Troy University Athletics
Senior All-American Adam Bryant returns to lead the Trojans in 2011.
Photo by: Kevin Glackmeyer
Bryant Returns to Lead Trojans into 2011
1/28/2011 1:59:04 PM | Baseball
Troy Opens Season in Three Weeks vs. High Point
The Troy University baseball program enters the 2011 season with a roster full of new players but with the same lofty expectations the program has had since head coach Bobby Pierce first arrived in Troy.
The high expectations are fueled by what should be a vastly improved pitching staff, by a schedule that includes a record 35 home games and by the healthy return of All-American shortstop Adam Bryant at the top of a retooled lineup.
The Trojans took to the field as a team this afternoon for the first official practice session of the year. Troy will open the 2011 season in just three weeks against High Point at Riddle-Pace Field.
The 2011 Trojans will not be the same kind of team as the one that last spring underachieved early, caught fire down the stretch before falling in the championship game of the Sun Belt Conference tournament. That Troy team relied on an offense that pounded out 100 home runs to bash opponents into submission.
That team, which relied on 13 seniors, produced 230 extra-base hits and hit .316 as a club in finishing with a 36-25 record. The Trojans won 18 of their last 24 games in 2010 because of that offense, which averaged 9.3 runs per game during that run.
But the Troy offense took a heavy hit with the graduation of those seniors, plus the early loss of junior Chase Whitley to professional baseball. Gone are 66 percent of the teams' homers, 62.4 percent of the RBI and 60 percent of the extra-base hits.
“There are so many new faces on this team, but they have a quiet confidence,” Pierce said. “I like their camaraderie and chemistry and I think they will feed off each other, possibly more than last years' experienced team.”
While the Troy offense returns just three starters – Bryant at short, T.J. Rivera at second base and catcher Todd McRae – the team should present a more balanced attack in 2011.
“We knew that we were going to have pretty heavy turnover, so we did recruit the junior colleges fairly heavily,” Pierce said. “We had a productive fall and I was very pleased with the way they worked in the weight room and on the field. I am looking forward to the season. Sometimes having a team with a lot of new faces is exciting to a veteran coach.”
Bryant, who is the first All-American player to return for the Trojans in the Division I era, was a finalist for the 2010 Brooks Wallace Award, which goes to the nation's best shortstop. He will be a leading candidate for that honor again in 2011 if he can come close to replicating the amazing numbers he posted last year.
Despite playing the entire season with a shoulder injury that required post-season surgery, Bryant had one of the best individual seasons in school history. He finished the year with a .356 average, a team-leading 23 homers and 65 RBI. In addition to his offensive numbers, he made just three errors in 295 total chances at short.
While it is not reasonable to expect the same kind of numbers this year, Bryant is poised to have another big year for the Trojans.
“He is a hard-nosed, committed player who is highly competitive,” Pierce said. “He doesn't care who gets the credit or who gets the hit, but he does have high expectations for himself. I don't know that you can ask a player to have that kind of season again. I want Adam to just be Adam, to play the game the way he is capable and to let the numbers fall where they fall.”
With only Bryant, Rivera (.295, 8, 51) and McRae (.354, 0, 32) returning as starters, there are many holes to fill in the lineup. After fall practice revealed numerous players ready to step in and contribute, Pierce expects a more balanced attack this spring.
“What I do like is that we may be a little more consistent from top to bottom,” Pierce said. “If that turns out to be the case, that will take a little of the pressure off Adam and we can distribute the production a little better throughout the lineup.”
While the day-to-day lineup will look vastly different in 2011, the Trojans pitching staff will have a new look as well. Weekend starters Tyler Ray (8-4, 5.34) and Drew Hull (4-6, 6.59) both return after sitting out fall practice. Ray, a junior, was given the time off to rest after a heavy spring workload that was followed by a summer spent in the Cape League where he was an All-Star. Hull missed the fall after surgery to clean out some problems in an ankle.
“Obviously, when we start talking about pitching, we start with Tyler Ray and Drew Hull,” Pierce said. “Tyler needed the rest in the fall and I expect him to push his game to another level. I think he saw a lot over the summer, playing with so many top prospects. He saw how hard those players work and I think that sent a message as to what he needs to be doing.”
Ray will be back in the weekend rotation for a third season. He has a career record of 15-7 in 30 starts with a 4.98 ERA.
“We have been calling Tyler's name for a long time but he is still just a junior,” Pierce said. “A lot of times it is that junior season when a guy really takes off.”
Like Ray, Hull sat on the sidelines during the fall, although he spent most of the time on crutches following surgery. After recovering from the procedure, Pierce said you could see a difference in the way Hull carried himself, both on and off the field.
“I think that Drew is primed to have a very good year,” Pierce said. “That ankle had bothered him, off and on, for a while. Toward the end of the semester, just watching him walk around, you could tell he was better. I think he will be ready to get back to work this spring and we have high expectations for him.”
Joining Ray and Hull among returning hurlers are sophomore right handers Thomas Austin and Cass Abercrombie, sophomore left-hander Shane McCain, and seniors Nick Ward and A.J. Howard. All three right-handers are expected to serve in similar roles to what they played in 2010 when they worked in middle and long relief. Ward was a spot starter, but could find his way to the back end of games as part of committee of closers.
McCain and Howard are both working to come back from injury. McCain opened his freshman season in the weekend rotation but made just five starts before an elbow injury shelved him for the year. Howard is still working to battle back from surgery that cost him the 2009 season.
What has the Troy coaches excited, in addition to the returning hurlers, is the stable of newcomers who showed promise during the fall, despite having several pitchers who had to battle through injuries.
“We went into the previous recruiting classes trying to build depth on our pitching staff,” Pierce said. “We had thought we had done that, but some key injuries hurt us. We addressed that, and then the injury bug hit again with some of our signees before they even reported to Troy. We are still working through some of that but, overall, I feel like our pitching depth has improved. We'll see how it all works out.”
One thing that is a certainty for the 2011 Trojans is a schedule that will allow the team to play more regular season home games than any team in school history. The Trojans will play 21 of their first 23 games at Riddle-Pace Field and have a total of 35 home games on the schedule overall.
Teams that will visit Troy early in 2011 for weekend series include High Point (31-29), Southern Miss (36-24) and Southeast Missouri State (30-25). The Trojans will also entertain former Sun Belt foe New Orleans for a four-game set before opening league play against state rival South Alabama.
“Certainly, our schedule favors this years' team and our fans with so many home games,” Pierce said. “The thing about our schedule is that you don't see the Arkansas or Arizona State but, with teams like High Point and Southern Miss, we all know what kind of baseball they play and how well they are coached. This may be a fortunate year for this team to play a great schedule against quality opponents at home.”
The Trojans will open the 2011 season on Friday, February 18, against High Point. Season tickets are on sale now through the Troy University Athletics Ticket Office. Call 877-878-9467 for information on season tickets.
For more in depth previews of the 2011 Trojans, return to www.TroyTrojans.com in the coming weeks for complete offensive and pitching previews as well as a preview of the 2011 Sun Belt Conference race.
The high expectations are fueled by what should be a vastly improved pitching staff, by a schedule that includes a record 35 home games and by the healthy return of All-American shortstop Adam Bryant at the top of a retooled lineup.
The Trojans took to the field as a team this afternoon for the first official practice session of the year. Troy will open the 2011 season in just three weeks against High Point at Riddle-Pace Field.
The 2011 Trojans will not be the same kind of team as the one that last spring underachieved early, caught fire down the stretch before falling in the championship game of the Sun Belt Conference tournament. That Troy team relied on an offense that pounded out 100 home runs to bash opponents into submission.
That team, which relied on 13 seniors, produced 230 extra-base hits and hit .316 as a club in finishing with a 36-25 record. The Trojans won 18 of their last 24 games in 2010 because of that offense, which averaged 9.3 runs per game during that run.
But the Troy offense took a heavy hit with the graduation of those seniors, plus the early loss of junior Chase Whitley to professional baseball. Gone are 66 percent of the teams' homers, 62.4 percent of the RBI and 60 percent of the extra-base hits.
“There are so many new faces on this team, but they have a quiet confidence,” Pierce said. “I like their camaraderie and chemistry and I think they will feed off each other, possibly more than last years' experienced team.”
While the Troy offense returns just three starters – Bryant at short, T.J. Rivera at second base and catcher Todd McRae – the team should present a more balanced attack in 2011.
“We knew that we were going to have pretty heavy turnover, so we did recruit the junior colleges fairly heavily,” Pierce said. “We had a productive fall and I was very pleased with the way they worked in the weight room and on the field. I am looking forward to the season. Sometimes having a team with a lot of new faces is exciting to a veteran coach.”
Bryant, who is the first All-American player to return for the Trojans in the Division I era, was a finalist for the 2010 Brooks Wallace Award, which goes to the nation's best shortstop. He will be a leading candidate for that honor again in 2011 if he can come close to replicating the amazing numbers he posted last year.
Despite playing the entire season with a shoulder injury that required post-season surgery, Bryant had one of the best individual seasons in school history. He finished the year with a .356 average, a team-leading 23 homers and 65 RBI. In addition to his offensive numbers, he made just three errors in 295 total chances at short.
While it is not reasonable to expect the same kind of numbers this year, Bryant is poised to have another big year for the Trojans.
“He is a hard-nosed, committed player who is highly competitive,” Pierce said. “He doesn't care who gets the credit or who gets the hit, but he does have high expectations for himself. I don't know that you can ask a player to have that kind of season again. I want Adam to just be Adam, to play the game the way he is capable and to let the numbers fall where they fall.”
With only Bryant, Rivera (.295, 8, 51) and McRae (.354, 0, 32) returning as starters, there are many holes to fill in the lineup. After fall practice revealed numerous players ready to step in and contribute, Pierce expects a more balanced attack this spring.
“What I do like is that we may be a little more consistent from top to bottom,” Pierce said. “If that turns out to be the case, that will take a little of the pressure off Adam and we can distribute the production a little better throughout the lineup.”
While the day-to-day lineup will look vastly different in 2011, the Trojans pitching staff will have a new look as well. Weekend starters Tyler Ray (8-4, 5.34) and Drew Hull (4-6, 6.59) both return after sitting out fall practice. Ray, a junior, was given the time off to rest after a heavy spring workload that was followed by a summer spent in the Cape League where he was an All-Star. Hull missed the fall after surgery to clean out some problems in an ankle.
“Obviously, when we start talking about pitching, we start with Tyler Ray and Drew Hull,” Pierce said. “Tyler needed the rest in the fall and I expect him to push his game to another level. I think he saw a lot over the summer, playing with so many top prospects. He saw how hard those players work and I think that sent a message as to what he needs to be doing.”
Ray will be back in the weekend rotation for a third season. He has a career record of 15-7 in 30 starts with a 4.98 ERA.
“We have been calling Tyler's name for a long time but he is still just a junior,” Pierce said. “A lot of times it is that junior season when a guy really takes off.”
Like Ray, Hull sat on the sidelines during the fall, although he spent most of the time on crutches following surgery. After recovering from the procedure, Pierce said you could see a difference in the way Hull carried himself, both on and off the field.
“I think that Drew is primed to have a very good year,” Pierce said. “That ankle had bothered him, off and on, for a while. Toward the end of the semester, just watching him walk around, you could tell he was better. I think he will be ready to get back to work this spring and we have high expectations for him.”
Joining Ray and Hull among returning hurlers are sophomore right handers Thomas Austin and Cass Abercrombie, sophomore left-hander Shane McCain, and seniors Nick Ward and A.J. Howard. All three right-handers are expected to serve in similar roles to what they played in 2010 when they worked in middle and long relief. Ward was a spot starter, but could find his way to the back end of games as part of committee of closers.
McCain and Howard are both working to come back from injury. McCain opened his freshman season in the weekend rotation but made just five starts before an elbow injury shelved him for the year. Howard is still working to battle back from surgery that cost him the 2009 season.
What has the Troy coaches excited, in addition to the returning hurlers, is the stable of newcomers who showed promise during the fall, despite having several pitchers who had to battle through injuries.
“We went into the previous recruiting classes trying to build depth on our pitching staff,” Pierce said. “We had thought we had done that, but some key injuries hurt us. We addressed that, and then the injury bug hit again with some of our signees before they even reported to Troy. We are still working through some of that but, overall, I feel like our pitching depth has improved. We'll see how it all works out.”
One thing that is a certainty for the 2011 Trojans is a schedule that will allow the team to play more regular season home games than any team in school history. The Trojans will play 21 of their first 23 games at Riddle-Pace Field and have a total of 35 home games on the schedule overall.
Teams that will visit Troy early in 2011 for weekend series include High Point (31-29), Southern Miss (36-24) and Southeast Missouri State (30-25). The Trojans will also entertain former Sun Belt foe New Orleans for a four-game set before opening league play against state rival South Alabama.
“Certainly, our schedule favors this years' team and our fans with so many home games,” Pierce said. “The thing about our schedule is that you don't see the Arkansas or Arizona State but, with teams like High Point and Southern Miss, we all know what kind of baseball they play and how well they are coached. This may be a fortunate year for this team to play a great schedule against quality opponents at home.”
The Trojans will open the 2011 season on Friday, February 18, against High Point. Season tickets are on sale now through the Troy University Athletics Ticket Office. Call 877-878-9467 for information on season tickets.
For more in depth previews of the 2011 Trojans, return to www.TroyTrojans.com in the coming weeks for complete offensive and pitching previews as well as a preview of the 2011 Sun Belt Conference race.
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