大象APP

鈥淭hey need to do everything better,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat's why we made the change.鈥�

After two seasons of struggles on the mound, Hale had no choice but to initiate a reboot. He parted ways with pitching coach Dave Lawn and hired Kevin Vance from Boston College, which was coming off its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2016. The UA then added John DeRouin as director of player development to be Vance鈥檚 right-hand man.

Ever since, as Vance put it, they鈥檝e been nerding out.

Embracing a movement that has transformed MLB pitching and has infiltrated the college game, Vance and DeRouin are using science, data and technology to optimize Arizona鈥檚 arm talent. The program dabbled in data and tech before; Vance and DeRouin are leveling up.

The pitching staff聽is unequivocally on board. So is Hale.

鈥淵ou have to maximize whatever skill you have,鈥� said the third-year head coach, whose team opens the 2024 season Friday vs. Northeastern. 鈥淚f you're gonna put your head in the sand and be old school and just say that鈥檚 a bunch of BS ... things change. The game changes over the years. If you don't change with it, or you don't adapt, you die.

鈥淚t's my job as the head coach to maximize every kid and give them a chance to go to the next level of play. Is that going to happen? No. But it's our job to get them to where they should be. To at least try to get drafted. I didn't feel like that was happening.鈥�

Arizona鈥檚 pitchers weren鈥檛 getting the most out of their ability; extracting that is the overarching theme of the program Vance and DeRouin have implemented.

in an advanced metric called 鈥渟tuff+鈥� last season. Stuff+ mainly factors in a pitch鈥檚 velocity and movement; it doesn鈥檛 account for location or result.

Arizona聽ranked 157th nationally in ERA (5.97) and 152nd in WHIP (1.62). The Wildcats snuck into the NCAA Tournament but went two-and-out. They were outscored 21-7.

In Hale鈥檚 two seasons, Arizona has averaged 7.47 runs per game. When the Wildcats have scored five or fewer runs under Hale, their record is 12-37.

Something had to change. How much that change impacts the 2024 Cats will be the story of the season.

Movement matters most

In seeking a new pitching coach, Hale, 59, wanted someone on the younger side; someone who had expertise in analytics and biomechanics; and someone who could help make the pitching staff mentally tough.

Vance is 33 years old. . He earned his undergrad degree at UConn in Kinesiology, Coaching & Sport Administration. He completed a master鈥檚 degree at Northeastern in Sports Leadership.

Vance began his coaching career at his alma mater and eventually became the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at Rhode Island and Boston College.

It was in the Northeast that Vance met DeRouin, a former high school and junior college pitcher who was tutoring young hurlers at an athletic training facility in Rhode Island. Vance sent some of his pitchers to work with DeRouin, who was utilizing technology such as TrackMan to break down pitchers and their offerings. DeRouin, 23, spent a year in as rehab pitching coordinator before coming to Tucson.

鈥淗e's one of the guys that I would talk to on the phone for hours about pitching,鈥� Vance said. 鈥淲e picked each other's brains. So when the (UA) job opened up, it was like, 鈥榊eah, I would love to have someone that I know that we've already bounced ideas off each other.鈥� We understand where we're both coming from and what's important.鈥�

Their initial focus is on movement. How does each pitcher鈥檚 body work best?

As with all aspects of their program, each player is viewed as an individual. The recommended tweaks and adjustments for 6-3 left-hander Jackson Kent aren鈥檛 the same as for 5-8 right-hander Tony Pluta. Vance describes that process as 鈥渦nderstanding themselves so that they can go and be themselves.鈥�

鈥淲e鈥檙e pitchers, but we鈥檙e all not the same,鈥� Kent said. 鈥淪o they're making changes based on that.鈥�

Once they鈥檝e assessed how a pitcher most efficiently moves down the mound, the nerding out begins. Vance and DeRouin recommend different grips, arm slots and plans of attack. 鈥淧itch design鈥� is a term you鈥檒l hear a lot in this world.

All of it is data-driven. The coaches are able to show their pupils which pitches are most effective based on their spin rates, their horizontal and vertical breaks and other information.

鈥淚t鈥檚 on the screen right there,鈥� Vance said, pointing to a monitor mounted in his office at Hi Corbett Field. 鈥淵ou can prove it with the data.鈥�

Keeping it simple

The data can be overwhelming. One of DeRouin鈥檚 recent social media posts focused on . It featured a Trackman dashboard full of numbers and graphs.

Another post talked about 鈥� basically, the size and shape of one鈥檚 ribcage聽鈥� and how pitchers with wider angles should operate differently than those with narrower ones.

How to make all that complex information digestible for baseball players is the challenge 鈥� and an area where Vance and DeRouin excel.

鈥淭hey keep it really simple for us,鈥� senior left-hander Bradon Zastrow said. 鈥淥ne thought beats multiple different analytic ideas. (They) give you a cue for something that they see that is given to them by the analytics and numbers.鈥�

鈥淭hey're both unreal communicators,鈥� junior right-hander Anthony 鈥淭onko鈥� Susac said. 鈥淭hey have unbelievable knowledge, and they're able to communicate it to you in an effective way.

鈥淚t's not always about just knowing it. People say you don't really know something until you can explain it to a fifth-grader. They can explain it to anybody.鈥�

Vance and DeRouin emphasize communication and simplification as much as individualization and experimentation. As DeRouin puts it, 鈥淲e gotta make the main thing the main thing, and that's getting outs at a high level and competing.鈥�

鈥淎t the end of the day,鈥� Vance said, 鈥渋t's simplified into throw this pitch in this area, do it as often as you can and then do it again, just one pitch at a time.鈥�

Positive changes

Kent and Zastrow are two of many UA pitchers who鈥檝e made changes under Vance and DeRouin鈥檚 direction, elevated their performance and expanded their roles.

Kent added more 鈥渃oil鈥� to his windup, and it has unlocked his velocity. He鈥檇 been sitting in the 88- to 89-mph range. Now he鈥檚 91-93, topping out at 94.

鈥淚'm getting more into my back leg,鈥� Kent said. 鈥淢y lift-up leg is coiling more so than I'm able to get a lot of tension and then letting it go as I hit the ground 鈥� staying connected into the back leg the whole time.鈥�

Kent made 18 appearances, including four starts, as a redshirt freshman last season. He posted a 5.71 ERA. Now, he鈥檚 slated to start on opening night.

Zastrow started in 15 of his 17 appearances last year, going 6-5 with a 5.28 ERA. He鈥檚 now ticketed to be a multiuse, multi-inning reliever who, according to Vance, could lead the team in appearances.

The biggest change Zastrow made? Lowering his arm angle so that he鈥檚 releasing the ball about nine inches closer to the ground. It felt unnatural at first, Zastrow said. Now, it feels smooth, and there鈥檚 less strain on his body.

鈥淲e revamped my whole game, dropped my slot, changed my arm motion, changed some grips on my pitches, and it's really allowed me to elevate and have better stuff,鈥� Zastrow said. 鈥淚've been waiting for development like this my whole life.

鈥淚 grew up just throwing strikes 鈥� get in the zone and compete. Adding Kevin and John to the equation has just changed my game tremendously.鈥�

Susac is something of a work in progress. Former UA catcher Daniel Susac鈥檚 cousin was a big-time recruit in the class of 2021. A combination of injuries and inconsistency led to a 7.55 ERA over the righty鈥檚 first two seasons 鈥� despite him having some of the best stuff on the staff.

鈥淗e has one of the best breaking balls on the team,鈥� Vance said. 鈥淏ut he's not getting swings on it.鈥�

While the data showed that the pitch had great life, it also revealed that it wasn鈥檛 in the strike zone long enough to fool right-handed hitters. Moving Susac to the third base side of the pitching rubber was considered a possible solution to create a better angle. He鈥檚 also throwing with more 鈥渧ert鈥� and 鈥渞ide鈥� to generate greater contrast with his breaking pitches.

Susac considers himself a 鈥渧ery analytical person.鈥� He says Vance and DeRouin 鈥渟peak my language.鈥�

鈥淭hose guys go home at night, and they think about how they can develop each of us,鈥� Susac said. 鈥淭hey really care.鈥�

The arms race

The new-school approach to pitching in college baseball reached its apex last season, when Wake Forest advanced to the College World Series for the first time since 1949.

In January 2019, the ACC school opened the 鈥� the first facility of its kind on a college campus. The lab鈥檚 鈥渧ision,鈥� according to its website, is to 鈥渢ransform the future鈥� of the sport 鈥渂y combining baseball, science and medicine to revolutionize the way pitching mechanics are analyzed and taught.鈥�

The Demon Deacons led the nation in ERA last season. They were the only Division I team to finish under 3.00 (2.83).

Arizona is working on converting part of the Terry Francona Hitting Center into a pitching lab. It鈥檚 expected to include KinaTrax motion-capture technology.

Considering that the UA mostly struck out in the NIL space this past offseason, it鈥檚 a prudent use of resources 鈥� a way to get an edge in what has become a literal arms race.

鈥淚t goes聽back to everything that we're trying to do here in terms of our decision-making: We don't want to guess,鈥� DeRouin said. 鈥淭he lab for us is going to push the needle in gaining an understanding of how our guys are moving, where can we be better, tracking things over time.

鈥淲hen you're trying to win at a high level, you want to make sure that there's consistency. We wanted to get on top of things right away. We don't want to let things slide.鈥�

DeRouin has worked with teenagers seeking college scholarships and pro contracts. The reality is, they鈥檙e already using TrackMan, Rapsodo and other technological tools. If your college program isn鈥檛 all in on tech and data, it鈥檚 behind in the count.

鈥淎 lot of kids now 鈥� and I know, because I've worked in that world 鈥� they come in with some type of training history,鈥� DeRouin said. 鈥淲e're just trying to give them a north star to work towards. When you can show them through video, through data, through information, 鈥楾his is what we're trying to do, this is what we believe is going to help make you better鈥� 鈥� and they can see it 鈥� there's more buy-in.

鈥淭his is what kids want. This is what they're hungry for.鈥�