NC State manager Elliott Avent discussed the upcoming start of the season and much more with the media this afternoon during his press conference.
NOTE: Click the video above to watch the press conference.
On putting last year behind them and starting a new season...
That really doesn’t factor in for me. I never put anything behind me. That’s a long way from being behind me, trust me. I always love opening, I always love getting started, I love practice, I love to get started with new guys. There’s a pleasure in coaching guys that have been with your program for a long time like last year, and there’s also pleasure in coaching young guys that you develop into a team hopefully that you’re gonna have for a couple years or three years to come. We’re just excited to get started, but yeah, one year doesn’t really factor into the other.
On how ready the team is to get started...
Players are always ready to get started. You like to play the game. It’s kind of like Allen Iverson said, practice? Really? Guys want to play, that’s what we all love to do. When you were a kid you loved to play. I guarantee you your little kids’ Christmas can’t come fast enough, and for parents you all like to slow it down a little bit. That’s the way it is with baseball. Players can’t wait until opening day, I’d like to slow it down a little bit and be a little more prepared. It’s gonna be fun and we’ve got a great group of guys. Coach [Chris] Hart and Coach [Clint] Chrysler, they do such an unbelievable job of recruiting players not only with a great level of talent, but high character and work ethic. It’s just a lot of fun to be around.
On how impressed he is with the amount of talent on the team...
We’ve got some guys who are very talented. I was just sitting there talking to Brett Austin about hey, we’re probably gonna have a freshman starting behind the plate, a freshman starting at shortstop, and then we lost possibly as good a centerfielder as NC State has ever had in Tyler McDonough last year and so you’ve got a new guy in centerfield. That’s not exactly how you draw it up but I said ‘Hey Brett, how about your freshman year?’ Brett was behind the plate, we had Trea Turner starting as a freshman, Logan Ratledge started about half the year as a freshman, and Jake Fincher started in centerfield with Brett Williams, the other centerfielder who you can speak of in the same breath as Tyler McDonough and Josh McLain. Tore his ACL opening day and Fincher was thrust into centerfield as a freshman, so we’ve been there before, and like I said, if you’ve got good players, they’ll figure it out. They’ve just got to figure it out a little quicker because the season kind of rolls.
On having a strong returning top of the starting rotation...
It’s nice. It’s really funny, Canaan Silver walked by the dugout the other day and came over to fist bump me or whatever, and I was like ‘Boy, it sure is good to see you.’ Just to see Canaan Silver, David Harrison, Sam [Highfill] and Matt Willadsen and Chris Villaman. It gives you some reassurance. I’ll be honest with you, when I walk into the locker room and I see JT [Jarrett] and Devonte Brown, that brings a smile to my face, too. It’s nice to have that comfort of leadership that you know is there, because you go through times during the season where leadership matters. I think leadership in our locker room has been one of the big pluses of NC State baseball for a long time.
On how to deal with the tough finish to last season...
Never talk about it, never discuss it. It’s not talked about by players, it’s not talked about by me. We never carry over one year to the other. All you can do is just, each season is a different season, each team is a different team. That’s why when you’re making the journey with this team, you can always say this is the last time this team will actually be together as this team. So we never discuss it, but do I think about it? Constantly. It will never get too far away from me, and I will never forget it. But it’s never discussed, not one day, as we get ready for the season.
On how much motivation they take from last season...
I don’t take any motivation from anything that has wronged me in the past. I don’t believe in chips on my shoulder. I’m not a guy that believes in that kind of stuff [like] revenge. I don’t believe in that kind of stuff. This is a whole different team. Last year is in the rearview mirror, and the more you talk about it, the more you just drag the team down. It won’t be discussed by me and I certainly don’t think it will be discussed by the players.
On the development of Matt Willadsen and the expectations for him...
I don’t ever try to get expectations too high for anybody. I think that’s a bar you shouldn’t give people. But Matt Willadsen, I told him about a week ago, we were sitting in the dugout, I just said “Matt, how proud I am of you.” He has grown so much. Last year, he and Chris Villaman grew up during the season as much as I’ve ever seen two players mature during the season. They were good, but they went to great. He committed himself, he went off this summer to Seattle and did some things out there and his focus on baseball now is totally … he’s just locked in on baseball. He came in as a two-way player, he quickly made a decision like Sam did to be a pitcher only, and I think both of those guys see themselves pitching in the big leagues one day. They’re on a pace where they’re setting a track forward in everything they do, whether it’s nutrition, whether it’s taking care of academics, whatever they need to do to progress toward hopefully a lifelong career in baseball is what they’re doing. And I’m just really proud of Matt Willadsen.
On Sam Highfill’s development and if he’s seen a pitcher with an arm angle like Highfill’s...
Yeah, I’ve seen it and it’s very effective. A lot of people don’t do it, I’m surprised more people don’t do it. You’ve got to have a certain amount of athleticism to do it, it’s not easy to repeat your delivery. Now you’re having two deliveries, so it’s kind of like a switch hitter; you don’t see as many switch hitters today as you used to. You’ve got to have two different swings and they’ve got two different deliveries. I’ve always said about Sam Highfill ever since he’s been here, he’s just a baseball player. If he played football, I’d say Sam’s a football player. Sam just has a high IQ for the sport that he’s playing, he competes at a high level without getting flustered. Nerves are a part of any game you play, whether you’re at the first tee at Augusta or whether you’re preparing for a Final Four run in basketball, nerves are a part of everything. Sam tempers that as well as anybody we’ve had here. He’s always done that, he’s an amazing person and a very good baseball player.
On the new Doak Field renovations...
I can’t wait. This has been a dream of not only mine, but every player who has ever played here, every coach before me, Ray Tanner. This was what drove Ray away from here, Ray never wanted to leave. It’s what got me here and it’s something we’ve tried to do several times and thought we had it done but just never worked out. Now we’ve made a commitment and we’re excited. But it’s not just that I’m excited; every baseball player [is]. Turtle Zahn was here this weekend with his family, his little girl, Ryan, was visiting our campus; she might possibly come to school here. Turtle shares a home run record with Trace Woodson here at NC State. Alex Wallace was here a couple weeks ago meeting with Ben Broussard of the Wolfpack Club. Baseball players are so excited because they know the commitment they made here and they still follow our program. All former players follow NC State’s program, it’s their program, and they’re so excited to see something finally happen here that’s indicative of the success this program has had and that this program deserves. As I’m in the press box right now, I’m looking at new pads going on the outfield wall and it’s telling a story out there. I see 48 players that made it to the big leagues from this program, three World Series appearances, they just put up 10 first-round draft picks. They’re telling the story of NC State baseball, they recognize it’s a great tradition and history of this program. There’s a lot of big things coming here to Doak Field and I’m excited to see them as well as every former player that’s had a part of this.
On what he’s seen from Devonte Brown this offseason...
Devonte Brown’s just a winner. I told him on several occasions this fall, ‘You and JT stayed behind.’ They could have signed, too; they could have both left this program. And with all your players leaving, all your friends leaving, it’s easy to leave as well. They made a commitment to stay here, and their leadership has been unbelievable this fall and carrying over into the spring. And we’re going to need their leadership because we know there’s going to be ups and downs in the season and their leadership is gonna be important. So, that’s where Devonte Brown comes in more than anything. All players have to struggle with the ups and downs of this game, because this is a hard game. You’re not ever gonna have the consistency that you want in this game. But Devonte’s got to measure that and he’s got to deal with that like every player does. And this fall his leadership was so paramount. He had a hand injury that he had to miss a lot of the fall season with, and he was the first one to every practice [and] the last one to leave every practice because he knew his commitment and what he means to this team. Devonte’s a special individual and we’re so glad he’s back for this season.
On who is competing for the third starting pitcher spot...
Everybody. We’ve got a lot of people competing for that third spot.
