Featured photo by Conner Smith
Story by Conner Smith
MTSU baseball lost its pitching ace Jaden Hamm last year to the draft. However, there’s a new hurler in town that has the potential to be one of the best pitchers that MTSU has seen in the last few years by the name of Matt Schepel.
Schepel, the 6 foot 5 inch, 215-pound junior is a transfer from Western Carolina. He came into college as a two-time preseason All-American and ranked in the top 500 in his recruiting cycle. He did see action in his first two seasons at WCU but says he’s looking for something different.
“I wanted better competition,” Schepel said “MTSU is the place to go, I love going out there and having our view on the field. I love our coaches, and you can’t get that at too many other places.”
Schepel knew that MTSU would give him the best opportunity to grow as a player and develop his game.
“I really looked for a place that could help me develop into the player I think I can be; I had several schools looking at me but MTSU stood out. They have some dudes here that make us compete and I love that.” Schepel said.
The right-handed pitcher is an interesting prospect. He had outings where he was unhitable and others where he couldn’t find his footing. He struck out a good number of batters with an 8.37 strikeouts per nine innings and only four walks. The problem seemed to be him not having the velocity and placement on the baseball like he wanted.
One of the big things that stands out in his game is his new power and velocity. He’s now sitting at mid-90s on his fastball with his recent offseason training, and mid 80s for his slider and changeup. He also believes his love for the game and mindset are two things that set him apart from some other players around the country.
“As a pitcher you have to have the mentality that nobody is better than you except your teammates,” Schepel said. “You must control the game and I think I do that well. I also love this game more than just about anything. I take pride in whatever we do, whether that be running sprints, working out or just doing fieldwork.”
MTSU has the luxury of having basically two pitching coaches between head coach Jerry Meyers and assistant coach Adam Wisniewski. Schepel loves working with both and says they can develop him into a very good pitcher.
“Both have experience of coaching at the division one level, they’re both very knowledgeable. They’ve helped me develop my changeup which is one of the pitches I’ve wanted to work on.” Schepel said.
MTSU baseball has a veteran-led team this year. They return most of their offensive starters from last season. They also have a plethora of pitchers in their second year of the system that will look to make an impact.
“We’ve got a really good team this year, a lot of veteran guys including myself who look to help the younger guys develop and mature,” Schepel said. “Our offense looks to be pretty good, and I really like our pitching staff. I think we have a good shot of winning the conference. Maybe make a deep run in the NCAA tournament.”
Conner Smith is a sports reporter for MTSU Sidelines. For more news, visit www.mtsusidelines.com. Also, follow us on Facebook and Instagram @mtsusidelines, or on X @MTSUSidelines.
