Baseball Q&A: Wyatt Young

Wyatt Young, a sophomore middle infielder for the Pepperdine baseball team, talks about his summer experience in the Cape Cod Baseball League (where he was an all-star and listed as one of the league's top players), expectations for the upcoming season and his role models on campus:

Q: Can you talk about your experience in the Cape Cod League this summer, what team you played on and any changes you made to your game?

A: I was with the Yarmouth - Dennis Redsox, they're a pretty well known team on the Cape. I was bouncing around from second to short, wasn't playing very much in the beginning then a player got hurt and another player went the USA team, so I got placed in the shortstop position and never turned back.

Q: What were some of you takeaways from Cape Cod?

A: It was fun playing against the best junior competition in the nation. Definitely something I'll look forward to playing against that competition next year. And as far as things that I changed in my game it wasn't too much; in terms of my swing I'm still working on it but it is always being tweaked and adjusted.

Q: What is your preparation looking like for the upcoming season?

A: Right now I have three weeks of recovery from minor surgery I just had. After that it will be getting back into the weight room and getting stronger, that is one of the weak links of my game. Also, catching up on all the fielding/hitting routine but that stuff should come naturally.

Q: Coming off a great freshman year, looking back, what or who were some of the biggest contributions to your success?

A: It's a little bit of everything: definitely Pepperdine's hitting coach has had a huge impact on my game. We basically changed my whole swing last fall. I didn't do too well in the fall but when it came time to perform in the spring, I did well. Our coaches helped me a lot and talking to the other guys because they had the experience.

Q: How long was that process of changing your swing?

A: Five months, so a pretty long time. They pretty much turned my swing upside down; I came in and my mechanics in high school were good, but they just would not match up with pitching at the college level. So, my hitting coach and I, Danny Worth, worked on a few mechanical things, actually a lot of mechanical things.

Q: What brought you to Pepperdine?

A: It's just like Hawai'i, the atmosphere is pretty much the same. The baseball culture in Hawai'i is huge and it's extremely competitive. With small islands, baseball is one of the games you play your whole life and it gave me the opportunity to come to Pepp, which I'm very grateful for.

Q: What have you learned from the upperclassmen in your time here?

A: I'd say the biggest thing I learned is how to handle myself on the field and in the dugout. There is a certain tradition and culture around Pepperdine baseball that I learned from some of the older guys. Also, my pregame routine I learned from them.

Q: Say you have a 3 p.m. home game, what does your day look like?

A: Get there at 10:30, get my early work in and hit off the tee with anyone around. I start visualizing the game in my head and think about some of the plays I'll have the opportunity to make. Once everyone starts rolling in around 12:30 p.m. we get our team preparation on and start stretching out and playing catch, stuff that we always do.

Q: What are your goals and the team goals for the season?

A: I think the team goal is to make a regional. Obviously, the end team goal is Omaha but we have to start somewhere and build on that. I think the biggest thing for me is taking each day one by one and not looking too far ahead.

Players Mentioned

Wyatt Young

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