In some ways, Brian Hamm feels like he’s settled into his role as Yale’s head coach with one Ivy League season under his belt. In other ways, though, he feels like there is still plenty of newness when it comes to working to put his best team on the field this spring.
Key players taking a leave of absence during the fall semester in order to extend their undergraduate eligibility and others returning from injuries that kept them out for all of 2023 leave plenty of questions to be answered as the new season gets underway, but the program’s depth is starting to grow.
“A year in, we have a better … grasp of what it takes to win at the Division 1 level,” the Terryville, Conn., native coach said. “The challenge is that we still don’t know exactly what we’re going to be (in every position) because we have such a smaller roster. … It’s just a very different experience than at Eastern Connecticut, where we could just load up on the transfers. We’re starting to build back up the depth after getting hit by COVID.”
While Hamm and his staff continue to add depth, Yale still boasts just four sophomores and has added nine freshmen. The Bulldogs’ top hitter a year ago was a first-year in former Loomis Chaffee standout Davis Hanson, who is expected to move across the diamond to play as a regular third baseman this season. Hanson hit .290 with nine extra-base hits and 27 RBI as a first-year player.
