Season Preview: John Carroll

March 20, 2015

By Jerry Shank
Maryland Director of Scouting

John Carroll

HEAD COACH: Steve Teter

CONFERENCE: MIAA A

2014 RECORD: 6-16

RETURNING STARTERS: 8

TOP PLAYERS:
Matt McGee
Tim Kutcher
Matt Lozinak
Paul Wilson
Luke Schaffer
Nick Turnbull
Ryan Sheehan

TEAM STRENGTHS
John Carroll’s biggest strength is their offense and depth at pitching. They have a large majority of their offensive production back from the 2014 season. They have a good mixture on offense with good pop in the middle and plenty of table setters sandwiched around. Pitching this year is also far more experienced. There is no clear cut ace yet on the staff, however, there are several players who are fighting for that distinction atop the pitching staff. Much of the pitching staff has experience playing against tough competition which bodes well competing in the difficult MIAA “A” division.

QUESTION MARK
John Carrol’s question mark this season is really the defense. They are going to be very young in several key positions and will need to improve and be consistent on the defensive end. John Carroll struggled last year in the outfield and they are still looking for players to step in and shore up the outfield play. Coach Steve Teter preaches fundamentals and hopes that the diligence of that will translate to the overall defensive play of the team.

WILDCARD
Two players to keep an eye on this year are junior Nick Turnbull and freshman Nick Collier. Turnbull is a 6’5” right handed pitcher that transferred in this year. He has quickly shown top of the rotation stuff but still will have to prove himself against the tough competition of the MIAA. Collier is a left handed pitcher that has already shown a lot of polish to the John Carroll coaching staff. They are very high on his early maturity and are hoping that it will translate into league play. Collier could be a quiet name to come on the scene in 2015.

OVERALL
The Patriot’s have high expectations coming into this season. With the good mesh of talent and some new names on the pitching staff, it could translate into a bounce back season from last year. It will not be an easy path playing in the tough MIAA and the team should be ready for the challenge.