Cowboy Baseball Talks 2026 Season

STILLWATER – Oklahoma State head coach Josh Holliday and Cowboys Aidan Meola, Avery Ortiz, Mario Pesca and Kollin Ritchie met with the media today to discuss the upcoming season. Below is a sampling of what was said.

Oklahoma State head coach Josh Holliday
Opening Statement
"It's hard to believe that we're roughly a week away. I'm excited to get started. It's been an awesome group to work with so far. I'm very thankful to have back some of the kids that are here, especially some of the veteran kids that we get to coach for four or five years.

"I'm also excited about our newcomers. I think we have 16 freshmen, eight or nine other newcomers, so we have 24, 25 new members of the team… They've been great to work with and we had a great first semester, and now we're hustling, getting ready to go in the second semester."

On hiring Blake Hawksworth as pitching coach
"Every time I asked about who was doing a good job, (Blake's) name came back first every single time. When I researched him and talked to him, I thought he was the perfect fit. Passion to recruit, passion to coach, passion to teach, all the things that I think you need to have to be really effective."

On Coach Hawksworth's development with the team so far
"Blake did a great job in the fall getting to know each kid, understanding what makes them tick. He watched a lot of film to familiarize himself with their history… he's got a good track record with his baseball journey. He's learned from some tremendous people so he's had a unique experience as a player and as a coach."

On practices recently
"Our practice levels are up. Our competitiveness inside those practices is very good. We're welcoming the newcomers. Those are just all good indicators for me that this team already has an idea that it's going to take all of us to be successful."

On Kollin Ritchie
"He understands what he needs to do every day. He understands his routine. His preparation is excellent. He's had a really good spring so far. He's committed to the process that it takes every single day. He's strong. He's in great shape."

On this year's transfer portal additions
"The three kids that we got via transfer are all impact guys for us. Hudson Barrett is a guy we knew could come in and pitch some meaningful innings right away, and he's proven to be that guy. Campbell Smithwick behind the plate is a guy we knew had big game experience behind the plate and was an accomplished performer. TP Wentworth…When the opportunity to have TP join us opened, we were all over that. He's a talented hitter and can help us on the mound."

On Mario Pesca
"Mario is in amazing shape. I tip my cap to him. He made a commitment to be in the best shape of his life. He wanted his senior year here to be one in which he put it all on the table. He got his body in premier shape to allow his body to move. He's been welcoming and open to learning and making his pitches better."

On the development and depth of the roster
"The depth is huge. The development of players throughout your roster is always something you have to be really committed to doing, and it's going to take everyone that is here. What we're most determined to do is to get the most out of each other every single day."

On Terrance Bowen
"Terrance is a talented player, a very good freshman from Atlanta. He's a very nice hitter, versatile athlete, smooth game and hard worker. He's only getting better every day, certainly as he gets stronger."

On Garrett Shull
"Garrett Shull has been excellent all fall. He had a great summer. He's played a little bit of everywhere, and what he's done at multiple positions is impressive."

On his time as head coach at OSU
"I don't think I've had a bad day in 14 years since I've been back. I know I never had a bad one as a kid and never in the four years I got to play here. It's a joy. You love something. You care about it. You work at it. You pour yourself into it."

On Sebastian Norman
"Sebastian's a true freshman, and he opens our eyes daily. Strong, powerful kid. He runs like a college middle linebacker. He's skilled. He's a graceful baseball player."

On Brock Thompson
"I think he's going to play well. I think Brock, like most guys, is growing in his confidence. When he's playing well, there's a simplicity and a confidence to his game and then the days it's not there, we've got to clean up those gaps and make those days more consistent. Like all young players, it's getting consistent."

OSU senior pitcher Mario Pesca
On the hiring of new pitching coach Blake Hawksworth
"It's an honor that I was able to attain two great pitching coaches, and (Blake Hawksworth) has been tremendous. Our relationship with him, just as his staff and kind of his way of how he preaches his philosophies, is awesome and so process-oriented. We just give in to the process, the results will follow. So it's a pretty good mentality for the staff this year."

On the motivation to be in the best shape possible
"At the end of the day, I want to be knowing I'd be here and I want to give everything I can to my teammates and the program. I wanted to look in the mirror and say, 'What could I do to really further that?' And I thought the best thing I could do at the time was just to get in the best shape possible and hopefully play a good part in winning some ball games."

On the transition from the Bronx to Stillwater
"I've been here for a year, and I loved it tremendously last year as soon as I got here and it's the same thing. Now I've just been here for a year or two now, and I love it here. It's awesome; great group of guys. Great place to be."

OSU senior infielder Aidan Meola
On being a veteran in the clubhouse
"There's nowhere else I'd rather be than here. It's a little bit different, role-wise. I'm gonna be a leader, which kind of comes natural to me. I like it."

On how competitive the team has been so far
"I think there's talent from the freshman class to the fifth years. A lot of talent. I think it's a really good problem to have. We will be deep position-wise and pitching staff-wise. It makes for very competitive scrimmages and practices."

On the recovery process to get back on the field
"I underwent surgery so it was challenging. Took about seven months to get fully back, and I would say this last month or two, kind of feeling like myself again. I've been through it before so I kind of know what to do and just try to take care of your body the best you can."

OSU junior infielder Avery Ortiz
On dealing with injury last season
"Just giving to my team in different ways, encouraging the guys, just being there every day, seeing my presence and giving my heart to everybody. That was tough, but Chris McKenzie and Garrett Bayliff had a good program, a good system for me to get healthy and finish out the season competing with all the guys so it was good."

On his takeaways from his freshman season
"Looking back at my freshman year, I definitely learned a lot. It was a more mature team so I got to take on some of the things that the older guys passed on. So that was definitely cool and something that I look back on."

On the hook that keeps players in Stillwater
"I would say it's just the group of guys that are here, the culture that's established and then the coaching staff. They do a tremendous job of just providing for us, being good role models, good leaders. The guys here are great, they're like my brothers. They're just guys that I can count on."

OSU junior outfielder Kollin Ritchie
On how the end of the 2025 season shaped the offseason
"I feel good where I'm at right now. I think at the end of the season, how I did kind of helped me figure out who I was as a player and where I could be as a player, but it also taught me little holes in my game that I need to work on and move towards this season. I feel like I figured those out in the fall a lot. We are a lot better."

On his viral catch during the 2025 Athens Regional
"Yeah, I watched it back a few times since it happened, but not anything recently. You kind of try to move on to the next season coming up, try to get with these guys more than anything. It was a big Regional but try to move on to the next season."

Oklahoma State University Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Hudson Barrett

Terrance Bowen

Aidan Meola

Sebastian Norman

Avery Ortiz

Mario Pesca

Kollin Ritchie

Garrett Shull

Campbell Smithwick

Brock Thompson

TP Wentworth

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