UVA Baseball's season is in full swing (no pun intended). After 35 games, there are only 11 home games and 7 away games left before the ACC tournament.
This past weekend they traveled to Atlanta, Georgia, and on their way back to Charlottesville, third year left-hand pitcher Brandon Waddell answered some of my questions about him, the team, and the season.
Fun fact: Brandon was the only freshman in the 2013 season to start every series opener in the ACC, and in his first season he went 13–3 in the games he started. Last season he went 15–3. (His 18 starts last season have him tied for first in a season in Virginia's program history.)
First off, when did you start playing baseball?
Age 5 in Coach Pitch
What do you most enjoy about playing baseball?
The chance to compete against some of the best players in the world, day in and day out. Whether that be the guys you practice with every day or the guys standing in the other dugout across the field from you, the competition is what drives everyone.
What made you choose to play at UVA?
First off, it was a really good school academically, which was a key factor in my school selection during the recruiting process. When I took my official visit, I loved everything about the school. Having lived in Texas my whole life, I wanted to experience something new. That meant getting out of Texas and going to either coast preferably. The coaches are some of the best in the country, and the program has a deeply embedded winning culture. These things were some of the first things that stood out to me, along with the immaculate facilities and brotherhood in the team. Overall, there wasn't something I didn't like about Virginia, and I decided it would be the best fit for me.
What's your favorite part of UVA baseball as a team, program, or the environment overall?
The culture and brotherhood associated with program. It's something that is rare to find in many college baseball programs, but there is absolutely nothing quite like it.
Who is the biggest jokester or prankster on the team?
Joe McCarthy would be my answer. He's always planning something, so you've got to be on the look out around that kid.
What is your favorite thing that the baseball team does off the field?
Simply, going back to the brotherhood thing, the fact that we are always together is something that I really like about this team. We are always hanging out together and when you see one of us, you'll normally see a couple more right next to one another. It really exemplifies what we truly have here and the real relationships we have throughout the entire team.
How do you balance your schoolwork, baseball, and everything else that comes along with being a college student?
It's definitely not easy. You give so much time and effort into the sport that you love to play; it becomes difficult to manage at times. The first thing I learned in college was time management. As an athlete, your day is pretty much scheduled out for you, which can actually be a very good thing but that being said, you do have to have the drive to be able to excel in both academics and sports. As an athlete you go to class in the morning, get lunch, and then head straight to the field for practice. Once that is over, you then have to eat dinner and get your studies taken care of. You begin to learn that when you have 30 minutes not at the field, or maybe it's 30 minutes between classes, you have to take advantage of it and get work done if you want to avoid late night after late night. You learn to take advantage of any time you have and not to let that time be wasted by either just sitting around or doing something that isn't necessarily as productive. Even though the time can sometimes be tight, you do have all the resources you could possibly need to be successful in the university. School can be tough for any college student but as an athlete, if you want to excel, you have to put a little bit extra into time management.
What is the one game or moment that you've been most proud of during your past two (and a half) seasons here?
Game 2 vs. Vanderbilt in the College World Series Finals last year. It was a game that I will never forget, but mostly it was an unbelievable experience to share with all the guys on that team. We go through so much together throughout the year that you want to be successful for those guys more than you do for yourself. Your drive is to be that best that you can be, so you can provide an opportunity for them to do the same.
Which series have you been most excited for this season?
Honestly, every series. Every series is an opportunity to go out and compete for your team. The ACC is loaded top to bottom with quality baseball programs, which means every game we play is a dogfight and a great competition on the field.
What are your goals for the season?
Really be the best that we can be and make the most of the experiences and opportunities we have. There is a new team every year, so the experience of this year is always different than the one in the past years and will always be different than the one in the future. The goal is the make the one you have now as great as possible.
You can next see UVA Baseball in action this week in non-conference match-ups against Radford (4/14 at 6 p.m.) and William & Mary (4/15 at 6 p.m.). Our next ACC series will start this Friday at Davenport Field as UVA takes on Miami.
