CASE OF MIND OVER BATTER
USD’s Mautz corrals command, gets ball for regional opener
Brycen Mautz is majoring in behavioral neuroscience at the University of San Diego.
As a pitcher, it seems like an inspired way to get inside hitters’ heads.
“I haven’t figured that one out yet, but it could be my big advantage someday,” Mautz said with a laugh. Someday?
Mautz has figured out something to miss hitters’ bats.
He was leading the nation in strikeouts the first month of the season and is still ranked in the top 10 with 124 strikeouts in 832⁄3 innings. He’s on the verge of a school record with a rate of 13.34 strikeouts/nine innings.
Perhaps even more impressive is the command that comes with the Ks. Mautz has walked only 21 batters, giving him almost a 6:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
“It’s crazy to think he has 100 more strikeouts than walks,” USD pitching coach Matt Florer said.
Mautz (9-2, 4.09 ERA), a sophomore left-hander from Westview High, will be on the mound today when the Toreros (36-18) open the NCAA Division I Tournament
against Vanderbilt (36-21) in Corvallis, Ore.
A victory over the Commodores would make Mautz the first USD pitcher in 14 years with double-digit wins.
“He has the stuff but it’s also learning to pitch with the stuff,” USD head coach Brock Ungricht said. “That is the biggest thing he has learned how to do.
“He’s been able to pitch through adversity in the middle of a game, given up home runs, and he knows now, ‘Hey, I do get hit when I get fastballs up. I’ve got to go use another pitch.’ He wasn’t able to do that in the past. Now he has a breaking ball. He can use that, which offsets the fastball.”
A mid-90s fastball is commonplace in college baseball these days.
What sets Mautz apart — and quickens the pulses of pro scouts — are the other parts of the package. There is the command. Mound presence. He’s 6-foot-3, 190 pounds. And did we mention he’s left-handed?
Mautz is rated among the top prospects in the 2022
MLB Draft, projected by mlb.com as a third-round selection.
The draft is no longer the distraction it was for decades when it came in early June and coincided with NCAA postseason play. It is aligned now with the AllStar Game, taking place July 17-19 in Los Angeles.
“He’s definitely a higherend pro prospect,” Florer said.
Mautz didn’t register on MLB’s radar in high school. Heck, USD was fortunate to find him.
Ungricht and Florer were at Westview’s ballpark three years ago to see a Point Loma High pitcher when they were tipped on Mautz.
“Brycen kind of caught Flo’s attention,” Ungricht said. “It was like, ‘Oh, look at this kid.’
“We came back and watched him again. He fit our mold. Academic as all can be. Also, just the way the arm works. You could tell there was something in there.”
Mautz’s progress was delayed during the pandemic. He pitched just 10 innings over five appearances as a freshman in 2020, when COVID-19 wiped out the season after just 16 games.
Last season, Mautz showed glimpses of success, going 3-1 in 13 appearances (five starts) that totaled 27 innings. The highlight was five perfect innings against UC Riverside with nine strikeouts. But he had 26 strikeouts and 14 walks on the year. Nothing to suggest the breakout season to come.
Summer ball last year in the Northwoods League was where Mautz began to make progress.
“I tend to be a little wild at times, which works to my disadvantage,” Mautz said, “so I spent the whole summer trying to focus on command.
“Playing a bunch of games, being with a bunch of people from all over, it was really good for me to learn new things, pick up a couple tricks and get myself ready for a full season.”
One thing Mautz decided before this season was to work out of the stretch, even when the bases are empty.
“Just to keep things more simple in terms of moving parts throughout the delivery,” Florer said.
The slider Mautz developed has given him a secondary pitch to get hitters out. It led to sustained success this season, beginning with a 12-strikeout performance against Oregon in his first start of the year.
“He saw that and said, ‘Hey, I can be this good,’ ” Florer said. “You see that glimpse and you get excited about it . ... That confidence is there now. It’s not just glimpses. It’s start after start.”