Cougars play McNeese State, Missouri and Southern Mississippi stating Friday to start the 2014 season.
Game Notes (PDF)
Baseball is a sport that lends itself to numbers. Even outside of a record book the numbers 62, 755 and 56 stand out to baseball fans. For the Chicago State University baseball program the most important number in 2014 isn't a stat you'll see in a box score. It's the number 28, as in the number of student-athletes on the 2014 roster.
Last season the Cougars had a roster of just 18 student-athletes, the smallest in all of NCAA Division I. That is no longer the case thanks to the work of head coach
Steve Joslyn, now in his second season with Chicago State, and his coaching staff.
"We're no longer in a situation where someone has to be out there for 55 games," Joslyn said. "The guys really embraced it last year but it's nice to be in a situation where we can give some guys a day off or move a guy to the DH for a day. We now have some depth and versatility."
For instance, last season
Aveeno Nasiloski (Hammond, Ind./Gavit) played all 55 games. He started 19 times in right field and made 17 pitching appearances. This year, the junior Nasiloski has given up the bat and will only pitch. Senior
Dylan Sterrett (Chalmers, Ind./Frontier) started 13 games for the Cougars, but when he wasn't pitching made 23 starts as a designated hitter.
Those days are finished.
Still look for Sterrett on the mound, but this year as only a weekend starter. Juniors
Ean McNeal (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Xavier) and
Andrew Wellwerts (Cedar Lake, Ind./Hanover Central) will likely get the ball in early season weekend games.
"Dylan has a great mentality and has been out there on Fridays," Joslyn said. "Ean had a ton of success at the juco level and has command of three pitches. Andy hit 90 on our scout day and is feeling healthy."
However Joslyn fully admits there is plenty of time for guys to earn roles. Left-handed junior college transfers
Joe Ross (Algonquin, Ill./Jacobs) and
Tyler Abbott (Simi Valley, Calif./Royal) also project as starters. Last year the Cougars had just five true pitchers on the team, with
Jerry Silva (Chicago, Ill./Holy Trinity) being the only dedicated reliever. This year the roster has 10 pitchers. Silva is joined by lefty
Dane Mehring (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Xavier), sidewinder
Nick Kostalek (Huntley, Ill./Huntley), veteran
Eric Hall (Oakville, ONT/Oakville Trafalgar) and Nasiloski in the pen.
The Cougars' pitching staff will be throwing to junior
Robert Swenson (Mason City, Iowa/Mason City) and freshman
Evan Regez (Kankakee, Ill./Herscher) behind the plate.
"Robert is going to be our lead catcher," Joslyn said. "I've followed him since high school and have seen his development. He's a good leader behind the plate."
Around the horn, junior
Mattingly Romanin (Burlington, ONT/Notre Dame), a 2013 Great West Conference First Team selection, will hold down the hot corner.
"Teams pitched around Mattingly last year yet he was still able to find success," Joslyn said. "Teams won't be able to do that as much this year and I think Mattingly will take off this year."
Look for freshman
Sanford Hunt (Chicago, Ill./Kenwood) to get a shot at the starting second baseman job. Sophomore
Julian Russell (Chicago, Ill./Gordon Tech), who started all 55 games at shortstop as a freshman, will round out the Cougars' middle infield. Junior transfer
Matt Schmidt (Dundee, Ill./Jacobs) will start the season at first base.
"Matt is a left handed bat who is a middle of the lineup type guy," Joslyn said. "Defensively, he is real smooth around the bag."
In the outfield, junior
Jared Patterson (Ventura, Calif./Buena) will patrol center field.
"Jared is a prototypical leadoff hitter who can work counts, steal bases and play multiple positions," Joslyn said.
At the corner outfield spots, look for junior
Chase Matheson (McHenry, Ill./McHenry) in left field and junior
Jordan Stroschein (Marion, Iowa/Linn-Mar) in right field.
"Chase is another middle of the order type bat," Joslyn said. "Jordan has worked his tail off in the weight room. Scouts liked him in the fall and I'm excited to see how he does this year."
Freshman
Stefan Panayiotou (Hillsboro, Ore./Hillsboro), who will earn some early starts as a designated hitter, can play the outfield. Senior
Nathan Poff (Sellersburg, Ind./New Albany), who started all 55 games in center field last year, will also contribute in 2014.
The biggest challenge in 2014 might not be filling out a lineup card, but instead bringing so many new additions together as one unit. So far Joslyn likes what he has seen.
"Early in the fall, with so many new faces, we had guys looking around trying to figure out their role," Joslyn said. "They've meshed pretty well and as with any team chemistry is huge."
How far that chemistry will take them remains to be seen. Last year despite the limited roster, the Cougars won a pair of games in the GWC Tournament and finished with Chicago State's best performance in a conference tournament since 1999.
"This group wants to be that first team at Chicago State to do something really special," Joslyn said "But as we saw last year the key is to be playing your best baseball at the end of the season. My focus is making sure the guys don't get worried if it doesn't come together right away."
If all the new additions weren't enough change, the biggest addition this year isn't going to be on the field. It is going to literally be the field. Chicago State's new on campus baseball stadium will see action this spring. The stadium brings home games to campus for the first time in over 10 years. The artificial turf field is going to allow the Cougars to play games as soon as the snow melts and the temperature allows. Other teams in the Midwest with grass fields are going to be waiting much longer to get home games in this year.
The other change in 2014 is a new conference. Like the rest of Chicago State's programs the Cougars are now in the Western Athletic Conference. The WAC boasts affiliate members Sacramento State, Northern Colorado and North Dakota to bring the WAC's baseball membership to 10 teams. Chicago State will make road trips Arizona (Grand Canyon), California (Bakersfield and Sacramento State) and to New Mexico State for WAC games.
"We'll get to play in some warm weather cities while hopefully having an advantage when warmer schools have to bundle up to play us in Chicago," Joslyn said. "The new stadium combined with the WAC schedule has given us a nice niche in recruiting."
The goal at the end of the season is a trip to the WAC Tournament with the WAC Tournament Champion earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The six-team WAC Tournament will be played at the new Chicago Cubs spring training facility in Mesa, Ariz. May 21-25.
