For the second consecutive year, the focus of the college baseball season for the local programs has shifted to next week’s draft. Some experienced disappointing seasons, others conference tournament heartbreak.
Everywhere, that is, except Morningside Heights, where Columbia and program architect Brett Boretti have reached another NCAA regional, this time in Coral Gables, Fla., hosted by powerhouse and top-seed Miami.
It has become tradition for the third-seeded Lions, a once-dormant program that has emerged as the area’s best, playing into June for the third time in six years after a 32-year absence from postseason play.
Boretti, a 43-year-old former minor league catcher, is the linchpin. He came to Columbia in 2005 after five successful years at Division III Franklin & Marshall, intent on winning Ivy League championships and changing the tenor of the program. He has succeeded.
“He’s one of those coaches that has all the tools in his toolbox,” Columbia athletic director M. Dianne Murphy said.
When Murphy interviewed Boretti nearly a decade ago, she was struck by his confidence and passion. They talked about his goals for the program, what needed to change to make Columbia into a winner. His lack of experience — he had yet to be a Division I head coach — seemed irrelevant. He wanted the job so badly that when Murphy asked him what he thought of the school’s Ivy-League-worst baseball facilities, Boretti said they were good enough. They soon agreed improvements needed to be made, which they have.
Boretti has drawn top-notch talent, landing players who previously wouldn’t have thought twice about joining the Columbia program, players with high major scholarship offers. Outfielder Gus Craig picked Columbia over Duke; ace right-hander George Thanopoulos held offers from Pepperdine and Notre Dame. On Thanopoulos’ visit, Columbia (29-18) didn’t seem like a mid-major program, from the facilities to the year-round workouts to the high expectations.
“The coaches treat this like it’s a major Division-I program, which is what drew me in and what draws most guys who play here,” said Thanopoulos, Friday’s projected starter against No. 2 Texas Tech.
Columbia’s roster included players from 13 states, blending local and national talent. Boretti said his staff makes an effort to recruit from baseball-rich states such as Texas, California and Florida, because he feels his school offers a combination few programs in those states possess: elite education and his program’s competitiveness.
“We try to really explain they get an opportunity to do two great things by coming here,” Boretti said.
Players swear by the egoless Boretti. They love his even-keeled approach, his on-field fire and sense of humor off of it. His door is always open.
“I can come to Coach Boretti with anything, any athletic or academic issue,” Craig said.
When Columbia, built on its pitching depth and a balanced, speedy lineup, was struggling midseason, he never changed. There was no sense of panic. Boretti preached staying the course. His confidence never wavered.
The result was a 15-game winning streak — Columbia entered Friday’s opener as winners of 21 of its previous 24 games, with a program-record 29 wins — and a second straight NCAA tournament berth, a record 11 Lions receiving All-Ivy honors, including pitcher of the year (senior left-hander David Speer) and rookie of the year (second baseman Will Savage).
Boretti lives in the moment. He hasn’t thought about what has been accomplished over the last nine years, and he rejects the notion he is responsible for the school’s baseball renaissance.
The tournament committee has recognized what’s going on in Morningside Heights, awarding Columbia a three-seed in the Coral Gables Regional, while most mid-major programs from the Northeast are four- seeds.
Columbia, however, isn’t just happy to be playing this weekend. The Lions are determined to do damage, to take their success to the next level.
“The goal is just to go out there and prove to the country we’re not just another mid-major team that’s happy to be at the regionals,” Thanopoulos said. “We’re going there with the mind-set to try to get to Omaha [site of the College World Series] and win a national championship.”