BLACKSBURG – Addressing members of the media two weeks before Opening Day, Virginia Tech baseball head coach John Szefc and a handful of Hokies provided their early perspectives on the program's outlook prior to Friday's practice day at English Field at Atlantic Union Bank Park.
Flip through some of the best soundbites from Friday's media availability as Tech continues to count down the days until it opens the new year on Friday, Feb. 16, at Charlotte.
JOHN SZEFC
Head coach, seventh season
≫ On thoughts and expectations heading into a new season …
"We got about two weeks left. It's good that we have two weeks because we still got a lot of preparation that we have to do. But I mean, we feel pretty good about it thus far. Knock on wood, we haven't had any major injuries in the preseason. So, we feel like we have the availability of our players, which if you don't have that, you're in a lot of trouble .... So I mean, you know, considering all we lost last year to injury and the draft, we feel like we're in a pretty good place. We're in a very similar place to where we were two years ago, where we have a lot of players that you don't know who they are – on the mound, specifically, very similar to what that was in 2022 .... All I do know is I think we got a lot of the guys that have come in, both freshmen and transfers, are good enough to be immediate impact ACC players and we're just going to roll it out there and see what it looks like."
≫ On what is liked about the pitching depth …
"Well, it definitely is 'depth.' That's the right word to use. It's a deeper staff, probably than we've had here in the past. The one thing we don't have returning on that staff is returning ACC starts. So, people would say, 'Wow, man. That's not good.' We had zero returning ACC starts in [2022] and that worked out pretty good. So, I think as far as the staff goes, you have a lot of talent, you have a lot of experience – not necessarily here – but there's a lot of guys on that staff, eight in particular, that had pitched at other places last year .... So, you bring guys in, you get them acclimated with the program and our system and what we do and you trust that their ability is going to fit in this conference and this level, which I have no doubt that it will based off what we have already seen. And, you trust that they're good enough and you're going to run the best matchups out there day in and day out and see where it goes."
≫ On the passing of legendary Florida State baseball head coach Mike Martin …
"Coach Martin: he was about as good a guy as there was in this game. I mean, I think people that didn't know him personally like look at his numbers and his accolades as being, 'He's this great coach.' Which, he was. He won a ton of games. I would tell you, there's a stat that he had that I think was the most impressive stat to me: he had won like 40 games for like 30 straight years or something like that. Like, that's incredible. Because you're dealing with a lot of different classes of players. You know, you're not running Tom Brady out there for 15 straight years, you know what I'm saying? The players change and he changed with them. I can tell you like, I had a good relationship with him when I was at Maryland before I came here, when Maryland was still in the ACC and I got to know him a little bit then. Honestly, the best story I can tell you about him was, it was pre-COVID, it was right around the time he won, it might have been his 2,000th game or something at the time, I don't know. He won so many games. We were down there that weekend and I brought both my sons with me, who were younger at the time, and that guy, man was like, the most welcoming, nicest guy you ever [wanted to meet]. That weekend was all about him. But, if you watched how he interacted with other people, like I just remember bringing my sons up to the plate to do the lineup card thing. And I mean, it was never about him to him. It was always about other people, you know. So, as good of a baseball coach as he was – and it was really, really good, obviously – he might have been a better person, actually."
≫ On Carson DeMartini's growth as a player and as a leader …
"I mean, I'd say he's right on time. You know like, he had that freak injury last year. He had to have the labrum surgery in the summer. He's come back well. Is he 100 percent right now? Probably not, but it's [Feb. 2]. I would say by another two weeks, he'll be right where he wants to be. But like, it's a gradual comeback, you know .... But, in relation to Carson, obviously he's an elite-level player. I mean, from a hitting perspective and defensively. I mean, you know he played, he started as a true freshman on that [2022] team, so his experience is probably off the charts compared to a lot of other guys in college baseball. I think when you combine all those things together, you know, you have a pretty elite-level guy right there. And I think probably where he's matured the most, probably, is not actually even in his baseball; it's how he kind of handles the group and directs the group where other people around him become better. It's almost like the point guard that makes everybody better with how he sets them up and can distribute the ball. Well, that's kind of the way he is, I think, on a baseball perspective. You know, he's going to be good. His skills are way advanced. I'm not really even – I have no concern about [where] he is skill wise. I don't really have any concern about him, period. It's just, for me it's actually more fun to watch him interact with guys and help grow guys as opposed to watching him take BP or something like that."
≫ On Garrett Michel's growth from the summer into the offseason …
"Well I mean, you talk about another pretty advanced guy who started as a freshman [and] had a really good summer in Cape Cod. He's probably one of the more experienced, decorated hitters that would be a middle-of-the-lineup kind of guy in this league. I would expect he would be a really high-level run producer, as far as RBIs and [slugging percentage], as he was last year. And I think that experience from last year and what he did in the summer in Cape Cod is only going to help him be that more advanced this year. So I mean, I think he'll be one of the more elite-level offensive players in our league."
≫ On what this team is capable of if it stays healthy …
"I mean, I think a lot of really good things. I would expect that they'd be an NCAA tournament-type team that could go deep in the NCAA tournament. You know, if they play up to their capabilities and if they stay healthy .... And I think as long as you have really good players and they can stay healthy and they understand that it's a long haul versus just a short sprint – you know there's a lot of things you have to get through during the course of a college baseball season – but if you can get guys through it, then you'll have a lot of success with them."
CARSON DEMARTINI
Junior infielder & 2024 Preseason All-American
≫ On the ceiling for returning four infield starters …
"I mean, it's huge, first of all. Everybody says, you know, your second-year guys typically have the best year they have and I mean that's Clay [Grady], "Chick" [Christian Martin], and [Garrett] Michel, three guys returning. They had great years last year. I really think, you know, the biggest part is just the game slowing down for them. I think it's really easy to let the game speed up on you. Especially in the ACC, guys start running, pitchers are throwing hard. I mean, everything's kind of happening fast. I think like the fact that they can kind of worry about like not just themselves but, you know, maybe the outfielders or a pitcher, or something like that. They don't really have to worry about themselves so much because they've already done it."
≫ On how it feels to be fully recovered from injury …
"Yeah, I am ready to roll. I'm ready to roll. I'm 100 percent. [My] shoulder's all healed up. I'm ready to go. I think it's just exciting to get back. I'm always pretty nervous. You can't really say you're not nervous to get rolling. But yeah, I'm just ready to roll. Looking forward to Charlotte."
≫ On how well this team has meshed during the offseason …
"I think this group actually meshed very quickly. I was actually up here earlier in the summer and I was up with a lot of like the transfer pitchers, freshmen guys and it was really nice to kind of get to know guys before the season started. I didn't play a single inning this fall. So, that was my whole job, to build team camaraderie and meshing guys and what not. So, that's kind of something that I think excelled this fall for us. And I think it's going to show for us this year, kind of like that [2022] team, how close we are and how tightly knit a group we are."
BRADY KIRTNER
Redshirt-junior pitcher & 2023 MLB Draft selection
≫ On his decision to return to Virginia Tech after the 2023 MLB Draft …
"That was a really tough decision, to end up ultimately coming back to school after the draft. But, I am happy in the decision that I made. It was a really tough one. But, being here, coming through the fall with this group of guys, I think it's been totally worth it. The guys this year, it's different. I think we have a very tight group of guys in the locker room. Everybody is working towards the same goal: we all want to go to Omaha. And I think everybody has their head on their shoulders this year, so, I am excited for this group. There is a lot of unknown in it as we're trying to fill roles, but I think the future of this year looks really bright."
≫ On if the unknown about the 2024 team is exciting …
"It's exciting. I mean, we've been in this position before, especially while I have been here. So, kind of getting back to that is exciting. Having a group of guys, we have a lot of transfers in this year, especially on the pitching staff. There [are] a lot of unknowns. We have to fill in our starting roles and reliever roles, figure out where everybody goes here on [Feb. 2] with Opening Day two weeks away. We still don't have all of our roles set. So, I think that's a good thing. [On] the hitting side, we returned a lot of guys, so I do think we do have some things that are known on that side. We returned our infield. But, it is exciting to see where it's going to go over the next couple weeks."
≫ On the key to preparing for the upcoming season …
"Everybody being on the same page, working towards the same goal. Everybody having that mindset that they want to achieve what they want to achieve. And that's part of the unknown [and] being good, because nobody has a set role, so we're all working, basically all together. We all want to get to the place that we want to be at and everyone's working to get that goal, so it's making everybody push each other that much harder."
≫ On young 2024 pitchers people may not know …
"There's two big freshmen I am excited to see this year: Brett Renfrow and Madden Clement. They have a good work ethic and they've shown really good stuff, especially at a young age. So, those would be two names to look out for."
