Oklahoma State University Athletics
Baseball Begins Fall Practice
September 19, 2000 | Cowboy Baseball
Sept. 19, 2000
STILLWATER, Okla. -- 25 newcomers highlight Oklahoma State's 2001 baseball roster as the Cowboys opened fall practice Monday afternoon.
OSU will practice for the next three weeks with various drills and scrimmages each day. Fall practice will conclude with a scrimmage open to the public at a date and time to be announced.
Head coach Tom Holliday, now entering his fifth season as the main man at OSU, is excited about the team's newcomers and the veterans returning.
I think our recruiting class was a good group filled with highly sought after freshman and junior college players, Holliday stated.
Of the 25 newcomers, 12 are freshman while the other 13 are comprised of transfers. Among some of the notable names are junior college All-Americans Jake Bollig from Connors State, Paul Powell from Seminole State and Jose Virgil, son of former major leaguer Ozzie Virgil.
Juco transfer Zach Cates, a 29th-round draft selection of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1999 draft, is the favorite to play second base while last year's starters return at the rest of the infield positions.
Catcher Ryan Budde returns for his junior season after spending the summer traveling with the USA National Baseball team. Juniors Rob Watson and Nebasett Brown are back after starting at third and short respectively while first baseman Luke Scott also returns for his senior season after leading the Cape Cod League in home runs over the summer.
Only three pitchers are back from the 2000 team due to the loss of Matt Smith, Quenten Patterson , Frank Bludau and Rusty Rushing. Senior southpaw Josh Merrigan, a second team All-Big 12 selection, headlines the trio of returners that includes sophomore Mike Miller and senior Clint Salisbury.
Freshman pitchers Scott Baker, Shane Hawk, Daniel Rew, Jimmy Rhodes and Joe and Bryan Weaver come in with a wealth of potential according to the coaching staff.
Our freshman pitchers along with experienced junior college pitchers Justin Meccage, Nick McCurdy and Brian Ross give us a quality stable of guys on the mound, said Holliday.
Pitcher Darren Heal is penciled in as the closer after playing predominantly as a catcher last year. Heal, an 11th round pick of the Baltimore Orioles, turned down the chance to play professional baseball to return to school for his senior season.
Zac Cazelle, who was a reserve guard/forward on the OSU basketball team last season, has joined the baseball team and will play baseball exclusively in 2001.
