UConn Baseball: Talented Upperclassmen Paving Way, Freshmen Class Contributes to Huskies’ Early Success
It’s been a rather frustrating start of spring for UConn sports enthusiasts, with the men’s basketball team losing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and the women falling short in the championship game for the first time in program history. For a pick me up, however, look no further than Jim Penders’ baseball squad, which is off to a very promising start (24-7; 3-0 BIG EAST) as a result of strong pitching and an offensive outburst.
While the upperclassmen are getting all the headlines – and deservingly so – anyone who thinks that the program will be undergoing a rebuild after this season is badly mistaken. Yes, it’s true that Erik Stock is the front-runner for BIG EAST player of the year and Austin Peterson ranks fourth in the country with 76 strikeouts, but there’s also a collection of highly talented freshmen that have contributed significantly to the success the #HookC has experienced this season.
We See Ya’, Padilla
Take shortstop Bryan Padilla for instance. Padilla, who hails from Brooklyn, N.Y., wasn’t even a starter to begin the season. He cracked the lineup for the first time in the Huskies’ fifth game of the season against North Florida and ever since has played like someone who doesn’t plan to give up the position anytime soon. Padilla has done nothing but rake and play stellar defense since he took over as the starting shortstop, bumping Zach Bushling to third base. Even when he makes an out, his at-bats tend to wear pitchers down and set the tone for the rest of the lineup.
Case in point? It was Padilla’s at-bat against St. John’s on Friday night where he worked a 10-pitch walk after falling behind in the count that served as the catalyst for a five-run first inning in a game the Huskies ultimately won 12-6. Padilla’s immediate success is no surprise to those who recruited him to Storrs.
“When [hitting coach] Jeff [Hourigan] and I were recruiting him, we really thought Bryan was a true traditional shortstop,” said Josh MacDonald, UConn’s pitching coach/recruiting coordinator. “We thought he could make all the plays at shortstop and we thought offensively, he had really fast wrists which we felt could turn into some power eventually. And he could also handle really good pitching. I know he seems like a surprise, but if you asked us two-to-three years ago who was one of the better players in his recruiting class, Bryan would have been one of the first names to come out of our mouths.”
You wouldn’t know it from looking at his numbers on the season (.302 batting average, 29 hits, 15 RBI), but Padilla encountered some challenges during his time in Storrs that left the coaches no choice but to redshirt him last season. He ended up contracting COVID-19 in fall 2020 and suffered a knee injury prior to the 2021 campaign. And his performance this past fall wasn’t head-turning by any stretch, but it all came together for him in the winter leading up to the first game against South Florida.
“It’s so awesome to see what Bryan is doing especially with all that he went through last year,” MacDonald added.
Nothing Like Home Cooke-ing
Another freshman who has played a pivotal role in the Huskies’ success this year has been pitcher Ian Cooke, who hails from New Milford, Conn. Cooke wasted no time making an impact this season, as Penders turned to him in a critical spot in the very first game against South Florida. Cooke rewarded Penders by tossing 2.2 innings of scoreless baseball, earning the win in relief.
Cooke’s performance against the Bulls wasn’t an aberration either, as he has continued to dominate every time he has been called upon – both as a starter and reliever. Cooke, who sports a 1.46 ERA to go along with four wins, had a memorable performance against Southern California in mid-March, then ranked 25th in the country.
Cooke completely shut down the Trojans in their own back yard, throwing 7.2 scoreless innings and giving up just four hits to go along with seven strikeouts. Penders called it the most dominant performance he saw from a freshman in his first start since Tim Cate against William & Mary in 2016.
While the 2022 team has had the benefit of watching Cooke’s magic on the mound, the coaching staff didn’t have that luxury when it came to witnessing his progress in person after he committed. When COVID-19 hit, the recruiting road map was thrown out the window. While the staff liked what they saw from Cooke when they initially recruited him in 2019, they weren’t able to see firsthand if he had improved after he pledged his allegiance to the national flag blue and white. They had to trust that what they saw from Cooke in the summer of 2019 would play at the next level, and had to rely on the feedback from others who had the benefit of watching him pitch throughout 2020.
“Coach Hourigan saw Cooke a few times in summer 2019 and really liked him,” MacDonald said. “Jeff knows how much I appreciate guys who can spin it and thought Cooke had a really good slider. He ended up coming to one of our prospect camps that August and was dominant, but because of the pandemic, we couldn’t really see him after that. I was hearing good things about him and then he went off to the Perfect Game League in New York and dominated it. He is just different. He has the stuff and confidence, and he’s been one of the best since the second he’s walked in.”
The Maine Man
While Cooke’s performance certainly is exciting and bodes well for the Huskies beyond this season, there are four other freshman pitchers who have stood out for answering the call each time their numbers are called.
One of them is Brady Afthim, the 2020-21 Maine Gatorade Player of the Year. Afthim, from Windham, Maine, has had his share of impressive outings this season, but one, in particular, stands out. During UConn’s final game against Pepperdine, the Huskies had cut the deficit to one run in the top of the eighth inning after a mammoth three-run home run by the Albino Rhino, first baseman Ben Huber. In need of a shutdown inning to keep the momentum on the Huskies’ side, Penders turned to Afthim . . . and did he ever deliver.
Afthim proceeded to strikeout the side, needing just 14 pitches to do it. And, as hard as it is to believe, he’s only gotten better from there. In the six innings he has pitched since that Pepperdine game, he has given up only five hits to go along with eight strikeouts. His ability to dominate so quickly into his tenure at Storrs has MacDonald absolutely giddy over his future.
“Afthim is probably the guy in his class I was most excited about because of the gigantic leap he made in high school,” MacDonald said. “He was a two-way guy (pitcher and catcher), though we liked him better on the mound. And when he bought into pitching full-time his senior year, he just exploded. What he was doing was absolutely ridiculous, but it wasn’t like he was calling us up bragging about all the stuff he was doing. I remember saying to him, ‘Hey, did you strikeout 20 yesterday?,’ and he was just like, ‘Yeah, I did that,’ like it was no big deal. There’s no flash with Brady, but every time he goes out there, he gets better and better and better. He could be scary good.”
Captain Sully in Command
Another freshman pitcher who has solidified his place in the coaching staff’s circle of trust is Jack “Sully” Sullivan. The righty from Carmel, N.Y., who was heavily recruited by UConn, St. John’s, Maryland and a number of other high-profile schools, leads the team in ERA at 0.84 (minimum two innings pitched) and has fanned 11 in 10.2 innings pitched. More impressively, he hasn’t issued a walk since March 19 against UC-San Diego.
From his very first appearance, Sullivan proved he doesn’t rattle easily. Against Louisville – the program that produced the first overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft! – Sullivan didn’t give up a hit in the 1.1 innings he pitched. Most important, he demonstrated he had the stuff to induce strikeouts or take something off to generate weak contact.
Sullivan’s ability to pound the strike zone is one of the reasons Penders turns to him when the game is tight. It’s also his maturity level and attention to detail that have contributed greatly to Sullivan’s dominance thus far.
“What’s cool about Sully is he was a byproduct of some guys we already had,” MacDonald said. “Bobby McBride went to Brewster, which is a rival of Carmel’s, so Bobby knew that Sully was good. And [freshman catcher] Matt Garbowski’s father told us that Sully was really good and we needed to see him. We knew Sully was going to be good for us because he is a no-nonsense, zero-flash guy who is very mature and goes out there and always seems to deliver.”
Quinn-tessential Arm
While Cooke, Afthim and Sullivan have all started strong, not to be left out is Braden Quinn, the left-hander from New Fairfield, Conn. Quinn, who has really opened eyes with the consistency he has provided each time he has been given the ball, has become a real weapon from the left side.
Quinn has pitched in a variety of roles this season – as a starter, a long reliever and a late-inning specialist – and all he has done is get outs. He sports a tidy 1.86 ERA, good for third on the team behind Sullivan and Cooke, and has given up only two runs in 9.2 innings pitched. Entrusted with the spot start against Merrimack, Quinn proceeded to deliver three innings of one-run baseball, earning his first career win.
“Braden was a kid we got to see a ton in high school because we were recruiting Garbowski,” MacDonald said. “Braden was like a roller coaster. We’d see him one day and it was, ‘Holy cow, look at this lefty with this arm.’ And then you would see him the next time out and the velocity would be down or the control would be off. But then he went to the PBR Futures Game and dominated and probably got a call from every team in the country after that. That wasn’t surprising to me because the one thing about Quinn is he works really hard. I don’t think there is any guy in his class who would say they outwork Braden. He wills himself to be better and I would not be surprised if he was the first guy in his class to hear his name called on draft day two-to-three years from now.”
Hec’ of a Drive
Another of the young pitching standouts who has blossomed under MacDonald’s tutelage is Hector Alejandro, a redshirt freshman from Waterbury, Conn. Alejandro, who originally committed to St. John’s, ended up backing off his commitment in hopes of fulfilling his dream of playing collegiately at UConn. Alejandro reached out to the coaching staff to gauge their interest and MacDonald liked what he saw, but didn’t have any scholarships available.
Alejandro, ever confident in his pitching abilities, decided to gamble on himself and became a recruited walk-on. However, two weeks after he committed, Alejandro learned he needed Tommy John surgery. While his UConn career didn’t get off to the start he envisioned, now that he is fully healthy, he is starting to showcase his talent.
Alejandro debuted in dominating fashion, holding Charlotte to just one hit in 2.1 innings pitched. He earned the start against Hartford, where he limited the Hawks to four hits and no runs over two innings, earning the win along the way. As the righty continues to get more experience on the hill, MacDonald has no doubt the future is bright for Alejandro.
“During his rehab last season, he was pitching against our guys on our off days and as the spring progressed, he just kept getting better and his velocity was ticking back up,” MacDonald said. “But one thing that stood out to us is that he was always competing and we saw a pretty fiery competitor on the mound. He is a team guy who has really assimilated into the way we do things at UConn and is someone guys love to play behind. Every time he goes out there, he attacks the zone and has just been a really steady guy for us to have on staff.”
Get Used to Hearing ‘A Gar-bomb-ski’
As good as Padilla and all the arms have been, it’s quite possible that the freshman class would never have come together the way it did if it wasn’t for Garbowski. Garbowski, who, like Quinn, is a product of New Fairfield, was someone MacDonald and Hourigan prioritized from the onset given he was considered one of the top players in the state.
Garbowski was the first commitment the Huskies secured in 2021, and the coaches credit him with being a strong anchor around which they were able to build this past year’s recruiting class. To put it simply, by choosing to stay home and play at UConn, Garbowski’s commitment indirectly sent a strong message to the rest of the top players in the area. And it was only a matter of time before Cooke and Quinn followed Garbowski’s lead.
“Garbowski was a kid who was identified early on by a lot of people as a legitimate prospect,” MacDonald stated. “But not only did we as coaches think he was good, other players knew he was good as well. We knew we wanted to lock him up early to help the other guys come along. And that’s what Matt was.”
If early results are indicative of future success, then there’s a strong possibility Garbowski will be a first-day draft pick as early as 2024. In his very first collegiate game against Charlotte, Garbowski hit a two-run blast that brought much-needed life to the Huskies’ anemic offense.
Garbowski has settled into his role as the Saturday starter, and if it weren’t for an injury he has been battling for the past few weeks, there’s a strong chance he would have served as the designated hitter on the days he wasn’t behind the plate. Nevertheless, Garbowski’s work ethic and toughness have endeared him to his coaches and teammates, and it’s why MacDonald believes that as Garbowski gets healthier, an offensive explosion won’t be too far behind.
“Since Matt came in, he has been nothing but Steady Eddie,” MacDonald said. “He can really swing the stick from the left side, but like Brady [Afthim], there’s not a lot of flash to him. He’s just a baseball player who is committed to working really hard to get better and better. He goes out there with a job to do and does it well. He’s just the kind of kid who seems to do really well for us.”
Old and Young
In his 11 seasons as pitching coach, MacDonald has never seen this many first-year players figure out the learning curve as quickly as this year’s class has. He credits the upperclassmen for carrying the load and embracing these seven freshmen and their contributions.
The leadership demonstrated by Stock, Peterson, Huber, Bushling, Casey Dana, Christian Fedko, Justin Willis, Enzo Stefanoni, Cole Chudoba and the other seniors has taken the burden and pressure off the freshmen. So far, none of the freshmen have felt like they have needed to carry the pitching staff or the offense, which has allowed them to stay focused and not try to do too much.
“This group of seniors has really embraced this year’s freshman class and I think that’s contributed to the magic of our first-half success thus far,” MacDonald said. “Yeah, Austin Peterson and Erik Stock have been great and the graduate transfers have done well, but they’ve also been supplemented by Ian Cooke giving us huge outings, and Afthim, Sully, Quinny and Hector as well. And Matt Garbowski getting big hits for us when [starting catcher] Matt Donlan needs a breather. It’s just been really good to see.”
While it’s highly unlikely next season’s squad will have the same success through 31 games that this year’s club has enjoyed given all of the talent that will move onto the next level, there is no doubt that like it is for the basketball programs, the future is bright for the baseball team as well. #RollSkies indeed.
