Preseason Q&A with Head Coach Rob Reinstetle

Rob Reinstetle enters his sixth season as head coach of the Toledo baseball program.

2/11/2025 12:17:00 PM | Baseball

Rockets begin 2025 season on Friday at No. 12 Oregon

What do you think the strengths of the team will be?

Reinstetle: After the fall and winter, it's become obvious that the pitching and defense will be strengths for this group. The pitching staff is extremely deep and talented, and we return a lot on an infield that has proven to be solid defensively. They say that pitching and defense wins championships and those are the strengths of our team, so I'm pretty excited about those aspects.

Previewing the infielders and catching unit

Reinstetle: Brayden White is going into his fourth year at catcher and has been very good back there defensively. He has a lot of experience and leadership, so it's always good to have a guy behind the plate that has both his ability and experience.

Cole Cahill and Tre Mariano have split time first base. Both have swung the bats well, so I could see both of them playing quite a bit at first base or as a DH on any particular day. JP Wagner was great for us last year as a true freshman. He's played all four infield positions, but he's settled in at second base and done an outstanding job there and turns a really good double play. At shortstop, Charlie (Chuck) Scholvin is our glue guy so to speak. Chuck was hurt at the beginning of last year and when he finally got healthy, he really solidified our defense. The shortstop is the quarterback of the infield and Chuck does an awesome job of handling situations, and making sure everyone knows what's going on and are in the right spot. He's very steady and makes all the routine plays, and will occasionally make an outstanding, highlight play, so having Chuck at short is a big deal for us. At third base, we get Troy Sudbrook back. He missed all of last season with a knee injury, but Troy played a lot as a true freshman and was really playing good baseball when he hurt his knee last fall. It was a big blow to not have him last year, but we're excited to have him back because he's a solid bat and also a really good defender.

You also have guys like Caleb Herbert and Cam Gravelle that have the ability to fill in holes as utility infielders. They are both really solid players and good defenders, so they give us some good backups in the infield.

Previewing the outfield

Reinstetle: RF Caden Konczak and LF Luke Walton were both great players for us last year and we added Luke Leto who will play center field. Luke came to us from Kansas and has all the talent in the world, he just hasn't had an opportunity to play on an everyday basis. We're hoping that given that opportunity, his skill set will show through and give us a really solid outfield.

Previewing the pitching staff

Reinstetle: We have a good blend of returners and newcomers. We return RJ Shunck, Brennan McCune, Jacob Tabor and Jackson Bergman who all pitched lot of quality innings last season. Nathan Leininger has been in the program for a couple years and has really blossomed and developed to the point where he is one of our go-to guys on our pitching staff. We have a good nucleus of returners and we added some transfer portal guys that will play and have a massive impact for us. Ryan Kennedy came from Virginia Tech. He's got a big arm and could be a starter. Josh Laisure came from Wright State. He's got a fantastic arm and he's been proven to be able to throw in some big games. Logan Jones came from Jacksonville University and had one of the best fall seasons of any pitcher on our staff. He has tremendous stuff. We also have a couple freshmen that should see quite a few innings. Brady Sasse and Braden Curry both had great falls and should get on the mound for us early in their careers.

How will the schedule prepare you for conference play?

Reinstetle: We always try to play a very competitive schedule and Oregon is picked to win the Big Ten in some polls and are No. 12 in the country. They are going to be a very good baseball team. Then we go to High Point who went to their first NCAA Regional last year. VCU was also in the Regional, so it's a very good schedule and we always try to play a hard non-conference schedule to get us ready for MAC play. The MAC has traditionally been a one-bid league. We need to play good teams early on and see where we're at and reassess things before we head into MAC play. Then, hopefully, we get things in line and we play really well in-conference.

What have the new assistant coaches brought to the roster?

Reinstetle: They're fantastic. Ethan Landon was here all fall with us and he's done a fantastic job with the pitching staff and has built a great rapport with them. He's really pushed them to be the best that they can be so I'm excited to see how this pitching staff takes off under his leadership. We lost two assistants over the Christmas break, which is never ideal, but I feel really good that we hired two outstanding coaches. Pat Cottrell is a 15+ year veteran in college baseball at various levels around the country and is a very proven recruiter and hitting coach. Then we got Santi Garcia from Houston. He's a younger coach, but he has a lot of energy and a lot of knowledge to share with our catchers and our hitters.

What does the leadership of captains Caden Konczak, Charlie Scholvin and Yianni Skeriotis mean to this program?

Reinstetle: This year is the best I've felt in my six years about the leadership of this baseball team. Those three guys were voted by their peers as captains and I couldn't have agreed with it more. They come everyday with the right mindset, lead by example, and they push guys that need to be pushed in the right way. They're just really good guys to have around and it's an extension of our coaching staff. The best baseball teams that I've ever been a part of, the players led and the coaches did their part. When the players can get in there, handle things, and get guys going the right way, that really makes the team go.

How important is having two game at Fifth Third Field again this season and what does it mean that so many people in Toledo show up?

Reinstetle: I think that's a testament to baseball in Northwest Ohio. I think people thrive on it. The Toledo Mud Hens draw big crowds, and they're one of the better organizations in minor league baseball, so to play at a facility like that is incredibly nice and first-class. Their head groundskeeper was named triple-A Groundskeeper of the Year recently, so for our guys to be able to play on a field like that is awesome in itself. You get all those fans there and a lot of our players don't get to play in front of those big crowds, so that's a really exciting time for them to be able to do that. This year I hope we draw even more than we did last year.

What does 100 seasons mean for you and the program?

Reinstetle: It's crazy to think that we're still pursuing our first MAC Championship in 100 seasons of baseball. A lot of times in sports, a program can back into a championship at some point in 100 years. We have this saying around here that we are going to make the 100^th year the best year. Our guys are really in line with that and there's been so many good players that have come through this program over the course of time. They've built that foundation which our current team sits upon. So, we want to honor the past, but we definitely want to win this year and make 100 seasons special.

What will it take this year to not just return to Avon, but also secure the goal of winning the MAC Championship?

Reinstetle: Over the course of my time here we've elevated the program a lot. There's been years we've been very offensive, but haven't pitched as well and last year where we were really good on the mound and led the MAC in pitching in numerous areas, but we didn't quite hit as well. For us to win a championship, we have to put it all together. That's obviously the goal of every team and every coach, but we've shown glimpses that we can hit, we can defend, and we can pitch. If we do them all at the same time throughout the course of 56 games, then we will be in the position to win a lot of games.

What are some of the fun aspects of the team and who is always bringing the jokes on the roster?

Reinstetle: It's a really cool group to be around because they are all different, but Caden Kline and JP Wagner are the jokesters on the team. Kline brings a ton of energy every single day. He doesn't really have a filter so you never know what's going to come out of his mouth, which makes for some interesting, fun times around the locker room and in the dugout. JP has this dry sense of humor and everybody gravitates towards him because he cracks jokes and he keeps people on their toes in a good way.

What does it mean that so many players from Toledo that have been coached by you are continuing to play professional baseball?

Reinstetle: In my career, I've sent 83 players to the minor leagues and 12 have made it to the big leagues. Since I've been here at Toledo, we've done something that hasn't really been done here and send players to the next level every year. It started with Chris Meyers. Then we had Kyle Jones, Connor Brandon, Jeron Williams, and now Grant Umberger, so our guys are consistently making it to the next level. The beauty of it is, these guys are advancing through MLB systems rather quickly and that's a testament to what we're doing here. The preparation they get here at Toledo helps make sure that they're ready for that next phase of their life. Meyers, Jones, and Williams should all be in double-A this year, which is outstanding, and Grant has a chance to really fly through the White Sox' system if he continues to throw like he did this offseason.