Infield Displays Speed, Power Alike

As we gear up for the 2021 University of Houston Baseball season, we take a closer look at the team in our four-part positional preview series featuring Cougar pitching (Feb. 1), catching (Feb. 4), infield (Feb. 8) and outfield (Feb. 11).

HOUSTON – Houston Baseball expects to showcase a unique mix of speed and power during the 2021 season and nowhere is that better displayed than its infield.

The Cougars return one of the nation's premier power hitters in first baseman Ryan Hernandez and arguably one of the country's fastest players in second baseman Brad Burckel. During 2020, Hernandez struck five home runs in 15 games and Burckel stole five bases in 10 games.

Hernandez followed his strong spring with a spectacular summer, being named Texas Collegiate League Player of the Year after pacing the league in batting average (.364), doubles (9) and home runs (6). He also finished third in runs (26), fourth in RBIs (24) and fifth in hits (32).

"Enthusiasm is the first thing that comes to mind when you're talking about Ryan Hernandez," head coach Todd Whitting said. "He's a great kid with a great personality. As a guy who has come in here and only played 15 games, he's taken on a major leadership role. I thought he had a really good early season last year and really good summer. You'll see him right there in the middle of the lineup hopefully driving in a lot of runs for us."

Burckel returns for his third year with the program. The Lindale, Texas, product led American Athletic Conference freshmen in stolen bases (16) during 2019. In 2020, he batted .272 with seven runs, five stolen bases and a pair of doubles.

"He has really progressed nicely from this time last year," Whitting said of Burckel. "He is tremendously physical. I thought he got off to a great start last year. He's kind of what you want at the top of the order. He has unbelievable speed and sneaky power. He can hit the ball from foul pole to foul pole. He's become a solid defender and probably improved that part of his game more than anything. He has a chance to be electric."

The duo is joined by redshirt sophomore Ian McMillan who saw improvement at the plate during the fall and displayed great range defensively. The Scottsdale, Ariz., native started at shortstop and third base a season ago while providing five RBIs in 15 games.

Luke Almendarez is a candidate at shortstop or third base after working his way into the lineup a season ago. The Round Rock, Texas, native provided six hits, three stolen bases and three RBIs in eight appearances during 2020.

"At shortstop, you have Ian McMillan and Luke Almendarez fighting out a battle there," Whitting said. "They're both going to play a lot. They're really good friends but they're really competitive and they compete hard against each other. They're fighting like crazy for that job."

First-year freshman Will Pendergrass is coming off a decorated career in both baseball and football at Missouri City's Ridge Point High School. Pendergrass was tabbed Texas' No. 4 third baseman in his class by Perfect Game.

Sophomore Adam Becker also enters his first season with the program. The Midland, Texas, native spent the 2019 season at Oklahoma State before providing a strong presence in the lineup at Grayson College in 2020, batting .286 with 18 RBIs and 16 runs in 19 games.

True freshman Skyler Trevino, who started two games at second base during the Red-White World Series, brought home the lone two runs of Team Red's Game 2 victory in the series.

Freshman Evan Maldonado, freshman Samuel Tormos and sophomore Hayden Winters are all considered individuals that could make an impact at multiple positions across the field. Maldonado was a career .393 hitter at Sharyland Pioneer High School, Tormos was a district offensive MVP as a senior at Van Alstyne High School and Winters batted .371 in 2020 at Cypress College.

"You have tremendous competition in our middle infield and at third base right now," Whitting said. "You have big strong physical guys who can hit and they can all defend. From an infield defense standpoint, we made very few errors all fall. It'll be fun to watch."

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Luke Almendarez

Adam Becker

Brad Burckel

Ryan Hernandez

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Will Pendergrass

Samuel Tormos

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