Freshman pitcher Colby Wyatt began playing baseball at basically the same age he first learned to walk. However, unlike most baseball toddlers, he does not hail from a baseball family, as nobody in the Wyatt clan had ever picked up a bat. But, Colby quickly developed his game with the ability to play year-round due to his residence in Phoenix, Arizona. In high school, he made the varsity team at Sandra Day O’Connor High School. After originally struggling as a hitter in the lineup, his coaches made him into a full-time pitcher.
Wyatt first caught Cornell’s eyes at a Stanford baseball camp the summer following his junior year. At the time, he was being recruited by local schools, such as the University of Arizona and Grand Canyon University, a handful of other Ivy League schools, including Dartmouth and Columbia, and the University of New Orleans. Wyatt ultimately set his sights on the Big Red when he found out about the School of Industrial and Labor Relations.
“My goal is to work in baseball, and business is the best way to achieve that,” Wyatt said. “The coaches mentioned the school to me and how it produced Rob Manfred and Gary Bettman. Once I met Coach Pep, I knew it was going to be a great fit.”
Wyatt developed as a pitcher in high school, focusing primarily on his velocity, which his 6’1’’ frame certainly helped with. However, as he’s made the jump to the next level, he’s concentrated more on craftiness.
“You can’t just blow it by people at the college level unless you throw 90 plus miles per hour,” Wyatt explained. “I just try to get more movement on my fastball, to hit my spots, and to get hitters off balance.”
From a baseball perspective, he admits that he really doesn’t model his game after anyone.
“I look up to Paul Goldschmidt — he’s the hometown Diamondbacks guy. Randy Johnson and Ken Griffey too, but there isn’t really a big right handed pitcher. I just go out and pitch and be me,” Wyatt described.
As a freshman, he notes that the transition onto the team has been a lot better than he originally expected. He mentioned that he has felt like a part of the team since day one.
“A lot of the older guys took the freshmen under their wings,” Wyatt stated. “The team chemistry is incredible. If you do well, everyone is going to back you up. I feel like I have already been a part of the team.”
His transition into college life did not come without the usual mistakes, as he caught himself taking a bus an hour in the other direction during the second week of school. Wyatt chalks that up as a learning experience that every freshman eventually encounters. When he is not playing baseball, he likes to just chill out by playing video games and watching television.
This offseason, he spent most of the time training on his own.
“I had nobody to hold me in check,” Wyatt said.
His ultimate goal was to be included in the group of players invited for road games, as only 24 of the 35 members of the team travel. With hard work, Wyatt earned his spot. He says his personal goal for the year is to make a start at some point, but for right now, his objective is to excel in whatever role his coaches give him. Wyatt is going to be a late innings guys to start the season, but he knows that it can change at any point. He feels confident that he can be used in high leverage situations, yet can also throw four to five innings if needed.
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