2014 ROSTER / 2014 SCHEDULE
FARMVILLE, Va. -- For the first time in 36 years, Longwood University will open a baseball season without Buddy Bolding at the helm of the tradition-rich program. Bolding retired after the 2013 campaign with 953 wins, turning over the reins to one of his all-time great pitchers, Brian McCullough. McCullough inherits an experienced squad that returns 17 lettermen, including seven returning position starters and eight pitchers. He has added 11 freshmen to the roster, seven that pitch, as the Lancers enter 2014 with their largest roster ever numbering 28.
UPDATE (2/15): they'll open with a three-game series on the road at East Tennessee State University of the Atlantic Sun Conference on Sunday (DH) and Monday, February 16-17 in Johnson City, Tennessee.
"I would say it's been a pleasurable experience so far based on what Coach Bolding's done for me in his career and as my boss last year," said McCullough. "I couldn't have asked for an easier transition into this role from my role last year, and I really do appreciate
Troy Austin having faith in me to lead the program into the future. I'm very grateful for it and I'm very humble for it, as well."
McCullough will look to senior captains
Matt Dickason/Chesapeake and
Alex Owens/Purcellville, classmate
Scott Burkett/Williamsburg, along with juniors
Brandon Delk/Newport News,
Aaron Myers/Newport News and
Brandon Vick/Newport News for leadership this season – on and off of the field. Dickason, a middle infielder, hit .331 with 13 doubles and 18 RBI last year, starting 44 of 46 games. Owens, who played third base the last three years, will open at first base this season after hitting .281 with four home runs, 18 doubles and 32 RBI in 2013, starting all 54 games. Burkett, a three-year starter at catcher who hit .304 with four home runs, 11 doubles and 30 RBI a year ago, starting 51 of 54 games, will also see time on the mound this spring. Delk, who will play right field, hit .222 with five home runs, 11 doubles and 26 RBI last year, starting all 54 games. Myers, a right-handed pitcher, who was the team's closer last season, will open as the No. 1 starter this year; he was 4-2 with a 3.30 ERA and 10 saves over 79.0 innings with 67 strikeouts in 2013. Vick, a left-handed pitcher, will open at No. 2 in the rotation, finishing last season 6-5 with a 3.95 ERA over 86.2 innings with 33 strikeouts.
"Matt is a good table setter there at the top of the lineup, but we might look to him to hit in the five hole and drive in more runs," said McCullough. "He's an aggressive hitter and he has good control. When he's in the zone, he's very strong in that five hole. That's really a spot he could excel in.
"Alex will help us defensively at first base," said McCullough. "He's going to be, I think, a premiere caliber first baseman. Alex showed us that last fall, being able to pick balls and have some range over there. That definitely helps us out for balls down the line and in the holes."
"Scott brings that power, he can drive the ball out of the park and hit a lot of doubles," said McCullough. "We're looking for him in the middle of the lineup to drive in some runs like he has over his last three years here."
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Brandon Delk is very athletic, has a great arm and great foot speed," said McCullough. "He knows how to play the position well, and is very aggressive at the plate."
"Aaron is a guy that can give you nine innings almost every time out," said McCullough. "Obviously, that's his expectation and that's our expectation every time he gets the ball … to see if he can take the whole game himself. Aaron competes, and he's got three quality pitches. His arm strength looked good during the fall."
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Brandon Vick will keep his Saturday night role where he feels comfortable matching up against the opponent's number two," said McCullough. "I believe he's the best number two in the league. The left-hander can run it up in the low 90's, and he has improved his off-speed pitches tremendously since last year, so you should see more strikeouts."
A pair of seniors will add to the leadership role in
Cory Ramsey/Petersburg and
Ryan Schubert/Springfield. Ramsey has endured injuries since a solid freshman season on the mound, and will not pitch, but provide depth at first base and at the designated hitter position this year. Schubert, a right-handed pitcher, missed nearly all of last season after a couple of solid seasons in the bullpen.
"Cory's been hitting, so he will be playing first base and getting some DH spots during the year," said McCullough.
"Ryan had a good fall and is having a good spring, so he's going to get some quality innings," said McCullough. "He's going to have to earn them, though, just like the rest of the guys will."
A trio of sophomores will return to the lineup, including
Colton Konvicka/Richmond,
C.J. Roth/Yorktown and
Kyri Washington/Prospect, while junior
Tyler Wislocki/Annandale, along with sophomores
Travis Burnette/Lynchburg,
Dylan Caruso/Appomattox and
Blake Ream/Yorktown return to the mound with good experience from 2013. Konvicka, who will play center field, hit .291 with two home runs, eight doubles, 21 RBI and a team-best 14 stolen bases, starting all 41 games played last season. Roth, a middle infielder, hit .269 with 12 doubles and 11 RBI a year ago, starting 47 of 50 games. Washington, who will play left field, hit .249 with six home runs, 17 doubles, 37 RBI and nine steals, starting all 54 games in 2013. Wislocki, a right-handed pitcher, was 1-1 with a 5.23 ERA over 43.0 innings with 17 strikeouts. Burnette, who will open in the closer role this year, was 3-7 with a 4.78 ERA and two saves over 49.0 innings with 24 strikeouts last season. Caruso, who will open in the bullpen, was 1-0 with a 5.10 ERA over 30.0 innings with 17 strikeouts a year ago. Ream will open in the bullpen, as well, but could earn his way into the rotation. He finished 3-4 with a 7.43 ERA over 36.1 innings with 23 strikeouts in 2013.
"Colton is going to hit in the top of our lineup, and is probably one of the best defensive center fielders in the Big South," said McCullough. "He has elite foot speed and a great knack for the first step of where he needs to be, as far as routes go."
"C.J. is much improved at the plate, has good foot speed, good range in the field and can put the bunt down, as well," said McCullough. "He has been able to show that he can hit doubles too."
"Kyri's ceiling is probably the highest out of any of our players and he could end up anywhere between the three and six hole this year," said McCullough. "He's a guy that when he shows up to the park, he can change the game just by himself … probably one of the few guys in the Big South that's able to do that with just his four at-bats."
Also returning are junior infielder
Travis Biddix/Richmond and sophomore right-handed pitcher
Allen Ellis/Mechanicsville. Biddix hit .210 with four doubles and five RBI last season, while Ellis was 0-0 with a 9.88 ERA over 13.2 innings with 12 strikeouts.
A talented freshmen class includes several first-year players who are expected to see lots of action this season. They include
Devin Gould/Fairfax Station,
Brandon Harvell/Yorktown,
Mitchell Kuebbing/Burlington, Kentucky,
Alex Lewis/Burke,
Mac McCafferty/Stevens, Pennsylvania and
Luke Simpson/Danville. Gould is a right-handed pitcher. Harvell will open at shortstop. Kuebbing is a right-handed pitcher. Lewis will open at third base. Simpson is a right-handed pitcher and was the 2013 Virginia High School League (VHSL) Group AA Player of the Year. McCafferty is a catcher and expected to split time with Burkett when the latter is on the mound.
"Devin probably has the most dynamic arm," said McCullough. "Brandon has a pretty good knack for getting to the baseball and getting rid of it. Mitchell is a good athlete and will be one of the first few out of the pen to start the year off. Alex can flash the leather and is going to be vying for time. Mac has shown that he can throw out some of our best base runners, and could have the biggest impact behind the plate … throwing accurately and throwing with a strong arm to second base. Luke has the pedigree and he's coming from a very strong high school, as far as producing guys that can pitch at a very high level."
The remaining freshmen include
Brooks Carson/Clifton,
Kendall Hughes/Mint Hill, North Carolina,
Ryan Jones/Fredericksburg,
Garrett Paul/Fallston, Maryland and
Keith Roberts/Midlothian. Carson and Jones are each right-handed pitchers. Hughes is an infielder and right-handed pitcher. Paul is a first baseman and right-handed pitcher, while Roberts is an infielder and catcher.
Longwood has a 56-game regular season schedule that includes nine Big South opponents in three-game weekend series' … Liberty, Campbell, Charleston Southern, High Point and Presbyterian at home, along with Radford, VMI, Gardner-Webb and Winthrop on the road. The Lancers will play non-conference games against six in-state schools, including Virginia, ranked No. 1 in the Baseball America preseason Top 25, George Mason, James Madison, Norfolk State, Richmond and William and Mary. In addition to ETSU, Longwood will play out of state opponents in non-league games against Duke, Marist, Ohio, North Carolina Central and Wofford.
"Playing at home the first two weekends of Big South action is definitely going to be a plus," said McCullough. "We have a lot of good teams coming to Farmville this year, which is nice. We had to play all those teams on the road last year and were able to hold our own. So I hope playing them at home this year will be an added bonus for the schedule.
"Our goal really doesn't change, though, with how we prepare each day and what's going on as far as the talk in the locker room or what we're doing as a coaching staff. We just want to get ourselves in a position to make the tournament, be in a position to win the tournament, and then from there, just take what's given to us.
"Having Virginia on the schedule is very good for the program, especially with their number one ranking in the preseason. We look to go there and compete, as we have in the past, with the program representing itself there. I have a lot of respect for their program, so we appreciate them putting us back on the schedule, and we hope to play them every year."
Preparing for a college baseball campaign is difficult for even the veteran head coach. What does McCullough hope to accomplish during his first season?
"This first year, I want to see marked improvement from last year in the Big South," said McCullough. "We have the players back this year that we need to have to make that improvement, as far as the record goes and in the conference, and we're very confident in that. If we stay healthy, I think we have a good chance of reaching our ultimate goals."
Jon Benick, Dan Benick and Matt Rein will assist McCullough this season.
