Season Preview: Veteran Leadership Key to Success for Young Cougar Squad

Season Preview: Veteran Leadership Key to Success for Young Cougar Squad

2/12/2020 3:30:00 PM | Baseball

CHARLESTON, S.C. --- The base lines have been chalked, jerseys are hung and in only a few hours, the College of Charleston baseball team will take the field to begin the 2020 season.

There will be plenty of new faces on the diamond for the Cougars this season following the departure of several key contributors from last year's squad, including MLB draft picks Griffin McLarty and Nathan Ocker. A robust corps of returning seniors featuring Ari Sechopoulos, Josh Price, Tradd James, Harrison Hawkins and Chris Graham will provide veteran leadership for a roster featuring 15 freshmen and 17 newcomers.

"We are excited about getting started," head coach Chad Holbrook said. "We have a new team with a lot of new faces. They have worked hard up to this point. Hopefully we will play well and have a successful season. As we head into opening day I feel good about where our team is."

Pitching Staff
The Cougars' weekend rotation is expected to feature several new names this season following McLarty's departure. Senior transfer Jordan Carr is slated to take the ball on Friday nights after anchoring UNC Asheville's rotation last season. Freshmen Caswell Smith and CJ Czerwinski will begin the season as the Cougars' Saturday and Sunday starters respectively.

Seniors Josh Price and Tradd James will form the backbone of the Cougars' bullpen this season after combining for 10 wins last season. Junior Zach Williams and sophomore Brooks Lucas are expected to log significant innings either in the rotation or out of the bullpen. Junior Austin George, junior transfer Grant Smith, and freshmen Ty Good and Trey Pooser will likely fill significant roles in relief.

Seniors Kris Kuhn and Steven Cook are expected to compete for innings alongside freshmen Bryce Brown, Tyler Vermillion, Emmett Bice and Guillermo Grainer.

Infield/Catchers
Seniors Ari Sechopoulos and Luke Stageberg will likely man the infield corners at first and third respectively, with sophomore Jared Kirven taking over as the Cougars' primary catcher. Freshmen Trotter Harlan and Joseph Mershon join the Cougars after stellar prep careers and are expected to fill the voids left by Dupree Hart and Luke Manzo at second and shortstop respectively.

Sophomores McLendon Sears, Tanner McCallister and Landon Choboy will compete for playing time in the infield in addition to freshmen Clark Burroughs, Jaxon Weatherford and Grainer. Choboy has made great strides behind the plate and continues to improve offensively, while Weatherford has shown much promise as a young hitter and figures to DH from time to time.

Outfield
Charleston's outfield will feature a pair of familiar faces from last year's squad in returning seniors Chris Graham and Harrison Hawkins – both of whom are expected to slot into the opening day lineup. Junior transfer Donald Hansis and Sears will split time in corner outfield positions to begin the season with Choboy, Williams and freshman Sajon Besler competing for playing time.

Weekend Preview
The Cougars will open the 2020 campaign with a split weekend series featuring two games against Iona and a Sunday sortie with Maryland. Charleston and the Gaels will square off in a pair of 4:00 p.m. matchups on Friday and Saturday before the Cougars and Terps close out the weekend with a 1:00 p.m. Sunday matinee on FloSports.