Pitcher Brett Harman is one of seven Terps to be elected as a de facto captain this season.
In more than two years at the helm of the Terrapins baseball team, coach Erik Bakich has spurred on an immense makeover of a once-moribund Terps program, making upgrades to the team’s facilities, on-field talent and win column that are impossible to miss.
What’s not as easily discernible is the culture change Bakich has been able to foster. Radicalizing beliefs and aspirations for a program mired in a four-decade-long absence from the NCAA Tournament can be difficult, especially during trying periods such as the slow start to ACC play the Terps slogged through this season.
But with a new leadership system introduced this season, Bakich has created a reliable go-between for the coaching staff and the team, which faces Boston College (10-14, 2-7 ACC) this weekend. After seasons of informal governance by the team, the Terps have an official core of players who serve as de facto captains for the team.
Seven players – shortstop Alfredo Rodriguez, pitcher Sander Beck, catcher Aaron Etchison, pitcher/center fielder Korey Wacker, pitcher Brett Harman, catcher Jack Cleary and first baseman Tim Kiene – make up what’s come to be known as the Terps’ (17-9, 2-7) “leadership council.” The team elected the council before the season and charged it with acting as an extension of the coaching staff and helping younger players adjust to college baseball.
“I felt like this year we could definitely do it because one of the strengths of this year’s club is the leadership,” Bakich said. “There were a lot of guys that have evolved into really good leaders on the team and I thought they should be recognized for it. I thought that our team could benefit from it.”
In the past, Beck said, the team never had official captains. The team’s natural leaders would end up being its seniors. But this year, Bakich’s leadership council has five seniors, one junior and one sophomore, a diversity that Beck said adds to the council’s representativeness of the team.
“It’s just a representation of the voice of the team,” Rodriguez said. “It doesn’t matter whether it’s just seniors because we have some underclassmen on there, like Kiene. It’s good to just get a feel for the team, because sometimes our coach talks to us first to see what we think the team will say if he makes a decision.”
Harman said the coaching staff is open to ideas and input from the leadership council, but he and other players haven’t had to go to Bakich with any concerns yet. Instead, they’re focusing on helping the Terps rebound from a 2-7 start in ACC play.
“All we’ve had to do is just make sure we remain confident,” Harman said. “We’ve experienced a little bit of adversity here in the ACC, and pretty much it’s the leadership council’s job to stay positive and stay focused and realize all of our goals.”
No single moment that speaks to the leadership council’s impact on the team sticks out to Beck. Instead, he sees the significance of smaller things that add up over time. As Bakich reels in highly rated recruiting classes, many players who were stars and starters in high school now find themselves sitting behind established veterans on the team, a reality that can at times be jarring.
“We’ve worked hard at developing servant-leaders, meaning putting the needs of the team and other people ahead of your own,” Bakich said.
Bakich said the elected members of the leadership council are all natural leaders, but by recognizing them, it provides a foundation for the long-term.
“I was very honored,” Beck said. “It’s very flattering when your teammates recognize you for something like that. In my opinion, while having great stats and having great success on the field is great, when your teammates can recognize you for intangible abilities such as leadership, it’s flattering.”
The impact of the Terps’ leaders has not been lost on the team’s underclassmen. Freshman third baseman K.J. Hockaday won the starting job at third base in the fall and has continued to excel into the regular season, leading the team with a .352 batting average.
“Kids like Alfredo Rodriguez, Sander Beck, Brett Harman, they’re all kids that are just in my corner every day trying to lead this team, and they’re doing a good job of it,” Hockaday said. “By them leading this team … it makes our jobs a lot more easier.”
dgallen@umdbk.com
