Page 72 - 2024 DBU Baseball Media Guide

2024 POSITION OUTLOOK
DBU ENTERS THE 2024 SEASON AS ONE OF ONLY FIVE TEAMS IN COLLEGE BASEBALL TO ADVANCE TO
THE NCAA POSTSEASON EACH OF THE LAST NINE YEARS.
DBU enters the 2024 season with 16 returning lettermen from last year’s squad that won a school-record 47 games and earned an at-large bid as the No. 2 seed at the Stillwater Regional. Three All-Americans headline the cast of returners, including catcher Grant Jay, right-handed pitcher Ryan Johnson, and designated hitter Ethan Mann. The Patriots also bring back last year’s Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year in centerfielder Nathan Humphreys. After losing a program record eight players to the Major League Draft, DBU welcomes 20 newcomers to campus and a class that includes four transfers from NCAA Division I programs and a pair of freshmen who were selected in the MLB Draft.
The Patriots’ 2024 schedule includes 31 games at home, where DBU boasts the nation’s 12th-best home win percentage since Horner Ballpark opened its gates in 2013. The Patriots will also compete against seven teams that reached the NCAA Tournament in 2023, including Alabama, Arizona, Indiana, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Sam Houston State, and TCU.
PITCHING
Much of DBU’s run to a school record 47 wins and a trip to their ninth consecutive NCAA Regional centered around the number of superb arms in the Patriot pitching staff. While DBU must replace six pitchers who were selected in last year’s Major League Draft, the Patriots welcome back one of the nation’s top hurlers in staff ace Ryan Johnson.
In 15 starts last season as a sophomore, Johnson posted an 8-4 record with a 4.43 ERA, and his 116 strikeouts were the 16th-most in the nation. The six-foot-six-inch right-hander, who features a fastball that lives in the mid to upper 90s and a wipeout sweeper, was named a Third Team All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association at season’s end. Following the Patriots’ run to the postseason, Johnson continued his development last summer by pitching for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team.
Outside of Johnson, DBU brings back five other pitchers that saw action on the mound in 2023, including senior right-handers Jaron DeBerry and Conner Mackay, junior lefty Tyler Schott, and sophomore right-handers Jerrod Jenkins and Cade Wiegert. Those five combined to go 6-1 in 46 appearances. The Patriots also welcome back redshirt freshman Zach Todd.
DeBerry saw the most action amongst the five returners after making 17 relief appearances and three starts. The lanky righty averaged a strikeout per inning, fanning 35 batters in 34.2 innings, and is coming off a strong summer in the West Coast League.
Mackay returns for his third season at DBU. The redshirt senior added velocity to his fastball last season, regularly registering in the mid-90s, to go along with a devastating curveball. In 13 relief appearances in 2023, Mackay went 2-0 and recorded 19 strikeouts over 19.0 innings.
Schott was a lefty specialist out of the pen last season and can be an excellent matchup for DBU in the mid to late innings. He has pitched in 13 games in relief in his first two seasons and figures to make an impact on the mound in 2024.
Jenkins is a young sophomore who is looking to make strides in his second year after being named to the Valley League All-Star Team over the summer. As a freshman, Jenkins went 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA in four relief outings.
Wiegert is also entering his second season at DBU. As one of the top pitchers from the state of Minnesota coming out of high school, Wiegert made two relief appearances as a freshman last year and continued his development in the Alaska Baseball League over the summer.
Todd, a six-foot-three, 237-pound right-hander, also returns after redshirting his first year on campus. As a four-year letterman at Manteca High School, Todd was a two-time District Pitcher of the Year and rated one of the top pitchers to come out of the state of California.
With several spots to fill on the pitching staff entering 2024, DBU bolstered its roster with the addition of 11 new pitchers. Among the newcomers are six transfers and five freshmen.
Three of the Patriots’ five transfers to arrive on University Hill come from the Division I ranks, including Kobe Minchey, River Ridings, and Nick Wilson. Minchey arrives after spending his freshman season at the University of Texas, where he made nine appearances, including three starts for the Longhorns, and posted a 2-1 record with a 5.25 ERA. Both Ridings and Wilson will
provide a veteran presence to the staff. Ridings, a senior lefty, spent the first three years of his career at TCU, where he was a Freshman All-American in 2021 and made 15 relief appearances last year for a Horned Frogs team that reached the College World Series. Wilson is making his third stop in his career after spending two years at Vernon College and the last two seasons at Southern University. Last year, Wilson bolstered a 3.22 ERA and struck out 101 batters in 86.2 innings before earning a spot on the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team over the summer.
DBU also adds three arms from the junior college ranks in lefties Dillon Haines and Myles Martinez, along with right-hander Connor Benge. Haines began his career at the Division I level at Stetson before transferring to Chipola College last year. As a sophomore, Haines went 6-0 and fanned 61 batters in 45.1 innings to earn Second Team All-Conference honors in 2023. Martinez is a redshirt senior who arrives from Ohio Dominican, where he was an Honorable Mention All-American last year after recording seven saves and compiling a 1.23 ERA. Benge enters his second season of collegiate baseball and is coming off a stellar freshman campaign at LSU Eunice, where he garnered Third Team All-American honors. Benge ranked second at the NJCAA Division II level in wins (11) and led his team in ERA (2.82), innings (70.1), and strikeouts (86).
The Patriots also bring in five freshmen to join the staff in 2024 in: Charlie Atkinson, James Ellwanger, David Heefner, Luke Pettitte, and Aiden Pollock. Ellwanger, a right-hander from Magnolia, Texas, headlines the freshman class after leading Magnolia West to a Class 5A state title and earning First Team All-State honors. Considered one of the nation’s top pitching prospects, Ellwanger was a 19th-round selection of the Washington Nationals in last year’s MLB Draft. Atkinson is a formidable presence on the mound at six-foot-five and is coming off a senior season that saw him named the District MVP as a senior at Cinco Ranch High School.
Heefner, Pettitte, and Pollock are each right-handers who came to DBU with the possibility of being two-way players. Heefner was named an All-American in the Homeschool World Series after pitching a complete game in the semifinals, while Pettitte was named the Privat School Baseball Player of the Year in both 2022 and 2023 at Second Baptist School in Houston. Pollock arrives from Las Vegas, Nevada, where he helped to lead Bishop Gorman High School to the Class 5A state title last year and was ranked No. 4 in the nation by Baseball America at season’s end.
72 SEASON OUTLOOK RETURN TO TABLE OF CONTENTS