[00:00:14] Speaker A: Hello.
[00:00:14] Speaker B: Welcome to the Roundhouse Podcast with Paul Sullentrop of Wichita State University Strategic Communications. Thanks very much for your time. We appreciate you listening. Our guests today are Wichita State senior pitcher Caleb Reed and and senior catcher Ethan Gonzalez. The Shockers play Nebraska in a scrimmage. That's 1pm Saturday at EK Stadium. Caleb is from Olathe. He's in his second season at Wichita State. Caleb went 61 last season for the Shockers. The 4.65 earned run average in 21 appearances, three of them starts. He closed out the season with 6 1/3 innings versus Memphis in the conference tournament on short rest, striking out eight and allowing five hits.
Ethan is from San Antonio and is in his second season with the Shockers. Also, he started 41 games at catcher last season, including all 27American Conference games, five and four days at the conference tournament. Ethan, how many hours did you spend in the ice bath or what's the recovery after coming back from something like that?
[00:01:14] Speaker C: Oh, man, I had to. After every game I went to the ice bath and especially after the UAB game and to play East Carolina about 30 minutes later, 45 minutes later. So 10 to 15 of those minutes I was in the ice bath just trying to cool down.
I had to change pants. My friend gave me extra pair of his pants because mine were very sweaty,
[00:01:35] Speaker B: obviously playing in Florida in what, late May, right? Yeah. So there was. Yeah, definitely the weather was a. Was a consideration. Ethan hit.202, four home runs the season, highlighted by going 5 for 6, two doubles and a home run in a win over UAB in that conference tournament. Caleb, you wear number 16. Tell us the story with that number.
[00:01:57] Speaker A: Yeah, so at Kansas City, Kansas Community College, I was number 24 and I got here and that number was obviously not available, so I picked number 16. My dad wore it at William Jewell whenever he played baseball. So I just wanted to use 16. I thought it was pretty cool idea, use 16 just to use it for my dad. So.
Yeah.
[00:02:20] Speaker B: And 24 would be Mike Pelfrey's number, correct?
[00:02:23] Speaker A: I think so.
[00:02:24] Speaker B: Former pitcher. I should know that. Let me look that up while we're letting Ethan tell us the story. Ethan, you wear number eight.
Tell us about wearing number eight.
[00:02:33] Speaker C: Yeah, kind of the same thing. I mean, my dad was number eight in college. You know, that's always been his favorite number. And then I have two older sisters. They always wore eight growing up too, playing sports.
And originally my number went from 8 to 18 to 28 and now I'm back to 8. It's kind of just a family thing. You just gotta have the number eight in it.
[00:02:56] Speaker B: Okay. Pelfrey, he was not 42 or 24. He was 41. You're just saying it was somebody else on the team had it.
[00:03:02] Speaker A: I think it was, yeah. Something.
[00:03:05] Speaker B: I was confused. I led you astray there, Ethan. Walk up song. Tell us about it. What is your walk up song and
[00:03:12] Speaker C: why Waggle Song is full of the love of money?
I mean, not really a lot of correlation to it. I was just listening to One Day. Listening to One Day.
It was a popular 90s song and I just loved the beginning to it. So I just wanted to make it that.
[00:03:28] Speaker B: Caleb introduction song for you.
[00:03:30] Speaker A: Yeah, it's don't yout Lie by Offset. I don't know, I just. I like the Migos. Growing up, it was like the first rap songs I listened to, so also is part of them. So I just decided to do that for the past three years and just haven't really changed it up yet.
[00:03:49] Speaker B: Is an intro song important to a pitcher to get them in the right frame of mind?
[00:03:53] Speaker A: Yeah, it can be for some guys, they like to do like a. Like a hip hop song to keep them like fresh and stuff. But some guys like a heavy metal or like a rap to get them locked in. For me, it just. It's kind of vibey for me. So I just get out there and just.
Just rock the song.
[00:04:09] Speaker B: Caleb, take us through your history with baseball. When did you fall in love with the sport?
[00:04:13] Speaker A: Yeah, so my dad played collegiate baseball, obviously, and he was a collegiate baseball coach for over, I think, 15 years. So I kind of just got born into the game.
So I just stuck around the whole game my whole life and just continue to play it throughout my middle school, high school, just overall, the whole entire life I've had. So I just fell in love with it and just haven't really put it down yet. And I just love the grind, so.
[00:04:42] Speaker B: So you were the kid tagging along with dad to practice that kind of thing?
[00:04:46] Speaker A: Of course. All the practices and games.
[00:04:48] Speaker B: So, Ethan, how did you fall in love with baseball?
[00:04:53] Speaker C: My dad grew up loving baseball. You know, he watched baseball all the time, always talk about it. So as a kid, you know, like, you always want to follow in your dad's footsteps.
So. I always played baseball growing up.
Played a lot of sports growing up, but baseball just had that kind of just that romantic feeling, you know, I just loved playing it so much. I loved everything about it. I even loved going to practice on it. So that's when I fell in love with it.
[00:05:20] Speaker B: We just talked about the grind of being a catcher. How did you land on that position?
[00:05:26] Speaker C: My dad was a catcher, so whenever I first started playing, to be honest, the only thing I didn't like about catching was putting on my cup. So that was like the worst thing.
But I've always loved just being a part of every pitch. You know, it just was very entertaining for me.
And, you know, I just love just making an impact on the game.
[00:05:46] Speaker B: Yeah, when I talk to catchers, almost unanimously that's what they say. I'm involved in every play. I love seeing the whole field.
Why is that so important? Why does that add to your enjoyment of the sport?
[00:05:56] Speaker C: Well, I mean, you know, you feel like you can make a difference on every pitch. Really.
You're always thinking the game too, so, you know, you're always thinking every situation.
You know, you're always going to be locked in with the pitcher too. Like, I just find that just so much fun.
[00:06:11] Speaker B: Ethan, do you have a favorite Major League Baseball team?
[00:06:14] Speaker C: Yeah, Texas Rangers, sir. We've been Texas Rangers fan my whole life.
[00:06:18] Speaker B: Who's your favorite pro baseball player?
[00:06:21] Speaker C: I'm gonna go with Josh Young because I grew up watching him play. I mean, he's from same area that I'm from. And then he also went to Texas Tech too, and I grew up watching Texas Tech, so I've always just loved watching him play.
[00:06:35] Speaker B: Caleb, how about you favorite baseball team?
[00:06:38] Speaker A: St. Louis Cardinals. I just grew up watching them my whole entire life. Even though they aren't too great right now, they're still fun to watch.
Usually watch baseball whenever I'm not at practice and stuff like that. So it's always a joy to watch them.
[00:06:53] Speaker B: Do you have a favorite player?
[00:06:55] Speaker A: I don't really have a favorite player, but I enjoyed watching the Cardinals team about like five, ten years ago with Yadir Molina. Wainwright. Also liked watching the Royals growing up since I'm from Olathe. So that was a good little period to go watching.
See them do good for about two or three years.
[00:07:15] Speaker B: They had a nice run there. How often do you watch a Major League baseball game and see a player do something and then take that to the bullpen or take that to the practice field the next day and say, hey, maybe I should mess around with this. Caleb?
[00:07:27] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, I watch baseball all the time, so just trying to pick up on little things during the game that they do.
I love preparation for my outings and stuff like that. So I just try to like, take some advice from pro ball Players.
I trained at Crusty Sports in West Palm beach about three years ago and saw, like, a lot of good pitchers like Scherzer and Luzardo. Some other guys there just really watch what they do with their training and just like, replicate that and just find something that works for me.
[00:08:06] Speaker B: Yeah, who's the pitcher? Who you think, boy, that guy just does everything right.
[00:08:11] Speaker A: I mean, there's a lot of them. Currently, Jesus Luzardo has been going really well for the Phillies.
Paul Skene's one that comes to mind that he's really tuned in on his preparation takes about two hours each start day, but just trying to find something that works for you and just like, running with it has been, like, one of the main contributors of my success.
[00:08:35] Speaker B: Ethan, is there a major league catcher that you really like to watch and try to steal some skills from?
[00:08:41] Speaker C: Patrick Beverly. I mean, as Caleb was saying, like, preparation. His preparation for every game is just dialed.
And that's really who I take after. I mean, he takes the game very seriously, and that's just who I want to catch.
[00:08:58] Speaker B: Like, at what age did it hit you that, well, I'm no longer. I can't rely on my athletic skills anymore. I need to be prepared. When did that realization hit?
[00:09:11] Speaker C: Probably around sophomore year of my high school.
You know, kind of just like my whole life, I've always liked to be prepared, but I definitely say sophomore year of high school is whenever I was really like, yeah, you know, I'm gonna take this, like, very seriously. You know, move a different way than I have been.
[00:09:32] Speaker B: Okay, Ethan, describe what's going on with your mind. There are two outs. Your pitcher just walked the lightest batter. Bases are loaded. How do you get out there and keep him on track?
[00:09:45] Speaker C: You know, you gotta also. You gotta know your pitcher. You know, if it's a pitcher that usually stays calm during those situations. And you just go up there and really just talk to him. You know, just talk to him. Like, crack a little joke here and there. And if it's another pitcher that you know is not as calm and you could tell that he's, you know, it's getting to him a little bit, then you just go up there and really just try and calm him down as best you can. You know, you've known him for. Known him for a while, so you know how he. How he acts, you know what he's thinking. So you really just got to take that into account whenever you're talking to him.
[00:10:20] Speaker B: Caleb, Shockers are up four nothing in the sixth inning. You're cruising along. You Got really good stuff. You're working with the catcher, working with the umpire. Feels like you're in great shape.
How do you not let that focus slip and give the other team an opening?
[00:10:35] Speaker A: Yeah, with being up 4 0, it's always a great situation to be in. I think just staying locked in in the dugout in between innings is a big contributor of continuing to stay locked in.
For me. I always set it into the dugout so like I'm always dial just trying to keep my body warm, trying to go through the situations coming up for the next inning. But whenever I go back out later, get my warm up pitches in, make sure everything's dialed with my throwing part of it and then just really just attack from pitch one, get strike one to get that lead off better out. I feel like if I can get them out in the first three pitches, then I'll be in a good spot. So just really attacking the zone and just filling it up. Just using my defense to work for me is a huge part of just staying locked in.
[00:11:27] Speaker B: So Caleb, take us out on the mound. Ethan jog's out there during a game.
How's he help you?
[00:11:33] Speaker A: Yeah, he just calms me down, helps me strategize what I need to do for this upcoming at bat and just really know what the situation is.
See what pitches I feel confident in. If he. He usually knows what pitches are working that day, so he feels confident in where he's set up. If I shake off, he already knows which pitch I'm going to go to. So it's a good bond to have with me and Gonzo just going out later, just attacking and just trying to get everybody out as fast as I can.
[00:12:05] Speaker B: Ethan, a lot of new pitchers on the roster this fall. How do you go about building up those relationships and learning how to work
[00:12:13] Speaker C: with them, you know, on the field? Of course you get to know them. You know, I catch their bullpens all the time.
You really get to have a good feel for the pitches. But also as a catcher, you know, you really got to know your pitchers, like just personality.
So like I really enjoy hanging out with them off the field, you know, really get to bond with them and like that's where the connection really starts coming. That's when the chemistry really starts going and like that's when pitcher and catcher duo, like, that's when they're at their best, you know, so that's really what I take account for.
[00:12:50] Speaker B: Ethan, take us through your plans for the fall. Is there an area of your game that you're really hitting hard for improvement.
[00:12:57] Speaker C: Yeah, definitely the offensive side. You know, last year was my down year, you know, did not hit the best.
So this year I've just been really attacking it the hardest I've ever been, just hitting very consistently, you know, had to change things up, going with that same feel I had in the tournament. You know, me and BG and Colin, we just tweaked something up at the very end, and obviously it was working very well. So I'm trying to stay with that, trying to keep that same feel. Hey, this year is going to be a lot better.
[00:13:27] Speaker B: Caleb, take us through your fall. What are you working on?
[00:13:30] Speaker A: Yeah, of course, just wanting to stay healthy. First off, last. Last fall, I wasn't healthy with the broken foot and got surgery with that. So just staying healthy, getting stronger in the weight room, getting more mobile, and then just working on all my pitches, making them sharper. Getting a little bit of velocity on my fastball would be ideal, which we're
[00:13:51] Speaker C: working on right now.
[00:13:52] Speaker A: So just trying to keep everything clean with my mechanics, limit health problems and just really just get after it every time I touch the mound during a scrimmage or a bullpen word game.
[00:14:06] Speaker B: So, yeah, velocity is kind of the eternal quest for pitchers. How much of it can be improved through weight room, Better shape, better legs, all that kind of stuff. And how much of it can be improved by, you know, tweaking your. Your delivery? How do you think about that? That part of it?
[00:14:22] Speaker A: Yeah. So you gotta, like, have a good foundation in the weight room.
So just going in the weight room three to five times a week, just really getting after it, just getting strong as possible with whether that's like the lower half or just upper half or the core.
So just really attacking that again in like the right movements to get energy translated to the mound and then off. Obviously, watching video with clags and staying is a huge deal of it. Just trying to replicate the right movements and clean up any movements that are not translating well to the mound. So just trying to get everything dialed in to put myself in the best position to throw the ball, the healthiest, the cleanest, and just have every pitch I have just working the way it should be.
[00:15:14] Speaker B: Ethan, how often do you have a conversation with a pitcher where you say something along the lines of it's important to throw hard, but that's not everything.
Maybe you're trying to throw too hard.
[00:15:26] Speaker C: You know, I only do that whenever they're trying to do too much. You know, whenever they're just struggling a little bit and they Just completely just lose their mental game and just try and rip it.
So that's usually whenever I'll just go and talk to them and, you know, like, as Caleb was saying, like, come up with like the new strategy, like, get them back on the path that they were doing before.
And that's usually what I do.
[00:15:53] Speaker B: So. Shockers play Nebraska, 1pm Saturday, X Stadium in a scrimmage. Ethan, for fans coming out to watch, give them a couple names of teammates who have impressed you that they should keep an eye on
[00:16:08] Speaker C: going to go with the hitters here.
You know, Drake Feitro, you know, he's very scrappy player. You know, I love watching his at bats. I mean, he's very disciplined.
You know, he's very tough. He's really good at tracking down balls in the outfield. I mean, really tough player.
[00:16:26] Speaker B: Drake is a transfer from Cali Community College. Plays center field a lot from. Yes, sir. Okay, I interrupted. Go ahead, Go on.
[00:16:34] Speaker A: All right.
[00:16:35] Speaker C: A.J. velarde, you know, he has a lot of power, really good swing and, you know, same thing as Drake, like, he has really tough at bats. Usually his bats, ball skills are very good.
So I'm excited to watch him play. Y' all should definitely be excited to watch him play.
I'm gonna go with Evan Saunders as well, our transfer from Oklahoma State.
I mean, he's very mature, very mature at bats.
Has a plan, has a plan every time he goes up to bat.
And, you know, I think those.
Those are the guys to be excited for.
[00:17:14] Speaker B: Evan Saunders, you mentioned, from Oklahoma State, plays third base, from what I understand. AJ Velarde, transfer from Midland College, infielder. Where's he been playing?
[00:17:22] Speaker C: He's playing third.
[00:17:23] Speaker B: Been playing third also. Okay. All right, Caleb, give us some names from the. Well done. Have to be from the pitching staff.
[00:17:29] Speaker C: Who would you.
[00:17:30] Speaker B: Who would you advise a fan to keep an eye on?
[00:17:33] Speaker A: Especially Nolan Ganter. He's been going crazy this fall.
I think he's the toughest out on our team currently.
I know ever since he got back from summer, he's just been super locked in and made some changes to his swing. I know he did really well last year, but he's even better now.
[00:17:51] Speaker B: And Nolan is a returner. Played first base last year.
[00:17:53] Speaker A: Yeah. And then two guys from the pitching staff.
Dalton Smith, he's one of my roommates. He's been going pretty well.
[00:18:02] Speaker B: He's a transfer from Kansas.
[00:18:04] Speaker A: Yeah, he got here a little bit early with me and Donovan Johnson this summer. Just working out with Clags, so that was good to do.
Some of that with them kept each other accountable. But he's been really gross, has a really plus fastball, sharp slider, so it's fun to watch him. And then another guy is Donovan Johnson. Both of these guys went to KCK with me for my juco, so it was nice having them come here and transfer in.
But Donovan has four really good pitches, fills up the zone kind of like me and just we really have been taking off lately just as an entire pitching staff. So it's been fun to watch.
[00:18:46] Speaker B: Ethan, the freshman that I've heard the most about and I saw him pitch against Cali in your scrimmage a couple weeks ago is Caden Longman. And he looked really good then and understand he's had a really nice fall. Tell people a little bit about Caden.
[00:19:00] Speaker C: Kid's a freshman but he does not act like it. I mean super mature, especially on the mound.
He's super mature on the mound. He has just that rare, just intimidating factor, you know, like he goes on the mound just knowing like you're not going to hit him. Like I love those kind of guys. I mean his fastball plus fastball, I mean he's about 93, 95.
He can also locate his slider and his changeup. Like he is very fun to catch, very fun to watch and he. I'm really excited about him.
[00:19:34] Speaker B: From Newcastle, Oklahoma, Caleb, who's the best hitter you've faced any time in your career?
[00:19:41] Speaker A: I think Carter Jensen, he's with the Royals right now. I faced him a few like live at bat outings, but there's been a lot of hitters throughout my life. I think he's probably the most accomplished one currently since he's has like 25 plus bombs with the Royals. But I think he might be the one.
[00:20:03] Speaker B: And he's a Kansas City native also, correct? Yeah, right. Ethan, how about you? Who's the opponent that stands out in your mind?
[00:20:11] Speaker C: Probably go with Chase shores about this. 6, 8 righty, about 99012 seem nasty. I think he's in about AA right now and he's just one of those guys you're just like, it's going to be tough. It's going to be a tough head bag against this guy.
He's the first time comes to mind.
[00:20:32] Speaker B: What's better, Kansas City barbecue or Texas barbecue?
[00:20:36] Speaker C: Texas barbecue.
[00:20:39] Speaker A: I've had both.
I went to Dallas last winter and had.
I don't even know what it was called. It was a good barbecue. But I think Casey Joe's in Kansas City. I think tops it he has the right places.
[00:20:54] Speaker B: Is that your favorite Joe's in Kansas City?
[00:20:56] Speaker A: Joe's Casey's pretty good.
[00:20:57] Speaker B: So Ethan, what's your. What's your favorite barbecue place in Texas?
[00:21:01] Speaker C: Oh man.
First one comes to mind is a place called LJ's. It's actually in Brenham, Texas, right next to Majuco, that way in Blinn. Think of that one. Think of there's a couple more that can't come into my mind. But I mean I've been having barbecue my whole life. Also my shout out. My dad, he makes the best pork ribs out there. The best, best food that I've ever had. So that's definitely.
[00:21:30] Speaker B: What's his secret. What makes him the best.
[00:21:32] Speaker C: He takes his time with it. He really takes that seriously. He makes it really good porkers. And he also makes these dinosaur ribs. I don't know if you heard of them. It's like this, like the meat is huge and like one rib fills you up.
So it takes him about like a day to make those. But I mean I really, really enjoy those.
[00:21:56] Speaker B: Okay.
Most important item you use to survive a long bus trip or a plane ride. Caleb, what do you, what do you got to have to get through that time?
[00:22:05] Speaker A: I think AirPods and the portable charger is definitely going to carry me through that long bus trip or that plane ride. If I don't have those two items, I might be cooked. So yeah.
[00:22:18] Speaker B: Ethan, what's your comfort item for a road trip?
[00:22:21] Speaker C: I mean same thing. I need my portable charger. Need my, my, my AirPods as well.
I also need like a pillow, something, you know, because you know those long bus rides you.
Your neck starts killing you. So also definitely my own seat though.
That's always amazing.
[00:22:45] Speaker B: All important things, those bus rides can go on and on. Definitely.
Caleb, are you reading anything? Watching a movie, TV series that you would recommend fans check out?
[00:22:56] Speaker A: I don't really read too much besides the Bible, but like TV series just finish up the new etter banks.
I don't know. It was alright, but I've just been watching a bunch of different Netflix series just trying to pass some time. Whenever I have downtime, it's a good way for me to relax and just take a breath and not worry about homework or baseball or any other obligations.
[00:23:24] Speaker B: Ethan, what's your time wasting advice? Or maybe not time wasting. I guess if you're, if you're reading or watching some things, it wouldn't be a waste of time.
[00:23:32] Speaker C: Well, recently watching a lot of football, I mean that is definitely my outlet. I Love watching it, especially with, you know, your guys. You know, that just makes it so much fun. I mean, you know, recently we've been having a good amount of guys come over and we have TV and another tv, so we watch two different games. I mean, that's a lot of fun.
So I always have a great time. I love football season, especially whenever you're here in college with your friends. It's the best experience.
[00:24:03] Speaker B: Multiple screens. That's a good way to do it.
Ethan, if your high school were to say, ethan, come on back, we want you to talk to our sophomores and juniors who are starting on a journey where they may want to play a sport in college. We want you to talk to them. What kind of advice would you give a youngster?
[00:24:22] Speaker C: Yeah, you know, what I'll tell them is if you're struggling, especially when you first come in, you're going to struggle and it's going to be hard on you mentally because it's probably just your first time ever struggling. So my advice to them is just, you need to be strong, man. You need to be strong mentally. You need to never lose that confidence in yourself.
You need to know why you're there, like, why you're there.
You need to know what kind of player you are.
You know, don't ever change for anybody. You know, you always stick to your game.
Don't, don't try to play somebody else's game and just be you. You know, don't, don't ever get away from being you.
[00:25:06] Speaker B: So if someone were to raise their hand and say, I'm losing confidence, what do I do? Is there, Do I lean on my teammates, my parents? Do I read a motivational book. What would you tell them about how to, how to maintain and raise confidence?
[00:25:22] Speaker C: Definitely have an outlet, as in talking to somebody. I mean, you never want to keep that.
You never want to keep those thoughts in your head the whole time, you know, because whenever you do, whenever you just have those just negative thoughts just feeding your head, you know, just every day, you know, your game is just going to keep going down and down like I'm.
You need to talk to somebody. Whoever it is, if you have somebody you can talk to, call them up, go to them and just let everything out. Don't keep that bold in yourself.
[00:25:54] Speaker B: Caleb Olathe, south wants to have Caleb read day and have you come back and talk to its kids. What are you telling them?
[00:26:01] Speaker A: Yeah, so my brother is a junior in high school, so he's been following my footsteps a little bit, but I think just Hitting the weight room, getting strong in every aspect of your body and just being athletic, playing multiple sports definitely helps kids perform well at the next level.
But just getting a lot of reps, whether that's going in, getting your cage hacks in, or just working on your throwing mechanics, just never taking a day off besides a rest day. So really just getting after it.
I think for like choosing a school for me, I like I always looked at going D1 out of high school but I didn't have the talent to do so. So just continuing to work in the weight room and on the baseball field and just really getting after it, even if it's choosing juco, just continue to develop and work at your game to get to your goals is definitely what's gonna set you apart from the next kid besides you.
[00:27:06] Speaker B: And Caleb went to Kansas City, Kansas Community College where a lot of lot of shockers recently have come come from in between high school and Wichita state.
Shockers play Nebraska 1pm Saturday at Ex Stadium, Kansas City, Kansas Community College comes to X Stadium on October 3rd. Then the Fall World Series starts on October 7th.
Ethan and Caleb, thank you for your time.
[00:27:28] Speaker A: Thank you for having us.
[00:27:29] Speaker C: Thank you,
[00:27:45] Speaker B: Thank you for listening to the Roundhouse podcast courtesy of Wichita State University Strategic Communications. We encourage you to rate, review and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can find more roundhouse
[email protected] Rick
[00:28:00] Speaker D: Freeling on deck for the Blue Jays.
They'll have two cracks to get that runner home from second with one out here in the bottom of the 12th. The run at second, the tying run in the ball game.
Fast ball line to center, base hit. Jim Oddly charges it on the hop. They're sending him home. Here comes the throw. It is in time. He's out. He's out of the play on a sensational throw by Jim Oddly. One hop, right on the money and Steve Brun at home plate. And now there are two down. Shocker fans. You may look at that Saturday afternoon, that one play, that might be the play to get you the championship ring. What a throw, Mike. It's the big show in Rosenblatt Stadium. He came up throwing and he threw a strike down Main Street.
