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D1Baseball Preseason Top 25 Chat
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Guest
1:32
With DBU coming off their best season ever, losing some key guys but also adding some talent-where do you see the Patriots finishing this year?
Kendall Rogers
1:32
Guest -- I think DBU will once again be in a Super Regional somewhere. The Pats might have. lost some guys, but that lineup is absolutely loaded with the return of Jace Grady, Blayne Jaynes, Andrew Benefield and others. And I love the experience of Luke Eldred to go with premium talents like Connor Mackay from a pitching standpoint. Jacob Meador also has very impressive potential in that No. 3 role. I think DBU is very balanced, and that'll show as the season progresses.
trophy 1
Rendall Kogers
1:34
What do you think of the Pitt Panthers this year? How do you like their chances to compete in the ACC?
Aaron Fitt
1:34
Gritsburgh! They've got a bunch of those hard-nosed ballplayers back from last year's club. I'm sure people will sleep on them again -- heck, we might be guilty of that too, just because there are SO many teams in the ACC stacked with more high-end talent. But I think that's a very dangerous veteran group of winners at Pitt, and I'm positive they'll be right in the thick of the ACC postseason hunt. The big question for me is how the pitching comes together, particularly since the now departed Mitch Myers was such a big piece last year, but I'm very intrigued by three of their DI transfer additions (Ryan Miller, Baron Stuart and Ben Dragani). Those guys will help.
Go Pokes
1:36
Curious as to why you believe that Hueston Morrill will start at second for the Cowboys instead of SS. You have Marcus Brown at SS and he made 9 of his 10 starts at 2nd last year?
Aaron Fitt
1:36
The Cowboys indicated that Brown is the front-runner for the shortstop job after the fall. I saw Brown play short in my fall visit, and he looked great there -- he's just a really live athlete who can make all the plays. It wouldn't surprise me if Roc Riggio winds up at second base at some point as well, once he comes back from injury. But Huey's versatility is valuable, and he'll certainly make his share of contributions.
Texas Fan
1:37
Welcome back guys! What does the Big 12 look like for you this year? Only 3 teams in the top-25 from the Big 12 but seems like the rest of the league is a bit down/young.
Kendall Rogers
1:37
Texas -- I actually think the Big 12 is going to be pretty strong this year. Outside of Texas, Oklahoma State, TCU and Texas Tech, I would keep a close eye on Oklahoma and Baylor. I really liked what I saw from Tre Richardson offensively and Jake Jackson on the mound for the Bears during the fall. He will give Coach Rod a strong, steady No. 1 starter. Oklahoma has plenty of pieces back offensively, and I think the pitching staff is vastly improved. Chazz Martinez is the name to remember. Stud. Will have a great year.
Armando
1:38
Thoughts on UCSB?  How far outside the Top 25 did you see them?  Felt like they finished very strong against OSU and Arizona with lots of arms/bats in the pipeline to reload...
Aaron Fitt
1:38
The Gauchos are in our Next 10. Let's see how they do without McGreevy and Boone, those were two pretty huge pieces, not to mention Chris Troye and a couple of key position guys. But we still really like the returning talent in the lineup, and there is plenty of potential on the mound. UCSB still feels like a regional team.
Chris
1:39
Glad to see my ECU Pirates at 12. What’s your take for 2022?
Aaron Fitt
1:39
Kinda the same as usual for ECU -- they are the class of their league, a strong candidate to host, and a legitimate Omaha candidate. And one of these years they are going to break down that door. This may well be the year; I like their chances more when they have a true marquee ace atop the rotation who can shut down anybody in a super regional, and they've got that this year in Carson Whisenhunt.
Kevin
1:40
When would you expect the decision to be made on the scholarship legislation (# of counters, 25% minimum)?
Kendall Rogers
1:40
I think the constitution needs to happen, which I believe is being voted on. Then, I think the ABCA and SEC, etc, can focus on that legislation being pitched. if I was a betting man right now, I'd say we don't have a 25% scholarship minimum in 2023, and we have 32 counters. I'm intrigued to see where the sport lands on the roster size and redshirt rules.
USMRFRoost
1:40
What do we think about this Southern Miss squad? They’ve got some great matchups this year home/away. Can’t wait. Keep up the coverage
Aaron Fitt
1:40
I hated leaving the Golden Eagles out of the Top 25, especially since I tweeted after seeing them this fall that they felt like a Top 25 team. I was really impressed with all the arms I saw that day, and I think their pitching should be just fine, but we do need to see how it shakes out without Walker Powell and Hunter Stanley. So it's kind of like UCSB replacing McGreevy and Boone, a team I mentioned a moment ago. We're still very high on both, but let's see how those pitching roles shake out.
EdgarJ
1:42
UCLA not ranked this year, how come?
Aaron Fitt
1:42
They're just young... but we keep hearing from people out West to watch out for the Bruins, because they are absurdly talented. They brought in the best freshman class in the country, and if those guys hit the ground running, that team is going to make a ton of noise. Bruins are another team that is not far outside our Top 25, and I have a feeling they'll spend plenty of time in the rankings this year.
JD
1:44
Who do you guys think will have the strongest starting Rotation in the PAC…The Beavs look super strong and am really curious if Jake Pfenning is finally going to step up and show his true potential.
Aaron Fitt
1:44
Yeah, Oregon State gets my vote here -- really like the Hjerpe/Pfennigs/Frisch trio. I'm a believer. I even declared on the podcast we posted today that I think Oregon State will win the Pac, even though we've got them ranked third among Pac teams. So I'm the outlier on them a bit, but I'm excited about that pitching and think they will be rock solid around the diamond.
Eli
1:45
How close was South Carolina to making the top 25?  Kingston needs to make a postseason run this year.
Kendall Rogers
1:45
Eli -- Probably not ultra close to the Top 25, but I'll say this, I think South Carolina is an NCAA tournament team. The Gamecocks should hit, and I think the front-end of that weekend rotation is in strong shape with Julian Bosnic and Will Sanders. Both of those guys are proven commodities with good stuff. I think the question for me, and I think the question for all of us was the bullpen.
Brian
1:46
UVA was an Omaha team and was the only one of the 8 to not make your top 25. Why is this?
Aaron Fitt
1:46
Virginia suffered some pretty huge losses from last year -- their All-America ace (Abbott), plus McGarry who was probably the second-most important arm during that Omaha run, plus the entire left side of the infield. I have some concerns about the pitching, and they are young in some key spots positionally. Still a team that could make some noise, but I suspect they'll take a step back this year from where they were last year.
Guest
1:48
Speaking of B1G, Iowa has a strong recruiting class last year, strong arms transferring in this fall, when will we know if the Hawks have a chance to do some things at the top of the conference - their non conf schedule is very competitive as well.
Aaron Fitt
1:48
Great call here, I think Iowa is a regional team. We ranked their recruiting class in the top 25 in the nation, and I think they've got the arms to compete with anybody. Big Ten will be a battle royal as usual, with Nebraska, Michigan, Indiana, Maryland and Iowa all striking me as very real contenders, just off the top of my head.
Cooper
1:49
Who are some guys in the Mississippi State lineup you're excited about?
Kendall Rogers
1:49
Cooper -- There are some of the obvious guys, but I'll say this, the Bulldogs are really high on Hunter Hines' potential as a true freshman, and I thought Kellum Clark looked very good at times at the end of last season. Furthermore, how does RJ Yeager make the transition to the SEC? He was an incredibly accomplished hitter at Mercer, but much tougher competition. Intrigued to see if he can somewhat emulate that.
Dylan
1:50
I know this is a bit specific, but how good do you think Peyton Stovall will be and what do you expect out of him year 1
Aaron Fitt
1:50
Our regular podcast listeners are probably sick of hearing me talk about Peyton Stovall, but I couldn't be more all-in on this guy. I'll go ahead and spoil one of my Crystal Ball picks now: I'm picking Stovall to be the national freshman of the year. He's going to be an on-base machine as the leadoff man, and he's going to hit for power as well. That's a really special bat. And I think he'll leave Arkansas as a top 5 to 10 overall pick in a couple years.
SECbaseball
1:52
Who do feel has the highest ceiling out of Georgia, Tennessee, & South Carolina?
Aaron Fitt
1:52
Admittedly I'm probably the high man on Georgia among any college baseball media person, but I said on our podcast today that this is the year Georgia breaks through and gets back to Omaha. So there's my answer.
Aaron Fitt
1:52
OK gang, that's all for me today. Thanks for all the great questions as always, you helped get me fired up for the 2022 season to get going!
Guest
1:52
A lot of rankings have Oregon State counted out, what makes them special in your eyes? Strengths and Weaknesses?
Kendall Rogers
1:52
I certainly think Oregon State has a lot of potential offensively, but I love what it has on the mound right now. Jacob Pfennigs, Cooper Hjerpe and Will Frisch are all guys who have done it, and oh by the way, guys who have good stuff. And I love the expectation that a veteran like Mitch Verburg will occupy the backend of the bullpen. He's got a lot of experience/innings pitched.
Kendall Rogers
1:54
All right gang. That's all the time we have. We will see you after the first week of the season for our first in-season chat!
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