Oregon State’s 2023 baseball season provided a conundrum.

On the one hand, a 41-20 record and runner-up finish in the Pac-12 regular season sounds pretty good.

But two losses in the Pac-12 post-season tournament got the Beavers sent to purgatory — the Baton Rouge Regional — where one of the nation’s best teams used one of the nation’s biggest home-field advantages to eliminate the kids from Corvallis.

Four of the Beavers were named to the all-tournament team — first baseman Garret Forrester, second baseman Travis Bazzana, third baseman Mikey Kane and outfielder Gavin Turley, the latter one of four unanimous selections. Bazzana and Turley will be back at Oregon State next season. Forrester and Kane are likely headed for selection in the major league draft July 9-11 and can be expected to sign.

If you think Mitch Canham was down in the dumps over his team’s failure to advance beyond the Regional, you don’t know Mitch. The former All-America catcher is a glass-half-full type of guy.

“The day after our last game, it was like, ‘Let’s go back to work,’ ” Canham said. “When you go through a heartbreak like that, it’s hard. But you have to handle adversity. I think about the year before, when we lost in the SuperRegional, and guys like Bazzana and (Mason) Guerra and (Brady) Kasper worked their butts off and all got better. They put in the work. They care.

“That’s the way it is with Oregon State baseball. We’re not afraid to work harder than anyone else in the country. We have great people and a great program. I can’t boast enough about how lucky we are to have such resources. I’m fired up for next year — eager to get back out there in the fall.”

I spoke with Canham, pitching coach Rich Dorman and assistant coaches Ryan Gipson and Darwin Barney over the past week. What follows are highlights from those four conversations.

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Oregon State loses senior pitchers Trent Sellers and Ben Ferrer and will likely see five draft-eligible underclassmen depart — Forrester, Kane, outfielders Kasper and Micah McDowell and closer Ryan Brown. On the other hand, they will have some key players back, such as All-American Bazzana, Guerra, Freshman All-American Gavin Turley and catchers Tanner Smith and Wilson Weber. Bazzana, Turley and pitcher Aiden Jimenez are ticketed to play in the Cape Cod League this summer.

Canham spoke about the individual growth he saw through the season.

“The guys continued to develop through the entirety of the year,” he said. “Mason, Kasper — they made huge leaps in their game. It was great to see them walking around confident. At the very end, we had a couple of injuries and started to thin out on the pitching side. But I was impressed with what the pitchers did, especially early on. Four of our freshmen — (Nelson) Keljo, (Tyler) Mejia, (Aiden) Jimenez and (A.J.) Hutchinson — threw a lot of innings. Our bats struggled early, but as the season went on, our offense turned it on.

“It was an exciting year, and finishing second in the Pac is an achievement. At the same time, our goal is always going to be the last team (in the country) playing.”

The Pac-12 Tournament has been unkind to Oregon State in each of its two years of existence. Both years, the event was held in Scottsdale, Ariz., where the late-spring heat is searing, balls are flying and the Arizona schools have a decided home-field advantage.

In 2022, with the opportunity to host a Regional assured, Oregon State played five games in five days in Scottsdale, winning three but losing two — including a 25-22, 10-inning debacle to UCLA in which the Bruins scored nine runs in the ninth inning to force extra innings. A team doesn’t need that kind of extra stress heading into the NCAA Tournament.

In this year’s Pac-12 Tournament, with the Beavers needing a win to host a Regional, they lost 13-12 to Arizona and 14-10 to Arizona State in a revised pool-play format. Canham rested No. 1 starter Trent Sellers and, with Nos. 2 and 3 Jacob Kmatz and Jaren Hunter on the shelf due to injuries, OSU went with what amounted to back-to-back bullpen games in what amounted to a pair of road games.

I asked Canham if he is in favor of holding a Pac-12 tournament.

“I think I am,” he said. “We’re trying some new things, trying to find the right format, the right way to go about it, the right amount of teams to be in it. It’s a good move for our conference to take steps in trying this thing out.”

The Pac-12 Tournament is great for teams on the bubble of making the NCAA Tournament. It was terrific for Oregon, which finished sixth in the Pac-12 but won the conference tourney and then came within a game of reaching the College World Series. It was anything but beneficial to a team such as Oregon State, already in strong position but shy on pitching depth.

Canham said the Pac-12 coaches will meet in Las Vegas in August to discuss the tournament, among other issues. The conference is contracted for one more year in Scottsdale. After that, it should be moved away from Arizona, to a neutral site with less lethal heat . San Diego’s Petco Park would work — a big-league park instead of a spring-training site with no fans — but more centrally located Sacramento would be ideal. The PCL River Cats play in Sutter Health Park, capacity 10,600, big enough to house plenty of fans without providing a home-field edge.

This year’s pool play system should be scrapped, too, perhaps for an eight-team, double-elimination event that guarantees each team two games and avoids a 1-1 team being eliminated.

I asked Canham about Ruben Cedillo, the transfer from Linn-Benton CC who began the season as the starting centerfielder and cleanup hitter. In four games in Scottsdale, Cedillo was a sterling 7 for 15 at the plate. Then he got hurt and missed the next three games. After his return, Cedillo got nine hits the rest of the season, finishing with a .188 average in 85 at-bats.

“Once you get into a funk, you start to press and change things rather than sticking with a plan,” Canham said. “He started to drift away from that belief and steady confidence. But Ruben is extremely capable. He’ll get another chance next season.”

Shortstop Kyle Dernedde has entered the transfer portal, and should he leave, he will be a grad transfer with a season of eligibility. Dernedde, a sure-handed, strong-armed defender who made only three errors in 174 chances this season, has often struggled at the plate. He lost his job at midseason but earned it back and finished as the starter, hitting .248.

OSU coaches couldn’t guarantee the Tualatin High grad a starting spot next season. They are looking for a more consistent hitter. One of their targets in the transfer portal was Sacramento State shortstop Wehiwa Aloy, a Freshman All-American and WAC Freshman of the Year who hit .376 with 69 runs scored, 14 homers and 46 RBIs in 56 games this spring. Arkansas beat out fellow finalists LSU, California and Oregon State for Aloy’s services.

“Kyle has been an incredible Beav,” Canham said. “I’ll be telling the story of how he battled his butt to get his spot back this season. … I’ll be talking Wade Meckler and Kyle Dernedde as long as I’m coaching. Kyle is one of the best defenders in the country. He loves this place. He might end up coaching here some day.

“But maybe he can check out a different part of the country and find a program that fits with his schooling and gives him the chance to play every day.”

Waiting in the wings is Jabin Trosky, a middle infielder who was impressive as a freshman both in the field and at the plate, but missed all of this season after February elbow surgery. He should be a contender along with Brandon Forrester, Garret’s younger brother, who redshirted this season along with Trotsky.

Another player on my mind was Joey Mundt, who underwent Tommy John elbow surgery in March 2022 and has yet to make it back. The 6-5, 225-pound right-hander is pitching this summer for the Corvallis Knights.

“He is looking forward to the possibility of coming back next season,” Canham said.

Canham said incoming freshmen will arrive in August to take summer school classes. The first official team meeting will be in early September.

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Barney said all things considered, he is “pretty happy” with Oregon State’s results this season. He noted that the Beavers started the Pac-12 slate with a 1-5 record but wound up winning 17 of their next 24 to finish 18-12.

“We ran into a bad draw in the Pac-12 Tournament, having to face both Arizona teams in Arizona,” said Barney, one of the stars of Oregon State’s 2006 and ’07 national championship teams who played eight years as a major league second baseman and won a gold glove with the Cubs in 2013. “It’s the heat, the pace of the game, the big park in Scottsdale. Just an advantage for the Arizona schools, who are used to it.

“The LSU Regional was unfortunate. That’s a team that was ranked No. 1 much of the season. A team of our caliber that almost hosted should not have been sent there. We had two tough draws. The injuries to our pitchers tested our depth, but we held our own. I wish the season would have finished differently for us, but the guys are set to come in next year and produce.”

Gavin Turley had three sections to his season. In the first 12 games, the freshman outfielder was 17 for 47 (.370) with five home runs and 16 strikeouts. Over Oregon State’s next 38 games — Turley played in 21 of them — he went 7 for 55 (.127) with no homers and 31 strikeouts. In his last 11 games, Turley was 22 for 44 (.500) with nine HRs and 13 strikeouts.

“Gavin had his struggles at the high school level with strikeouts and consistency,” Barney said. “When he started so hot, you wondered, since he was now hitting against substantially better pitching. It over-evened out on him. He was striking out so much — typical freshman stuff — trying to figure out the necessary adjustment. That took time for him to change his routine. Mitch was really good about that. He told Gavin, ‘We’re going to not play you for a week or two; we want you to focus on the routine.’ There was no pressure. And Gavin did a good job with that.

“Eventually Gavin started coming up to me saying, ‘I feel ready.’ The first couple of times he said it, I didn’t believe him. You could see it in his eyes when he was finally ready to go.

“Your best team is with Gavin out there doing his thing. Toward the end, he caught fire and ran with it. He is a guy who potentially could be a Golden Spikes finalist if he has just a pretty good year — he is that good. If he squares the ball up, it’s leaving the yard a lot. He is a doubles, triples and homer guy. You can’t teach that. With players like that, you try to hone the approach and work with their brain and get them in the right place. He is one of the more special talents ever at Oregon State.”

Barney has served as the Beavers’ “volunteer” coach the past three years, his pay coming from camps and other activities. Not only has he given up some salary, he has commuted regularly from the Lake Oswego home where he resides with wife Lindsay and their four children.

Barney is in charge of the Oregon State defense, and is surely one of the best infield defense coaches in the country. Under his tutelage this past season, the Beavers led the Pac-12 in defensive percentage (.982) and committed the fewest errors — 39 in 61 games.

Next season, the NCAA has approved a third paid assistant for D-I programs. One would expect Barney to be handsomely rewarded for his sacrifices for the OSU program.

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In my discussion with Gipson, I wanted to talk hitting, since he is the coach in charge of Oregon State’s offense. I offered some statistical perspective from each of the past three seasons:

2021: Beavers hit .280 with 53 home runs, a .375 on-base percentage, a .422 slugging percentage, 38 of 45 steals. Five regulars hit .300 or better but only one was in double figures in home runs — Ryan Ober with 10.

2022: Beavers hit .296 with 59 home runs. a .407 OBP, a .453 SP, 83 of 99 steals. Five regulars hit .300 with only Jacob Melton in double figures in home runs with 17.

2023: Beavers hit .294 with 89 home runs, a .408 OBP. a .486 SP, 89 of 101 steals. Six regulars hit .300 and five were in double figures in home runs, led by Turley with 14.

In essence, the 2022 and ’23 offensive production was similar except for the jump in power numbers this season.

“And this year, the power was spread amongst the lineup compared to the year prior, when we had Jacob’s big number but not that much else,” Gipson said. “Seven guys in our lineup had seven or more homers this year.”

This season, Oregon State finished sixth in the Pac-12 in batting average — but was only four points out of third — fourth in homers and fifth in slugging percentage. The Beavers led the league in stolen bases (89), walks (373) and on-base percentage (.408), though also in strikeouts by hitters (543).

Walks and on-base percentage, Gipson said, “is very important.”

“It’s what we stress,” he said, “dominating the fastball, but swinging at strikes and taking balls. It can put us deeper in the counts. Our guys are doing a good job of seeing the ball and knowing the strike zone. We take some borderline pitches that umpires will call strikes, so we may not get the final swing at times.

“We see a lot of pitches, and as a result, it boils down to strikeouts being high, but the on-base percentage is high. And we have seen the power numbers go way up. That’s a credit to the guys.”

Forrester and Bazzana tied for the Pac-12 lead in walks with 59.

“Garret has the best eye in this year’s (MLB) draft,” Gipson said. “He scores through the roof with his vision. He knows the strike zone as well as anybody I have coached. He knows if the pitch is inside, a half-ball off the plate. He waits for a ball he can potentially drive.”

The Beavers led the league in stolen bases with 89. Bazzana topped individuals and set a school single-season record with 36 in 39 attempts.

“Last winter, Coach Canham told the players he wanted to incorporate the momentum lead at first base,” Gipson said. “To their credit, they put in the work. They trusted it and did a really good job. At one point, Travis was 31 for 33, and the two (outs) came when he overslid the bag at second.”

What kind of potential does Oregon State’s returning group have in terms of offensive production?

“We’re going to score lots of runs — lots and lots of runs,” he says. “It’s a big nucleus back. There is a lot of speed and power back. There was a lot of maturity gained by our young guys this year. They’re making adjustments, they work, they do it together. And with the (recruits) coming in, I believe we’re going to have an impressive group.”

I asked which of the young position players he expected to emerge next season.

“Tyce Peterson, Dallas Macias, Easton Tait, Jacob Krieg,” Gipson said. “Those guys have had limited opportunities to this point. But with a year of growth and maturity, they are going to be a lot better.”

Oregon State has eight high school position players signed to letters of intent, featuring Trent Caraway, a 6-3, 200-pound shortstop from Dana Point, Calif., who is projected to be a third-round draft pick. The California Gatorade Player of the Year and Orange County Player of the Year hit .467 with seven homers in leading Serra Catholic of San Juan Capistrano to the CIF Southern Section Division 1 championship this spring.

“Trent is the one we very much hope to be with us,” Gipson said, “but we are excited about all of them.”

The Beavers have infielders Levi Jones of Jesuit — the state 6A Player of the Year — Dawson Santana of Lakeridge, Reeve Boyd of Seattle and Anthony Marnell of Las Vegas coming in along with catcher Evan Gustafson of Eau Claire, Wisc., and outfielders Carson McEntire of Peoria, Ariz., and Zach Blair of Camas, Wash.

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Rich Dorman’s Oregon State pitching staff had two seasons, really, in 2023. The Beavers had the Pac-12’s leading ERA through early April, with starters Sellers, Kmatz and Hunter healthy, Brown closing and a young bullpen doing well. Hunter lasted only seven starts due to a shoulder injury, Kmatz shut it down near the end of the season and things weren’t quite so strong at the finish.

“For having so many young guys, the first half was pretty solid,” Dorman says. “Then we got nicked up and didn’t quite have the depth. We didn’t pitch our best at the end of the year, which isn’t typically our style. Normally we’re throwing our best at the end. We lost a few key pieces we anticipated contributing quite a bit.”

Oregon State’s pitching stats over the past three seasons:

2021: ERA 3.48, 611 strikeouts, 242 walks, 38 home runs, opponents’ batting average .215.

2022: ERA 4.19, 628 strikeouts, 188 walks, 38 home runs, opponents’ batting average .246.

2023: ERA 4.71, 580 strikeouts, 222 walks, 59 home runs, opponents’ batting average .254.

The 2021 OSU squad featured one of the strongest pitching staffs in school history, with a starting rotation of Kevin Abel, Cooper Hjerpe, Jake Pfennigs, Will Frisch and Jack Washburn, and a bullpen featuring Bryant Salgado, Brock Townsend, Mitchell Verburg, Jake Mulholland and Nathan Burns. There were seven relievers with an ERA of 3.12 or better. Abel, Hjerpe, Pfennigs, Frisch, Salgado, Verburg, Mulholland and Burns are all pitching in the minor leagues this season.

“We had so much depth,” Dorman says. “We had a lot of punch-outs that year, but also too many walks. We didn’t command the plate. The last two years, we have focused on minimizing walks. When that happens, you’re going to give up more hits.”

This year’s staff finished third in the Pac-12 in ERA and on-base percentage and second in strikeouts but tied for second-most in walks. The Beavers used 10 pitchers in starting roles.

Neither Kmatz (elbow) or Hunter will require surgery. Hunter is a junior but is expected to return next season.

“We got fortunate there,” Dorman says. “Jacob had been feeling it the last three outings. (The elbow) felt good to start the game but by the fourth inning, it was sore. He never wants out, of course, but we have to protect him. They are both taking the summer off from throwing and are itching to go again next year.”

Kmatz and Hunter will be favorites to win weekend starter roles next season, but there will be plenty of competition. Juniors AJ Lattery (4-0, 4.05 ERA in 19 appearances, 52 strikeouts in 46 2/3 innings, .224 opponents’ batting average) and Ian Lawson (3-0, 3.50 in 19 appearances, 46 strikeouts in 36 innings, .203 OBA) will be on the short list, too, if they don’t sign pro contracts.

The Beavers missed out on a potential starting pitcher when Kelly Austin, who was UCLA’s Friday night starter this season and was in the portal, chose Florida for his grad transfer season in 2024. The All-Pac-12 right-hander had spoken with Beaver coaches about coming to Oregon State.

The performance of the four freshman pitchers, Dorman said, “was a true bright spot for us.”

Jimenez, a 6-3, 215-pound right-hander, was 5-2 with a 5.68 ERA in 22 appearances and 38 innings. He had 35 strikeouts and only seven walks. In Oregon State’s 3-1 elimination-game win over Sam Houston State in the Baton Rouge Regional, Jimenez threw six innings of three-hit, no-run relief, with six strikeouts and no walks.

“Aiden carved them up in that game,” Dorman says. “When he first got here in the fall, his fastball was 88 to 92 (mph). By the end of the year, it was moving up to 95. We’re thinking the kid can challenge for a weekend spot in the rotation.”

Keljo, a 6-4, 220-pound left-hander from Jesuit High, was 2-0 with a 5.40 ERA in 23 appearances and 21 2/3 innings. He had 32 strikeouts and 17 walks. His fastball has been clocked as high as 98.

“Nelson is another guy who will be fighting for a weekend spot,” Dorman says. “His secondary stuff progression is coming along well. He is starting to get swing-and-miss on his changeup. When you have electric stuff, you have to channel it and figure out how to toe the line of being under control and out of control. Nelson is starting to find the right side of that line.”

Mejia, a 6-3, 190-pound left-hander, was 1-0 with a 4.91 ERA in 19 appearances and 25 2/3 innings. He had a team-best .193 opponents’ batting average.

“Tyler needs to work on strength and conditioning so he can add velocity, but he is a competitive kid,” Dorman says. “He is deceptive and funky with a quick arm and good stuff.”

Hutcheson, a 5-11, 185-pound right-hander, was 1-0 with a 5.40 ERA in 26 appearances and 30 innings. Using a side-winding style, Hutcheson had 26 strikeouts, 15 walks and a .227 opponents’ batting average. If Brown is gone, he could be a candidate for the closer role.

“I love guys who have a little bit of funk,” Dorman says. “Hutch comes in with a different (arm) slot that batters aren’t used to. He can spin a slider from down there and is getting a little more movement to the bottom of the zone. He has to develop his changeup, but he has good potential.”

Dorman has added depth to the reliever corps with the addition of two right-handed grad transfers through the portal — Kyle Scott of Cal Poly and Sam Whiting of Cal Santa Barbara. The 6-3, 200-pound Scott was 0-3 with a 4.64 ERA in 20 games this spring, allowing 14 hits with 10 walks and 23 strikeouts in 21 1/3 innings. He had a .182 opponents’ batting average. The 6-3, 220-pound Whiting was 4-0 with a 4.10 ERA in 24 appearances, allowing 23 hits with 19 walks and 36 strikeouts in 26 1/3 innings. His opponents’ batting average was .245.

Dorman says he is “still looking for a piece” to help out of the bullpen. For now, how does he feel about his potential 2024 staff?

“I love the guys we have,” he says.

That’s not including nine pitchers from Oregon State’s 17-player recruiting class, topped by the only southpaw of the group, Paul Wilson of Lakeridge.

The 6-3, 180-pound Wilson — his father, Trevor Wilson, pitched eight years in the big leagues — was first-team all-state this season. He already clocks at 93 for his fastball and is sure to be taken in the upcoming draft. Wilson suffered an arm injury in the state 6A playoffs but it’s not considered serious and he is not facing surgery.

“It may come down to money for Paul,” Dorman said. “He’s a big arm, but so was Nelson, who needed college. He needed to come here and learn how to pitch and use his secondary stuff. Do I think Paul is tremendous? Yeah I do. Could he develop and get better? Yes. Oregon State is a great spot for him to do that, not only from a pitching standpoint but also for mentality and maturity.

“I think college is good for most high school kids. I don’t know if you can put a price tag on all we can offer. Some players just want that label of playing pro baseball, and they want it now. The players who invest in themselves, turn down money out of high school and develop, they get a return on their investment.”

Among the eight right-handers in the 2023 recruiting class are in-staters Dane Laid from Oregon City, Drew Talavs from West Linn and Easton Corey from Pendleton.

Laid and Talavs are “both tremendous competitors, and they love to win,” Dorman said. “They’re eager to get better. I’m excited to get them here.”

Corey is already in Corvallis after undergoing Tommy John elbow surgery that caused him to miss his senior season.

“He’s a big, strong kid with a lot of good innings in him,” Dorman said. “We’ll see how quickly he rehabs and gets his body ready to go.”

Laid Palmer of Golden, Colo., throws a 95-mph fastball and could go in the MLB draft. Eric Segura of Soledad, Calif., is athletic “and could be a mid-90s guy,” Dorman said. “He could help us next year.”

Bryce Johnson of Sammamish, Wash., is 6-3 and 215 and is also an excellent first baseman. Matthew Morrell of Placentia, Calif., is also an outfielder and an athlete Oregon State looked at for football.

James DeCremer of Scottsdale, Ariz., “has a big arm with plus stuff and a great slider,” Dorman says. But a lower back issue idled him most of the past season. He also has interest from scouts in the upcoming draft.

“I love pitchers who have nasty stuff, and we have some of that,” Dorman says. “It’s a really strong class. You’re pretty much recruiting three years ahead, so this is our first real recruiting class for me. I’m proud of this class. We got some really good arms to help continue to mold and be of championship caliber.”

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