There is a confident, focused culture brewing around the diamond in Tempe

TEMPE, Ariz. — Confidence is key for any team as the season rolls around the corner, but the tone of that confidence seems different for Arizona State baseball.

The goal for every program coming into each season is to make a deep run in the College Baseball World Series. But there’s a difference between saying and believing that your squad is capable of getting to Omaha. That confident, hardworking team culture is what head coach Willie Bloomquist has been instilling in his clubhouse.

“The guys like to work, and that stems from him. He likes to work right, he’s kind of the blue-collar type of guy,” new assistant coach Anthony Gilich said. “So, I think that’s rubbing off on a lot of the guys, they like to work and put in the time. Just take pride in what they’re doing.”

Building a culture at Arizona State baseball

Bloomquist wants to bring guys to ASU who understand what it means to be a Sun Devil. There’s a long history of great baseball in the ASU program and you can get a great education while playing the game. He’s instilling the belief that the program is heading back to that level, and players’ education is just as important.

“You try to get the right type of kids, you try to get the ones in here that want to be here, that aren’t going to jump ship and leave you high and dry. You want the ones that feel that Arizona State is special, and they know they’re coming here to get a great education,” Bloomquist said. “That’s a huge selling point, we’ve turned into a pretty dang good academic school along with an athletic school, which is great. We want guys that understand the importance of that and want to be here and not just be here for a year and catapult off to the next place. It’s important that this is a four-year decision for the rest of your life and that’s what we try to preach here and we’re getting guys that are buying into that.”

Redshirt freshman LHP Brandon Compton is an Arizona native from Buckeye. He knows many of the local players on the roster from playing them growing up. Compton described ASU as the dream spot for many of the Arizona natives. As they grew up, Tempe was the spot they wanted to end up, to compete with the best guys.

“These guys are eager to get out there, it’s been a fun group to work with,” pitching coach Sam Peraza said. “These guys have a little sense of pride in the program. You feel the eagerness for them in the locker room.”

Cohesiveness is key

In many programs, the leaders talk about having everyone’s back and being there for each other. But it’s rare that everyone in the clubhouse feels that way and is content with whatever their role is. When we talked with players, every single one talked about the cohesiveness of this group. They all talked about helping the team win in whatever role the coach gave them and doing their part. For the injured players, or veterans who weren’t ready to start, it wasn’t about fighting for their role, it was about helping the young players learn and grow to get better.

“These freshmen grew up a lot in the fall and they’ve proven to have electric stuff, so there’s a lot of guys I trust with the ball right now. I think the older guys have done a pretty good job of taking (the freshmen) in kind of, so it’s been really fun. Everyone gets along really well,” redshirt senior RHP Matt Tieding said. “These guys around me are my best friends like they help me with everything that’s going on, whether on the field or off the field.”

The Sun Devils have high expectations for this season, and having each other’s back and playing for the team is key to their success.

“Everyone has a common goal and that’s to go win a national title. So, it makes it really easy when you get guys who come out here and they just want to win,” redshirt junior RHP Jonah Giblin said. “There’s no ‘I’ guys, there’s no, you know, individuals. We’re all pulling for the same goal. The more guys you get on the field that do that the better.”

High expectations

The expectations are very high for this team, but it’s because of the talent they believe is on the roster. Throughout fall ball, there were ongoing battles between young pitchers and the Sun Devils’ deep lineup, with iron sharpening iron.

“This is the best lineup personally that I’ve ever been on 1-9. I think there’s six and seven whole hitters that could be hitting three hole on a lot of big programs,” senior infielder Kevin Karstetter said. “So, we just got to go out and do it at this point. But we got the talent for sure.”

But with lots of depth and talent, players thriving to do their best in whatever role they’re given is what can take them to the next level.

“This is a team and as a team, we’re trying to win. So, whatever role it is, you just do your best,” Compton said. “I feel like as a team, if we throw strikes, we hit, we do what we know best, we’re going to win.”

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