After finishing the 2024 regular season 32-26 and a six-game win streak heading into the final Pac-12 tournament, the Sun Devils dropped both games to Stanford and Oregon State to end their season and any postseason hopes. ASU begins turning the page with their first fall ball game today. Fourth-year head coach Willie Bloomquist feels that the clubhouse’s energy is always a good indicator of a team’s preparedness for the season, and the Sun Devil skipper believes his team is poised to have a more successful year in this upcoming season.
“I don’t think the vibe is any different,” Bloomquist said. “I think that as you evolve and keep going, the expectations get greater. How we do things becomes more defined, and the guys who have been here for two or three years now understand what we’re trying to get at. At the end of the day, the curtain comes up tomorrow with inner squads, and we’ll see how these guys respond when they’re put in game situations.”
The cultural buy-in was higher toward the end of last year, and outlooks are high, with the Sun Devils bringing in one of the top recruiting classes in the country. This summer allowed the returning players to grow their chemistry with transfers and freshmen, and Bloomquist feels they’re still adjusting to him and the program.
“It continues to grow and get better every year,” Bloomquist added. “Obviously, the landscape that we’re in with the transfer portal and new guys every year can take a little bit for them to understand the do’s and don’ts. It’s not necessarily the physical mistakes that drive me crazy; it’s more the mental mistakes and the effort.”
The Sun Devils failed to make the postseason in all three years with Bloomquist at the helm, a trend he would naturally like to see come to a halt in ASU's inaugural season in the Big 12. He knows his players are just as driven as the coaching staff to achieve that feat, and he can see that motivation in their demeanor.
“They’re all big years,” Bloomquist mentioned. “We’re focused on preparing these guys to get ready to play and hopefully make a run. We’ve fallen short the past couple of years, and that’s been disappointing. So obviously we’re not where we need to be, and we have to keep coaching and keep getting these guys better. Everyone wants to get to the same place, so we’re going to keep grinding toward those goals.”
Last year, the team chemistry seemed to be at its highest when the Sun Devils went on a tear in the second half of the season. Veterans stepped up in the biggest moments, and Bloomquist expects that to continue. Having players hold each other to higher standards rather than just the coaches is a focal point for Bloomquist.
“We’ve had very tight clubhouses the last two or three years,” Bloomquist noted. “I don’t get the sense this is any different. My biggest challenge in the last couple of years is having more accountability. Sometimes it’s more powerful having it come from a teammate than a coach, so that’s what I’m looking for.”
With clubhouse leaders like catcher Ryan Campos and outfielder Nick McClain leaving for the MLB draft, other players were forced to step up. A prime candidate was senior first baseman Jacob Tobias, who was in the heart of the lineup last year and hit 18 home runs with 58 RBIs. Tobias already displayed leadership skills throughout the course of last year and now has the chance to step into the role that Campos held for so long.
“There’s several guys,” Bloomquist recognized. “Getting Tobias back is big going into his fourth year, Brandon Compton is taking that step, and it’s been a big week for Nu’u Contradas from the health front where he’s starting to look a little bit like his old self. There’s enough guys there that should be able to hold court there and keep guys accountable.”
One of the biggest things that will help the team this year compared to previous seasons is the return of bullpen players. The Sun Devils retained over 50% of the innings pitched from last year, with guys like junior Ben Jacobs, sophomores Cole Carlon and Wyatt Halvorson, and redshirt senior Jonah Giblin. Bloomquist hasn’t been accustomed to this type of luxury in his last three years and puts the pitching staff in a much better position.
“It’s allowed me to sleep at night,” Bloomquist joked. “That’s been the biggest challenge the first three years here. Coming in with no freshmen my first year, and then last year we had a whole bunch of freshmen. It was at times ugly, and there were freshman mistakes, but now they’re a year older and seasoned. Getting a lot of those guys back and seeing the jumps that they made this summer was impressive, and this is the first time we’ve had that many arms come back.”
Another returner with high expectations is junior outfielder Isaiah Jackson. He made countless highlight reel plays last year but was in and out of the lineup, battling with players like Harris Williams, McClain, and junior Kien Vu for playing time. Now that McClain and Williams are gone, Jackson is primed to improve on his eight home runs and 31 RBI from his 2024 campaign.
“We anticipate seeing a big jump from him,” Bloomquist pronounced. “I think the biggest thing with him is clarity and understanding the buy-in on what we’re selling. We just need him more defined on what he’s going to work on. I think they’ve revamped his swing and the approach a little bit, and he’s been fun to watch early on in batting practice.”
The Sun Devils will join the Big 12 this year, where they’ve seen success going 129-79 against current Big 12 teams. Their most recent win was last year, where they beat Texas Tech 21-5 and 17-11. The style of play is different compared to Pac-12 teams, but that’s the only real challenge Bloomquist feels they’ll face.
“It’ll be an adjustment, but it’s still the same game,” Bloomquist voiced. “Getting to know the certain style of baseball that certain programs run will be the adjustment. It’ll be new for us, so we’ll have to utilize the scouting tools we have going into each series to try and have an idea of the brand of baseball that certain programs like to play.”
Even with the new conference alignment, Bloomquist still wants to rekindle the rivalry flame with past conference foes such as UCLA and USC. These rivalries date back to when Bloomquist played for ASU back in the late 1990s and have since continued. The Sun Devils won both of these series last year, sweeping UCLA in three games and beating USC in two of three.
“We’re still trying to continue the old rivalries we had,” Bloomquist stated. “We have a double midweek at UCLA, assuming they get their field worked out, and then we have USC coming here for a single midweek. We’re going to continue to try and play those Southern California schools if we can and keep that rivalry going along with the new conference.”
In two years, college baseball will see a tremendous jump in scholarships available to teams to give out to players, going from 11.7 to 34. For Bloomquist, that means that he’ll go from having a small portion of his players on scholarship to the whole team. That will force him to make tough decisions, as he’s seen walk-ons like Compton and Vu make such a big impact on his teams.
“That’s the thing keeping me up at night,” Bloomquist shared. “This whole recruiting landscape has changed dramatically with how you put together your roster. The million-dollar question is, ‘Is it going to be 34 players in the fall or spring?’ That is probably the biggest change that I see on the horizon.”
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