In Focus: Cole St.Clair

By Jessica Cannon     5/15/08 7:00pm

Whenever a Rice baseball player crosses the plate to tally a run, his teammates immediately head out of the dugout to meet him - a celebration that is tradition in college baseball, and one that highlights the true sense of team camaraderie in college athletics. But fans following the Owls closely this year might have noticed that one of the first players out of the dugout is almost always senior pitcher Cole St.Clair. This Santa Ana, Calif. native has been a driving force for Rice's success whenever he set sfoot on the rubber, and he has been a consistent leader for the team in the locker room during his four-year tenure at Rice.It was then no surprise to Rice fans that St.Clair was drafted in the seventh round by the Cleveland Indians last summer. His accomplishments are numerous and include several school records: 27 career saves, 103 appearances and a top 10 all-time place in both the career and season-best ERA categories. These numbers also share a spot with St. Clair's multiple awards, which include the Dell Morgan Most Valuable Baseball Player for 2006 and the 2008 Bob Quin Award, given to Rice's most outstanding male athlete on and off the field. And that's on top of being named an All-American by Baseball America in 2006 and a freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball in 2005, as well as earning a spot on Team USA in 2006. On the national team, he had a 4-0 record with three saves and an ERA of 0.69 against some of the best athletes in the world.

But perhaps the best way to appreciate what St.Clair has brought to Rice baseball is to look at his contributions on the mound in clutch situations, especially on a huge stage like the College World Series. In 2007 he held the University of North Carolina scoreless in three relief innings to notch a save in the winner's bracket and did not allow any runs in his 6.2 total innings of work in Omaha. The year before, St.Clair made two appearances at Omaha, one a rare start against the University of Miami. Despite the unfamiliar situation, he pitched five successful innings, allowing just one run on three hits and striking out five. Cole has shown this kind of dominance both home at Reckling Park and away, during the regular season and at the College World Series.

Teammates and coaches attribute this success on the mound to his competitive fire and a strong sense of what he is capable of doing with his pitching abilities.

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"He's one of those guys, when he'll give up a hit, he will start to throw harder," junior second baseman Jess Buenger said. "When he gets in trouble, he just raises his game to another level to get out of it."

Junior catcher Adam Zornes agreed with Buenger, noting the team's confidence in the lefty.

"He's one of the guys, if not the guy, that we want on the mound in a clutch situation," Zornes said. "And he always comes up big for us."

Part of St.Clair's ability to walk into any situation and command the strike zone stems from his repertoire of pitches; he owns a fastball, changeup, a self-described "big looping curveball" and the ability to locate them just where he wants. But his teammates say he has a good pitching attitude, as well.

"He's a great competitor, and he likes to challenge hitters by throwing strikes," freshman right-fielder Chad Mozingo said. "He's got a good fastball that hitters don't pick up real well, and he likes to just charge the hitters with it."

In fact, this confidence is how Cole earned his nickname "the Bull." Unafraid to challenge any batter with his fastball, Cole's prowess on the mound has become legendary among his teammates.

"It's just his persona out there on the mound," Zornes said. "He's been known to snort a couple of times and stare people down, so I think he just took on this bull figure."

St.Clair's focus and intensity has transformed his dominant physical ability into a potent mental weapon.

"He's definitely one of those guys when you hit him, you're not comfortable at all in the box," Buenger said.

With his level of talent and refined skill, it is easy to see why many thought it was surprising that St.Clair chose to return to Rice for his senior year. But pitching is only one aspect of the story. One part of St.Clair's decision to return to Rice involved his commitment to his education, and another involved his personal character - traits that have also distinguished him as a leader off the field while at Rice.

"I was leaning towards it [returning to Rice], and then it just seemed like everything came together," St.Clair said. "The idea of finishing my education before I moved on was very tempting to me."

Once a player is drafted, it is often difficult for him to return to Rice and finish coursework, as St.Clair discovered when Paul Janish (Wiess '05), a former infielder drafted in 2004, was also enrolled in one of his classes. And while the seventh round may be nearly unattainable for the majority of college baseball players, St. Clair thought his assessment by Major League scouts could rise even higher with another year under his belt.

"I could increase my value by coming back here, and just have fun and enjoy my senior year while I still know everybody [on campus]," St.Clair said.

St.Clair said some of his favorite memories, other than being on one of the top college baseball teams in the nation, include playing sand volleyball on Saturday afternoons with friends and winning the flag football championship for Sid Richardson College as a freshman. Although it was not an easy decision, he said the choice to return to Rice just seemed right. And this past weekend the fruits of his decision were made evident, as he crossed the stage beneath Lovett Hall with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics.

Determination, heart and talent were many of the same qualities that brought St.Clair to Rice in the first place. His father was a basketball player at the University of Southern California, and his mother was on the first crew team at the University of California-Los Angeles, so it was not an obvious decision for the Californian to come to Texas.

"I wanted to go out of state to see how everything worked in other places, and I wanted to go to a very competitive athletic university," St.Clair said. "Having a degree that really meant something was another [important quality], and having a coach that I liked and who didn't recruit 40 guys for 20 roster spots was another."

Rice was just coming off its national championship season of 2003, and the opportunity to pitch in Omaha was one of the factors St.Clair had set out as an important feature in selecting a school.

But the championship banner soaring over left field was not the biggest reason St.Clair chose Rice. Instead, it was something intangible.

"Really there is a kind of community here, and that's what I like most about it," St.Clair said.

The pitcher's personality and his character - demonstrated by his decision to turn down a substantial contract and delay entering professional baseball for one more year - are elements that have made him thrive at Rice and stand out as a leader on campus. His past life, however, is not lost on his Texan teammates.

"Cole is the prototypical California kid," Zornes, a Houston native, said. "He is just carefree, a real nice guy, [and] fun to be around."

Ryan Berry, a sophomore starter who has challenged St.Clair for the reputation of toughest pitcher on the team in recent years, recalled how the senior was one of the teammates last year that brought him under his wing.

"He taught me a lot - when to throw my fastball for a strike, when to throw my fastball for a ball, what pitches to select, how to read the batter," Berry said. "He, much like me, stayed on campus for two years, and he has had as much of an influence inside the clubhouse as he's had outside the clubhouse, and that means a lot to everybody here."

Head coach Wayne Graham has described St.Clair as a "quiet leader," one who leads by example and sets a high standard through his work ethic and dedication.

"I think he's probably one of the most well-rounded individuals you will ever see," Graham said. "In many ways he exemplifies Rice, because one word that is used often to describe Rice is eclectic, and he contributes to that [description] because he's talented, he's got work ethic, he's got time management, he cares about others and he's a little different. And the difference is wonderful. You need people with different points of view."

As for St.Clair winning the Quin Award and being a top ten finalist for the 2008 Lowe's Senior Class Award, Graham noted that "within the limits of being human, he gave all he had" in activities off the diamond.

"I can't think of anyone that better represents college sports," the longtime coach said. "Coming back for his fourth year, being a leader and all the things that you hope that a young man will grow and become. [He has] been a valuable pitcher every year, which is remarkable, [had] four good years, been to Omaha twice, [and] been a pivotal player, always, in those efforts. We probably wouldn't have gone to Omaha either time without him."

Pitching for the Owls has indeed given St.Clair many opportunities and challenges as an athlete. He began this season as a starter, a role that he knew he could fill, and one he hoped he would have the chance to compete for while in college. Being a starting pitcher allowed him to have a set pitch count and day to work each week so that he could focus on building strength - something that is difficult to do in a relief role. As the season progressed, however, Graham and St.Clair both agreed that the team could best use him as a reliever.

"Over the past couple of years I've developed almost a sixth sense about when I'm going to get into a game, and to start pitching and be ready." St.Clair said.

As many young little leaguers are apt to do, St.Clair dreamed of playing college baseball and someday moving on to the Major Leagues. Although he started in the outfield as a seven-year-old, he soon moved to first base and then to the mound. As a high school all-star and now as a successful college athlete, St.Clair is looking forward to the next step in professional baseball.

That is, once this season with the Owls is complete.

The continued best efforts of St.Clair on the mound and as a leader in the dugout will be necessary to win in the NCAA Tournament this year, and his team acknowledges his importance. When describing the pitcher's contributions, Graham probably expressed St.Clair's role most succinctly: "Without him, we are much less.

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