TUCSON, Ariz.--- University of Arizona head baseball coach Jay Johnson addressed the media on Thursday, as he broke down Arizona's 2016-17 signing class, talked about how fall ball was going and more. Below if a brief transcript of the press conference.
Opening Statement:
“Thank you guys for coming, seeing stuff like this, an environment like this really reaffirms that this is a great place to coach. More importantly, a great place for players to play, in terms of the exposure they get, the training ground they get, and the big league atmosphere. A couple notes on our fall practice, we have two weekends to go and it is going very well. We have intrasquads this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We will have our players', Wild vs. Cats Fall World Series, the following Thursday, Friday and Sunday. We will let Coach Rodriguez and the football team get the attention the following Saturday when they go and play the Sun Devils. We are progressing well. There are certainly some things we need to develop and work on. There are a lot of things to feel good about with the 2016 team in terms of individual player development and where we are going with that group.
Moving towards signing day, it is always a special day for me for a lot of reasons. We have a good coaching staff and we really try to invest in our players' development towards professional baseball. This is one step in their path. It was a unique process this year, most of the schools we compete against here at Arizona commit their classes very early. It is a changing dynamic in college athletics where schools are on guys sometimes before they are in high school. That is the world that we live in right now. Coming in right before this group's particular senior year, we had to establish a little bit different game plan and I feel like we were very successful in executing that. The recruiting process is interesting. I think the things that make Arizona unique and special is we do have a lot to show off. The most important part of that is the people. That really starts with our coaching staff. They did a tremendous job on short notice. Sergio Brown, our recruiting coordinator, I hired him because I felt like he was the best recruiting coordinator and coach available at this time. He is certainly on his way to proving me right. I would like to give Coach Brown a big thank you. Dave Lawn, our pitching coach is doing a terrific job with our pitchers on this team. Our hope is there are some guys who can perform better at this point. I think they are developing well with coach Lawn. Any time you put his resume, his track record in front of a pitching recruit, it carries some weight and some significance. So those two guys in particular. And the rest of our staff, Jimmy Van Ostrand directs a lot of our on campus recruiting and does a great job. Marc Wanaka, Ray McIntire, Michael Bradshaw are obviously helping in that process as well.
I mentioned the resources we have from a people's standpoint. We recruit as a team. We try to get everybody involved. That is how I want the program to be, that everyone has a role and responsibility. I would just like to thank a few people on the support staff. First and foremost, Lisa Watson, from the day I got here and dealing with where we were at and the equivalency to the 11.7, the scholarships, she has been a godsend. Our recruits know her well, helping us get all the paperwork back. From our support staff, Jim Krumpos, our strength coach. Something that is very important to me is that we have a big, strong, physical Pac-12 looking type team. He has done a great job with our current team this fall and does a great job exposing the beautiful facility we have, the strength and conditioning component to our program and is a great resource for us. Other schools might have the same facilities, but nobody has better in terms of that energy and that's a key part of what we do. Becky Bell and her staff with the life skills that is offered to our student athletes does a terrific job. We call her our Trevor Hoffman, the closer. It is something different and unique that we are provided here. Dr. Jennifer Mewes, our team coordinator for academics, that's a big deal in today's world as far as what we offer people here, she does a great job laying that out for them. Lastly, thank you to the City of Tucson, for the facility. Hi Corbett Field is one of the best in the country. They do a great job of keeping that up. It looks like Yankee Stadium right now in terms of the grass. It is nice to have that as a backyard when you're walking potential players out there. Lastly, Greg Byrne, I have never heard of an athletic director so willing and so wanting to be involved in the process and meet with recruits. He has a pretty high batting average in terms of the recruits that we put in front of him and the yes's that we are getting. I want to thank all of them.
On the approach to pursuing candidates who seem like they will get drafted:
"I do not think you can win in college baseball without frontline talent, and that is certainly the case here with the schedule we are going to play. We have opening night this year at Rice, and the second weekend is the Tony Gwynn Classic which is Tulane, Nebraska, Kentucky, Santa Barbara, San Diego and San Diego State. Then Cal State Fullerton is the first home game. So you have to have part of that dynamic. It is my job and our staff's job to educate them on why Arizona is the right thing for their future and the direction they are going. It isn't hard when you start matching up the numbers, and just look at the teams in the postseason. They are heavy college-loaded in terms of the guys that are on that roster and making a difference. When you get to a place like this, and we will have a couple of them in on this list this weekend, you see it. You do not get a strength coach like James Krumpos in the low minor leagues. You do not have Dr. Mewes helping you manage your time in the minor leagues, and most 18 year olds are not ready to go succeed in that environment. The support system and coaching that we try to provide them every day is about getting 1% better for this team and this program. We are going to put a lot of hours into preparing them to go into a low A-ball environment and be successful. They can't do that at the same level without getting that experience. We will start educating them on that, and what you have to coach them to do is try to take the emotion out of it. Every guy that I listed is going to have an opportunity to play professional baseball. So it is not about the draft, and the drama and emotion with that. It is about setting them up for a major league career. That is what the University of Arizona is going to be about."
On recruiting shortstops as pitchers like Austin Nichols:
"I look at Austin's athleticism because that is not something you can teach. Even looking at their family background is a good indicator; if they have successful athletes in their family that's often a good indicator. His arm moves and works easily and it looks strong. There is no doubt in my mind that he will be a strong player. He's a big part of this class, I can't wait to see what this guy is going to do."
On trying to recruit with the short window:
"I have a lot of respect for college baseball coaches. It is a crazy dynamic now with how early kids are committing. We work hard. I don't think another sport spends as much time on the road and in hotel rooms evaluating the players. We all try to respect commitments as well. A lot of doors were closed for us, but that's okay. I am so pleased with how our players are developing in the program, with their abilities and we just have to keep going. We can't take any days off. We are well on our way for 2017 and 2018, and that train isn't stopping anytime soon."
On this year's middle infield:
"Louis Boyd from Cochise College has played really well. Kevin Newman and Scott Kingery have stopped in my office a few times so it's nice to have that dynamic with them. Cody Ramer has improved immensely. He made some great plays in front of scouts last night. Bobby Dalbec is another name we mentioned. It is an open lineup card right now because we just want to see how these guys evolve. We have seen come strides in the last six days, so that is something to look forward tool.
On JJ Matijevic this fall:
"He has something special. Kris Bryant is the only other player I have seen that has with his kind of bat speed. He looks completely different than he did over the summer."
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