Opening Day is finally here, and Arizona State is ready to face a jersey that isn’t maroon or gold. ASU begins the season against Ohio State, who split a four-game series in 2024 when the two teams faced off. While head coach Willie Bloomquist and the returning Sun Devils are looking to start the season with revenge, there aren’t as many Buckeyes from last year’s team that ASU will see on the field this weekend.
“It’s a whole new coaching staff there this year,” Bloomquist said. “They run a different brand of baseball than they did last year, so you can’t put a whole lot of stock into it. Even the returners have probably been taught a whole new variety of things, so we’ll just prepare ourselves the best way we can and take what they give us.”
Bloomquist and his coaching staff brought in a variety of veteran players through the portal while also retaining key pieces from 2024’s squad, heading into the season with a healthy mix of talent and leadership. Bloomquist has done his best to prepare his players for the adversity they’ll face, but preparation can only do so much until they’re met with hardship.
“This group is very confident,” Bloomquist added. “They’re an older group, so we’ll see what happens when the lights come on. I’m anxious to see when they get punched in the face and how they respond. We’ll adapt and adjust based on what happens there, but I think they’re tired of playing against each other and are ready to go.”
ASU lost four players to the 2024 MLB draft and has a handful of players who were on the 2025 preseason All-American teams. The outfield trio of juniors Kien Vu, Isaiah Jackson, and Brandon Compton are all draft-eligible,, as are a few more arms in the bullpen,, such as junior lefty Ben Jacobs. Bloomquist isn’t taking this talented squad for granted.
“We have a lot of older guys across the board,” Bloomquist mentioned. “I’m not looking ahead to next year by any means, but looking down the line, I lose pretty much the whole starting lineup. But I’m going to enjoy this year and try to get the most out of these guys first and deal with that when it comes.”
Bloomquist announced that graduate Josiah Cromwick will be the starter behind the plate for Friday’s game after a monster Fall Ball performance. After losing Ryan Campos to the draft, Bloomquist reloaded with a three-headed monster in Cromwick, senior Manny Garza, and sophomore Brody Briggs. All three players will see the field in some way, which Bloomquist is still figuring out.
“He’s (Cromwick) earned it,” Bloomquist pronounced. “All three of the guys have earned a starting job, but I can’t play all three of them at once. They know every game they are going to be in the mix at all times. Any given day, all three of those guys need to be ready to play. All three are capable, and I feel confident in any one of them. But Crom has earned the right to be out there on Friday night, and we’ll see how the rest of the weekend goes.”
Bloomquist enters his fourth season as head skipper for the Sun Devils still in search of his first NCAA tournament appearance after coming just short in years past. The field of 64 has been within reach plenty of times, but a string of bad baseball has kept them on the outside looking in. Bloomquist harped on playing hard every single pitch and used past results to back it up.
“Every game matters; just look at where we’ve fallen the last couple of years,” Bloomquist commented. “The details of the drill work we do is a reminder that this stuff matters. We use that as motivation, but as a coaching staff,f we have to do a better job covering every detail to make sure we hold them accountable every day.”
For Bloomquist, Opening Day jitters are still there whether he’s a player or coach. The past 8 months of work are all leading up to this moment, and the next four months will be very telling of the program’s future, as well as Bloomuqist’s future. As a historic program that is known for success, missing the postseason four years in a row in unfamiliar territory.
“I could tell it was game week because I didn’t sleep a whole lot,” Bloomquist stated. “The anxiousness is different as a coach than a player. Now I’m worried if I prepared these guys well enough and if we went over every possible thing that could happen. A lot of these things, you’re just coaching against ghosts, and you have to trust that we put in the work.”
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