With the CSUSB baseball season starting in two days, the team has been working hard to bounce back from 2017’s disappointing season, which they ended with an overall record of 15-36 and 12-26 in league play.
New head coach Mike Nadeau and his coaching staff are working on instilling new philosophies.
“We are truly pushing our men to be great both on and off the field,” said Nadeau. “We are focusing on excellence, character and accountability. Hopefully, that work can be seen in our performances.”
Coming over to CSUSB from Division I Seattle University, where he served as the top assistant and won a WAC championship, Nadeau has the experience, composure and knowledge to turn this team around.
His playing career and resume speaks for itself, but Nadeau is focused on the here and now with this young Coyote team.
To get the season started, the Coyotes have away games against two tough opponents, Montana State Billings and Dixie State. The coaching staff believes that in order to become the best, you need to play the best teams.
“I can’t wait to get started,” said Nadeau. “I am looking forward to seeing how the guys react.”
Although excited, 13 years of coaching experience has allowed Nadeau to learn the importance of patience.
Nadeau and his fellow coaches are treating this as a rebuilding year.
One returning player, pitcher Dylan Stablein, who opened up on why he believes this year will be different.
“This year everyone seems to be more focused,” said Stablein. “The coaches expect a lot more out of us and you could see it in the practices. Coach Nadeau and Selik bring a lot more professionalism and experience.”
Crediting the change in coaching and culture, Stablein is excited to see how the differences from last year will turn out.
In baseball, team camaraderie, among other things, is important. Nadeau also emphasized the importance of defense and solid, efficient offense.
“We want to limit our defensive errors to protect our pitchers,” said Nadeau. “We also want to get on base and in scoring position to efficiently score runs. We do not have the power and depth as some other teams, so we want to play smart and simple baseball.”
Nadeau believes there is nothing wrong with simple baseball and that over time, the simplicity will turn into chemistry among the players and ultimately yield results.
Assistant coach Cameron Selik said they only have one expectation for the season: “Play hard every single game.”
“Being a young team, our only expectation is to compete hard every time we step out onto the field,” said Selik. “The rest will take care of itself.”
Incoming sophomore Anthony Ortega is looking forward to building team culture this upcoming season.
“Coach Nadeau and Selik are really emphasizing culture and the idea of buying into one another,” said Ortega. “We want to be known for our defense and team chemistry.”
With good vibes around the team at practice, they look to enforce new team culture and have better results than last year.
The players are fit, focused and excited to play and the new coach is eager to get the ball rolling.
“I am honored and excited to be CSUSB’s head baseball coach,” said Nadeau. “I believe that the necessary steps are in place here to make this a quality program with student-athletes who want to improve.”
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