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LOCKED AND LOADED
Stocked with proven talent, Huskies look to build on 2023 success in their last Pac-12 season
BY BOB SHERWIN • FOR GO HUSKIES MAGAZINE
When it comes to recruiting high school baseball players, University of Washington Coach Jason Kelly — much like all the nation’s collegiate head coaches — has more than three strikes against him.
“It’s hard to manage a roster,” said Kelly, the Huskies second-year head coach. “It’s always been a difficult landscape.”
It also doesn’t help that baseball is not a full-ride college sport. Colleges are limited to 11.7 scholarships for a 30-plus player roster. It means most recruits get only partial financial help, as programs must break up that 11.7 allotment into quarters, thirds and (rarely) half scholarships.
In addition, high school players selected in the Major League Baseball Draft have until Aug. 1 to decide whether to go pro or go to college (it used to be June). College training camps start Aug. 15, which doesn’t give much leeway for coaches who struggle to fill out a roster or even a lineup based on the short-notice decisions of 18-year-olds. And after just two seasons, a 21-year-old sophomore is eligible for the draft again.
“Our focus is recruiting Northwest players, developing them and keeping them,” said Kelly.
Kelly and his staff have maintained that focus. UW’s program traditionally loads up with players from Washington and Oregon (a combined 23 last year). One player left via the transfer portal, while two new players arrived.
The staff also have done well in player development, as six Huskies were drafted by MLB after last season, including right-handed pitcher Kiefer Lord, taken with the 86th pick by Baltimore. He’s the highest drafted Husky since 2015.
Despite the obstacles, the 2023 Husky team enjoyed success. The Huskies finished with a 35-20 record (17-12 in the Pac-12) and advanced to the NCAA Regionals for just the 12th time in school history. The 35 wins were the most since the 2014 team won 41.
It was the fourth NCAA appearance for Kelly with the Huskies. He was former head coach Lindsay Meggs’ pitching coach (2013-19) and helped the team advance to regionals in 2014 and 2016. Then in 2018, UW advanced to its first and only College World Series appearance. Kelly left after the 2019 season to serve as Arizona State pitching coach and then one season in the same role for LSU. He replaced Meggs last season.
This is another decidedly Northwest (and West Coast) Husky team, which opened the season Feb. 16 at Long Beach State. There are 24 Washingtonraised players on the roster, two from Oregon, 10 from California and one each from Arizona, British Columbia, Hawaii, Florida and Japan.
The strength of the 2024 team is the infield, particularly up the middle. Junior shortstop Cam Clayton, from Lake Oswego, Ore., hit .325 last season, with a .545 slugging percentage, 11 home runs, 42 RBI, 54 runs and a team-leading 21 doubles.
“He’s the star of the program. We’re lucky to have him back,’’ Kelly said. “He was a draft-eligible sophomore and was getting a ton of phone calls (to possibly draft) in the third to seventh round. He decided to come back. He wanted one more year with this group, make another run at it and get better.’’
This is another decidedly Northwest (and West Coast) Husky team, which opened the season Feb. 16 at Long Beach State. There are 24 Washington-raised players on the roster, two from Oregon, 10 from California and one each from Arizona, British Columbia, Hawaii, Florida and Japan.
At second base, Long Beach, Calif. sophomore Sam DeCarlo “should have been an All-American last year,’’ Kelly said. DeCarlo hit .268 with 35 runs, 33 RBI and seven home runs.
Jeter Ybarra returns to first base. The junior from San Jose, Calif., hit .290 last season and has put on muscle, which should improve his power numbers.
Third base will be patrolled by Aiva Arquette, a sophomore from Hawaii. Kelly said Arquette has potential to be a tough out, but last season was limited by injuries. He had a hand injury followed by season-ending shoulder surgery and played in just 12 games. Of his 11 hits, five were home runs.
The Huskies need to replace catcher Johnny Tincher, an 11th-round draft pick by Cleveland. He hit .310 with 10 home runs and 42 RBI last season. Kelly said the catching job is among “four good choices”: sophomore Colin Blanchard, redshirt freshman Colton Bower (a WSU transfer), freshman Carson Ohland from Maple Valley, Wash., and senior Jake Leitgeb, coming off shoulder surgery.
“Infield is a steady place for us,’’ Kelly added.
Outfield, however, is a wide-open space, light on experience. The Huskies lost two veteran outfielders to the draft — Will Simpson (15th round to Oakland) and Coby Morales (18th round to the Yankees) — who combined for 30 home runs and 110 RBI.
Junior A.J. Guerrero, from Fife, Wash., is expected to start in left field and hit in the critical third spot. He led the team with a .345 average last season and had eight home runs and 38 RBI.
Junior Braeden Terry, from Bellevue, Wash., hit .346 in 45 games for Everett Community College last season and “is the leader in the clubhouse” for the centerfield spot, Kelly said. Cooper Whitton, a sophomore from San Diego, along with senior Luke Rohleder and junior Kyle Fossum, both from Sammamish, Wash., will push for playing time in the outfield.
Kelly, a former pitcher for three colleges and pitching coach for five, took focus on the 2024 pitching staff as it was an element he wished to build up. He said the staff has more depth and arms returning from injuries.
The college game needs just three primary starters since the games are generally played on the weekend (Friday, Saturday, Sunday). Kelly envisions Jared Engman, a senior from Kent, Wash., (3-5 with a 5.91 ERA) and Calvin Kirchoff, a 6-foot6, 220-pound righthander from Sammamish, filling the first two spots. Kirchoff (2-0 with a 7.46 ERA) was bothered by a preseason finger injury a year ago but should be fully recovered this season.
The third (Sunday) starter could be among three sophomore candidates: Sam Boyle from Vancouver, Wash. (5-0, 5.71 ERA), Spencer Dessart, a transfer from Middlebury College, or Grant Cunningham from Seattle Prep. One will start with the other two heading to the bullpen.
Junior Josh Emanuels from Bellevue should hold down the closer role for the Huskies. He made 28 appearances with six saves, a 4.68 ERA and a 3-2 record. He’ll be backed up by a pair of hard throwers: junior Gianluca Shinn (who Kelly said, “has made the biggest strides of anybody on the staff,’’ throwing in the mid-90s) and freshman Ethan Unruh, a 6-6, 200-pounder from Woodinville, Wash., who can touch 93 mph.
Another bullpen stalwart, junior Reilly McAdams from Seattle’s Ingraham High, has had injury issues, most recently a broken finger. He should return by early March.
This is the final Pac-12 season for the Huskies as they head to the Big Ten next season. Kelly said Washington and the West Coast will continue to be the program’s fertile recruiting territory, “but I think we’re going to push east a little bit.’’ He added that when you look at the expanded 14-school Big Ten, “we are a warm weather school in that conference.’’
UW is already setting up for the next transition season by adding another coach, former big-leaguer Jason Ellison (Texas, Cincinnati), who spent the past decade as a nationwide MLB scout. The Huskies also signed a 12-player recruiting class (seven from Washington, five from California) that includes A.J. Beltre, son of newly elected Hall of Fame third baseman Adrian Beltre.
