Cowboy Baseball Previews The 2023 Season

Oklahoma State head coach Josh Holliday and several Cowboys talked the upcoming season during the team's media day. The following is a sampling of what was said.

Oklahoma State head coach Josh Holliday
On being back for the 2023 season
"Time flies, it's amazing how fast the years and semesters go. They go faster and faster. I'm glad baseball season is right around the corner, and it's nice to see familiar faces."

On the new players coming into the program
"Certainly have learned about them through the fall, and when guys come back from Christmas it's always interesting to see how guys manage themselves in December and January. I think you really learn about your team when you put the real uniform on in the spring season. We had a couple games during the fall to see how kids would respond, a game against the (Texas) Rangers (prospects) and a game against Air Force, so we had a little bit of a dress rehearsal, but there's just something about the spring that has a different edge to it. You are always learning about your players, always striving to see kids grow and improve, and I think that's where we are at right now. In preparing for the season, we're still trying to get better. Ultimately once the season starts, you have to keep getting better as you go, and that usually happens, especially when guys are adjusting to a new level, whether it be a freshman adjusting to Division One or guys that transfer in who are getting used to how it is to play here versus where they were before. Yes, we have a feel for guys, but also that changes once a season starts. You know, you see it all the time in college sports, preseason expectations for one team may not always be as accurate because you can't accurately predict how newcomers might perform and when guys do a great job the team might look different than it did coming in. We are excited to see how guys take these opportunities and grow."

On replacing the talent that left after last season
"I think what you want to see your team do is all players play to their strengths, some good quality, timely hitting from the guys that jump in there, and some guys that replace them bring some unique skillsets of their own. You'll see some young guys that jump in there that have some real talent, and they are 18 (years old). Jake (Thompson) and Griffin (Doersching) were 23 and 24. These are younger athletes breaking in and learning at the highest level versus grown men who were about as accomplished and mature as you could hope to coach. It'll be different, but there is certainly lots to like and certainly optimistic about everybody's ability to be really good in their own way."

On Roc Riggio using his personality to lead the team
"Roc is himself, and that is great. We want all of our players to play in an authentic fashion. He has a good personality and a good motor for baseball. He knows when he is at his best, and he's kind of playing on the edge. What that looks like is high energy and fearless. He needs that, it gives him what he's looking for to feel like he can go out and perform at a high level. Every athlete has a different mindset they have to enter into to perform their best. I think with Roc, ever since he was a younger guy, you've got to remember he was committed to UCLA in eighth grade, so he's been toting this 'We know who you are' thing since eighth grade and so with that, for young athletes, comes this feeling that they have to perform always or always impress and be something. I really compliment him, he has really matured into being really comfortable and being a great teammate. He lets his natural personality be on display because it's who he is. He just needs to be him and be a winning player. He played great defense last year and obviously the second half of the year on offense he was incredible. He's certainly not shy in front of the microphone and camera."

On Carson Benge
"Carson last year was in position, if not for his injury, to have a major role on last year's team and I think he would've been an X-factor on that team. He did some things that probably could've put us over the hump, especially on the mound where he was really starting to make a statement. He's a talented kid, and he's doing a great job with his rehab. He's approaching the time when it's very exciting because he gets more and more up to full speed as we go. Swinging the bat good, he's a very good athlete, so this is a guy that can do a lot of things. He can play infield, he can play outfield, he hits left-handed and he's talented on the mound. It's just a matter of us getting him game ready so when we put him out there he kind of works his way back through the entire process. He's a difference maker for us, for sure."

On newcomer Juaron Watts-Brown
"My first impression of him, I caught some highlights of him last year, he threw a no-hitter and then I caught some film of him pitching against Mississippi State and I remember thinking 'That guy has got a really good slider.' You just see things on TV and kind of remember the things you saw. When his recruiting process opened up this summer, we jumped right in there and recruited Juaron hard along with some other really elite schools. I'd say it was about a six-week recruiting process, and in the end when he picked Oklahoma State, it was big. He's a talented kid, and he's a good competitor. He pitches with some emotion, he's got four good pitches. He's just like anyone, he's still corralling all that talent and working to be the best version of himself. He was just a freshman last year. Although he's got some nice recognition preseason, he's still a younger player when it comes to becoming him, but he's talented and we are counting on him."

On the pitching rotation early in the season
"I think the biggest key for us right now is to have a great week and then get through this weekend's three scrimmages and get these guys stretched out a little bit more. Obviously going into the first week of the season you are going to piggyback some guys, you might have to layer them three-deep to get through each game. If you have three guys throw three great innings together in a game, that's not a bad place to start. We'll have to piece it together early, but I think over time you always prepare a number of guys to start and getting them physically ready for that."

On Nolan McLean's role as a pitcher after closing for the majority of the time in 2022
"Nolan last year typically pitched an inning, occasionally two. We've been working to stretch him out and try to get him to where he can go out and potentially start games and give us four, five, even six innings. He's in that training mode right now. Certainly an option as a starter right now."

On Nolan McLean returning after being drafted
"I mean, of course (I want him back). I looked down at my phone, I was watching a high school event, and saw his name and stepped away from the crowd. He said 'Coach, it looks like I'm going to be coming back, you got any room for me?' and I just laughed. I told him I'd love to have another year with him. Quick conversation for sure. It's a big deal, he's a pretty remarkable talent and I tell people what I'm most proud of is his work on the consistency piece. I've not coached many players that could do so many different things on a baseball field that just make you stop and watch. He's an elite talent that continues to become more and more consistent. I'm really proud of him. He's handled himself so well, and he's one of the most low-maintenance kids I've ever been around. He's very adult-like and professional in everything he does."

OSU second baseman Roc Riggio
On how it feels to be back
"It feels great to be back doing what we love to do with a good group of guys; we've got a good group this year. It's going to be fun to compete with this team and get after it like we did last year because, I think I can speak for all of us, it's going to be fun to get out on the field and go play."

On how the team is gelling
"I feel like when we start playing and start competing, we get closer and click more. But, leading up to that, it's always hard to have that click because you're intrasquading against each other and practices are a little bit split up, but our locker-room talking and the energy in there is fun. We've got a bunch of good guys on this team, a bunch of new guys that bring a lot of good energy so I think the click is there and we're just going to keep getting better from there."

On entering his second season with Cowboy baseball
"Nothing's changed much besides seeing new faces and getting a little bit older, but the grind's still the same, we get after it the same and it's still baseball every day. So, not much has changed but the people that I'm with."

OSU shortstop Marcus Brown
On the state of the infield
"I'm really happy with our infield work, all the guys that showed up to campus, regardless of where we started, and how we've meshed together and the work we've put in together. The product for the last couple of weeks has been outstanding. Guys are moving their feet well, guys are getting in good positions, guys are making great throws. We go out here in the intrasquads, and we're making some great plays."

On the benefits of having a staff full of former big leaguers
"Oh man, I think you could hit on tons of things. Obviously, you had Matt (Holliday) last year as well. I think a lot of it has to come with mentality. Those guys, they're having to go through seasons that are 162 games plus postseason. They're having to get their mind right for the entire season. When you listen to guys like that and how they attack their work every day and how they're business and how they can maintain it for 162 games or even through spring training and postseason and keep care of their bodies. They bring that back here and pour it into us. Sometimes it's not even about the game, it's how you're going to attack the game so I think that's really the biggest thing about having these big-leaguers on staff."

On his middle-infield mate Roc Riggio
"I'm Roc Riggio's biggest fan, that's what I've got to say. Playing with him up the middle, we've kind of formed a relationship that to me is pretty special. Roc has kind of allowed me to come out of my shell a little bit as a baseball player. Roc's a fierce competitor. He's someone that boosts the whole team. I think we were kind of feeding off him in the Regional. I thought we fed off him early in the year, too, I don't think he kind of knew it. As a young guy to be in there playing every day, we know how hard it is, but that's a guy that works hard and does everything right. We're super happy to have Roc. Obviously he's brought a lot of attention to our program in a good way, and he's going to continue to lead this ballclub and we're really excited to have number seven manning second base."

OSU outfielder/pitcher Nolan McLean
On Preseason Big 12 Pitcher of the Year Juaron Watts-Brown
"It took him a little bit to warm up to us. Obviously, he was the new guy, but he's a pretty goofy individual once you get to know him a little bit. I've grown to really like Juaron and enjoy being around him quite a bit."

On his eventful offseason
"I got drafted by the Orioles, and we just couldn't come to an agreement so I called up Josh and obviously he said, 'Yeah, we'd love to have you back.' So I still had a place here, and I was more than happy to come back and get to have one more year at this place."

On spending an entire offseason working as a pitcher
"It's pretty new to me. I didn't pitch much at all in high school. Obviously, I've always had a pretty strong arm but being able to develop my pitching side of things as well as my hitting side of things has been a lot of fun to see what I'm capable of on the mound."

OSU pitcher Ryan Bogusz
On how the team can be successful this season
"We've just got to capitalize on the time spent together and all the work we've put in throughout the offseason and what we did away from the field and just come together and really get behind each other and show what we have."

On the state of the pitching staff
"I think a lot of the older guys we got through the transfer portal definitely assume the role of being a veteran who's been here, just helping me out and helping the few older guys that we have. I think we've got a good core that can show the young ones the way."

On playing high-level teams early in the season

"That's kind of top-tier baseball. You dream of playing in a big stadium in a big showdown, you think you are just ready for it. We just want to get on the field and compete with our brothers."

Oklahoma State University Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Carson Benge

Ryan Bogusz

Marcus Brown

Nolan McLean

Roc Riggio

Juaron Watts-Brown

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