Podcast: Duke coach Chris Pollard on recruiting in Northeast

Duke coach Chris Pollard joined hosts Dan Guttenplan and Matt Feld on The Base Path Podcast. (Getty Images)

The latest guest on The Base Path Podcast is widely recognized as one of the top D1 coaches in college baseball — Duke skipper Chris Pollard.

In his 10 years at Duke, Pollard has made Duke somewhat of a destination for New England baseball prospects who want to take their talents to warmer weather down south.

The Davidson College alumnus has led the program to unprecedented success in his 10-plus years at the school. Duke has advanced to two Super Regionals and claimed the first ACC Tournament championship in program history under Pollard.

This year’s roster is evidence of Pollard’s recruitment of New England players. Six New England natives are on the Duke roster heading into the 2023 season.

“New England players fit the demographic of our university,” Pollard said. “There are a lot of great students in New England. We’re not only looking for guys that can help us get to Omaha; we’re looking for guys that are a great academic fit for this university. Being a private school, there is a cost factor involved and sometimes being in an area of the country where there aren’t a lot of other private schools, there can be a little bit of sticker shock involved with that. But not amongst the then Northeastern family because there are a lot of private schools in New England. And so that cost is more typical to what they’re looking for and what they’re accustomed to.

“Then the main reason we recruit there is because there’s great baseball in New England. We’ve been able to find a really good niche of a guy that’s looking for a place like Duke and is also the type of student that fits in well and thrives at a place like Duke.”

One of Pollard’s top projected players for this season, Phillips Andover alumnus Jonathan Santucci, is expected to contribute as a two-way player. Pollard is still deciding how to deploy Santucci as a pitcher while still maximizing his production as an everyday player.

“I do believe in the two-way player, both at the collegiate level, but also now you’re seeing the two-way player start to have a more expanded role in professional baseball,” Pollard said. “I think you’ll see more coming down the line. I think what Shohei Ohtani has done opened the door for more players to have the chance to be two-way guys at the next level. I think our sport has missed an opportunity for a lot of years in taking advantage of the two-way player. It’s always been a part of our recruiting philosophy.”

The New England Baseball Journal podcast is brought to you by the University of Nebraska High School.

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