Beaver baseball: Here we go again, and it looks promising

Left-fielder Gavin Turley hit .297 in the Cape Cod League this summer (courtesy OSU sports communications)

(First of two parts. Second part of the series featuring Oregon State pitching will run Tuesday).

 Seems like yesterday when Oregon State’s baseball season ended on the diamond in Lexington with a 3-2 loss to Kentucky in the NCAA Super Regional.

That date was June 9. On Thursday, the Beavers will be at it again with the start of fall practice at Goss Stadium.

“Summer? What summer?” jokes head coach Mitch Canham as he prepares to begin his fifth season at the OSU helm.

With recruiting and protecting players from the jaws of the transfer portal, the down time of the offseason for Canham and assistant coaches Rich Dorman, Ryan Gipson and Joey Wong was short.

Now they are back at it with a roster of 44 players who will go through six weeks of training during the “fall ball” portion of the season.

Oregon State lost a load of talent from its 2024 squad that finished the season 45-16 overall, was second in the Pac-12 with a 19-10 record and was stopped just short of its College World Series goal.

The Cleveland Guardians made second baseman Travis Bazzana the No. 1 pick in the MLB draft, and shortstop Elijah Hainline, centerfielder Micah McDowell and first baseman Mason Guerra were also drafted and signed along with Aiden May and Jacob Kmatz, the 1-2 starters in the weekend rotation, and closer Bridger Holmes. Senior rightfielder Brady Kasper is also out of eligibility.

But the Beavers retained all of their key underclassmen from a year ago, with the exception of Tanner Smith, who shared catching duties with Wilson Weber and has transferred to Miami. The returnees include Weber, third baseman Trent Caraway, first baseman Jacob Krieg and outfielders Gavin Turley and Dallas Macias along with pitchers Eric Segura and Nelson Keljo.

Beaver catcher Wilson Weber was MVP of the Cape Cod League playoffs this summer

Updated 9/9/2024 11:59 PM

The OSU coaching staff has bolstered its roster with seven transfers — three from four-year schools and four from Jucos — and a dozen high school prospects.

“I am excited to get going,” Canham says. “We have a lot of young prospects and some other new guys that we are just getting to know. Watching the veteran guys talk about next season — they are glowing. They are excited, too. They know there is some stinking good talent in that locker room.”

Canham and his staff were able to convince those already on board and their recruits that playing a strong independent schedule for a team with potential to make it to Omaha — and a rich tradition of success on the national level — trumps the breakup of the Pac-12 Conference.

Dam Nation collective’s fund-raising drive in June netted $250,000 toward NIL money distributed to Oregon State’s players. That helped, but it wasn’t the biggest factor for OSU baseball avoiding the mass exodus that hit other Beaver athletic programs such as football and men’s and women’s basketball last season.

“It’s a question to ask the players,” Canham says when asked about it, “but to me, it’s our culture. It’s the people. The NIL money certain helps, but these guys are not out to chase money. They love it here. They love the community, the way they are treated, the way they are challenged. That’s the way I see it.

“To say the NIL is something they’re all going crazy for — it’s not these guys. If they do their job and perform at a high enough level, they’re going to get to play professional baseball.”

The Beavers have at least part-time starters returning at every position except second base — and how do you replace Bazzana, a consensus All-American and Pac-12 Player of the Year?

They did well in that regard by landing Washington Aiva Arquette from the transfer portal. The 6-4, 220-pound junior led the Huskies with a .325 batting average last season and also belted 12 home runs.

“He is a player,” Canham says. “No question he is going to help us.”

Weber returns off a fabulous if short stint in the Cape Cod Summer League. The 6-1, 215-pound senior was named Most Valuable Player of the Cape League playoffs, helping the Harwich Mariners to the title. Weber hit .300 in eight regular-season games, including a grand-slam home run, and then hit .375 in six games in the playoffs. Weber, who hit .276 with seven homers in 34 games for Oregon State last season, has earned the opportunity to be the primary starter next season.

Three of the four infield spots are covered by veterans. Krieg, a 6-5, 240-pound junior, started 43 games at first base and DH last season and hit .278 with nine homers and 40 RBIs and a .453 on-base percentage. But he struck out 66 times in 191 plate appearances.

“Jacob has incredible power, and he is an underrated defender,” Canham says. “Guys love throwing the ball to him at first. We’ll work with him in the fall on swing decisions.”

Trosky, a 5-11, 185-pound junior, hit .287 in 40 games with 29 starts last season at third base and shortstop. The sweet-fielding Carmel, Calif., native will get first look at shortstop this fall.

Caraway missed much of last season with a broken finger but hit .339 in 18 games with 17 starts. He played well for the Falmouth Commodores in the pitching-rich Cape Cod League, batting .276 with four homers and 21 RBIs in 28 games.

Two of the three starting outfielders return — Turley, who hit .277 with 19 homers and a Pac-12-leading 74 RBIs in 61 games for OSU in 2024, and Macias, who hit .315 with eight round-trippers in 59 games.

Turley and Macias both played in the Cape Cod League this summer. The 6-1, 185-pound Turley batted .297 with three homers and 17 RBIs with a .422 on-base percentage in 23 games with Falmouth. The 5-11, 195-pound Macias hit .279 with a .375 on-base percentage in 19 games for the Brewster Whitecaps.

Three other outfielders with a number of starts in 2023 return, all juniors — Easton Talt, who hit .318 in 44 at-bats and 22 games with nine starts; Canon Reader, who hit .273 in 66 at-bats and 33 games with 17 starts, and Tyce Peterson, who hit .275 in 40 at-bats in 17 games and 13 starts.

Two other players who saw spot duty a year ago return — sophomores Levi Jones, who has been moved to the outfield, and Dawson Santana, a second baseman. Carson McEntire, a 6-1, 190-pound redshirt freshman who missed last season due to injury, is also back.

“Carson is a big boy who can really run,” Canham says. “We have seven returning outfielders in the fall. There will be some good competition.”

Also back is redshirt freshman catcher Anthony Marnell.

Among position players, Oregon State added 11 players — three transfers and eight high school recruits. One of the transfers is Arquette.

Likely to divide time at catcher with Weber is Bryce Hubbard, who started collegiately at Mississippi State but played last season at Northwest Florida State JC. The 6-foot, 215-pound junior hit .272 with nine homers and 36 RBIs in 35 games with the Wausau Woodchucks of the Northwoods League this summer.

“Bryce had a tremendous summer in the Northwoods League,” Canham says. “He handles the catcher position well.”

Infielder AJ Singer, a 5-10, 175-pound junior, hit .396 with 26 doubles, eight homers, 70 runs, 81 RBIs,  27 stolen bases and a .480 on-base percentage in 61 games for Iowa Western JC last season.

“AJ already seems like one of the boys who has been here for a long time,” Canham says. “He is going to play some second, third and short for us.”

Among the eight position players coming in from the prep ranks are the Oregon 6A Player of the Year and a player ranked by MLB.com as the top position player in the Northwest.

The former is 6-foot, 210-pound catcher Ryan Vandenbrink, who led West Linn to three straight state championships.

“Ryan is physical as heck and strong as an ox,” Canham says. “He came in, saying, ‘I know I can hit. Whatever you need me to do, I’ll do. I’m going to work my butt off.’ I like that kind of attitude.”

The latter is 6-2, 190-pound pitcher/shortstop Adam Haight of Snohomish, Wash., who has a 94-mph fastball and was projected to be picked between the fourth and seventh rounds of the MLB draft. Haight told scouts he was coming to Oregon State and was taken by the New York Mets in the 20th round. MLB.com compares his “set-up” as an infielder to that of Bazzana.

“I want Adam to pitch and play a position to start out,” Canham says. “He’s very athletic and very physical.”

The other prep catchers are Martin Serrano, 6-3 and 205 from Pocatello, Ida., who might mix in some time at first base or a corner outfield, and Kailand Halstead, 5-10 and 185 from Puyallup, Wash., who can also play third base.

Three of the other prep signees as position players are infielders: Paul Vazquez, 6-3 and 200 out of Covina, Calif.; shortstop Cade Falsken, 5-8 and 155 out of Newbury Park, Calif., and Leo Cote, 6-foot and 165 from Ste Catherine de Hatley, Quebec.

The other signee is Hustyn Wheeler, a left-handed first baseman/outfielder from Phoenix who hit .301 with a .408 on-base percentage in helping O’Connor High to the Arizona 6A championship game.

The Oregon State program seems to continue to be on excellent footing. Navigating the NIL situation is a necessary evil.

“There are some loud numbers getting thrown out there,” Canham says. “A lot of people are trying to get in players’ heads. There are stories about guys getting offered things and not receiving them. The offers aren’t contractually binding — they are verbal agreements. It’s a tricky space out there.

“Oregon State baseball is built off of character and relationships. A freshman comes into our program, and it takes a while to get comfortable and to start building those relationships. If you jump to another school, you have to start all over again. This goes into recruiting the type of people we’re after. We communicate with them. We’re very transparent.

“We’re not throwing around crazy NIL figures, but we’re making sure we take care of our guys and that guys with big needs are helped out. A lot of our guys who received NIL money, they have used it to pour into their teammates. So that part of it is a good thing.”

Canham always looks at the glass seven-eighths full. He says his returnees are “walking tall. Their bodies have changed for the better. I see a tremendous amount of potential.”

The recruits have him excited, too, including pitcher Dax Whitney of Twin Falls, Ida., a projected second-round pick who turned down reported slot money of a $1.6 million bonus to sign with an MLB team.

“Dax turned down absurd money to come to school,” Canham says. “There has been a lot of noise about us going independent and NIL and all that stuff, but Oregon State baseball has put out two No. 1 draft picks in the last six years (Adley Rutschman in 2019 and Bazzana in 2024). Last year, Aiden May comes in, transforms his game to another level and goes in the second round of the draft.

“The guys who needed to stay at Oregon State stayed. That says a lot about our program and where we are headed.”

NOTES: Oregon State will play three scrimmages against other teams this fall — against Gonzaga in Bend and vs. Linn-Benton CC and the Alberta Okotoks Dawgs at Goss Stadium. … OSU’s new $6 million hitting complex is nearly complete. “They are putting on the finishing touches,” Canham says. “It should be done by the end of September.” … Canham’s staff remains the same with the exception of Kasper and Kyle Froemke, the latter a second baseman on the 2021 OSU team, who will serve as undergrad assistants. … Canham has tentatively completed Oregon State’s 56-game schedule for 2025, but says he can’t release it until “all the contracts have been signed. I have shared it with the players, how the RPI looks and so forth. It is extremely competitive, just like we have been playing in the Pac.” Canham says the Beavers will play Oregon next season, though he wouldn’t elaborate how many games or where they will be played. … the schedule that has been released includes games against unannounced opponents from Feb. 14-17 at Surprise, Ariz.; games on Feb. 21 vs. Oklahoma, Feb. 22 vs. Virginia and Feb. 23 vs. Minnesota in the Round Rock (Texas) Classic, and games on Feb. 28 vs. Baylor, March 1 vs. Auburn and March 2 vs. Ohio State in the College Baseball Series at Arlington, Texas.

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