Former UConn hoopster Olander hasn’t given up on baseball dream

Sure, the numbers weren’t very good the prior season. But Tyler Olander was feeling pretty good about where he was as a baseball player this winter.

He had been working hard on his mechanics with former UConn baseball coach Andy Baylock, who told him that he was looking better than a year earlier. He was determined to show up at Blue Jays spring training camp and put the 8.14 ERA he had posted at rookie-level Bluefield in 2017, his second season as a pro, in the rear-view mirror.

Then, it all came crashing down. Working out in a gym near his Manchester home in January, Olander tore his left Achilles tendon. Just like that, his 2018 season was over before it had begun. A yearlong rehab process awaited.

“It was really disappointing to have that happen, especially at the end of the off-season, when I had put in a bunch of hard work, felt a lot stronger,” Olander said by phone this week. “To find out it was a yearlong recovery was devastating, as well.”

But Olander, who bookended national championships as a freshman and senior on the UConn men’s basketball team but made the switch to baseball two years ago, isn’t about to give up on his hardball dreams.

Olander, 26, is about halfway through his rehab process. Once a month, he heads down to the Blue Jays’ spring training facility in Dunedin, Florida, to meet with his rehab coordinator, nutritionist and others, who send him back up to Manchester with a plan based on where he’s at.

In a couple of weeks, he’ll head back down to Dunedin and finally begin his throwing program. He’s been throwing the past couple of months off of one knee, but should start to throw off two feet the first week of August. From there, he hopes to progress into the fall, maybe get on the mound a few times, shut it down for about a month, then pick things back up in late-fall, earlywinter and get ready to head to spring training again.

The 6-foot-9 left-hander believes he can still make something out of the sport he hadn’t played since the summer before his freshman year of high school.

“I feel like I’ve progressed pretty well,” said Olander. “I don’t think the numbers are so important to look at, but the individual successes are what I need to focus on. If I can maximize things, minimize walks, be more consistent with my mechanics — that translates to more strikes, more control.”

ALL ABOUT CONTROL

Olander threw 101⁄3 scoreless innings in his pro debut for the GCL Blue Jays in 2016. Last year was a different story. In his two pro seasons, he has walked 18 batters in 311⁄3 innings.

“Being able to pinpoint my release point is everything,” he noted. “I struggled with that last year. My mechanics changed pitchto-pitch. It’s just about fine-tuning that. I think mentally, last year helped me a lot to get a better feel for the game and what it’s gonna take. The numbers weren’t great, but overall I think it was very helpful.”

Olander underwent surgery in early February. At first, his left foot was in a boot and he had to move around on a one-leg scooter. He has been rehabbing with UConn men’s basketball trainer James Doran and former men’s basketball (and current men’s soccer) strength and conditioning coach Chris West and has been a consistent presence at the Werth Family Champions Center the past several months.

He hasn’t met Dan Hurley yet, but he’s excited about what the new staff can accomplish.

“I think Coach Hurley was the best hire, considering the situation,” Olander said. “I think he’s gonna do a really great job, bring the program back to where UConn fans expect it to be. Just being around there, there’s a different atmosphere around the complex. They’re excited to get back to their winning ways.”

Not that he doesn’t empathize with Kevin Ollie, who was the assistant when Olander scored the first basket of the 2011 NCAA championship game and the head coach when the Huskies won again when Olander was a senior in 2014. Ollie was fired in March.

“It’s unfortunate, but that’s the business at this level,” Olander said. “UConn is considered an elite program, you have to win games, and unfortunately they just weren’t doing that. He’s a great guy, a great person. I think he’ll continue to have success wherever he goes. Whatever he wants to do, I wish him the best. He was great to me and my teammates when I was at UConn, and even after he’s maintained great relationships.”

But it’s all about rehabbing and getting back to the baseball field right now for Tyler Olander. And hey, if it doesn’t end up working out, he’s still got one more national championship than Jim Boeheim — as UConn fans are quick to point out.

“I think it’s cool,” Olander said, “but I have all the respect for Jim Boeheim. He’s had a great career. I guess it’s true, but Jim Boeheim is a legend in the college game … even if he does coach Syracuse.”