It is difficult to think in terms of baseball season when the nightly lows have been consistently below freezing recently.
But East Carolina coach Cliff Godwin isn’t deferring to the weather with the season opener against George Mason (Feb. 14, 4 p.m.) at Clark-LeClair Stadium less than a month away.
“We just started school (Monday),” Godwin said. “Guys have been getting out there, doing stuff. If it’s not raining, you’ve got to play in that stuff, so you’ve just got to get your body used to it.”
Personnel overhaul
ECU went 46-17 in 2024, winning the American Athletic Conference regular season championship and hosting an NCAA regional.
There has been significant roster transition in the offseason.
“Last year was an older team,” Godwin said. “You had a bunch of juniors that were drafted, you had seniors, you had your normal attrition in the program. This was a bigger class than what we’ve ever had.
“Right now, after everything, the dust has settled. We have 27 new players on this year’s team, so there will be some newness, but I like the guys that we brought in and excited about what they can do for us.”
Returning players
Dixon Williams and Ryley Johnson are proven returners among position players.
There are a number of pitchers back who will be looking to expand their roles.
“You’ve got Dixon, you’ve got Ryley Johnson, you’ve got Ethan Norby, Jake Hunter’s coming back from injury, Jaden Winter, )Jackson) DiLorenzo, Walker Barron (catcher), who didn’t play a ton last year. Colby Wallace and others. I like the core group that we have coming back.
Mound corps
Friday night starter Trey Yesavage, a first-round draft choice by Toronto, left some big spikes to fill.
“Number one, you’re going to have a different rotation than what we had last year, of course. Trey did the unbelievable job in that Friday night role the past couple of years.
“We got a handful of guys that could fill that role. I’m not saying they are going to be Trey Yesavage, but to be a Friday night starter, Ryan Towers (transfer from Liberty) had a really good fall for us in a limited role.
“Sean Jenkins (freshman right-hander) had a really good fall force and is super talented. Nick Moran is a proven weekend starter transfer from Liberty. Brett Antolick (Texas A&M) won’t be ready to start the season after coming off a little hip surgery, but he’ll be back in late March, I think, early April.
“Definitely, like the guys that we have available, and we’re definitely should be a better team down at the end of the spring compared to probably the beginning of the spring.”
Picked to win in AAC
East Carolina has been picked to win the AAC again. The Pirates have won five straight league titles.
“What I told our guys is it’s amazing, we only had, I think, two preseason all-conference players on the lis. It’s just a credit to what our guys and our coaching staff has done in the previous years to get picked again.
“This year seems totally different, so they need to write their own story for sure and know that it’s harder to stay at the top than to just get there one time for sure. And just keep that consistency going. We’ve definitely got our work cut out for us, but we’re excited about it.”
Preseason banquet
ECU’s preseason banquet is scheduled for Feb. 1. The guest speaker will be Patrick Watkins, a former ECU player who went on to perform in the major leagues. Former Pirate Jake Agnos will be on hand.
Clayton McCullough
Former ECU catcher Clayton McCullough is the new manager of the Miami Marlins after serving as first base coach for the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
“Clayton and I played together in East Carolina,” Godwin said. “My high school coach (Rabbit Fulghum) and his father (Howard McCullough) were best friends, so we knew each other even in high school.
“We’re really good friends, super excited for him and his family. He’s earned that opportunity. I actually got a chance to see him right before Thanksgiving. He had come to Greenville to see his parents, and obviously, had a lot going on hiring staff and stuff at that time, but super pumped and just another Pirate doing great things.”
Former ECU player Connor Norby finished the 2024 season in Miami and Jacob Jenkins-Cowart was drafted by the Marlins.
Godwin and McCullough were catchers at ECU.
“We split time, but then he was a better defender than I was and I was a little bit better offensive player, so I guess, we complemented each other well,” Godwin said.
Former Pirates Gavin Williams (Cleveland) and Alec Burleson (St. Louis) played prominent roles for their clubs in 2024.
2025 schedule
ECU ‘s upcoming schedule is filled with challenges.
“We think it’s a good schedule,” Godwin said. “We’re definitely going to challenge ourselves non-conference wise as we always do. Second weekend everybody wants to talk about, but first weekend we open up with George Mason at home, and then second weekend, midweek we go to Campbell. And then second weekend we have the three-game series with North Carolina. Friday will be in Greenville, Saturday will be at the Triple-A park in Durham and then Sunday in Chapel Hill. That’s been a really good series for college baseball to be able to have sellouts that early in the season.
“Then we have Old Dominion midweek, and then you got the Keith LeClair Classic. … We got Kent State, Indiana State and Virginia Tech coming in for that. Coastal Carolina coming to Greenville, which they have a great program. William & Mary comes to Greenville, and then you get to the conference schedule.
“Also, you have N.C. State, home and home. We’re playing UNCW three times this year in the midweek and play Duke once. A very challenging nonconference schedule and also with a good conference schedule, puts us in a good situation to be able to be ready for postseason play.”
Keys
The 11th-year ECU skipper discussed important factors in the development of this year’s club.
“Our strength is probably going to be on the mound,” he said. “We’re going to be able to play good defense and just figuring out who is actually going to play now. It’s probably the biggest question mark right now.
“Obviously, Ryley Johnson’s going to be out there. Kenan Bowman had a really good fall, who redshirted last year due to injury. We have some other outfielders. … They’re doing some things good, but we also have some infielders that could go out there.
“Braxton Tramel, freshman, could go out there. Dixon Williams could go out there. Just some different moving pieces that we just got to figure that stuff out and we’ll do that in the preseason and early on during the season.”
Parker Byrd
Fans love it when Parker Byrd plays.
“Parker is one of the best leaders that we’ve ever had in our program,” Godwin said. “He’s an inspiration to our entire team, to the entire world. It’s amazing to me the influence that guy has. It is not amazing because it’s through God’s platform that he’s given him.
“God’s done a tremendous thing and just allowed Parker to show so much positive light just on a lot of people, but especially our team. He’s continued to get better, learn how to move better and stuff with a prosthetic. I don’t ever bet against Parker Byrd. I can tell you that.”
Catchers
The former Pirate catcher gave an outlook for that position.
“Walker Barron had a good fall defensively for us,” Godwin said. “He was a freshman last year, had some at-bats. You’re going to see him a lot back there. And then you’ve got Michael Kalinich is a freshman from Florida who has some savviness behind the plate and has worked on his defense a whole lot.
“You’ve got John Collins, who is a six-year player. He transferred in from Boston College. He had a good offensive fall for us. Not one of our top end defenders, but definitely a guy that is a good leader, has leadership qualities, plays with the energy, all that good stuff and has swung the bat well for us.
New staff
The coaching staff is largely intact with some former players in graduate manager roles.
“New players, new directors of baseball operations. Eddie Loesner who played here before me and then was actually our director of baseball operations when I played here under Coach (Keith) LeClair. He’s new. We have a new strength coach and Hunter Reeves, who came from Troy. He’s done a great job.
“We have a new athletic trainer and Hunter Martin and also a new academic advisor in Fallon Morella. There is some newness, not necessarily on the coaching specific positions, but some newness within our organization, and that’s a good thing at times to bring new ideas. But it’s been a good transition with a lot of new players and four new staff members, for sure.”
First-base coach Jeff Palumbo and pitching coach Austin Knight are back.
Thomas Francisco and Bryant Packard have returned to the program.
“Graduate managers is what they’re called with the way the NCAA rules work,” Godwin said. “They’re just great for our players, just being able to bounce ideas off those guys who were great players here and have a lot of pride in our uniform. It’s just amazing for me to have coached them and now they’re helping us and everything’s come full circle. It’s pretty awesome.”
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