K-State Baseball Holds Media Day
Feb 07, 2024 | Baseball
MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State head baseball coach Pete Hughes along with left-handed pitcher Owen Boerema, infielders Kaelen Culpepper and Brady Day, outfielder Chuck Ingram, and right-handed pitchers Tyson Neighbors and Ty Ruhl met with members of the media Wednesday at Tointon Family Stadium as part of the Wildcats' media day prior to the upcoming 2024 season.
The Wildcats begin the 2024 campaign on February 16 at the MLB Desert Invitational in Scottsdale, Ariz. K-State will lead off the season with games against with Cal, Boston College, and Georgetown during the three-day event held at Salt River Park and Sloan Park – the spring training homes of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, and Chicago Cubs.
Hughes enters his sixth season at the helm of the Wildcats, leading K-State to a 35-24 record (13-11 Big 12) – its highest win total since 2013.
PETE HUGHES, K-STATE HEAD COACH
Opening Statement…
"It's always a great time of the year, and weather certainly has cooperated with us in our preparation before we head out next week and jump on the road to Omaha. We got a lot of kids in this room that decided to come back and be a part of this program, and this season specifically to finish some unfinished business and get this school, this program, and this community to a different level in college baseball."
On moving forward from last year…
"Obviously, we can talk about last year all we want but we're moving forward and there's a reason why everybody's back here in this room, because we have high expectations. We have a team whose strength is depth and a team that has strength on the mound, which is how you win in college baseball. I think we have a multi-dimensional offense, which gives us a lot of options in certain ways to win."
On the 2024 schedule…
"We're excited about our schedule. It has to be one of the most difficult schedules in college baseball, but until the RPI has changed we'll continue to schedule that way. We'll take the brunt academically, but our kids in our program are tough enough to handle the strains with the travel that the committee has made us do. We have to travel midweek with the regional bias in the RPI, but it's at the forefront of what we're doing is putting our program in the best situation to play in the National Tournament and getting that race to Omaha. So if we have to get on a plane midweek then that's what we're going to do. We're excited to do it with this group of kids and couldn't be more excited about the season and what we have in our clubhouse, and in our ability to get our program to the next level."
On the biggest challenge this year…
"Being tough enough to handle the road and being able to handle that midweek. We all know it, there's no surprise. We have 11 exceptionally tough games. It's difficult playing back-to-back midweek games, but even more challenging against super high RPI opponents. . So how we make out in those 11 games will determine where we end up at the end of the season. So that'll be our biggest challenge."
On strides made in the off-season…
"Pitching depth, and really overall depth. I know we lost some firepower with Roberto Pena and Nick Goodwin graduating, but I think we've added that through the portal and we're going to add that through the talents of our coaching staff. With Coach Wates these guys make jumps, they get better every year, and those numbers will be made up. I think we have a lot of options athletically. I think we can hit those numbers that make for a great offense. Again, I certainly think we're capable of doing that and that's a well-rounded, athletic, and physical offense."
OWEN BOEREMA, GRADUATE, LHP
On second-year pitching coach Rudy Darrow…
"I feel like first and foremost he's great at communicating with all the pitchers, not even on a baseball level but just getting to know you as a person first. I think that allows him to influence us on a deeper level and helps get a lot of buy in from the pitchers. Then second, his energy. He has endless energy and it's just infectious. Every day he tells us like the pitching staff is going to be the heartbeat of this team. And I mean, he says it enough we'll start to believe it."
On off-season work…
"For me, the biggest thing is just another year spent coming from a Division III program. Just another year spent with the strength and conditioning staff here, the athletic training staff, working with guys like Ty and Tyson. Just getting better every day. The amount of resources that they have here have allowed me to improve pretty much every aspect of my game."
KAELEN CULPEPPER, JUNIOR, INF
On Team USA and moving to shortstop…
"Team USA was a great experience for me. I played against a lot of great players around the country and played against a lot of different playstyles with Team Japan, and Taiwan in Chinese Taipei, but I've always been a shortstop, so it won't be that much different for me. It's where I feel more comfortable at. I think it's a place where I can see myself helping the team the most this year. I'm going to enjoy it."
On associate head coach Austin Wates…
"He's been great for us. He works with all the hitters and knows what we need, knows our strengths, and knows our weaknesses. For me, we've been focusing on a few things, like gaining more power and gaining separation in my swing. He's there working with us every day at practice and mentions he's constantly evaluating. He's valuable to us and always knows what we need for us to succeed."
BRADY DAY, REDSHIRT-JUNIOR, INF
On return to K-State after the 2023 MLB Draft…
"I think first would be just the culture we have here at K State. Everyone's very team oriented, everyone from the coaching staff, and the players. It's just a great atmosphere to be around. That was probably my biggest reason for coming back. And also, I felt like there were some things I could and wanted to work on here in college before going on to pro ball."
On missing the NCAA Tournament…
"Everyone wanted a postseason run. We just wanted the chance to be in the postseason and see what we could do. We felt like we were kind of cut a little short, so that definitely played a factor in a lot of guys coming back that didn't have to come back. That just speaks a lot to the program and the culture that we have."
CHUCK INGRAM, JUNIOR, OF
On transferring to K-State…
"I've always heard great things about this program. One of my good friends wass Nick Goodwin and he always talked very highly about the coach, the team, the staff, and everything. So they were one of the first ones to reach out and I was very happy that they were, because they were definitely number one on my list. I kind of knew that this place is awesome. It's a great atmosphere. The fans and community are great. The coaching staff and all the players are great too. It just felt like family."
TYSON NEIGHBORS, JUNIOR, RHP
On returning to K-State…
"I mean it's just a complete buy-in program. I mean, they've kind of bought into me since day one. I had an atrocious freshman season, to be honest. I know a lot of times in this baseball world, it's really easy to kind of cut somebody and let them walk away that struggles, especially as a freshman, but it was like complete buy in. It was like we're going to figure out how to help you succeed and it went both ways. I wanted to succeed just as badly as everyone else wanted me to. Also, just the culture here at K State. It's unmatched. Just hearing from stories around the country at other programs, there's guys that barely have conversations with their head coach and I feel like as a staff and as a team, like we know each other on the deepest level. So just feeling comfortable here and knowing also, we're the underdog and we kind of own and love that mentality. We go out there and, like Coach says, put us on the map and be a national program. That's been my goal and our team's goal since day one, and we plan to carry that out."
TY RUHL, REDSHIRT-JUNIOR, RHP
On off-season work…
"Last year was more of a long reliever, and ended the year start with two starts. This year just been working on one day a week getting ready for that day and just getting my body right to be able to go five, six, seven innings. I kind of switched up some pitches to tailor how I pitch, but just getting ready for the season. I'm excited."
How to follow the 'Cats: Stay up to date on K-State baseball online at www.kstatesports.com and on the team's social media channels on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
The Wildcats begin the 2024 campaign on February 16 at the MLB Desert Invitational in Scottsdale, Ariz. K-State will lead off the season with games against with Cal, Boston College, and Georgetown during the three-day event held at Salt River Park and Sloan Park – the spring training homes of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, and Chicago Cubs.
Hughes enters his sixth season at the helm of the Wildcats, leading K-State to a 35-24 record (13-11 Big 12) – its highest win total since 2013.
PETE HUGHES, K-STATE HEAD COACH
Opening Statement…
"It's always a great time of the year, and weather certainly has cooperated with us in our preparation before we head out next week and jump on the road to Omaha. We got a lot of kids in this room that decided to come back and be a part of this program, and this season specifically to finish some unfinished business and get this school, this program, and this community to a different level in college baseball."
On moving forward from last year…
"Obviously, we can talk about last year all we want but we're moving forward and there's a reason why everybody's back here in this room, because we have high expectations. We have a team whose strength is depth and a team that has strength on the mound, which is how you win in college baseball. I think we have a multi-dimensional offense, which gives us a lot of options in certain ways to win."
On the 2024 schedule…
"We're excited about our schedule. It has to be one of the most difficult schedules in college baseball, but until the RPI has changed we'll continue to schedule that way. We'll take the brunt academically, but our kids in our program are tough enough to handle the strains with the travel that the committee has made us do. We have to travel midweek with the regional bias in the RPI, but it's at the forefront of what we're doing is putting our program in the best situation to play in the National Tournament and getting that race to Omaha. So if we have to get on a plane midweek then that's what we're going to do. We're excited to do it with this group of kids and couldn't be more excited about the season and what we have in our clubhouse, and in our ability to get our program to the next level."
On the biggest challenge this year…
"Being tough enough to handle the road and being able to handle that midweek. We all know it, there's no surprise. We have 11 exceptionally tough games. It's difficult playing back-to-back midweek games, but even more challenging against super high RPI opponents. . So how we make out in those 11 games will determine where we end up at the end of the season. So that'll be our biggest challenge."
On strides made in the off-season…
"Pitching depth, and really overall depth. I know we lost some firepower with Roberto Pena and Nick Goodwin graduating, but I think we've added that through the portal and we're going to add that through the talents of our coaching staff. With Coach Wates these guys make jumps, they get better every year, and those numbers will be made up. I think we have a lot of options athletically. I think we can hit those numbers that make for a great offense. Again, I certainly think we're capable of doing that and that's a well-rounded, athletic, and physical offense."
OWEN BOEREMA, GRADUATE, LHP
On second-year pitching coach Rudy Darrow…
"I feel like first and foremost he's great at communicating with all the pitchers, not even on a baseball level but just getting to know you as a person first. I think that allows him to influence us on a deeper level and helps get a lot of buy in from the pitchers. Then second, his energy. He has endless energy and it's just infectious. Every day he tells us like the pitching staff is going to be the heartbeat of this team. And I mean, he says it enough we'll start to believe it."
On off-season work…
"For me, the biggest thing is just another year spent coming from a Division III program. Just another year spent with the strength and conditioning staff here, the athletic training staff, working with guys like Ty and Tyson. Just getting better every day. The amount of resources that they have here have allowed me to improve pretty much every aspect of my game."
KAELEN CULPEPPER, JUNIOR, INF
On Team USA and moving to shortstop…
"Team USA was a great experience for me. I played against a lot of great players around the country and played against a lot of different playstyles with Team Japan, and Taiwan in Chinese Taipei, but I've always been a shortstop, so it won't be that much different for me. It's where I feel more comfortable at. I think it's a place where I can see myself helping the team the most this year. I'm going to enjoy it."
On associate head coach Austin Wates…
"He's been great for us. He works with all the hitters and knows what we need, knows our strengths, and knows our weaknesses. For me, we've been focusing on a few things, like gaining more power and gaining separation in my swing. He's there working with us every day at practice and mentions he's constantly evaluating. He's valuable to us and always knows what we need for us to succeed."
BRADY DAY, REDSHIRT-JUNIOR, INF
On return to K-State after the 2023 MLB Draft…
"I think first would be just the culture we have here at K State. Everyone's very team oriented, everyone from the coaching staff, and the players. It's just a great atmosphere to be around. That was probably my biggest reason for coming back. And also, I felt like there were some things I could and wanted to work on here in college before going on to pro ball."
On missing the NCAA Tournament…
"Everyone wanted a postseason run. We just wanted the chance to be in the postseason and see what we could do. We felt like we were kind of cut a little short, so that definitely played a factor in a lot of guys coming back that didn't have to come back. That just speaks a lot to the program and the culture that we have."
CHUCK INGRAM, JUNIOR, OF
On transferring to K-State…
"I've always heard great things about this program. One of my good friends wass Nick Goodwin and he always talked very highly about the coach, the team, the staff, and everything. So they were one of the first ones to reach out and I was very happy that they were, because they were definitely number one on my list. I kind of knew that this place is awesome. It's a great atmosphere. The fans and community are great. The coaching staff and all the players are great too. It just felt like family."
TYSON NEIGHBORS, JUNIOR, RHP
On returning to K-State…
"I mean it's just a complete buy-in program. I mean, they've kind of bought into me since day one. I had an atrocious freshman season, to be honest. I know a lot of times in this baseball world, it's really easy to kind of cut somebody and let them walk away that struggles, especially as a freshman, but it was like complete buy in. It was like we're going to figure out how to help you succeed and it went both ways. I wanted to succeed just as badly as everyone else wanted me to. Also, just the culture here at K State. It's unmatched. Just hearing from stories around the country at other programs, there's guys that barely have conversations with their head coach and I feel like as a staff and as a team, like we know each other on the deepest level. So just feeling comfortable here and knowing also, we're the underdog and we kind of own and love that mentality. We go out there and, like Coach says, put us on the map and be a national program. That's been my goal and our team's goal since day one, and we plan to carry that out."
TY RUHL, REDSHIRT-JUNIOR, RHP
On off-season work…
"Last year was more of a long reliever, and ended the year start with two starts. This year just been working on one day a week getting ready for that day and just getting my body right to be able to go five, six, seven innings. I kind of switched up some pitches to tailor how I pitch, but just getting ready for the season. I'm excited."
How to follow the 'Cats: Stay up to date on K-State baseball online at www.kstatesports.com and on the team's social media channels on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Players Mentioned
LHP
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INF
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OF
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RHP
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