In a league known for its adherence to small ball, UC Santa Barbara is different.
Big West baseball, overall, remains something of a throwback; teams emphasize pitching, defense and situational hitting, while the sacrifice bunt remains alive and well. That formula had its merits and helped turn Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State into national powerhouses at one point. Yet there may be a changing of the guard on the west coast. Baseball evolves, and the Gauchos have jumped to the forefront of the conference in embracing a more modern style of play.
The numbers are eye-popping. Last season, UCSB hit 66 home runs as a team. No other team in the conference hit more than 52. UCSB slugged .494. The runner-up sat at .404. Only UC Riverside (14) laid down fewer sacrifice bunts than UCSB’s 15. The Gauchos were built to launch, and they did so with aplomb, finishing the regular season as one of two teams in the country (UCLA being the other) with a single-digit loss total. Their 45 wins was a program record, two more than the 2016 College World Series club anchored by Shane Bieber.
Some of that success, to be sure, was a byproduct of a disappointing year from the rest of the conference. Teams don’t win 45 games by accident, though. There’s clearly something else at play. According to associate head coach Donegal Fergus, the team’s offensive breakthrough was a combination of talent and mentality.
“I walked into a group that was clearly physical, had grown into their bodies by that point,” said Fergus, who came to Santa Barbara before the 2019 season following a five-year run as hitting coach at the University of Washington. “Right away, you could see there was an ability to do some damage. But that’s also what I believe in and want to teach anyways, so it was kind of a perfect marriage.”
Fergus and recruiting coordinator Matt Fonteno set out at convincing the players to cut it loose. He downplayed the role of nuanced mechanical work. The team still had routines and drills, of course, but more important was “creating an environment for them to grow in.”
Loud music. Players and coaches trash talking and challenging one another. As Fergus describes the scene, one can imagine the energy and competitiveness of each hitting session.
“We have some fun with it,” Fergus said. “Of course, it’s serious and difficult and there’s challenges, but we want guys to know we’re setting the tone and we want you to have fun and go for it.”
In a 20-minute phone interview, Fergus drops the word ‘attack’ six times. The message is clear: be smart but aggressive in the batter’s box, without fear of failing.
“Once hitters can get comfortable with the idea that struggling is OK and every day can’t be great, that’s part of the learning process,” Fergus opined. “You almost need some of those bad days to realize where you’re at and what you need to attack next.”
The Gauchos’ veteran-laden group didn’t have many bad days in 2019, but there are sure to be teachable moments in the season to come. Five of the seven players who took 150+ plate appearances last season have moved on, three as Day Two draft picks. For many programs, such an exodus of talent could be crippling. True to his message, though, Fergus remains confident in the group UCSB brings back.
“We’ve got enough pieces back,” he stated matter-of-factly. “We’re trying to do the same thing: really do damage, attack the baseball, really good pitch awareness, pitch recognition and swing discipline, (have) aggression in the zone.”
While the mentality remains the same, expectations fluctuate based on each player’s skillset.
“We may not hit as many homers (as last year). We may hit more doubles, we may steal some more bases. Matt and I are always trying to tailor (our approach) to our personnel and what we’re capable of, but the approach doesn’t change too much. We’re not going to sacrifice bunt a lot. People are probably going to figure that out at some point; they didn’t necessarily figure that out last year, but they will at some point.”
Lineup depth may be an issue early on as the coaching staff gains more information on which young players and incoming transfers can be relied upon. A three-player core at the top of the lineup should help withstand those growing pains. Senior McClain O’Connor and juniors Jason Willow and Marcos Castañon have a chance to continue the Gauchos’ recent history of filling up Day Two draft boards. O’Connor raked at a .325/.393/.503 clip and spurned some pro interest in June to return at shortstop. Willow and Castañon don’t have O’Connor’s statistical track record but are perhaps UCSB’s most interesting follows for scouts. Both battled injuries last season but can turn heads with their physical abilities.
“Willow has all the tools to be a big leaguer,” Fergus said of the former top 500 draft prospect. “He’s a 6.4 runner, has (power), can really throw it… He needs to stay healthy and improve his contact rate a little bit, but he’s got all the makings of a star. He’s an incredible worker, incredible kid. He can really move around, and I think he’s ready for a big year…. His big issue is pitch recognition. If it’s in the zone, he hits it pretty hard, but he’s had some chase issues the last couple years.”
A prep shortstop, Willow’s primarily played third base at UCSB but is likely ticketed for center field in his draft year. Power, a favorable defensive profile, and plus makeup is a strong starter kit for a prospect; if the performance follows, Willow could find himself as one of the top draft prospects on the west coast.
Castañon, meanwhile, emerged as a sleeper this summer on the Cape. Ticketed for everyday duty at second base last spring, Castañon pulled a hamstring and never found a rhythm upon his return, but he showed elite bat speed and plus raw power to his pull-side this summer for the CCBL’s Brewster Whitecaps. He’s not an especially rangy defender, although Fergus praised his arm and hands at the keystone. As with Willow, plate discipline is the coach’s biggest concern for Castañon, although the latter’s issue seems one of over-exuberance rather than poor pitch recognition.
“He really wants to prove himself and he gets caught up sometimes in trying to show everybody how good he’s going to be,” Fergus replied when asked what Castañon needs to work on. “He sincerely wants to be great. If he can just relax and trust his abilities…swing at the right pitches. The Cape experience opened his eyes. He saw what elite hitters do. They don’t swing out of the zone a lot.”
Eschewing small ball and emphasizing plate discipline certainly helps UCSB put up runs, but it’s also old hat. Even if college baseball has been slower than MLB to modernize (especially in terms of run production), the game will get there eventually. If there’s a more nuanced lesson to be learned from the Gauchos, then, it seems to be in the power of mentality, enabling players to flourish by challenging them to be the best version of themselves. In addition to Fergus and Fonteno, a certain amount of credit no doubt goes to head coach Andrew Checketts. Checketts’ specialty is on the pitching side; he deferred to Fergus when asked about the team’s offense. Yet, as Fergus is quick to point out, Checketts has created a culture over his eight years at the helm in Santa Barbara.
UCSB was a fledgling program when Checketts took over in 2012, having not made the NCAA tournament in over a decade prior. Since, the team has posted a winning record five times and made four regional appearances. Even if he’s not actively involved in crafting the lineup’s gameplan, Checketts enables the club’s overall looseness. As with any college athletic program, success tends to be self-driving. Build a strong program, and talented players will flock there, enabling the team to withstand the inevitable loss of talented players.
There’s little reason that run of success can’t continue in 2020 despite the exodus of key players from last season. UCSB returns a talented, confident nucleus atop the lineup. It’s a group that will, no doubt, attack opposing pitching staffs. The rest of the Big West is on notice; UCSB won’t do things the old way, and they’re much better for it.