University of Minnesota Athletics
Scout Series: Angels College Classic
11/25/2019 12:30:00 PM | Baseball
After finishing the 2019 season at the Big Ten Tournament in Omaha, Neb., the Gopher Baseball program is aiming to improve upon their 29-27 record from the previous campaign. In order to do so, Minnesota will have to power through a 2020 schedule that features 18 games against nine different returning NCAA Tournament teams.
Although the Gophers will play at home on 31 occasions in 2020 (including 14 games at U.S. Bank Stadium), the Maroon and Gold will officially open their season at the Angels College Classic in Temple, Ariz. During the Classic, Minnesota is scheduled to take on Oregon, San Diego and Pepperdine.
Scouting the Oregon Ducks | Friday, Feb. 14 at 7:30pm | Tempe, Ariz.
After going 27-29 overall last season and 10-19 in the Pac-12 Conference, Oregon embarks on the 2020 season with a slightly different roster. The Ducks lost four players to the MLB Draft this past June, as right-handed pitcher Ryne Nelson, shortstop Spencer Steer, catcher Jakob Goldfarb and outfielder Jonny Deluca all departed for pro contracts. Led by first-year head coach Mark Wasikowski, Oregon returns four of their top-six hitters from last season in terms of batting average, while also welcoming back two pitchers with double-digit starts in 2019 in Robert Ahlstrom and Cullen Kafka.
In 2019, the Ducks finished ninth in the Pac-12 for the second consecutive season. The last time Oregon ended a season within the top-half of the conference was in 2014, when they secured fourth place with a 44-20 (18-12) record.
If the Ducks prove capable of returning to that level of success in 2020, the Gophers will need to focus on limiting the production of key returning sluggers Sam Novitske (.300/.401/.343), Gabe Matthews (.290/.404/.440), Tanner Smith (.284/.372/.423) and Aaron Zavala (.273/.356/.338). Presumed staff ace Kenyon Yovan will also be back for his redshirt junior campaign after missing almost all of 2019 due to injury.
Scouting the San Diego Toreros | Saturday, Feb. 15 at 7:30pm | Tempe, Ariz.
The West Coast Conference-based San Diego Toreros finished 32-21 overall in 2019, with their 14-13 conference record placing them sixth out of 10 teams. San Diego's roster will look much differently this season, as the Toreros saw five players leave via the 2019 MLB Draft in Chris Murphy, Jeff Houghtby, Travis Kuhn, Ripken Reyes and Josh Hendrickson. With their selections, the Toreros have now gone seven straight seasons with four or more players chosen in the MLB Draft. Additionally, the team also lost six players to graduation.
In the past 11 seasons, San Diego was dubbed the WCC preseason favorite on nine occasions while having 51 total players sign pro contracts during that time. Hired in 1999, head coach Rich Hill is the WCC's all-time winningest coach and is also the youngest active coach with 1,000 wins.
2019 marks the only time these two programs have previously played one another, as the Toreros trumped the Gophers in their first-ever meeting via a 6-5 walk-off victory at the Seattle Baseball Showcase. In order to avenge last year's loss, the Minnesota pitching staff will need to contain returners Shane McGuire (.325/.444/.401), Chris McCready (.292/.376/.417) and Paul Kunst (.289/.340/.414) at the plate.
Scouting the Pepperdine Waves | Sunday, Feb. 16 at 11am | Tempe, Ariz.
In 2019, Pepperdine finished seventh in the WCC after going 14-13 in conference play and 24-25 overall. As recently as 2018, the Waves won the WCC regular season title under head coach Rick Hirtensteiner. However, Pepperdine's 2019 season ended after they failed to make the postseason following a 1-2 series loss to Saint Mary's.
Pepperdine enters 2020 after having at least one player selected in the MLB Draft for the eighth consecutive year. The team saw four players depart via the draft in 2019: left-handed pitcher Easton Lucas, infielder Quincy McAfee, right-handed pitcher Jonathan Pendergast and outfielder Matthew Kanfer. Two seniors also moved on in the form of graduation: right-handed pitcher Christian Stoutland and outfielder Cory Wills.
Meanwhile, infielder Wyatt Young (.313/.350/.364) will lead the charge for the Waves at the dish in 2020. Slowing down the sophomore will be a key focus for the Gophers as they look to even the all-time series at five wins apiece. Pepperdine currently leads the series against the Gophers, 5-4, after a close win in 2019 that saw the Waves outscore Minnesota, 13-12.
Although the Gophers will play at home on 31 occasions in 2020 (including 14 games at U.S. Bank Stadium), the Maroon and Gold will officially open their season at the Angels College Classic in Temple, Ariz. During the Classic, Minnesota is scheduled to take on Oregon, San Diego and Pepperdine.
Scouting the Oregon Ducks | Friday, Feb. 14 at 7:30pm | Tempe, Ariz.
After going 27-29 overall last season and 10-19 in the Pac-12 Conference, Oregon embarks on the 2020 season with a slightly different roster. The Ducks lost four players to the MLB Draft this past June, as right-handed pitcher Ryne Nelson, shortstop Spencer Steer, catcher Jakob Goldfarb and outfielder Jonny Deluca all departed for pro contracts. Led by first-year head coach Mark Wasikowski, Oregon returns four of their top-six hitters from last season in terms of batting average, while also welcoming back two pitchers with double-digit starts in 2019 in Robert Ahlstrom and Cullen Kafka.
In 2019, the Ducks finished ninth in the Pac-12 for the second consecutive season. The last time Oregon ended a season within the top-half of the conference was in 2014, when they secured fourth place with a 44-20 (18-12) record.
If the Ducks prove capable of returning to that level of success in 2020, the Gophers will need to focus on limiting the production of key returning sluggers Sam Novitske (.300/.401/.343), Gabe Matthews (.290/.404/.440), Tanner Smith (.284/.372/.423) and Aaron Zavala (.273/.356/.338). Presumed staff ace Kenyon Yovan will also be back for his redshirt junior campaign after missing almost all of 2019 due to injury.
Scouting the San Diego Toreros | Saturday, Feb. 15 at 7:30pm | Tempe, Ariz.
The West Coast Conference-based San Diego Toreros finished 32-21 overall in 2019, with their 14-13 conference record placing them sixth out of 10 teams. San Diego's roster will look much differently this season, as the Toreros saw five players leave via the 2019 MLB Draft in Chris Murphy, Jeff Houghtby, Travis Kuhn, Ripken Reyes and Josh Hendrickson. With their selections, the Toreros have now gone seven straight seasons with four or more players chosen in the MLB Draft. Additionally, the team also lost six players to graduation.
In the past 11 seasons, San Diego was dubbed the WCC preseason favorite on nine occasions while having 51 total players sign pro contracts during that time. Hired in 1999, head coach Rich Hill is the WCC's all-time winningest coach and is also the youngest active coach with 1,000 wins.
2019 marks the only time these two programs have previously played one another, as the Toreros trumped the Gophers in their first-ever meeting via a 6-5 walk-off victory at the Seattle Baseball Showcase. In order to avenge last year's loss, the Minnesota pitching staff will need to contain returners Shane McGuire (.325/.444/.401), Chris McCready (.292/.376/.417) and Paul Kunst (.289/.340/.414) at the plate.
Scouting the Pepperdine Waves | Sunday, Feb. 16 at 11am | Tempe, Ariz.
In 2019, Pepperdine finished seventh in the WCC after going 14-13 in conference play and 24-25 overall. As recently as 2018, the Waves won the WCC regular season title under head coach Rick Hirtensteiner. However, Pepperdine's 2019 season ended after they failed to make the postseason following a 1-2 series loss to Saint Mary's.
Pepperdine enters 2020 after having at least one player selected in the MLB Draft for the eighth consecutive year. The team saw four players depart via the draft in 2019: left-handed pitcher Easton Lucas, infielder Quincy McAfee, right-handed pitcher Jonathan Pendergast and outfielder Matthew Kanfer. Two seniors also moved on in the form of graduation: right-handed pitcher Christian Stoutland and outfielder Cory Wills.
Meanwhile, infielder Wyatt Young (.313/.350/.364) will lead the charge for the Waves at the dish in 2020. Slowing down the sophomore will be a key focus for the Gophers as they look to even the all-time series at five wins apiece. Pepperdine currently leads the series against the Gophers, 5-4, after a close win in 2019 that saw the Waves outscore Minnesota, 13-12.
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