On Friday, January 27, local media gathered at the Atkins Baseball Training Center for annual Media Day. With much of the team present, we heard from fifth-year seniors Branden Comia and Cam McDonald as well as head coach Dan Hartleb.
What were the overall themes I took away? “Depth” was brought up by each one in one fashion or another. The bench for this 2023 team is deep!
Another topic brought up was team “leadership”. Coach Hartleb in particular, emphasized the growth in this area compared to the previous year. Cam mentioned that this team works very well together
Of course, we talked about the new Atkins Training Center. “It is awesome”, says Cam. Branden alluded to how it was a “great place for the guys to hang out”.
I know Coach Hartleb wisely chooses his words carefully when talking to the media. He admitted that the starting pitching slots are still up in the air as well as some key positions. That said, I could sense a lot of optimism for the upcoming season.
Let me say that it was nice to attend Media Day in an honest-to-goodness Illini Baseball facility. I’m sure the team appreciated the use of the football practice facility in years past but home is home.
You can see more photos at the Illinois Baseball Report’s photo gallery.
20 days till opening day!