5 reasons why Oregon State Baseball can repeat as national champions

As the Beavers prepare for their season opener in Surprise in the coming weeks, BeaversEdge.com senior writer Brenden Slaughter gives his five reasons why the preseason No. 2 Oregon State baseball team can repeat as national champions.

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If there’s one reason why the Oregon State baseball team has found consistent success over the past decade and half, other than having great players, it’s been the culture that now-retired head coach Pat Casey established.

Casey took what was a nationally irrelevant program and turned it into a team that contends for Omaha annually. There’s a reason for that, and it’s the culture of Beaver baseball. Winning is the biggest reason why a program can launch itself into the national spotlight, but the culture of Oregon State baseball is more than that. Whether it’s being involved in the community, being stellar students in the classroom, or having a defined way of how things are done, OSU’s players have done far more than just win over the past 15 years.

They’ve helped build a brand that is nationally known for its achievements on and off the field and that’s what’s going to continue under interim head coach Pat Bailey. Bailey is Casey displiple and has spent years as his right hand man in addition to having his own success prior to OSU, as won a national championship with Division III George Fox in 2004. The two coaches are alike in a lot of ways, and given how Bailey has handled the transition and kept the Beavers rallied around the culture of the program, they won’t miss a beat this season.

After losing the leadership of players like Nick Madrigal, Cadyn Grenier, and Trevor Larnach in the offseason, it would be plausible to think the Beavers might take a step back in that department in 2019… not so.

Headlined by the media day press conference last week, the Beaver leadership has been on full display. Whether it was Bailey exuding confidence from the podium when talking about his team, or watching seasoned veterans Adley Rutschman and Bryce Fehmel yield questions about expectations and handle them like professionals, there’s no doubt that the Beavers have high-character leadership again this season.

Bailey instituted an "inner circle" this season, a group of five who are the de-facto leaders of the team. Rutschman, Fehmel, Zak Taylor, Andy Armstrong, and Preston Jones make up the inner circle for the Beavers. Despite having to replace seven regular rotation starters and ace Luke Heimlich, the Beavers are poised to make another deep-run at the national championship with veteran, experienced leaders.

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In terms of a single player who could lead the Beavers back to Omaha in quest of a back-to-back national title, it's Rutschman. The 6-foot-2, 216 pound catcher is coming off a season for the record books, hitting .408, including nine home runs and a school record 102 hits and 83 RBIs. He’s widely expected to be a top draft pick in June MLB Draft and it’s quite possible that by the end of the season, he’ll go down as one of the best Beavers ever, if he isn’t already.

His two-way prowess as a switch-hitting catcher makes him an invaluable asset for the Beavers in 2019, and with him anchoring the attack, OSU will make another deep postseason run. He’s the type of player that comes through a program very rarely and when you combine his natural-ability, poise, humility, and leadership with an already talented roster, a repeat national championship isn’t hard to picture.

Could this be the best pitching staff the Beavers have ever had from top to bottom this season? There’s certainly a case to be made as the Beavers return all of their pitchers from last seasons title winning team with the exception of Heimlich.

While the Beavers will have to fill the void of Heimlich’s 16 wins, 129 innings pitched, and program record 159 strikeouts, they have plenty of talented and capable arms. The bottom line is, the Beavers are blessed with a bevy of options that make the rest of the college baseball world jealous.

Fehmel, sophomore Kevin Abel, and junior Grant Gambrell figure to have the inside track to the starting spots while righties Dylan Pearce, Sam Tweedt, Nathan Burns, and lefties Jake Mulholland, Brandon Eisert, Christian Chamberlain, and Jordan Britton are all options out of the bullpen. Toss in newcomers like Jake Pfennings and Joey Mundt, who have impressed early as freshman, and the Beavers have talent from top to bottom that might never be seen again in Corvallis.

Consider this… If after you’ve assembled a potential starting rotation of Fehmel, Abel, and Gambrell you’ve still got guys like Mulholland, Eisert, Chamberlain, Pearce, Tweedt, and Britton to turn to, you’re in good shape. Nearly every returning pitcher has Omaha experience and when that’s the standard of what success, the sky's the limit.

Another thing working in the Beavers’ favor in their quest for back-to-back national championships is the fact that they have a roster chock full of players who have experienced the highest level of success in college baseball. Winning a national championship isn’t an easy task and once you’ve experienced it, the desire to return is overwhelming.

Whether it was the 2006 and 2007 national championship teams using 2005’s quick 0-2 exit to fuel their run or last years’ team using the pain of the 2017 teams’ shortcomings, there’s no doubt that postseason experience can lift a team to extraordinary heights. Multiple players on the roster will be seeking their third Omaha berth in their careers and that alone would put them in a class of their own in Oregon State history. Experience is working in the Beavers’ favor this season and with a team of guys who want nothing more than to return to Omaha in style, it bodes well for the season outlook.