Baseball Notebook: Schubart Hype, Giants on the Mound and Freshmen to Watch

STILLWATER — There is only one more sleep until Cowboy baseball.

Oklahoma State starts its season Friday in Arlington as part of the Shriners Children’s College Showdown. The Pokes play Clemson at 11 a.m. Friday before playing Louisville and 3 p.m. Saturday and close the event against Texas at 6:30 p.m. Sunday. OSU coach Josh Holliday held his preseason media news conference last week. Here are three things to know entering opening weekend.

Nolan Schubart Year 3

Nolan Schubart is entering his junior season with a lot of hype, and deservedly so.

He was an All-American as a freshman and a sophomore, and he enters Year 3 in Stillwater as a preseason All-American and as the Big 12’s Preseason Player of the Year. In 389 collegiate at-bats, Schubart is hitting .352 with 40 career home runs and 142 RBIs.

He has primarily played left field as a Cowboy, but OSU coach Josh Holliday said Schubart could play at either corner outfield sport or even at first base in his junior season.

“He’s so consistent as a person,” Holliday said. “He’s a very hard-working, focused individual. You see it in his school work. You see it in his daily demeanor. And I think you’ll see it in his performance. All he can do, as would be the case with any player, is play the pitch correctly and win the pitch. If winning the pitch means its a pitch to hit, drive it. If it’s a pitch to take, take your walk. If it’s a defensive opportunity to impact the game, make the play.

“Sometimes if kids think they’re supposed to do more than that, then they can get outside their game. I think his biggest challenge will be to stay inside his game, and if the opponent tries to neutralize certain things he can do or pitch around him, he has to take his walks and contribute to the offense through getting on base and trusting his teammates.”

Gabe Davis and the Mound Giants

From one preseason All-American to another, Gabe Davis enters his junior season with a lot of hype surrounding him.

He has made 40 career appearances, striking out 95 in 70 1/3 innings. Davis has made only five starts to this point, but he said he hopes to step into a weekend starting role for the Pokes in 2025. Davis also played on the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team, helping the Americans to a five-game sweep against Chinese Taipei in the International Friendly Series.

“I think the world of Gabe,” Holliday said. “I think he’s got an unbelievable future. I’m proud of how we’ve gotten to this point and the growth that he’s made, and I think he’s gonna have a great junior year.”

And Davis is 6-foot-9, which is tall, but that’s sort of par for the course among OSU’s pitching staff.

OSU’s game notes featured a projected lineup that included three pitchers: the 6-9 Davis, 6-5 Harrison Bodendorf and 6-9 Hunter Watkins. The staff also features 6-8 Mario Pesca, 6-8 Ryan Ure, 6-6 Ethan Lund and 6-6 Blake Julius. OSU basically has a basketball team in the bullpen.

“It’s gotta be the tallest collection of athletes we’ve ever had,” Holliday said. “… We need some exit-row seats on all these flights. These are huge guys, but ironically enough, for being such big men, they move well. They’re good movers for being so big.”

‘There’s Multiple Freshmen That Factor into Our Plan’

Because of the transfer portal, the trend across college sports has been for teams to get older. But that won’t necessarily be the case on OSU’s baseball team.

Holliday spoke glowingly about his freshmen, saying he expects a handful to contribute right away. And recent history proves Holliday hasn’t shied away from the idea of playing guys in their fist year of college ball. Avery Ortiz and Kollin Ritchite both had more than 100 at-bats last season. Schubart had the third-most at-bats on OSU’s 2023 team as a freshman. Roc Riggio was a big piece to OSU’s 2022 team as a freshman. The examples go on and on.

Holliday mentioned Brock Thompson as a guy who will contribute in the middle of OSU’s infield and that Garrett Shull is a name to watch among outfielders. He also mentioned pitchers Ethan Lund, Noah Welch, Stormy Rhodes and Braylon Brooks.

“There’s multiple freshmen that factor into our plan,” Holliday said. “… It’s my opinion after a tremendous amount of time and effort and study that that foundational piece of your team where guys are part of what we do for extended periods of time is still what we believe in at Oklahoma State, what we’re good at and ultimately what championships are built on.”