Choate works to build foundation for WSU baseball
Aug. 11—Sometimes success in college athletics is a gift and a curse. A gift, because a good season has the potential to become many. A curse, because other teams notice those seasons, too.
Washington State baseball posted 29 wins in 2023 — the most for the program since 2015. The Cougars missed out on the Pac-12 tournament, but other teams, collegiate and professional, noticed the improvement.
Former WSU coach Brian Green was hired by Wichita State in the offseason to take over the helm of their program and the Cougs lost several players to the MLB.
Washington State rebounded and hired former Loyola Marymount coach Nathan Choate to take over the team. There are still weeks ahead of fall practice and months ahead of the 2024 season, but the former Cal Poly pitcher has been hard at work since taking the job while adjusting to the new environment.
"It's been a little bit of a whirlwind," Choate said. "Obviously, moving over 1,000 miles away from where we were living — it's been a pretty big challenge. ... But I think our biggest challenge is getting our coaching staff in position and retaining the players that were on the roster, especially with the transfer portal. And, personally, getting my family up here."
Most of the roster from the 2023 team has returned, but some players who departed were the biggest contributors.
Infielders Sam Brown and Cam Magee with outfielder Jonah Advincula were selected in the 2023 MLB Draft and pitcher Dakota Hawkins inked a free-agent deal with the New York Mets.
Among the hitters, the Cougars lost a combined 199 hits, 19 home runs and 127 RBI. Hawkins in 2022 struckout 92 batters in 73 innings pitched.
Most of the roster returning is a plus for Choate, but replacing that production isn't an easy task.
"Each team has its own individual identity," Choate said. "Hopefully, the guys that had success last year can take those experiences and can translate it into this year. And, maybe, can help those younger guys that haven't had that success yet ... but it is a new team with new people and new personalities and hopefully everyone can continue to take a step forward."
A safe bet on a position that might take a step forward in 2024 is the pitching staff.
Choate's specialty throughout his career has been pitching, and he has the resume to back that up. During his time as an assistant and head coach at Loyola Marymount from 2019-2023, two Lions pitchers earned West Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year honors.
One of Choate's biggest cosigns when he was hired was two-time World Series champion pitcher Joe Kelly, who Choate coached as an assistant at University of California-Riverside.
All the better for WSU because, for Choate, it all starts on the mound.
"I do think pitching and defense go hand-in-hand," Choate said. "I think if you look at any championship-level team, or really good team, they pitch and they play defense. Hitting is very difficult and it comes and goes and it's not as consistent, but pitching and defense show up every day."
But Choate's job is not the pitching coach — it's the head coach. He'll still work closely with the pitchers, but since taking over the job, Choate has been working on finalizing his coaching staff and delegating aspects of the game to his assistants. Earlier this week, the staff was finalized. Choate is excited for the staff and the work they can do with the players, but recognizes it will be a growing process for all the coaches to develop into their roles on the team.
Choate's work since he took over the job has been overshadowed by a recent development — the 2024 season will likely be his first and last coaching in the Pac-12. The mass exodus of former Pac-12 teams to the Big-12 and Big Ten has left the Cougars looking for a home. Potential implications on how this can affect recruiting and the transfer portal have yet to be seen, but for Choate, he's taking it all in stride.
"If you're afraid of change, stay out of college athletics," Choate said. "Regardless of whether it be conference realignment, changing jobs, NCAA rules changing with the transfer portal, it's always changing. I think the way you go about it is you look at it as 'hey, what do I do next?' And then check that off. ... As cliche as it sounds, it's really about what you can control."
Questions about what level the team is at and the future home of the program should be answered by the conclusion of fall practices at Thanksgiving, but so far Choate feels the fit between himself and Washington State has been seamless.
"Washington State is a great opportunity," Choate said. "And I think my personality and Washington State is a really good fit. It wasn't just a job to me when I took the job. I had a job. I had a job that I liked and a job that was good and we had built (Loyola Marymount) up and we were playing really good baseball. But I think that blue-collar, tough mindset, I've had that my entire career ... and I think Pullman, the community and Washington State really represent that."
Kowatsch can be contacted at 208-848-2268, tkowatsch@lmtribune.com or on Twitter @Teren_Kowatsch.
