1. Rice Owls Baseball season begins Friday with weekend series vs. rival Texas
The 2015 Rice Owls baseball season is set to begin this upcoming Fri. Feb. 13th when the Owls
take on the University of Texas at Austin at Reckling Park at 6:00 P.M. The last time these two
teams played was the 2014 NCAA regional matchup where the Longhorns defeated Rice 3-2 in
11 innings and halted the Owls postseason run. The 2015 Owls are coming off a 42-20 season
(23-7 in Conference-USA play) and earned both the regular season and C-USA Tournament
championships in 2014. With preseason rankings of #13 in d1baseball.com and #15 in Baseball
America, the Owls have all the necessary tools to compete at a high level once again.
The Owls 2015 roster consists of 13 ballplayers who were not on the roster last season. Ten of
these players are true freshman from all over the state of Texas who, after an extensive fall of in-
house training, are fully prepared for their first collegiate season. In addition to the freshman, the
Owls signed three transfers who have come in to add talent and experience to the ballclub.
Fortunately for the Owls, the Rice Owls pitching staff is returning nearly all of their 2014
rotation and is expected to be one of the top programs in the country. Last season, Right-handed
Pitcher Zech Lemond was drafted in the 3rd round of the MLB draft by the San Diego Padres but
with the exception of Lemond, a multitude of arms have returned to the roster, further
strengthened and ready to compete.
Now in his 10th seasonwith the Rice Owls, Pitching Coach Pat Hallmark talked about how
strong the staff looks this season.
“We got a lot of guys back from last year, which means we expect to add to last season’s
success. They [all] have good stuff, [and] the biggest thing with our guys is to always throw
strikes, said Hallmark. “If we get a lot of strikes from our pitchers, we feel very confident
that they will have good games.”
In terms of the weekend starters for the four-game series against the Longhorns, he knows
for sure two of his most reliable and experienced arms will be out there.
“We think Kevin McCanna and Blake Fox will certainly be in there somewhere over the
weekend. The other two we are not sure about but we do know they will be very capable
and compete at a high level.”
6 foot 4, 225 pound Sophomore Jon Duplantier looks to have solidified a spot in the weekend
rotation having had a successful summer playing in the California Collegiate League. With a
fastball capable of hitting 95 on the radar guns and a power slider, he was named the top
prospect of the CCL and will be heavily relied upon this season.
Additionally Right hander Kevin McCanna, who spent much of last year as the Friday night
starter is back and has shown excellent command in intrasquad games thus far. He went 8-3 on
the mound last year and was second on the team in both wins and innings pitched only behind
fellow teammate and All-American Blake Fox. Fox is coming off a season in which we went 12-
0 (9-0 against Conference USA opponents) and was a finalist for the College Baseball Hall of

2. Fame National Pitcher of the Year. This year, Fox was named the preseason favorite for Pitcher
of the Year in C-USA.
Matt Ditman was the surprise story of 2014 who emerged as a dominant pitcher for the Owls last
season. The one-time bullpen catcher appeared in 26 games for Rice and had 9 saves on the year.
His 1.83 E.R.A. and opponent hitters batting average of .198 on the season earned him Preseason
All-Conference honors this year. He is the only relief pitcher to have made the list.
Ditman talked about being recognized by the conference for his achievements. He believes
that the important accolades come when the preseasonhonors can become postseason.
“I am honored and happy to have gotten [recognized] but at the same time, I’d rather see
postseasonall-conference as opposed to preseason. I really want to focus on receiving post-
seasonaccolades for the sake of my teammates”.
When Ditman looks at his fellow pitchers, he sees experiencedguys who have tasted
success. He feels collectively as a staff, the Owls have the potential to do something really
special.
“When you look at our pitching staff, it’s a lot of guys who have already displayed success
and have the capability to succeed at this level,” said Ditman. “We have a lot of potential to
do something really special as a pitching staff.”
Other notable arms for the Owls include Juniors Ryan McCarthy, Austin Orewiler, and Senior
Trevor Teykl who are all legitimate mid-week starter candidates who have looked extremely
sharp in preparation for the season. Junior Jordan Stephens is set to return from Tommy John
surgery this season. Back in 2013, he led the Owls in innings pitched with 118.2 and recorded
100 strikeouts. Notable freshman standouts this year have been Ricky Salinas and Glenn Otto
who have the potential to see much on the field-action. Many other Owl pitchers are deserving of
recognition, rounding out a phenomenal staff.
On the opposite side of the ball, the Owls have many gaps to fill having lost five of their nine
offensive starters last season. Seniors Keenan Cook (RF), Michael Aquino (LF), Shane
Hoelscher (3B), Skyler Ewing (1B) and Chase McDowell (DH/RHP) either were lost to
graduation or drafted by MLB teams.
Hitting Coach Clay Van Hook, in his fourth year as the Owls, talked about the highly-
restructure lineup for 2015.
“You know it’s always tough to replace four out of your top five hitters not just from
hitting standpoint but from the leadership that a lot of those guys had.” said Van Hook.
“However, we feel we brought in a very athletic group of kids…that we know will have a
good future here at Rice.”
In terms of facing #10 ranked Texas, he needs his hitters to remain calm and realize that in
the game of baseball, composure in all situations is a must.

3. “In terms of preparing the guys for Texas, I mean it’s opening weekend and the juices are
going to be flowing, [and] the adrenaline is going to be there.” The biggest thing for the
young guys is to keep[their] composure, and stay in the moment.” said Van Hook. “I think
the guys are prepared and [have done] a good job hitting in practice and intrasquads so
hopefully they are ready.”
Returning for the Owls is the sure-handed due of middle-infielders junior SS Leon Byrd and
senior 2B Ford Stainback who are effective runners and excellent hitters capable of spraying the
ball to all areas of the field. Rounding out the infield is junior Connor Teykl over at 1st base and
Junior-college transfer Grayson Lewis at third base.
In his first year with the Owls, Lewis commented on his excitement about being part of a
team he claims is the most talented he’s everbeen on.
“It’s all been very exciting and really different from junior college [playing for Rice].” said
Lewis. “This is the most talented team I’ve everbeen on and is an honor to be a part of.
“They continue to amaze me with all their talent on the field…[and] I feel lucky to be on a
club that has such great team chemistry.”
The outfield for the Owls is a position with considerable depth thanks in part to the addition of
talented freshmen. Returning from last year’s squad is Charlie Warren, and is expected to
transition over to RF after spending most of his time last season at center. The other two outfield
positions are really up for grabs as multiple Owls ranging from freshmen Ryan Chandler and
Tristan Gray to Seniors John Williamson and Kirby Taylor have each gotten significant reps at
LF and CF. Sophomore OF Dayne Wunderlich has too emerged as a hard-hitting sophomore
with great athleticism and excellent speed who may prove be a real weapon for the Owls.
Freshman OF Ryan Chandler is expectedto see significant playing time for the Owls.
Entering his first seasonfor Rice, he has learned much about the game at the collegiate
level.
“It’s a lot different than high school because the competition is much better when you
consider that everybody here is the best player on their high school team and you must
turn it up a notch, said Chandler. “You have to grind and give it your best every single
day.”
The constant message Chandler receives from his coaching staff and from his fellow
teammates is to always remain confident at the plate.
“The thing they have preached to us is being confident every time you are out there. It has
really changed me personally as a hitter.” said Chandler. “Trusting them and trusting my
teammate to help me and hold me accountable for what I’m supposed to do on the field has
been key.”
Behind the plate for the Owls is the consistent battery of John Clay Reeves and Hunter
Kopycinski. Reeves is arguably the best hitter on the roster and was named the Preseason
Conference-USA Player of the Year. Entering his senior season, Reeves will be a threat on both

4. sides of the ball especially when it comes to two of the most important aspects of the game:
calling pitches for the pitching staff, and raw power. Junior Kopycinski is an excellent defensive
catcher capable of catching multiple innings. He has shown an improved approach to the plate
and will be certainly be inserted in the lineup on a more consistent basis this season.
The Rice Owls schedule includes notable non-conference games against many formidable
opponents. A few of these top tier teams include Texas, Texas Christian University (TCU), the
University of Arizona, University of Houston, and Sam Houston State University.
Head Coach Wayne Graham, who earned his 1000th Rice victory last season, enjoys playing
these elite teams because it tests how good of ballclub Rice is on a national scale.
“Well obviously you find out by playing good teams where you are and where you’ve got to
go.” said Graham. “We think we can compete with [these top teams] and aside from these
games being developmental, it gives you a good power rating for later.”
Entering his 24th year as head coach, Graham realizes that the Owls streak of 19 straight
Conference-championships and 20 straight NCAA tournament appearances is remarkable
but that is not the ultimate goal.
“Well we always want to keepthe string going because obviously it’s hard to get a streak
like that going but we’d rather get to Omaha and win the national championship.”