Arizona State baseball officially entered a new era a little over three months ago. There have only been a handful of first seasons for new head coaches in this program, a testament to its robust historical success. A key part of that success during his playing days, Willie Bloomquist was tabbed as the newest head coach of his beloved program nearly a year ago. 51 weeks, countless hat throws, fist pumps, and a number of valuable lessons later, his first year has come to a close.

To say in a short breath what needs long wind to describe, the result of this season was not up to the lofty standards of Arizona State baseball. The Sun Devils went 26-31 and missed a regional bid by a considerable margin. It was the first time ASU has missed the NCAA tournament since 2018. Bloomquist would be the first to say that the win-loss record this year wasn’t acceptable. But it’s not as bad as it sounds. Their underwhelming record was probably the worst aspect of the 2022 Sun Devils, which speaks to the culture of a program in a transition year.

When athletic director Ray Anderson relieved former head coach Tracy Smith of his duties following a regional elimination in 2021, his message was clear: Perennial contention for a PAC-12 championship and a College World Series berth has to be the standard. Smith’s tenure featured some of that contention but ultimately never delivered it. The transition to Bloomquist is a long-term plan and one that will take patience, as much as many fans hate to hear that.

The learning began for Bloomquist in the fall, of course. But the curriculum picked up in a major way when the season got going in February. He began learning lessons of all kinds on opening night.

“I now know why every manager of mine went gray so fast,” Bloomquist joked after narrowly defeating Dixie State 3-1 in his first game as head coach.

I tried my best to summarize the entire season from a team standpoint, as well as highlight standout individual performers. I’m prepared to defend these selections with my entire being should they be challenged.

Player of the Year: Joe Lampe, redshirt sophomore center fielder.

Though he was not unchallenged by teammates, Lampe emerges as the clear choice as team MVP. The speedy Northern California product was ASU’s best player from wire to wire. He hit .335, launched a team-high 12 home runs, and drove in 41 runs in what is almost certainly his last amateur season. His defense was invaluable in center field as well. Covering acres of real estate while making sliding and diving catches multiple times each weekend. Lampe only committed one error.

Pitcher of the Year - Kyle Luckham, redshirt junior right-handed pitcher

Without Kyle Luckham, this ASU team is likely the worst in the Pac-12. Pitching, both in the bullpen and the starting rotation, was the most consistent weakness of Arizona State, aside from almost all of Kyle Luckham’s starts. Luckham led the team in ERA (4.65), innings pitched (86.2), and WHIP (1.40). He won seven games. No other Sun Devil pitcher won more than three.

Freshman of the Year - Ryan Campos, catcher

One year ago, Red Mountain Mesa product Ryan Campos flipped from Arizona to ASU just months before getting to campus. He went from just another freshman fighting for playing time to an everyday starter at catcher and often batting in the three-spot in the order. His .347 average led the team.

“I loved the opportunity. It’s awesome that Bloomy trusts me that much,” Campos said before shedding light on the relationship he and his teammates have with their head coach. “Bloomy’s the man. I love him, and we know he loves all of us.”

***

Other standouts include Pac-12 all-conference team selections Nate Baez and Jacob Tobias. Baez surged in the second half, earning conference player of the week honors for a red hot series against Utah in which he blasted three homers and a double. Tobias started the entire season at DH, hitting .280 and collecting seven bombs as a freshman.

“My approach is the same every time,” Baez often said with a grin. He’s a simple hitter with a huge potential.

The freshmen standouts were successful for many reasons, but one certainly was their impressive ability to stay even-keeled and minimize big moments in their heads.

“We just kind of treat this like any other baseball game,” Tobias said early in the season after a big night. “You can’t think of days like this as too big, or else you’re going to get in over your head.”

Sean McLain, Ethan Long, and Hunter Haas figured to be three of ASU’s most dangerous offensive weapons at the start of the year. McLain got into form by mid-season and spent the entire year in the two-spot, but injuries and early struggles ultimately plagued Haas and Long. Long didn’t play in the last 12 games with a bad wrist, while Haas missed the bulk of the regular season recovering from a partially torn rotator. He hit the transfer portal immediately following the season-ending loss. Sources close to the team think Long won’t elect to go to the draft and will return to the team in 2023.

As for the bullpen, fans had to have a love-hate relationship with this bunch in 2022. Early on, they were struggling mightily, but the relievers found their stride for much of the season. They couldn’t put together a consistent path to the ninth inning, however, and two late leads blown in the Pac-12 tournament showed that the bullpen issues were never truly gone for this team. Brock Peery and Christian Bodlovich shined brightest out of the pen this year.

***

Omaha wasn’t a realistic expectation in 2022, but there were several noteworthy shortcomings. The first sign of trouble came during the second weekend of the season. 3-1 through its first four games, ASU hosted BYU for a weekend series at Phoenix Muni. The Cougars swept the Sun Devils, with the Sunday finale ending up an especially embarrassing 19-3 beat down. It was after this game that the faint echoes of what can nicely be described as a stern talking to. No players spoke to the media following the Sunday finale, just Bloomquist, pitching coach Sam Peraza, and assistant coach Travis Buck. In what I saw then as a potentially pivotal moment, Buck explained that “the coaches can’t want it more than the players, and right now the staff does, to an extent.”

This year’s staff was quick to empty the clip on the motivational speeches, dressing downs, whatever you want to call it; they’d done it by the end of March. These types of talks can surely be effective, yet usually not more than once or twice. One of Bloomquist’s areas of growth as a manager will have to be learning how to temper emotions and expectations over the course of a long college baseball season. While he always maintained a calm demeanor with media and reiterated that his group would figure it out, expect a more measured approach overall in 2023.

During an 18-game non-conference schedule that needed to be handled with relative ease, ASU struggled. Bullpen woes and a lack of clutch hitting plagued the squad, with countless agonizing one and two-run losses taking a considerable mental toll as well. Outside of the 16-run loss at the hands of BYU and a five-run defeat to Oklahoma State, the Sun Devils didn’t lose a non-conference game by more than two runs.

Bloomquist’s first taste of Pac-12 baseball as a manager was sour in nature. ASU went to Corvallis to kick off a series with Oregon State and got thoroughly pounded. Losses of 21-0 and 12-2 opened the three-game slate. Oregon State was poised to sweep the series with a 1-0 lead on Sunday, but a valiant three-run ninth by Arizona State salvaged the final game.

The one-sided series was a precursor for the rest of the Pac-12 slate. Oregon State started a trend for ASU that it would follow throughout the conference schedule until the final weekend of the season. Against teams above them in the standings, Arizona State either lost two out of three games or was swept. Against teams that sat below them in the Pac, ASU swept or took the series. The lone exception came at the end of the season when a battered and bruised ASU squad was swept In Pullman at Washington State. Bloomquist’s squad finished 3-12 in 15 games against the conference’s top five finishers and 10-5 against the bottom five. I don’t think there’s a stat that more perfectly encapsulates the mediocrity of ASU’s season than that.

There were, of course, some highlights to be remembered and built upon. Arizona State won two games against its in-state rival, taking home the non-conference matchup at Pheonix Muni before grabbing one of the three games in Tucson. They swept San Francisco and took all three from USC, a series that holds a similar weight to the Arizona matchup to Willie Bloomquist.

“Oh yeah, it feels good to beat USC. For me, they’re right up there (with Arizona),” Bloomquist said. “I don’t have to say why.”

No, you don’t, Willie, especially not if you sweep USC every year.

ASU took home series from both Washington and Cal early on, barely missing a sweep of Washington with an extra-inning loss on Sunday.

It’s hard to say where exactly rock bottom truly hit for the 2022 Sun Devils. An early candidate is certainly being swept by BYU at Phoenix Muni. Two heinous mid-season road trips to Stanford and UCLA yielded ugly sweeps, with the latter perhaps gaining the edge. Three losses, two by 10+ runs and one after blowing a late lead, served as a cruel buffet of defeats. To their credit, ASU turned it around like they did most of this season and took two of three from Utah the following weekend.

A few words I’d use to describe this season are frustrating, hopeful, and close. It’s hard to explain the positive intangibles that surrounded this team all year, even after losses. This squad was about as tight as they come. I was told by multiple players on several occasions that despite the win-loss record being far from ideal, that the “vibe” surrounding the program was a lot better. This was anything but lip service, but rather a genuine statement by members of this squad.

The trial run is just about over for Willie Bloomquist. With a crop of his recruits on campus this fall, better results will be expected in the spring. Good news for ASU fans, he’s put expectations on himself that are loftier than those assigned by the public and the media since his first day on the job.

“I guess one thing we realize is we’re really close to being really good and really close to being really bad,” Bloomquist said. “We certainly have to get better, and I have to get better as a coach. Now that I’ve experienced this, I know what that takes.”