The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
After two years as a Tar Heel, Casparius back ‘home’ at UConn
Ben Casparius had never set foot on the UConn campus prior to his visit to the school about three months ago.
“Which is crazy to think about,” admitted the Westport native, who won a state title with Staples in 2017 and graduated as Connecticut’s alltime high school hits leader.
Casparius had committed to North Carolina his sophomore year at Staples, before UConn coach Jim Penders had the chance to get him in for a visit. After two seasons with the Tar Heels, however, the 6foot1, 215pound twoway player will now be spending a lot more time on the UConn campus.
Casparius, who pitches and plays third base (and all over the infield, really), decided to transfer to UConn shortly after that visit in lateMay. He has applied for a waiver from the NCAA to play right away and not have to sit out a season as a transfer, and the chances seem promising that he’ll be cleared.
“He’s ubertalented,” Penders said. “We just hope to be able to use him this year. He’s gonna have some competition over there, but third base was certainly a problem this past year. We didn’t find any real consistency over there. We have a significant need.”
Casparius will continue to be a twoway player, which is something that UNC had backed off a bit this past season. Two years ago as a freshman, he hit .316 at the plate while also posting a 1.69 ERA in 10 outings out of the Tar Heels’ bullpen.
But Casparius struggled a bit at the plate to start this past season, and when one of UNC’s top pitchers went down with an injury, coach Mike Fox wanted him to concentrate solely on pitching. Casparius didn’t bat at all after March 31, and wound up with a 4.41 ERA in 12 relief outings.
“At that point,” Casparius recalled, “I realized I wanted to continue hitting, and I hoped there was a place that was gonna let me do that. That’s where UConn came in.”
Indeed, Penders is very open to letting Casparius continue to be a twoway player.
“That was a big interest for him,” Casparius noted. “He believes in the whole idea of being really proactive with communication and how I’m feeling with my body and arm, what he thinks is best for me in terms of doing both. So, I was excited to hear that, just because he wants it to be more on the players’ terms, what’s best for us or how we feel. I thought that was a really important piece, especially as a twoway guy.”
Said Penders: “He’s a very good offensive player with a really good arm on the mound, too, with good stuff. He’s very, very intriguing, and we’re looking forward to see how best we can use him. We’ll get to know him a little bit this fall and see what he can do.”
One person that won’t stand in the way of Casparius’s transfer process is Fox. One of the first hurdles to clear is if the original school has any objections. But Fox, the longtime UNC head coach, has been “supercooperative” throughout the process, according to Penders.
“It’s nice to know that there are coaches out there that want to facilitate a move,” the 16year UConn head coach said. “If it’s not gonna be at their place, there’s no grudges held, let’s try to help him get to where he needs to be.”
The only remaining issue seems to be on the academic side. Casparius is a good student, but not all courses at UNC transfer to UConn. With that in mind, Casparius has been working hard in four accelerated, online courses this summer. He even cut short by about two weeks his summer ball season that started in the Cape Cod League and ended with the Ocean State Waves of the NECBL, so that he could return to his Westport home and fully concentrate on his studies.
“That was the priority,” Casparius said. “If those courses went well, I figured there’d be a 9095 percent chance to be eligible.”
He’s got one more final exam to complete before he heads to Storrs on Friday or Saturday.
Casparius won’t be the first local player who went off to play collegiately down South, only to return a year or two later to play for UConn.
Look no further than current Husky associate head coach Jeff Hourigan, who spent his first two years at Clemson before returning to UConn. Brett Burnham (Auburn) and Steve Mallinowski (Wake Forest) are among those who followed similar paths.
In fact, Casparius isn’t the only talented twoway player transferring to UConn this year. Erik Stock, an infielder/pitcher from Old Dominion, could be battling Casparius for playing time this season. Assuming, of course, both players earn waivers.
Either way, Penders is very happy to have Ben Casparius on his side, after things didn’t quite work out in Chapel Hill, N.C.
“I know they thought very highly of his abilities,” Penders said of the Tar Heels. “Regardless of what happened there, I really believe in second chances. We’re gonna help facilitate that here. We’ve had tremendous luck with guys that have been on their second stop.”
FIELD OF DREAMS
One thing Casparius and the rest of his new teammates will be able to enjoy next spring is a brandnew field. Penders said the field should be playable by March, even if the entire Elliot Ballpark, a 1,500seat stadium, will still be a construction site likely into December of 2020.
“As long as we have a place to play this coming season, that’s really what matters,” said Penders. “I’m excited for that. We’re not gonna have to go offcampus in the spring.”