PHOENIX – A plane full of college students landing in Las Vegas on a spring break timeline rarely would have been as quiet and somber enough to hear a pin drop. Yet, such a mood characterized the spirits of Arizona State’s baseball team on Sunday, March 24. The Sun Devils, widely regarded as one of the Pac-12’s top teams in the preseason, had just fallen four games under .500 on the 2024 campaign after dropping all three weekend contests on the road to Washington State, who today sits second-to-last in the conference standings.

Arizona State's 8-6 defeat earlier that morning was the capstone of a four-game losing streak that dropped the team’s record to a disappointing 10-14 and 3-6 in league play. A rigorous non-conference schedule and multiple team meetings hadn’t propelled Willie Bloomquist’s ballclub to the early success many on and around the team envisioned.

Seeking a kickstarter for an underperforming lineup, Bloomquist turned to an unlikely source at a bizarre position. Kien Vu, a listed outfielder, had gone hitless in his three previous appearances and had not manned first base daily since his time at Point Loma High School in his native San Diego. Yet, Bloomquist penciled in the sophomore lefty on the lineup card the next day against UNLV, batting ninth.

“We have a crowded outfield,” Bloomquist said. “We have to try to get creative to find ways to feed all these mouths that we got out there.”

Vu, who had been waiting for a crack at the starting nine for weeks, was still surprised.

“It was shocking,” Vu said. “I was obviously a little nervous…Eamonn Lance, actually, before the game—he wasn’t in the lineup that day—spent the entire pregame just coaching me through what I needed to know. He was amazing in that situation. I probably would’ve messed up a couple of times if it weren’t for him.”

Like his interim mentor Lance, Vu hadn’t impacted the Sun Devils the way he and others may have expected him to. Recording two hits in a six-run comeback victory that evening, his efforts in a monumental win could’ve quickly gone unnoticed. Just as fast, Vu got lost in the positional shuffle of MLB draft prospects such as Nick McLain and Isaiah Jackson, plus a proven transfer in Harris Williams, before the season.

Even among such a gifted group, Kien Vu is a hard guy to miss whether he’s in the lineup or not. Not because he was the exact no. 500 recruit in the high school class of 2022 (Perfect Game), or had an abnormally high-leg kick as a pitcher but a boisterous personality that doesn’t change based on playing status.

“It’s not going to do anyone any good to mope around and bring anyone down with me,” Vu said. “Growing up, I feel like I’ve always been a happy guy. If I can have the best day possible, whether it’s baseball or life, I think I’ll be happier. I’m here to have fun and win baseball (games).”

“Kien Vu is electricity,” teammate Matt Cornelius added. “He comes into the dugout, he’s screaming, he’s fired up.”

Such an attitude does not go unnoticed by the ultimate decision-maker, whether or not his choices favor Vu.

“You’d never know if that kid was 5-5 or 0-5 with five punchouts,” Bloomquist said. He’s kind of steady, Eddie, happy to have a uniform. He’s the type of guy you love having in the clubhouse. He understands it's not his right; it's a privilege to play at ASU.”

“Everyone here is my best friend,” Vu added.

Even as a clubhouse favorite and a model citizen by Bloomquist’s perspective, Vu wasn’t a prime candidate for a sophomore surge. As a freshman in 2023, the San Diego native batted an inconspicuous .255 in 39 games, being used most often as a situational hitter and late defensive replacement in just over half of ASU’s games. While a light contributor in his opportunities and making noticeable physical gains over the offseason, Vu was viewed as no more than a fourth outfielder in a talented position group, a notion that became his own personal challenge.

“After last year, I had high hopes that I could get an everyday job in one of the outfield positions,” Vu said. “But we have tremendous outfielders this year. We’re pretty deep out there. At the end of the day, my main goal is to win. Whatever I can do to help us win is what I’m trying to do. With the playing time that was a bit shaky at the start of the year, I just tried to stay ready and when I got my opportunities to make the most of it.”

“Obviously, it’s going to get in anyone’s head. I look back on it as motivation. I try not to think about it too much as something to put me down so I can use it as momentum in my day-to-day work.”

At the 11th hour, right fielder Nick McLain suffered a hand injury in the days before the season opener with Santa Clara. Vu was Bloomquist’s only veteran holdover option to replace the switch-hitting slugger in the field for the time being. On Opening Day, Vu started in right field and contributed an RBI double out of the nine-hole in an ASU victory, and had a pair of two-hit days the following weekend.

Despite relative success offensively and a strong glove in the corner outfield spots, Vu saw just one plate appearance on the team’s trip to Texas, which coincided with McLain’s return to action. Due to hot starts offensively from Williams and freshman outfielder Brandon Compton, alongside the irreplaceable defense of Isaiah Jackson in center field, Vu started just three games in the month of March, with one at-bat or less in all but three other appearances of his 11 total.

Even so, his favorable we-first attitude never changed.

“He doesn’t squawk about not playing,” Bloomquist noted. “You’d never know if he’s an everyday guy or hasn’t played in three weeks. He’s that even-keel guy that you just love having around. I’d take a full team of those types of kids.”

Baseball is arguably the most mentally challenging sport. As a 14-year major leaguer himself, Willie Bloomquist has seen plenty of internal struggles on the diamond, whether his own or someone else’s, and knows how physically impeding one’s thinking can be between the lines. In Vu’s case, who wasn’t seeing time inside the chalk the way he was used to, the inactivity at a manager’s behest can be even more discouraging.

While his default smile and unmatched energy were unaffected at the ballpark, Vu sought out Marc Strickland, a local sports psychologist who works with Sun Devil athletes. Strickland appeared at Phoenix Muni before the season and offered his wisdom to the entire baseball team. Vu took him up on it and, in a singular 30-minute discussion, not only reassured himself of his role on the team but also birthed a new mindset at the plate.

“We talked about that a little, just using it as fuel, I guess to kind of like stay ready and hunt that moment,” Vu said. “Use all that downtime to kind of lock in specifically for my next at-bat.”

“He just said, finding a consistent mental space, I guess, before every game. I think that was my issue, and I still believe that hitting is so mental. So if I can just find a consistent spot where my head's kind of at and what I'm thinking up there, it'll show on the field. And so, that's what we've talked about for 30 minutes, and I've been sticking with it because it's been working."

Already consonant in his positivity, Vu’s initiative to refine his cognitive game was received with heavy praise by his head coach, who is as understanding as one can be on the topic.

"The mental skill coaches are phenomenal, and we have one on staff here with Marc Strickland," Bloomquist said, eyes open and voice loud. "Most guys that I know have spoken to them, and I think they get a bad rap for thinking it's like, 'Oh, I'm seeing a sports psychologist.' No, they're a mental skills coach to help you get better with your skills on the field.”

"It's just like you go work with the hitting coach, and we've all said that baseball is 80 percent mental most of the time. So why are we not practicing the mental ways to prepare properly? We're practicing the physical stuff all day long, but the mental part of it is just as important, if not more important. So, for guys to utilize the resources that we have here at ASU with great mental skills coaches and Kien's taken advantage, you can see where the results take off if done properly."

Strickland’s advice and Bloomquist’s support have no doubt resonated with Vu, who wasted no time displaying it.

In that late March start against UNLV, Vu notched two hits and played errorless in the field in a dramatic, momentum-shifting triumph. His insertion into the lineup would end up being symbolic for the Sun Devils, as Vu has provided a boost to the bats in the team's resurgent last two weeks.

Through Wednesday, Vu has started 13 consecutive games, the last 12 of which have included at least one hit, the longest hitting streak by a Sun Devil in 2024. Aside from pacing the squad with eight stolen bases and committing just one error in 45 fielding chances at four different positions, Vu’s recent tear at the plate looks straight out of a video game played in beginner mode. Since making his first start of this stretch against UNLV, Vu is batting .468 over the course of 22 games, with 15 extra-base hits helping drive in 31 runs. Since March 30, Vu has tallied an RBI in 17 of 19 games, helping him climb to second most on the team despite playing significantly fewer games than the regulars.

Including his sporadic appearances in February and March, Vu now qualifies as the team’s top hitter by a wide margin in batting average, OPS, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage. Nationally, he trails only Golden Spikes favorite Charlie Condon in batting average, is one of 21 batters sporting a slugging percentage above .800, and ranks among the 50-best in on-base percentage.

Even more recently, his power is beginning to shine through. Following ASU’s second consecutive run-rule victory over UC San Diego on Wednesday, Vu had now homered in seven of the team’s last 11 games, including four on one monstrous swing that sent a baseball 480 feet from home plate in the second contest.

“I’ve never hit a ball that far in my life; I don’t think I’ve ever hit like this,” Vu said. “I’d say that 30-minute conversation has given me a lot of success…I credit Marc Strickland with about 95 percent of my success. He plays a huge role in my mentality; it’s been wonderful.”

Vu’s dedication to his craft and pride in his personality made everyone in the locker room sure of him capitalizing on his opportunity once it came.

“I honestly saw it coming,” Brandon Compton said of his teammate’s breakout. “He had a great fall, preseason he did good, too. He’s a really good athlete and a really good baseball player if he just does what he does. I mean, yeah, I saw it coming.”

Kien Vu may not be the most talented player in the first base dugout at Phoenix Municipal Stadium, but his infectious energy helped keep his teammates' spirits up in a season that hasn’t been what Sun Devil Baseball and its fans expected. When it finally became his turn to carry Sparky’s pitchfork, his newfound tools lit it ablaze, leading his team to victory in seven of its last eight games to climb back over .500 as ASU’s postseason push intensifies. As the smiles and hits mount for Vu, so does Bloomquist’s, a baseball lifer who often emphasizes “flushing it,” rarely shared thoughts of self-second-guessing.

“He’s driving in runs, hitting homers, stealing bases, doing a lot of things to help teams win,” Bloomquist said before allowing himself a jovial grin. “It’s been fun to watch him do what he’s doing. Shame on me for not playing him more early in the year.”

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