Arizona returned to the field last Friday for its first scrimmage of the fall. The Wildcats will continue to workout as the team prepares for the upcoming 2021 season. There have been plenty of challenges for the Wildcats and that has resulted in a number of differences from other years. Thursday afternoon head coach Jay Johnson, outfielder Donta' Williams and pitcher Vince Vannelle took some time to chat with the media to discuss the restart of practices plus much more.
Here's a rundown of wha we learned during that conversation with the trio.
▶ Arizona is excited to be back on the field
It's clear the Wildcats are happy to be back playing the game once again. Johnson said he had that thought Friday night during the team's three-inning scrimmage at Hi Corbett Field. Vannelle said being back on the field made things feel "normal" once again and he is eager to eventually get to real games at some point.
▶ Roster will remain "fluid" until the season beginsInfielder Dayton Dooney announced his transfer to Tennessee last night and in addition to losing him this offseason the Wildcats also have a couple other players who are no longer part of the program. Johnson said Blake Klassen (1st base/outfield) and Tate Soderstrom (outfield) are no longer part of the team and did not return to join the program this fall. At this point there is no roster limitation for college baseball teams this year but the UA head coach declined to say how many players he plans to have as part of the Wildcats' roster this season.
"To be determined," Johnson said of the amount of players on this season's roster. "We're not at a final point nor do we declare it until Game 1 of the season, and there is no limitation for this year. It will be a fluid situation would be my guess."
▶ COVID-19 restrictions will not change practice plan muchNow that Arizona has finally reached a point when it can get out on the field in a practice capacity it certainly is the team's hope that it can continue to build on what it has been able to accomplish up to this point. There are still going to be certain restrictions in place that don't allow the team to face other teams this fall, but outside of that the plan this fall will play out like any other according to Johnson.
"The practice plans look relatively the same for this time of year," he said. "Players are wearing masks, we're a little more spread out. We're certainly fortunate here at Arizona to have the spring training complex behind us so we can spread our team out for individual drills. ... It's allowed us to function at a high level. In terms of fundamental, putting things in we have a very deliberate progression – offensively, base running, bunting, defensive individual skills and team defense. And, we're working through that right now the same way we have in the past.
"Other than wearing a mask and being a little bit more deliberate about spreading out ... honestly there's been no change in terms of how we function other than the things we need to do to prevent the spread of the virus."
▶ Johnson moving ahead with schedule as it was planned
Now that fall ball has started for the Wildcats the attention will of course turn to getting on the field in a full capacity against other teams. As of now a lot remains up in the air, but Johnson said he is planning for the Wildcats' schedule to remain the same until he is told otherwise. Citing how many turns the football season went through before games were finally officially set, Johnson is just going to stay the course with his current schedule and adjust whenever the time comes to do so.
"Right now we are pressing forward with the schedule that we have in place," he said. "I think what I've learned as you watched the football season change three or four times then watching college basketball move their start date. It was originally going to be January 1st back to November 25th. Seven nonconference games I think I read something about that. The advantage we have is baseball is naturally a socially-distant sport, we're outside. I think there's some questions to be answered as far as testing and those types of things. As Pac-12 coaches we've spent a lot of time together on Zoom meetings, but right now we have been told to proceed as normal.
"Looking forward to that schedule and what that looks like. I think we're all very realistic and understand that that could change at any moment. Right now we're hopeful to play the schedule as we have it outlined."
▶ Hunter Cope could be UA's most improved pitcher
Johnson didn't want to necessarily single out any players, especially his team's young players, since it is still so early in the fall. However, Vannelle said that Arizona's big 6-foot-11 right-handed pitcher Hunter Cope has made some impressive strides over the course of the long offseason. The young pitcher from California made just one appearance out of the bullpen as a freshman in the spring, but Vannelle has been impressed by what he's seen so far.
"Over the summertime I was FaceTiming him and he was sending me of him hitting like 97 (MPH)," Vannelle said. "It's crazy to see because he's so tall and it just comes straight down on that plane. It's just so hard to hit especially with his curveball. He literally reminds me of (Tyler) Glasnow from Tampa Bay.
▶ UA's veterans working to make sure team adheres to COVID-19 protocols
Vannelle is just one of the players at Arizona who thought he might not be back for another season. Now that he has that opportunity he wants to make the most of and he's hoping to get that chance amid the ongoing pandemic. The UA players will have to do their part to make sure the team stays on track and avoids any outbreaks of the coronavirus over the next several months so the team's leaders, such as Vannelle and Williams, have taken charge in making sure the younger players are doing what they are supposed to be doing to avoid a COVID-19 outbreak from hitting the Wildcats.
"Vince and I are part of a leadership group and being leaders on the team making sure our teammates want the season as much as we do," Williams said Thursday. "If we're in a bad situation with a teammate just always reach out to them and make it a point that we're gonna play this year and anybody or anything to happen for us to put that in jeopardy."
Vanelle said the team had a Zoom meeting after school started to make it clear that staying safe will be a priority this fall and spring.
▶ Arizona will slow down its recruiting after signing a big class
The younger group of players this season is certainly larger than it might have been in another year. The coronavirus pandemic impacted the college game in many ways and one of those ways was how it impacted the MLB Draft in the spring. Rather than the typical 40 rounds there were only five and UA had just two players selected and one signee drafted by a Major League Baseball team. It all means there are more players returning and more players coming into the program this season. In all, Johnson says there are 14 new additions to the team forcing him and his staff to take a different approach to recruiting.
"This whole thing is like nothing any of us have ever seen," Johnson said of what the pandemic has meant for college coaches. "... I like going out and I like seeing players, especially in the summertime when we don't have players on campus. So, it's been a learning experience. I like to be convicted in the decisions that we make as a program on players that we bring in, and with some of the younger classes we've actually had to bypass players that maybe we wouldn't have if we would've gotten to see them.
"I just want to be very sure about the guys that we bring in. If there was ever a year, not for the coronavirus, but to be disrupted in recruiting where it was maybe OK for us it was this year because we had a great recruiting class in 2020. Some really, really solid foundational pieces with some of the young players as freshmen. With the roster getting backed up a little bit with everybody retaining a year of eligibility. ... We've actually taken a little bit of a step back recently and just decided that we really want to be sure on the decisions we're making. If we have to be a little more patient than we typically are over the next couple months I'm OK with that."
