Overview:
The knack for developing talent will be crucial for UCSB coach Andrew Checketts in rebuilding a pitching staff that lost No. 4 overall pick Jackson Flora in this year’s Major League Baseball Draft
Money makes the college baseball world go round.
It’s spinning fast enough now to make even Andrew Checketts feel dizzy.
UC Santa Barbara’s longtime coach is losing his sense of competitive balance with the escalating costs of reconstructing a roster as well as a stadium.
“It just feels like we’re at this fork in the road,” Checketts told Noozhawk. “How do we keep doing this?”
He’s elevated the Gauchos among college baseball’s gentry since taking over the program in 2012.
They advanced to the final of this spring’s NCAA regional at the University of Texas at Austin after having earned their eighth NCAA tournament bid in the last 14 years.
UCSB was selected as a top regional seed in both 2015 and 2024 and it advanced to the College World Series in 2016.
But lawsuits have prompted the NCAA to turn all of college athletics into a market free-for-all.
Schools can now offer up to 34 baseball scholarships. The top players are also getting more in NIL (name, image and likeness) payouts than most draft picks earn with their pro deals.
The payrolls for several Southeastern Conference baseball programs have surpassed the $1 million mark. Some players have received as much as $850,000.
Even a fraction of that would bankrupt the Gauchos.
UCSB’s elite academic standing and the campus’ resort-level location on the shores of the Pacific Ocean have enabled it to compete for top-end recruits.
But the money problem could soon mitigate those advantages.
“I don’t see a path for us continuing to do what we’ve done with our current setup,” Checketts said.
“We have to make some kind of adjustment or change, or come into some kind of money, because it’s just not sustainable.”
Caesar’s Palace
An upcoming remodel of aging Caesar Uyesaka Stadium, built in 1994 at a cost of just $500,000, has already put enough on his home plate.
“If you had your facility done, or at least in a competitive spot, you can kind of shift your energy toward the roster,” Checketts said. “Or you could at least start to have an ability to really move the needle.
“We’ve moved it,” he added, referring to improvements the last six years that have included new stadium lights, video board and playing surface. “Don’t get me wrong; it’s way better.
“But I mean to really move the needle. We’re just chasing it right now.”
The Gaucho program did get a shot in the arm recently when UCSB’s campus planning commission approved the master plan for the new baseball-softball complex as well as for the first of three phases to rebuild Uyesaka Stadium.
“That includes seating bowl, restrooms, sunken dugouts and press box,” Checketts said. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to put some suites in there, depending on what gets value-engineered in or out, and then move into the next phase.
“But we’re short the money — that’s the biggest issue. Phase one has been priced in the $25 million-to-$30 million range.
“The whole (three-phase) project is probably going to be $60 million-to-$70 million just for baseball.”
The Gauchos received an anonymous, $15 million donation for the project in 2025. It was the largest gift ever obtained by UCSB’s athletics program.
But no other major donors have contributed to the project in the last 18 months.
The clock is ticking if the renovations are to begin as planned after next season.
“We’re throwing out Hail Mary’s right now,” Checketts said. “Matt English (senior associate athletics director for development) and myself are working hard trying to secure the rest of that money so we can at least keep Phase One going.
“We also have some needs in terms of scholarships and some of those things to be competitive with the roster side of it.”
He’s felt the support of new Chancellor Dennis Assanis, who succeeded Henry Yang just 11 months ago.
“He’s still kind of in the honeymoon phase, and he’s probably got a million things still pulling at him right now,” Checketts said. “But based on his engagement and based on his presence, I would say, yeah, he’s supportive.
“That’s definitely been noticed by the staff and athletes.”
But it may take some involvement from UCSB’s central fund-raising department for the project to get across the finish line.
Making His Pitch
Checketts’ first priority is the stadium’s mound. Six of his best pitchers from last season’s 40-20 team now do their chucking in professional baseball.
“There are a lot of holes we’re trying to fill,” Checketts said.
Five of those pitchers were selected in last month’s Major League Baseball draft.
Heading that list was Jackson Flora, the No. 1 pitcher and No. 4 overall draftee. He received a $7,997,500 bonus to sign with the San Francisco Giants.
“We might need four feet to fill those two shoes,” Checketts cracked.
Other drafted pitchers to sign were seventh-rounder Cole Tryba (Chicago Cubs, $204,000), 11th-rounder Calvin Proskey (Cincinnati Reds, $150,000), 12th-rounder Nathan Aceves (the former Oakland Athletics, $300,000) and 12th-rounder A.J. Krodel (New York Mets, $172,000).
A sixth UCSB pitcher, Dos Pueblos High School graduate Kellan Montgomery, signed a free-agent deal with the Cleveland Guardians for an undisclosed amount.
Chase Hoover, a lefthander from San Marcos High, is one of only four returnees who pitched more than 20 innings last season.
“We pretty much knew all those other guys would get drafted — the only one we were surprised who didn’t was Hoover,” Checketts said.
“Aceves had put a bit of a higher price tag on himself going into the draft and I think lowered it to sign.”
Hoover received All-Big West Conference second team honors as a reliever last season. He posted an earned-run average of 3.38 in 45⅓ innings with 55 strikeouts, a win-loss record of 1-1 and four saves.
But he’ll be competing for a starter’s job when workouts resume this fall.
“There are some things he’s got to do, some adjustments he’s got to make, to win one of those starting roles,” Checketts said. “It’s not a key for him being a starter but his velocity has to pick up a bit just for him and his professional career.
“His average velo is probably 91 (mph), somewhere around there, but he’s been firmer than that. He was probably firmer than that coming out of high school and firmer at times last year.”
Cape Cod Pieces
Righthander Raymond Olivas is another strong candidate to start.
He’s had an impressive summer for the Hyannis Harbor Hawks in the elite Cape Cod League with a 2.70 ERA over 26⅔ innings.
He got his third win on Friday by pitching five shutout innings in an 8-2 win over the Harwich Mariners.
“He’s got a starter’s profile: four pitches and a lot of strikes,” Checketts said. “The shapes of his pitches are pretty solid, but he’s another guy we’d like to see pick up the velocity.
“There are some things he can do with his body over the next six months that I think will help with that. It’s hard to do those things while you’re throwing in the summer.”
Van Froling, Olivas’ UCSB classmate the last two years, teamed up with him again on Friday.
He got the pitching win for Hyannis in the first game of the team’s doubleheader.
Josh Jannicelli, whose 17 appearances as a freshman last year included five starts, has the tools to become Checketts’ next ace.
“I think we’re going to need him to be,” Checketts said. “His fastball command and just his consistency do need to improve.
“He’s fully capable. We’ve seen flashes with 95 (mph) with a plus changeup and a plus curve ball.”
Checketts and his wing man, assistant Dylan Jones, will still need to spin their magic as pitching coaches to develop several newcomers.
“We got a couple of older guys out of the (transfer) portal with good stuff that we’re hoping to help,” he said.
They include three transfers from high-major programs: Joey Lorenzini from Arkansas, Sam Garewal from Stanford, and Tanner Duke from Kansas State.
He’s also counting on a few of his high school recruits.
“We really like our incoming class of pitchers,” Checketts said. “Some of those guys should come in and become a Ryan Gallagher, Rod Boone or Michael McGreevy and do it right away as freshmen.”
His long list of incoming pitchers features lefthanders Tanner Abbott (Oroville), Dean Barkman (Simi Valley), Noah Dabela (Whittier), Jason Jutronich (Torrey Pines) and Drew Slevcove (Cypress).
“Slevcove is a super-high-profile performer,” Checketts said. “He has some Cole Tryba-Kyle Nelson vibes to him … A quick arm and he’s competitive.”
Righthanded recruits include Braden Ford (Livermore), Gavin Guy (Newport Harbor in Newport Beach), Peter Jackson (Notre Dame in Sherman Oaks), Jeremiah Jennings (San Diego Madison) and Caleb Trugman (Ayala in Chino Hills).
They all arrive on campus for summer school this week and “will be ramping up around mid-August,” Checketts said.
He plans to test them under fire in the months that follow.
“It probably needs to be more of a competitive fall just to get their juices going,” Checketts said.
“Sometimes you get heavy into the development, which you have to do, but they need to establish that they’ll compete for a job — get them out there trying to win those jobs — and give them some innings in the fall.”
Kelly’s Heroes
The competition among position players also should be fierce despite the return of 10 veterans.
They’re headed by first-team all-league centerfielder Rowan Kelly, UCSB’s leading hitter last year with a .342 batting average, 58 runs and 52 runs batted in.
Kelly leads the Cape Cod League with 28 runs scored in 28 games this summer with the Orleans Firebirds. He also ranks 13th in hitting with a batting average of .294.
A court ruling last week will also give all-league infielder William Vasseur, a .329 hitter last season, the chance to return for the Gauchos.
A U.S. District Court judge issued a preliminary injunction that allows high school graduates from the Class of 2022 to receive a fifth year of eligibility.
Other veterans with starting experience include infielders Jonathan Mendez, Xavier Esquer, Cade Goldstein and Ryan Severns; outfielders Liam Barrett, Colin Beazizo and Max Stagg, and catcher Nico Libed.
But those veterans will be hard-pressed by some of the players that Checketts has plucked out of the NCAA transfer portal.
They include infielder Maverek Russell (UCLA), outfielder Mason Greenhouse (Miami), catcher Tommy Brown (Arizona State) and infielder-outfielder Chris Newstrom (Tennessee).
Newstrom, who slumped last spring after batting .351 as a freshman, has enjoyed a revival with the Santa Barbara Foresters this summer.
He helped them win their 11th National Baseball Congress World Series championship by hitting a triple and a double in a 7-2 victory over the Alaska Goldpanners in Saturday’s final.
Newstrom finished the summer with a batting average of .433 (42-for-97) that ranks fifth all-time in the Foresters’ record books.
“He’s tools-y, athletic, and can play the left side of the diamond,” Checketts said. “He had a good freshman year at Tennessee and struggled a little bit after that, but he got it going this summer.
“The players we’ve been trying to bring in are a little more high-ceiling guys like that.”
The launch angle must rise, after all, when you take your swing at competing in today’s world of college baseball.
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