[00:00:14] Speaker A: Hello. Welcome to the Roundhouse podcast with Paul Solentrop of Wichita State University strategic communications. Thank you for listening. We have Cam Durnan with us to talk shocker baseball. Cam is a freshman shortstop. He is from Camden, Missouri. He is hitting 255 with twelve doubles and seven home runs. Five of those homers are in his past eleven games. The Shockers are 27 and 20, 613 and eleven in the American Athletic Conference. They're on a five game win streak, which I think makes them the hottest team in the conference. WSU finishes the regular season with a series at Memphis. It starts Thursday. Then they head to Clearwater, Florida for the AAC tournament. They are tied with two lane for 30 in the AAC. Cam, let's get started with some background. You wear number 50, which is kind of a football number, maybe a linebacker. Is there a story with you wearing number 50?
[00:01:06] Speaker B: There's not really. You know, as a freshman, you don't get a whole lot of options, but I felt like the best option was number 50. I could relate to Adam Wainwright, who I was a group of Cardinals fan, so I loved watching hand pitch and mookie Betts. He's a great player. So I just told people that, you know, I was a Mookie Bets fan, which I am. So fifties, kind of. That's kind of the story there.
[00:01:27] Speaker A: Okay. Good reasons. Well, get another important part of your background. Your walk up song. Fight for me. Tell the people about that song and why you chose it.
[00:01:35] Speaker B: Yep. So this goes all the way back to middle school.
You know, I grew up in a christian household. We listened to Caleb all the time in the car. That was basically all we listened to.
And then in middle school, I had a friend that introduced me to christian rap, and that was the first song I ever heard.
I loved the song.
I still listen to it all the time till this day. And then this first year, when I was going through my playlist of songs to try to pick, I saw that one. I was like, I feel like that one would be pretty fitting.
[00:02:07] Speaker A: Walk up songs, some people just use them. They just like the song. Other people regard them as an important part of preparation. All right, I'm getting my timing down. I'm doing the same thing to match the drumbeat. Whatever's going on in the song. Where do you fall on that? How do you use the walk up song?
[00:02:24] Speaker B: Yeah, you know, I probably think about it a little bit too much, but I like something that has a good beat that I can kind of go with the rhythm, too, but also kind of relaxes me at the same time. And I also always like picking a christian song. So at the end of the day, if nothing else, the fans and everybody else is hearing something that's positive, something that's encouraging as well.
[00:02:49] Speaker A: Positive messages. So you played football, basketball, you ran cross country at Camden High School. You were all state receiver and a kicker. How did being a multi sport athlete shape your baseball career?
[00:03:03] Speaker B: I think being an athlete in general is super important for any sport you play, not just being, like, one sided or one dimensional.
You know, I grew up playing a whole bunch of sports. That's what I did. So going to high school and being in high school and doing the same thing is kind of just continuing to do what I would normally do. I didn't think I would miss football as much as I do now, but looking back on it, I definitely miss it. I don't miss basketball as much. I wasn't as good at basketball, and then I kind of just did cross country on the side when I had free time, too, so. Yeah.
[00:03:40] Speaker A: How did you become a kicker?
[00:03:42] Speaker B: I think I just. I think I tried it one day. I think it was like fourth grade. It was like my first two years playing, and then no one else wanted to do it, so I think I just did it. I realized I could kick a. An extra point one day, and I just. I kind of actually, I took pride in it my high school, entering high school, and I kind of. I liked it. I liked the skill, and I liked being able to kick it.
[00:04:04] Speaker A: What's your longest field goal?
[00:04:06] Speaker B: So, my senior year, I kicked a 43, but prior to that, everything else was kind of just a short chip shot because usually we would go four and fourth down.
I think prior to that, I kicked a 40 in middle school, but other than that, I think, yeah, 43.
[00:04:21] Speaker A: Okay, 43. That's pretty good. Baseball. Was that always your favorite sport?
[00:04:26] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. Yep. I remember from an early age, we were having woof bowl games in the backyard. I think even at the first house we were at, my dad would bring home spray paint to paint the field in the backyard. We would play wiffle ball for hours out there. Still, every once in a while, we will go to our backyard now and get a game in, I think, from there and just constantly playing sports. From a young age, I just fell in love with baseball and really, sports in general, just being an athlete and playing ball with my brothers.
[00:05:02] Speaker A: Brothers. I've been doing a lot of podcasts with athletes who come from families. How does having brothers shape you? I'm sure there was competition there. Was a lot of fun, a lot of games in the backyard. How did that get you to where you are?
[00:05:16] Speaker B: Yeah. So it was huge, and I'm the oldest, but we were really all really close in age, so it wasn't a big age gap that, like, that ruined the competitiveness. Because we were so close, we were able to kind of compete with each other. So we were doing everything together. And even still, we would go work out together, go hit together during different seasons, go throw football together, go shoot together, and that's kind of what we did. They're my brothers, but they're, at the same time, they're kind of my two best friends, too, so I was always hanging out with them. And if you kind of got one of us, you got all of us. That was kind of how it worked.
Yeah. And I think we all kind of pushed each other. And because we were all so competitive, we always were trying to do the next. We were trying to level each other up. And I think that really just made us better, even if it was something as silly as trying to beat each other. Mofa ball to something more serious, like lifting weights or hitting the batting cage.
[00:06:09] Speaker A: All three of your brothers, your names start with a k. Is that a baseball shout out. Did your mom and dad plan on having pitchers who racked up, like, lots of strikeouts?
[00:06:17] Speaker B: No.
I don't really know why they did it, but I know everybody. My dad has brothers and they all start with B's. On my mom's side, she has sisters. They all start with J's. So I think they just kind of kept the tradition going.
[00:06:32] Speaker A: I should know your brother's names. This would be the appropriate place to tell the listeners who we're just talking about. Yes. Kaden and Carlson.
[00:06:39] Speaker B: So Kaden and Carson.
[00:06:40] Speaker A: Carson, yep.
[00:06:41] Speaker B: And Kaden's the middle one. He's actually going to TCU this upcoming fall, and then Carson, who will be a senior next year.
[00:06:50] Speaker A: Okay. Very good.
Biggest adjustment from high school baseball, summer baseball, travel ball to playing in college. How would you describe that?
[00:06:59] Speaker B: Yeah, so when I was talking to some of my teammates, we always talk about how we think high school ball is just totally a completely different sport than college ball. I mean, the speed of the game is faster, the pitching is so much better. It just. It's a complete 180.
But I think, yeah, the biggest thing pitching, the speed of the game. You really don't know how much. You don't know until you go to the first year of college. I feel like I became such a better fielder after training during the fall and even getting into the spring and even just playing in the spring as well.
You know, my hitting was slow at the start, and I had the handmaid injury that kind of slowed me down. But you, even then, I was learning and growing, and I love studying the swing. I love figuring it out, figuring out how the mechanics work, using cues, using feels and all that stuff. And I think just getting a new opinion from basically my dad, who was my coach in high school. Just hearing what other guys have to say and how they teach it and the cues they use, I think that's really cool for me, and it's one of the reasons I like baseball so much.
[00:08:04] Speaker A: Was there a light bulb moment in the fall or early spring where you began to think, okay, I'm figuring this out?
[00:08:12] Speaker B: I think.
I think probably right before April, I always tell myself, like, the rice series is when I was like, okay, I think I'm starting to compete, and I think I'm starting to feel like I belong at the plate.
[00:08:23] Speaker A: Was there a tip from one of the coaches, or did a teammate help you out? Who would you look back on and say, boy, that was really maybe pivotal in me figuring baseball out?
[00:08:34] Speaker B: Definitely the coach is working with me. At this point, I can't really remember the exact cue or feel, but right now, I've just been working on getting in rhythm with my hands in my lower half.
And so just continuing to work on that and continuing to make that muscle memory, I think that has developed since right before the beginning of April that I've started to feel that and feel, okay, this is what it's supposed to feel like.
[00:08:59] Speaker A: So the shockers are on. A five game win streak started down in San Antonio with two wins against second place UTSA. We're hearing a lot that you are. You're talking. Talking among yourselves. May is the month to get hot. What happened to revive this team?
[00:09:14] Speaker B: Yeah, I think especially for this team, the dugout energy and just kind of. The energy in general is super huge for this team.
So I think kind of saying enough was enough with the. Because the energy was down in April and everybody, you could feel it. You could kind of sense it. And we kind of had to make a decision that either we're going to switch this around or it was going to stay the same. So we kind of just. We made this switch, and it kind of started the leaders, the more vocal guys, and then in UTSA, that second day, even the first day, the energy was better. We didn't come out with a win, but you could feel like you could feel that it was better. And going on that second day, we actually experienced success, and we were able to build off that and continue the energy.
[00:09:59] Speaker A: Okay. So without making excuses, because you got to play the schedule, and if you're at Wichita State, you're going to play a tough schedule. April looked like a really high mountain for this team to climb. Played 19 games. Nine of them were on the road. What really stood out to me was three times you had that Tuesday Wednesday midweek game against schools that were only playing one midweek game, which is really taxing on, pitching a lot of tough opponents. So do you look back on that? Did that grind away? Did that wear people down, do you think? That month of April?
[00:10:32] Speaker B: I think for some guys, it probably did.
I like playing baseball, and I like playing the game. So the more games I play, it's baseball, and it's fun to me. So I can't speak for everybody on that, but I think that was definitely good for us. I think to go through that, especially with a bunch of young guys and experiencing that, that for the first time, I think it's good to learn from something like that, especially in the years to come as well.
But even at the end of the season here, obviously it sucked. But, you know, taking that and learning from it and then obviously, like you said, getting hot at the right time in May is really what it's about.
[00:11:15] Speaker A: Yeah, that's the. And like I said, that's. That's the schedule. It would certainly prepare you for back to back to back games in regionals and conference tournaments and things like that. You mentioned the hamate bone injury, which is, I guess Tommy John would be the most baseball injury, and then maybe a hamate bone injury is the second most baseball injury. Explain that to people who aren't familiar with the. It's a small bone. It's kind of near the base of your hand by your little finger. You've got a bruise right there. For everyone who's watching on. On YouTube, explain the hammock bone injury.
[00:11:46] Speaker B: Yeah. So it's kind of down towards your wrist, and it's called the hook of the hamate. And essentially, you can break it on a weird swing or just kind of from overuse and just constant stress. I think I broke it from the constant stress and constantly hitting off a machine.
So once that happened, I think I was given a four to six week timeline, and essentially they just go in, in surgery and then remove that hook of the handmaid because you technically don't need it.
So I was given four to six weeks, essentially, for just that incision to heal. And once that happened, I was able to start swinging and doing stuff again, but it was really, really swollen and really sore for a long time. I think it really didn't start to feel normal until probably the end of March, and especially with the cold in the beginning of the year, definitely, I think it had an effect on it as well. And just getting the strength back, too in the weight room and just doing some physical therapy and rehab on it as well, that kind of helped. But, yeah, that was the first time I broke a bone. First time I've really been injured for a length of time like that. So that was good for me, probably to learn about myself, become more self aware. I wouldn't want to do it again, but I think it was good for me.
[00:13:02] Speaker A: I think I learned about the hemi bone. They had a second baseman here named Damon sublette. Really good player. He broke his hammock bone during the season. So I got educated on that many, many years ago. I think it happens to golfers, but, yeah, most people, I think, will probably go through their life and never know they have a hammy bone. But if you're a baseball player, it's important. So you had a tough fall.
How'd you stick with it? How did you stay positive and then be ready to go when you got here in the spring and began to heal up?
[00:13:32] Speaker B: Yeah, you know, honestly, I think it's. It was my faith for me, I think just understanding that at the end of the day, baseball is my platform.
It's important to me, but it's not who I am.
It's just a part of my life.
And while I may not be playing at the moment because I'm injured, I still have an opportunity to make an impact on my teammates. I still have an opportunity to shine the light of Christ on others, trying to do that, trying to be a good teammate, and also trying to keep my head dialed in, keep my mind locked in emotionally as well. I think that was important for me, and that was another reason why I think the injury was good for me, because it taught me that. And I think I learned and grew through that as well.
[00:14:20] Speaker A: So Brian Greene has mentioned a couple times recently, he thinks the freshmen who are having success, and there are a number of them on this team, are benefiting from good eating habits, good habits in the workroom, getting proper rest, all those things that can be really difficult for a college student. Tell me about that. From your perspective, how are you keeping yourself in good shape in those areas?
[00:14:43] Speaker B: Yeah, nutrition is really important to me.
I try to first get proper protein every single day, but also just try to eat healthy.
I like salad. I think when I like chipotle, I eat those things a lot.
I try to stay away from anything fast food wise, but really it's just, for me about getting the proper amount of food. I feel like a lot of people don't get the right amount of food. And for me, being an athlete that is constantly using their body a lot and exerting a lot of energy, I think getting the proper protein and proper energy from food is really important. And then sleep, for me, probably didn't really become important until my senior year. I took hard classes in high school, so I was constantly doing homework late at night. And then senior year kind of slowed down for me a little bit, and I was just kind of. I was kind of fed up with constantly being tired, and I was like, all right, I need to make this important to at least get 8 hours every night. So I think from that point on, I think I've made it a priority to get 8 hours and get my sleep dialed in.
[00:15:48] Speaker A: What's your go to order at chipotle?
[00:15:50] Speaker B: I get a bowl with a tortilla on the side.
I don't do beans. I do chicken.
I like the fajita veggies.
I like a lot of rice, too, and I think I just do cheese and lettuce after that. So pretty basic.
[00:16:04] Speaker A: So from the time you became a regular in the lineup at shortstop, it seemed obvious you had pretty good defensive instincts. Kind of that internal culture, I think, is the way Brian Greene describes it. Knowing how fast as a runner, how fast do I have to get the ball over to first base? Do you learn that or were you born with some of those attributes?
[00:16:24] Speaker B: I think you learn it from just playing the game.
I have played shortstop in middle infield my whole life, so I have experience there. And while it was probably good, I think it's gotten a lot better throughout the season. Throughout the fall, I mentioned the speed of the game increasing. You kind of have to adjust with that in the field as well because guys are going to be faster and the game is going to be faster as well. So I think it definitely comes from learning and more importantly, just playing the game.
[00:16:50] Speaker A: So coaches will always talk about two things when they talk about a young hitter getting better and better. Hitting the ball the other way comes up a lot. Hitting with two strikes comes up a lot. Tell us about your evolving in those two areas.
[00:17:03] Speaker B: Yeah, I've been terrible at hitting two strikes, and it's still something I struggle with that I'm trying to get better on. But, yeah, that's super important, especially with the pitching today or pitching being better, just being able to stick to an approach and trust the two strike approach and just buy into being late on fastball and just refusing to go down, essentially.
I think for me, the most important things have been to lower the chase rate and to control the zone. I think that helps me. When you do that, you can get ahead in the count, and that can open up more opportunities to be more offensive at the plate rather than defensive. So I think just working on those things, obviously, just working on hitting better off speed pitches, better fastballs as well, is super important.
[00:17:59] Speaker A: So let's give people an idea about your improvement. And I'm sure the health of the hand is a big part of this. You were hitting 146 on March 22, played 30 games. Since you're now, and you hit 298 in those 30 games. Besides the hand getting better and better, what else helped you get to this point?
[00:18:18] Speaker B: Yeah, I think, like I said, working with the coaches on my swing and figuring that out, and, you know, when you're batting 140, it's hard to have a whole lot of confidence. So just finally getting some success and feeling like, oh, yeah, okay, I can compete and I can do this. I think that plays a role, too. But just getting my swing dialed in and then feeling and then trusting that my swing feels good and feels like it's supposed to and feels like it's a good swing, I think that can give you some confidence. Walking up to the plate, also trusting the approach, just buying into something, even if it may not work 100% of the time, just trusting it and just kind of writing it out. Eventually, the success will come.
[00:19:04] Speaker A: So we're in the first year of Brian Greene's tenure as Wichita state coach. Fans are still getting to know him.
Assistants Clay overcash, Anthony Clagett, Anthony Miller. Give people an idea. How would you describe being coached by. By this coaching staff?
[00:19:19] Speaker B: Yeah, it's a pretty laid back environment, I would say, but it's laid back in a way that's, like, professional and not, and I guess more so just more about teaching and more about just kind of almost sitting down and just kind of analyzing and, like, just talking about the swing.
I know we will have practices sometimes where it's just hitting groups and the coaches will just sit around and we just get to talk the swing and talk baseball, which I actually do like that practices are pretty structured when we have fueling days. We have mass x, we have inside game that we always will do cuts and relays as well that we always do.
So I think it's a mix of just being laid back, but also in like kind of a professional environment where there's trust that like, they'll know. They will know we will get our work done, but also that they're there to watch, too, and just talk about the swing with us as well.
[00:20:21] Speaker A: Yeah, I think one of the things that stood out about this team with so many new players that the defense seems pretty good, everybody seems pretty organized. I don't go out there and see a lot of baseballs flying all over. I don't see a lot of base running mistakes. How did they go about getting you organized to play? What I think has been pretty, pretty clean, pretty disciplined baseball.
[00:20:44] Speaker B: So I think in the fall, we dove into the fielding a ton and just doing a whole bunch of small, just fielding work before we really got into the team practice. And then base training was really important for us, too. That's something that coach overcash does with us a lot, just working on our leads, our breaks, you know, steals, hit and runs, all that stuff. But that's something we do pretty frequently in practice and that's something that we work on a lot. As well as the fielding, too, more so fielding now. It's kind of just maintenance where we will do something like mass x, like I said, which is a whole bunch of ground balls. We'll do inside game, which is with the pitching as well, and then cuts and relays is with the outfield as well, too.
[00:21:32] Speaker A: Playing shortstop, what do you enjoy about that position?
[00:21:37] Speaker B: So I like getting the ball. So anytime I can be in a position where there's a lot of action happening and there's always somewhere I have to be, I think it's more fun for me. And I mean, really, that's it. I just, I played there all my life. I've enjoyed playing it and it's just something that is comfortable to me. So I just, it's something that I just like to continue to do.
[00:22:00] Speaker A: How did you go about building chemistry with Jordan Rogers, who plays second base?
[00:22:05] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, it's not hard with Jordan. He's a great dude. He's a great teammate.
So the locker room part was easy. And then just like I said from practice, just doing all the fielding stuff that we've done, just turning double plays constantly in practice, I think that's just, that's been the key and I think that's helped us get that chemistry.
[00:22:29] Speaker A: Okay, take us inside the locker room a little bit. Who's the best dresser on this team?
[00:22:33] Speaker B: Best dresser? Ooh.
I don't know. I feel like will Stark has some cool shoes that he will wear.
Other than that, I think, actually, I think Darnell will, too, as well.
I don't. I'm. That's a tough question. I don't really pay attention much.
There's a lot of, you know, team issued stuff that guys were when we brought in. I know it's definitely not me. It's definitely not my thing.
So, yeah, I'd say. I know shoe game a little bit, but I'd say Stark and Darnell have some pretty good shoe game.
[00:23:06] Speaker A: Best singer.
[00:23:08] Speaker B: Best singer.
This one might surprise you, but Jaden Gustafson, I think he's. I don't know if he's the best singer, but he sings quite a bit good. So. Yeah.
[00:23:21] Speaker A: Who's the biggest Chiefs fan? I'm confident there are a lot of Chiefs fans in that locker room.
[00:23:26] Speaker B: I'm going to say Ryan Callahan on that one. Yep. I think he's a ride or die Chiefs fan. I think there's been multiple days where he has worn a Chiefs jersey, especially when the playoffs were going on.
[00:23:39] Speaker A: That would have been a good time to wear a Chiefs jersey. Who's the guy who is always in the batting cage?
[00:23:46] Speaker B: I think guys like Luke Hart and Livy.
I kind of like to say myself, too. I think I will hit with those guys a lot, but we really do have a lot of hard workers on the team. I think because of so many new players, there was a higher sense of urgency because there was a lot of spots opened up and we didn't know who was going to play, especially early on. So there was a big sense of urgency, which actually, I felt like good for us because we had guys working harder because they had an opportunity to play.
[00:24:14] Speaker A: So who has the worst sports takes?
[00:24:19] Speaker B: Worst sports takes, you know, I'm not in that rumble a lot. I kind of just follow college baseball a little bit. I follow MLB a little bit.
But other than that, I don't know. That's a.
I think guys who are in the sports world right now, there's some guys watching the NBA, I think, like AJ and Zhang. I think they're talking about basketball right now. I don't know how that really takes. I don't really watch the NBA, but I think they're more in the sports world.
[00:24:49] Speaker A: Okay. Baseball had a 3.52 grade point average in the fall semester. They were really proud of that who's the best academic role model on the team?
[00:25:00] Speaker B: I think Nate Adler always gets praised because he's engineering and he's able to do that with sports. I think that's pretty impressive. So I'll always go him.
[00:25:09] Speaker A: Yeah. That's a good choice. I think you answered this earlier. I'll give you another chance. Favorite major league baseball team?
[00:25:15] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm a Cardinals fan. I think as you get older, the opportunity to play professional baseball presents itself. I think you kind of have to dial back the favorite team fan because essentially you just want to play for any team. But, yeah, I grew up a Cardinals fan. I really just like watching certain players now. I do like watching Mookie bets, obviously. Who doesn't like watching Shohei? Oh, tiny, too.
But yep, I was a Cardinals fan.
[00:25:43] Speaker A: Do you have a favorite professional athlete that's not a baseball player.
[00:25:46] Speaker B: Not a baseball player.
Let's see. It's hard not to go with Patrick Mahomes. So he was a baseball guy, too.
[00:25:54] Speaker A: That's true. Yes. Yeah. Who's the best pitcher you've faced? Any level, any time? Who stands out?
[00:26:03] Speaker B: Yeah. Yasavich was pretty good from ECU.
I guess prior to college. I'd probably go with Will Libert. He's some lefty at Mizzou now that I grew up playing summer ball with.
So he's coming back from a Tommy John, but he was really good.
[00:26:19] Speaker A: Okay. The shockers, they are 27 and 26. They are in third place, tied with two lane in the American Athletic Conference. They wrap up the regular season, the series at Memphis that starts Thursday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, so they can travel to the tournament in Clearwater, Florida. Tournament starts next week. Cam Durnan, thanks for your time.
[00:26:39] Speaker B: Thank you. Thanks for having me on.
[00:26:56] Speaker A: Hi, this is Rick Muuma, president of Wichita State University. Check out the latest episode of the Forward Together podcast. Each episode, I sit down with different guests from Shocker nation to celebrate the vision and mission of Wichita State University. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
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] it's over. It is over, ladies and gentlemen. Say it slowly and savor it. Wichita State is going to the final four for the first time in 48 years.
[00:27:57] Speaker B: What a scene, folks. The Shocker fans are just going crazy in the sands.
[00:28:02] Speaker A: Just maybe the greatest win in the history of Wichita State basketball.
