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2023 POSITION OUTLOOK
DBU ENTERS THE 2023 SEASON AS ONE OF ONLY SIX TEAMS IN COLLEGE BASEBALL TO ADVANCE TO THE
NCAA POSTSEASON EACH OF THE LAST EIGHT YEARS
DBU will enter the 2023 season with 18 returning letterman from last year’s squad that earned an at-large bid as the No. 3 seed at the Austin Regional. Headlining the cast of returners is Freshman All-American third baseman, Luke Heefner, along with three other All-Conference performers in outfielders Jace Grady and Nathan Humphreys, and second baseman, Miguel Santos. DBU also welcomes an incoming class of 21 newcomers that includes five transfers from NCAA Division I programs.
The Patriots’ 2022 schedule includes 31 games at home where DBU boast the nation’s 17th-best home win percentage since Horner Ballpark opened its gates in 2013. The Patriots will also compete against eight teams that reached the NCAA Tournament in 2022.
PITCHING
Much of the nature of college baseball is the year-to-year challenge of replacing players lost to DBU’s newcomers on
the Major League Draft and graduation. The Patriots’ pitching staff will face that task head-on in 2023 after losing a pair of pitchers in Jacob Meador and Chandler Arnold to the draft. Meador went in the 12th round to the St. Louis Cardinals, while Arnold’s name was called one round later by the St. Louis Cardinals. Bubba Hall, who became the staff ace at season’s end, also signed a free agent deal with the Washington Nationals last July. DBU must also fill the void left by veteran right-hander, Luke Eldred, who was lost to graduation after making 41 starts during his career.
The Patriots feel confident in a staff that features 10 returners who accounted for 14 wins and totaled 226.0 innings on the mound last year. DBU also brings in a class of nine pitchers who expect to make an immediate impact in 2023.
Sophomore right-hander, Ryan Johnson, logged the most innings of any returner, making 18 appearances, including nine starts, and throwing in 58.2 innings as a freshman. Johnson features a four-pitch mix and a fastball that registers consistently in the mid-90s.
One of the most dependable arms last year was righty Zane Russell, who enters his junior season. Russell went 4-0 with a 1.63 ERA in 23 appearances as one of the go-to guys out of the Patriot bullpen last season and should factor in again as one of the top late-inning arms for DBU in 2023.
The most veteran presence on the staff is redshirt senior, Zach Heaton. In four seasons, Heaton has made 49 career appearances, including a career-best 23 last season. Heaton also set a career-high in strikeouts, fanning 40 batters in 38.2 innings.
Two of the toughest matchups for hitters on the Patriot pitching staff can be found in lefty, Brady Rose, and right-hander, Kyle Amendt. Rose made 20 relief appearances and averaged 12.2 strikeouts per nine innings in his first season at DBU. Amendt stands at 6’5” and his over-the- top delivery can be an intimidating proposition for hitters in the box. In limited action last year, Amendt fanned 11 batters in 9.1 innings.
Alec Baker is another talented arm that returns after making 20 appearances last season. Baker’s fastball will touch the mid-90s and the righty has strikeout stuff, evidenced by his 28 punchouts in 23.2 innings.
The Patriots are anticipating a healthy return for Conner Mackay who transferred to DBU last season after going 7-1 with a 1.85 ERA as an All-Conference selection at Iowa Western Community College in 2021. Mackay emerged as a reliable arm late in the year and compiled a 1.69 ERA in five relief outings in his first season as a Patriot.
Tyler Schott and Preston Tabor are both situational lefties that enter their sophomore seasons and look to add to their roles in 2023 after stellar prep careers.
the mound include seven
transfers and a pair of true
freshmen. Among those
transfers are two arms
that join the Patriots from
Division I programs in Matt
Bollenbacher and Braxton
Bragg. Bollenbacher, a
redshirt junior right-hander,
comes to DBU from East
Tennessee State. Two
years ago he was named
to the Southern Conference
All-Freshman Team after
leading the team in in saves
(6). Last year, he made 19
appearances and went 5-1
with 46 strikeouts over 46.1
innings. Bragg is a junior
righty that arrives from Nebraska. In 2022, Bragg led the Huskers in saves (5) and posted a 3.28 ERA in 17 outings.
Five of DBU’s transfers arrive on University Hill from the junior college ranks. Bryson Hammer is a lefty who redshirted two years ago at Clemson and joins the Patriots from Catawba College where he punched out 116 batters in just 66.0 innings last year. Peyton Smith is another big- time arm who was rated the 16th-best right-handed pitcher in the nation coming out of East Roberson High School in Springfield, Tennessee, two years ago. Smith, who originally committed to Vanderbilt during his prep career, redshirted last season at Northwest Florida State College.
Reece Beuter, Jaron DeBerry, and Kirby Rector round out the trio of junior college transfers on DBU’s pitching staff. Beuter was an All-Region performer for a Kirkwood Community College team that reached the NJCAA Division I World Series two years ago before redshirting last year. DeBerry, a junior right-hander averaged 13.1 strikeouts per nine innings in 13 relief appearances at Grayson College in 2022, while Rector comes to DBU from Northlake College and fashions a fastball in the mid-90s.
The Patriots also bring in two freshmen in Jerrod Jenkins and Cade Wiegert. Jenkins was an All-State selection as a senior in Winchester, Virginia, while Wiegert was rated the No. 2 right- handed pitcher from the state of Minnesota by Perfect Game coming out of Southwest Christian High School.
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