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OMAHA, NE — Oklahoma baseball coach Skip Johnson announced Tuesday he will start a third consecutive freshman in the College World Series.
Right-hander Nick Wesloski will get the ball for the Sooners against either Georgia or Texas on Wednesday evening. The McKinney, Texas, native's lone start this season came against The Citadel in the NCAA Atlanta Regional, where he tossed a career-high seven frames and struck out four.
The other two freshmen to start at the CWS for OU — Xander Mercurius and Cord Rager — have combined for 14 1/3 innings of the 18 played at Charles Schwab Field, recording two wins and hurling 17 strikeouts with only three earned runs. No pressure, right?
"It's the same Sooner baseball we've been playing all year," Wesloski said during OU's off-day practice. "I said earlier, no matter if there's five fans or 50,000 fans in the stands, we're gonna go out and trust Skip to put us in the right position."
More: For OU baseball's Xander Mercurius and his family, CWS gem vs Georgia was 'surreal'
The youth strategy has worked for Johnson throughout the postseason and he's no stranger to it. He remembers throwing Dick Houser Award winner Taylor Jungmann as a freshman when he served as Texas' pitching coach.
"Quarterback in high school, tough kid," Johnson said of Wesloski. "He works extremely hard. He pitched really well for us in the regional and it's his time to go out and shine hopefully."
Wesloski was named the 2024 5-6A Pitcher of the Year and finished his junior season at McKinney Boyd High School with a 0.17 ERA and 56 strikeouts over 40 1/3 innings of work.
He was rated as the No. 40 right-handed pitcher and No. 140 overall prospect in Texas in the 2025 class by Perfect Game. He also lettered in football and is the younger brother of new Oklahoma State linebacker Ethan Wesloski, a North Texas transfer.
Johnson already gave the ball to Nick Wesloski with the Sooners' season on the line. This time around, OU sits in an advantageous spot from a pitching standpoint having won its first two games.
The Sooners' semifinal game against the Bulldogs or Longhorns will begin at 6 p.m. on ESPN.
Here's more from OU's Tuesday practice:
More: OU baseball is now team to beat in College World Series after clutch win over Georgia
Brendan Brock sent a 2-2 pitch 393 feet over the right field wall in a hurry in the fourth inning of Monday night's game.
The solo shot, Brock's 13th of the season, ended up being the winning run as the Sooners defeated Georgia 4-3. The catcher/outfielder is hitting .468 in the NCAA Tournament and has flown under a lot of people's radars.
"I'm a little sneaky six-hole," Brock said. "One or two hits a game, I'll take it."
Brock has found a home as OU's everyday left fielder after catching for most of the season. He is thought to have a high professional ceiling due to his elite athleticism at 6-foot-3, 200 pounds.
"He's like a silent assassin," Johnson said. "He can do anything on the baseball field. He can catch, he can run, he can throw, he's got power and he can hit. He's probably going to get drafted for that, because he's a really good player."
Colton Sulley covers the Oklahoma Sooners for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Colton? He can be reached at [email protected] or on X/Twitter at @colton_sulley. Support Colton's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing adigital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU baseball to start freshman Nick Wesloski in CWS semifinal game
Continue reading...
Right-hander Nick Wesloski will get the ball for the Sooners against either Georgia or Texas on Wednesday evening. The McKinney, Texas, native's lone start this season came against The Citadel in the NCAA Atlanta Regional, where he tossed a career-high seven frames and struck out four.
The other two freshmen to start at the CWS for OU — Xander Mercurius and Cord Rager — have combined for 14 1/3 innings of the 18 played at Charles Schwab Field, recording two wins and hurling 17 strikeouts with only three earned runs. No pressure, right?
"It's the same Sooner baseball we've been playing all year," Wesloski said during OU's off-day practice. "I said earlier, no matter if there's five fans or 50,000 fans in the stands, we're gonna go out and trust Skip to put us in the right position."
More: For OU baseball's Xander Mercurius and his family, CWS gem vs Georgia was 'surreal'
The youth strategy has worked for Johnson throughout the postseason and he's no stranger to it. He remembers throwing Dick Houser Award winner Taylor Jungmann as a freshman when he served as Texas' pitching coach.
"Quarterback in high school, tough kid," Johnson said of Wesloski. "He works extremely hard. He pitched really well for us in the regional and it's his time to go out and shine hopefully."
Wesloski was named the 2024 5-6A Pitcher of the Year and finished his junior season at McKinney Boyd High School with a 0.17 ERA and 56 strikeouts over 40 1/3 innings of work.
He was rated as the No. 40 right-handed pitcher and No. 140 overall prospect in Texas in the 2025 class by Perfect Game. He also lettered in football and is the younger brother of new Oklahoma State linebacker Ethan Wesloski, a North Texas transfer.
Johnson already gave the ball to Nick Wesloski with the Sooners' season on the line. This time around, OU sits in an advantageous spot from a pitching standpoint having won its first two games.
The Sooners' semifinal game against the Bulldogs or Longhorns will begin at 6 p.m. on ESPN.
Here's more from OU's Tuesday practice:
More: OU baseball is now team to beat in College World Series after clutch win over Georgia
OU's Brendan Brock is flying under the radar
Brendan Brock sent a 2-2 pitch 393 feet over the right field wall in a hurry in the fourth inning of Monday night's game.
The solo shot, Brock's 13th of the season, ended up being the winning run as the Sooners defeated Georgia 4-3. The catcher/outfielder is hitting .468 in the NCAA Tournament and has flown under a lot of people's radars.
"I'm a little sneaky six-hole," Brock said. "One or two hits a game, I'll take it."
Brock has found a home as OU's everyday left fielder after catching for most of the season. He is thought to have a high professional ceiling due to his elite athleticism at 6-foot-3, 200 pounds.
"He's like a silent assassin," Johnson said. "He can do anything on the baseball field. He can catch, he can run, he can throw, he's got power and he can hit. He's probably going to get drafted for that, because he's a really good player."
Colton Sulley covers the Oklahoma Sooners for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Colton? He can be reached at [email protected] or on X/Twitter at @colton_sulley. Support Colton's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing adigital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU baseball to start freshman Nick Wesloski in CWS semifinal game
Continue reading...
