When Jarrett Parker came to Virginia in 2007, he had plenty to be excited about. A reputable academic institution. A baseball team that had won 45 games and reached the NCAA Tournament the previous year. One thing was missing.
"First week I got back to campus, some girls came up to me and like, 'Yo, you Jarrett Parker?'"
A trip to Omaha has its perks.
With a 49-win season, ACC Championship and College World Series rings under his belt, Parker, along with teammates Phil Gosselin, John Barr, Dan Grovatt and Tyler Wilson, enjoyed a warm welcome at Cape Cod, home of the most prestigious summer league in college baseball.
"There was a lot of respect for us," Parker said. "I remember the first night I got there - I was teammates with John Barr - we were batting 1-and-2. And late in the game, I think I got a hit, knocked a couple runs in and then John got a hit after that and got a couple runs in, and all the guys were freakin' out, saying, 'Virginia baseball is here,' lovin' it."
As emotionally intoxicating as that first night may have been for the junior outfielder, he endured a mostly sobering experience for the rest of summer. While Wilson was named to the All-League team, and Barr and Grovatt participated in the All-Star game, Parker hit for a woeful .188 batting average and struck out 37 times in 96 at bats, though he did draw enough walks to bolster his on base percentage to .361.
With this disappointing performance in the back of his mind, Parker said his entire game has changed.
"I think I'm faster, I think I'm stronger, most importantly the mental side of the game - I've grown a lot," Parker said. "In the Cape, I learned how to struggle, learned how to fail. Baseball's a game of failure - it's a lot of ups and downs, and you gotta learn how to manage those."
The experts at Baseball America were unfazed by Parker's summer lull, naming him, along with teammate Danny Hultzen, to their Preseason All-American Team.
Parker enters the 2010 campaign with high expectations, having set numerous Virginia offensive records last season in hits with 94, total bases with 176 and runs with 75, earning him First-Team All-ACC and All-American selections. But Parker didn't lead the Cavaliers to their unexpected run through the NCAA Tournament by himself. The team led the ACC with a .327 batting average, finished second in runs, first in hits, third in RBI and first in stolen bases.
And it didn't lose a single player from last year's intimidating starting lineup.
"We've got a great mixture of speed and power, we got guys like Jarrett who can really run and hit the ball out of the ballpark," said Gosselin, Parker's fellow junior. "Grovatt, [sophomore Steven] Proscia - I mean we got so many guys - we're not one-dimensional, we're not gonna rely on the home run or rely on stealing bases, we can do a mixture of both. It's gonna be a tough offense to stop."
Though Parker managed to knock in 65 runs - tied for third in Virginia single-season history - from the lead-off spot in 2009, coach Brian O'Connor said he will place the junior in the middle of the lineup to begin the season, while Gosselin will lead off. That leaves two other players who hit at least .350 last year - Grovatt, a junior outfielder, and senior shortstop Tyler Cannon - to surround Parker in the lineup and provide him with some protection.
"We have everybody back - that's just a year of learning and hitting and even more practice," Parker said. "So I think we're gonna be ready for it, and I think we will be better."
What Virginia does not return is last season's No. 2 starter, Andrew Carraway. With last year's ACC Freshman of the Year in Hultzen resuming the role of team ace, junior right-hander Robert Morey will take Carraway's slot, leaving a hole in the No. 3 position. The development of Morey as the Virginia's third reliable starter last year was integral to its consistency - but it took some time for O'Connor to find the right man, as he experimented with several other pitchers before Morey secured the position. O'Connor has already named the third starter for this weekend's series against East Carolina: junior right-hander Cody Winiarski.
Winiarski is "kind of like a Carraway - he can log a lot of innings," O'Connor said. "He doesn't have overpowering, dominating stuff like a Hultzen or a Morey, but he's a guy that's gonna hang in there and keep you in the ball game."
If Winiarski doesn't pan out, O'Connor will have multiple other options to turn to. Sophomore Will Roberts could step in, as could freshman Whit Mayberry, whose breaking ball has caught O'Connor's eye heading into this season. Freshman Brandon Kline, a sixth-round draft pick by the Boston Red Sox, and even Grovatt could shore up Virginia's rotation, as well. These pitchers may also help fortify the Cavaliers' bullpen, which already features closer Kevin Arico, a star set-up man in Wilson, and possibly a new arm in Grovatt.
But even though the back end of the starting rotation may see some fluidity as the season progresses, there are few questions about the No. 1 man: Hultzen. The southpaw struck out 107 batters in 95 innings, adding a little flare to his 9-1 record and 2.17 ERA. It seems to go without saying that Hultzen's arm will be absolutely central to any success Virginia enjoys in 2010.
Hultzen will be a staple in the rotation, but Virginia fans may see less of the sophomore's glove this year. When he wasn't pitching last season, Hultzen primarily played first base and batted third in the lineup, hitting .327, which ranked second among ACC freshmen. He will still see plenty of at bats, but Virginia's crown jewel on the mound will spend more time as the designated hitter this season to allow other players to man first base, O'Connor said.
The change is also symbolic: Though O'Connor still appreciates last year's magic, he wants his players to ready themselves for a new season.
"I told the players when they got their rings this fall at our ring ceremony that last year was over," O'Connor said. "I know it's gonna be talked about a lot, and it's interesting to talk about - it's the greatest season in our school history and it's important. What happened last year was a great run at the end of the year by a team that finished sixth in the regular season in the ACC - this year, we've gotta try to improve on that."
But as much as the humble coach would like his team to shed the mystique of 2009 Virginia baseball, his opponents won't forget. There's a big, fat No. 2 ranking hanging over Charlottesville to remind them.
So the target is on the Cavaliers' back. And their goal is no secret.
"That's the ultimate goal," Gosselin said. "You can't get to Omaha in February but you can start taking the right steps to get there"
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