Sun Devil baseball is changing, and it’s starting at the top.

Head Coach Willie Bloomquist announced the first four members of his staff on a conference call Monday, tapping three MLB veterans and a decorated NCAA pitching coach.

Sam Peraza, who most recently coached at San Diego State, will serve as pitching coach and recruiting coordinator. One of Bloomquist’s former coaches, Mike Goff, will be the team’s assistant coach. 2004 World Series Champion Bill Mueller will take over as the hitting coach, following a brief stint as an assistant coach at Hamilton High School in Chandler.

In addition, Pac-10 All-Star Travis Buck will volunteer on the staff in his homecoming to Arizona State.

While Goff, Mueller and Buck all share MLB playing or coaching experience, all four coaches share one common denominator: they recognize how dedicated Bloomquist is to his team, and school.

It’s evident the new head coach oozes passion for Arizona State, and that feeling has trickled down to his assistants. Sam Peraza told local media, “I’m so ecstatic to be here, fired up beyond belief.” Hearing Bloomquist speak to a recruit, Peraza said, “it gave me chills… shoot, I wanted to uniform on right then and there myself.”

“I want people to feel that way when they come here, and understand that this place is special,” Bloomquist said.

There are no holdovers in assistant coaching positions from Tracy Smith’s staff. Two weeks after announcing pitching coach Jason Kelly’s additional responsibility as recruiting coordinator, ASU parted ways with Kelly. D1Baseball reported Kelly was fired after interviewing with Louisiana State University, where he was hired as the pitching coach a few days later.

“I love Arizona State and I don't want people to view Arizona State as a stepping stone,” Bloomquist added. “If you don't want to be here, by all means, don't be here. Go elsewhere, please.”

That’s not to say this staff is completely foreign to ASU, however. Travis Buck, who played in Oakland, Cleveland, and Houston during his five-year MLB career, will return to his alma mater as a volunteer on the staff. Most recently, Buck was named a bench coach at Boise State University in 2018.

Bloomquist also addressed concerns following the MLB Draft: Drew Swift was the highest-drafted Sun Devil, in the eighth round, with pitchers Erik Tolman, Justin Fall, Cooper Benson and Tyler Thornton were all drafted in round 17.

In addition, ASU commit Wes Kath of Desert Mountain High School was drafted by the White Sox in the second round. “[The MLB Draft has] quite frankly, gutted a few of the guys that we were anticipating coming in and filling those starting roles,” Bloomquist said.

Among the team’s obvious need for a starting shortstop to replace Swift, the new head coach highlighted pitching as well. Peraza, who will also serve as recruiting coordinator, announced that the program recently signed an unnamed 2022 left-handed hitting catcher.

“My ears are burning a little bit because I’ve been on the phone so much,” Bloomquist quipped while stressing how much time he’s spent recruiting. A homegrown-recruit focus is obvious, as Peraza mentioned the staff plans to “win our backyard.”

Peraza also added the long hours the staff has been putting in, clocking in at 7 am and often not leaving until after 10 or 11 pm. “When Willie was thinking about putting our staff together, he was going to hire a certain kind of mentality,” Mike Goff said. “Our mentality is, we don’t care how many hours it takes.”

Although brief, Mueller is also confident that his time at Hamilton will help achieve that goal: “There’s a lot of relationships in this game, and that starts at the high school level,” Mueller emphasized. “It’s going to be a great resource to have all those friends at those high schools.”

Bloomquist said he expects all position players, with the exception of the now-major leaguer Swift, to return for next season. The coaches have been unable to meet many players in person but have been keeping them “in the loop” through regular Zoom calls and meetings.