Strong recruiting class bolsters UNLV baseball team

About an hour after canceling practice on a rainy afternoon last week, UNLV baseball coach Tim Chambers peered out of his office window overlooking Wilson Stadium.

"That's what I like about this team," he said, spotting a half-dozen of his players warming up in the right-field corner. "Practice is canceled, but they're still out there on their own."

With his 2012 squad in the midst of fall practice, the coach is heartened by his players' enthusiasm, but Chambers has many reasons for optimism, mainly better roster depth. The Rebels began Chambers' first season by winning 18 of 24 games before fizzling to a 33-25 record, with a fifth-place finish in the Mountain West Conference.

Chambers attributed the problem to burnout, something he does not foresee in the coming season.

"Depth was a big part of the problem last year," he said. "You're allowed to have a 35-man roster, and we finished with 24 guys. They were forced to play every day. For the pitchers, especially, that's just too much.

"The bottom line is we ran out of gas."

Chambers addressed that problem by bringing in one of the top recruiting classes in program history. Collegiate Baseball recently rated the class of 11 freshmen and two junior college transfers as the 32nd-best in the nation.

"We're really happy with this class," said Chambers, who added that his next group of recruits also looks promising. "And the best part is we didn't lose any guys to the draft."

Local prep standouts Zak Qualls, Brandon Pletsch, Eric Fedde and Scott Thomassetti top this year's list of incoming freshmen. All four were selected in the 2011 Major League amateur draft, but decided to play at UNLV instead.

Qualls and Fedde are among five new pitchers.

"We're going to be much deeper on the mound," Chambers said. "That should prevent a lot of those problems, but it could take a while for the new guys to get their feet on the ground. They're going to have to grow up in a hurry."

But Chambers also returns a healthy number of upperclassmen, including nine seniors. The top returnee is junior outfielder Brandon Bayardi, who batted .325 with a team-leading 10 home runs and 51 RBIs en route to All-Mountain West honors.

"We have a lot of seniors and a lot of freshmen," he said. "I think it's a good mix. Having all the seniors out there is like having nine other coaches teaching the younger guys."

The challenging schedule includes games against Arizona State, UC Irvine and Loyola Marymount. Chambers said the fall practices will give him a chance to see how he wants to approach those games.

"With 36 guys, we've got to find out who we're going to play, who's going to be cut and who we're going to redshirt," the coach said. "And these practices help us keep our timing, especially from an offensive standpoint."

The Rebels will play only once this fall, against San Diego on Oct. 29 at Adelanto, Calif. The spring schedule begins Feb. 17 at Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles.