said.

I was willing to do anything to be in the “A lot of people put pressure on me to lineup,” Cruz said. “That meant working always be the best player, never make harder in practice, staying over time to mistakes and be a leader. I remember work with the coaches, and getting my one day, I had a bad game and people body caught up to be able to play against were saying that I [would] never be like much older guys than me. I didn’t allow my dad and grandpa. My dad sat down and talked to me and said, ‘You don’t anyone to out- hustle me.”

In conjunction with his superb work need to play to impress these people, ethic — his dad Jose Jr. said Trei plays you play to have fun and start your own “like his meal depends on it” — Cruz legacy. You are the only person that can is blessed with clutchness. His average put pressure on you.’ I’ve carried that spiked when batting with runners with me until this day.”

MADISON BUZZARD | ASST. SPORTS EDITOR

Only four grandfather-father-son combinations have played in Major League Baseball.

If sophomore shortstop Trei Cruz had signed with the Houston Astros organization following his senior year at Episcopal High School in Houston, his ascension through the minor league ranks would have started, and if he succeeded, another lineage, Cruz, would have boasted three generations in professional baseball lore: Jose, Jose Jr. and Trei.

Instead, Cruz committed to play baseball at Rice, tossing three years of professional eligibility aside, at least for now. Trei followed in the footsteps of his father, who played three seasons in Rice’s outfield, and his uncle, Enrique, who starred at second base on the Owls’ 2003 National Championship winning team.

According to Cruz, notwithstanding his decision to spurn the Astros, crafting his own legacy is paramount.

“Of course I want to play in the major leagues one day and be even better than both my dad and grandpa,” Cruz said. “[Ultimately] I will get more hits than my grandpa and more home runs than my dad. They dare me to do it.”