It’s another podcast episode! Cal Poly basketball teams are at the Big West Tournament this week and Cal Poly football begins their season on Friday. Owen talks to Chris Sylvester and Brint Wahlberg about the upcoming football opener against Southern Utah in what will be Beau Baldwin’s first game as the Cal Poly head coach since he was hired nearly 15 months ago. 

As a photographer, Matt Brown has covered just about every major sporting event in this country, including the Big West Tournament for most of the past 2-3 decades. Matt was covering the women’s side of the bracket early last week and preparing for four games at the Honda Center last Thursday morning when the news came that the sports world was at a standstill. Matt talked to Owen Main and Chris Sylvester about the feeling inside the Walter Pyramid earlier in the week and what the scene was as the decision came down at the Honda Center on Thursday.

Owen Main and Chris Sylvester kick off the “Going on Break” edition of the Fansmanship podcast. 

The mandated postponement and cancelation of so many sporting events is the best thing for everyone, but the ramifications for people whose daily life revolves around sports will be long-lasting. The “Going on Break” editions of the podcast, will explore how life is changing throughout this unprecedented time from a multitude of people.

Today’s guest was Ghizal Hasan. Ghizal is the play-by-play voice of CSUN men’s basketball and UC Riverside baseball. Topics are wide-ranging as we get our footing with this new format. 

It’s a BIG 2019-20 Big West Men’s basketball preview!

Cal Poly play-by-play man Chris Sylvester and Nick Wynne join the podcast to break-down preseason expectations for all nine Big West teams. Come for the Cal Poly fandom… stay for the breakdown of every single roster and schedule in the conference. 

Caroline Walters has been through a lot at Cal Poly. In her first full season as head-coach this year, the Mustangs are ranked in the top-25 in the nation. We talked about her time on staff at Cal Poly for two coaches and as an interim coach, what it’s like to coach your sister, and where she sees the program headed moving forward. 

Luke Meikle – Senior – 6’9”, 209 lbs

By the Numbers:

Luke Meikle celebrates after Cal Poly’s win over UCSB in January. By Owen Main

31 Games

25.5 Minutes per game

8.7 Points per game

4.3 Rebounds per game

1.2 Assists per game

37.2.% Field Goals

33.3% 3 Pointers

85.7 % Free Throws

Luke Meikle was one of the first transfers Cal Poly was able to get to commit to school after they won the NCAA tournament. The fact that he was 6’9″ with a diversified skill set and coming from a power school like Gonzaga seemed to bode really well for Joe Callero and Cal Poly. 

Early in his Cal Poly career, Meikle fought through some lingering injuries. In his senior season, he was one of just five Mustangs to play all 31 games, starting 29. Meikle’s polished offensive moves in the post and confidence from mid-range and three-point range were assets to the Mustangs’ attack during his senior campaign. 

Three freebies FTW

The highlight of Cal Poly’s season, and probably Meikle’s, came when the senior drew a shooting foul with .3 seconds left in Cal Poly’s season opener against UCSB. Meikle made three free throws to secure the first of Cal Poly’s four conference victories.

The craziest part was, when asked about it after the game, Meikle said it wasn’t the first time he’d made free throws with basically no time left to win. He said it was on YouTube. He was telling the truth. 

Meikle scored in double digits in 12 of Cal Poly’s games. He seemed at his best when he drew fouls and got himself to the free throw line, where he was very good. 

Watching Luke for three seasons, it always seemed he was between positions at this level and with this program. Meikle worked extremely hard and was savvy in getting himself decent looks without extreme athleticism. Defensively, he fought and generally gave what he could give. 

During the middle of conference play, Meikle probably found his biggest stride individually, scoring in double-digits in five of seven games, averaging 12 points per game during that stretch. 

I think in a perfect world, Joe Callero might have had the opportunity to play the versatile Meikle at different positions more often or against some of the other team’s reserves. Instead, on a team that didn’t have much in terms of real, back to the basket, offensively polished bigs, Meikle often bared the lion’s share of whatever load was put on Cal Poly’s forwards. 

Going Pro

Meikle’s polished skillset got him a look at the World Wide Invitational, which will give him a chance to show what he’s got and try to play hoops professionally. In reality, Meikle’s offensive game — range out to the three point line and nifty pivot moves around the hoop — could be a better fit for a professional league that is more based on individual matchups than stifling, lane-filling team defense like the Big West turns into late in the year. 

In another universe, Meikle’s sophomore or junior seasons might have been really successful for Cal Poly as a team and for Luke individually. I’m sure if you asked him, basketball didn’t go exactly as planned over the past three years. 

Cal Poly center fielder Alex McKenna was named Big West Field Player of the Year on Wednesday, according to the Big West’s twitter account. 

#BWCHonors Field Player of the Year – Alex McKenna (@CalPolyStangs):

-1st Mustang since 2014 (Mark Mathias) & 5th overall so named.
-Led BWC in hits (81) & runs (41).
-2nd in BWC TB (121), 3rd in OBP (.424), 5th in BA/SLG (.339/.506).#RideHigh #BWCBaseball #PlayBig ⚾️ pic.twitter.com/fdrZEcQfdB

— Big West Baseball (@BigWestBaseball) May 30, 2018

McKenna is the fifth Mustang to win the award. Mark Mathias won the award in 2014 and Mitch Haniger — currently a member of the Seattle Mariners — also won the award in 2012 while manning centerfield at Baggett. 

In 2018, McKenna led the conference with 81 hits and 51 runs while committing just one error all season. On the year, McKenna hit .339 with 15 doubles, 5 triples, and 5 home runs. In three seasons in San Luis Obispo, McKenna hit .323 with 16 home runs, 32 doubles, 9 triples, and 89 RBIs in 158 games. His career OPS was .874 for the Mustangs. A junior this past season, McKenna figures to be selected in the first 3-5 rounds of the draft next week. 

Another junior, catcher Nick Meyer, earned the Defensive Player of the Year award for the conference.

#BWCHonors Defensive POY – Nick Meyer (@CalPolyStangs):

– 3rd Mustang in 5 years to earn honor (Peter Van Gansen, 2015; Chris Hoo, 2014)
– .984 fielding (395 putouts, 44 assists, 7 errors in 446 chances).
– Earned 2016 BWC Freshman Field POY.#RideHigh #BWCBaseball #PlayBig pic.twitter.com/PYt50PuoVS

— Big West Baseball (@BigWestBaseball) May 30, 2018

Following in the catching footsteps of Chris Hoo, Meyer is Cal Poly’s third ever defensive player of the year. Meyer started behind the plate from day one at Cal Poly, earning the conference’s freshman of the year award two seasons ago. Meyer played his usual stellar defense while taking a step forward at the plate this season. In 2018, Mayer hit .344 with 14 doubles and two triples. His OPS was .836 and, at times during his career, Meyer’s mustache was one of the best in the game. Meyer figures to be the second Mustang selected in the upcoming amateur draft.

Junior Kyle Marinconz — who has played shortstop for most of his time at Cal Poly — and senior Trent Shelton — who emerged as Cal Poly’s Friday night ace in 2018 — were named to the All-Conference second team. 

Freshman infielder Tate Samuelson and freshman pitcher Taylor Dollard earned honorable mention honors along with senior pitcher Austin Dondanville.

#BWCHonors All-Conference from @CalPolyStangs:

Alex McKenna, Nick Meyer (1st Team)
Kyle Marinconz, Trent Shelton (2nd)
Taylor Dollard, Austin Dondanville, Tate Samuelson (HM)#RideHigh #BWCBaseball #PlayBig ⚾️

— Big West Baseball (@BigWestBaseball) May 30, 2018

Big West Release

Cal Poly Release

The Cal Poly men’s basketball team has finished 7th place in the Big West standings for five straight seasons. In 2018-19, at least seven names on the 17-18 roster will be gone, including four that have been announced since the season ended. As this school year nears its end, the 18-19 roster has started to come into focus.

Players leaving include seniors Luke Meikle and Victor Joseph, graduating junior Aleks Abrams, and Josh Martin and Trevor John — both of whom announced their intention to graduate and leave the program after the season ended. 

Joining those departures are Eric Toles, who redshirted last season, and walk-on Jared Rice. The departures left a bunch of question-marks, many of which were filled last week.

Incoming Freshmen

Four of the seven open spots will be filled by incoming freshmen. Junior Ballard and Daxton Carr figure to contribute on the wing. Tuukka Jaakkola, a center from Finland was announced later in the school year. Cal Poly is not a deep team in the front court, leading me to believe the Jaakkola will likely be a candidate to play and not redshirt, though I never know with players who I’ve never seen in-person. (I actually never know with anybody…). 

One guy I have seen play in person — a lot — is Mission Prep’s Kyle Colvin. Colvin was announced by Cal Poly after accepting enrollment into school. I’ve seen him play for the last three seasons and think he can be a contributor during his career at Cal Poly. There’s no doubt in my mind that he’s a Division I player. Getting him as a presumed walk-on (?) will add depth to the Mustang roster. 

Transfers

Cal Poly has been active in making offers to junior college players. Last week, Job Alexander committed. Alexander is another lanky wing who can shoot from long range. While depth is always a plus, the Mustangs seem to have a lot of those. 

More to come?

Currently, their roster has 12 players on it, one of whom may be a walk-on. So Cal Poly still has 1-2 scholarships available, if they choose to use them (I can’t imagine they wouldn’t). Just four of the 12 players currently listed on Cal Poly’s roster will be upperclassmen next season. We’ll see who the Mustangs have up their sleeve and whether they can get one more impact player. The depth on the front court seems really thin with the current roster construction. Getting some kind of 6’9″ beefcake who can defend and rebound to commit to Cal Poly would seem to be a priority, though getting a real impact player this late seems like it would be difficult. You never know. 

Kevon Davis (left) was announced as a new assistant coach at Cal Poly after Paul Mrozik (second from left) left for a job at Mercer. By Owen Main

Mrozik moving on

After just two seasons, Associate Head Coach Paul Mrozik will be leaving for a job at Mercer. Taking his place on the coaching staff is Kevon Davis, who was Cal Poly’s Director of Player Development last season. Davis joins Sam Kirby and Mitch Reaves on Joe Callero’s staff. 

Kuba Niziol – Junior – 6’7”, 210 lbs

Kuba Niziol’s best two games may have been during Cal Poly’s best two-game stretch of the season. By Owen Main

By the Numbers:

30 Games

18.2 Minutes per game

7.2 Points per game

2.3 Rebounds per game

.53 Assists per game

36.3.% Field Goals

34.5% 3 Pointers

81.4 % Free Throws

Kuba Niziol is a player who came into 2017-18 looking more physically ready to compete at the Division I college level. The lanky, sharpshooting forward from Poland had put on some muscle and looked primed to make a big contribution. During Cal Poly’s best two-game stretch — wins at Santa Clara and vs. College of Charleston in Alaska — Kuba played two of his best games. Against College of Charleston — the Mustangs’ best non-conference win — the junior went 5-5 from downtown en route to 15 points. 

After shooting under 30 percent from three-point range as a sophomore, Niziol was much closer to his true talent level as a 34 percent shooter from downtown. But if three-point shooting is his only dimension, Niziol isn’t tapping into what he can be. Somewhat like our last subject, Marcellus Garrick, Niziol has a lot more potential to be more of a versatile playmaker instead of only a spot-up shooter. 

While his percentage wasn’t great, Niziol isn’t as far away as it seems from being a much more consistent and deadly shooter. He always just seems super relaxed when he releases his shots. 

In the first half of conference play, Kuba missed a game at UC Irvine and sat out all but the final two minutes at CSUN. Coach Joe Callero pointed to a minor injury he picked up during that week. Niziol scored in double digits in three conference games. In Cal Poly’s final game of the season, a frustrating blowout first-round loss to UCSB, Niziol was ejected after committing a flagrant foul under the basket. It seemed like a microcosm of the way the Mustangs’ season ended.

** Story Break** 

I was at the Cal Poly Rec Center sometime probably in like July or August. There were a few Cal Poly basketball players running in a pick-up game. When Niziol and Donovan Fields had to shoot to be the last guy, they went pretty quickly to three-pointers. Nobody was missing. They each made like 20 threes in a row while battling each other. It got to the point where the other 9 guys waiting to play started to run around and shoot on the other hoop to stay loose. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that at a pick-up game. I don’t even remember who missed first, I just remember everyone else saying “finally” and shaking their heads when one of them missed.

Looking forward

Niziol is one of the Cal Poly players whose basketball skills seem tantalizing. In some games and in some situations, Niziol was one of the most dynamic and dangerous players on the floor. At other times, he seemed frustrated by his threes not falling. When he’s got his all-around game working, Niziol has the potential to be a consistent contributor on both ends of the floor on a good team. 

Six would-be seniors on the 2018-19 team have left in past years. Niziol, Garrick, and Donovan Fields are slated to be seniors next year. They’ll all have a chance to break the Mustangs out of the 7th place rut they’ve been in. 

With his length, Kuba has a high ceiling. He is more athletic than you think and his ability to defend multiple positions and rebound could easily improve in a kind of important, understated way year-to-year. Being a 10-12 point, 5 rebound guy while playing good defense and improving his all around game is totally within reach for Niziol in 2018-19. 

*Ed note: Over the next few weeks, we’ll be recapping the season of every Cal Poly player who played in 2017-18.

Cal Poly baseball (16-19, 3-6) will host defending Big West champs Long Beach State this weekend at Baggett Stadium. After a renovation to the seating/bleacher area, the game will be the first television game in the new stadium. The 7pm game will be televised nationally on ESPNU. 

While the new bleachers are beautiful and bigger and steeper than many imagined, Baggett Stadium hasn’t been full yet with the new seating. The team, which hasn’t made a regional appearance since they hosted in 2014, hasn’t played consistently well and some weather has probably been a factor too. 

Trent Shelton (2-2) will start in front of the TV cameras on Friday for the Mustangs. Despite missing time due to appendicitis, Shelton has been Cal Poly’s most consistent starter. The lefty has a 3.98 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 40.2 innings. 

At 3-6 in Big West play, Cal Poly is tied for last place with UC Davis. The good news is that they are still only three games out of first place. The Dirtbags are 16-21 overall and 3-3 early in conference play. 

For their part, Cal Poly has put together a smart marketing campaign to ramp up to the game. 

Yo what’s Musty doing up there? Getting a good seat for the green out game on Friday! #RideHigh pic.twitter.com/XEaTi4SYLf

— Cal Poly Mustangs (@CPMustangs) April 16, 2018

Coach Lee was nice enough to bring me some reading material today to pass the time…

Is it Friday yet?! #GreenOut #PackTheBagg #RideHigh pic.twitter.com/wztBYHJoF4

— Musty the Mustang (@MustytheMustang) April 17, 2018

Musty is trying to get camera ready for the big game on Friday, good thing he has @Alexjmckenna to help!

: https://t.co/VQPSEkn3iW | #RideHigh #PackTheBagg pic.twitter.com/ZPDRBTNrt5

— Cal Poly Mustangs (@CPMustangs) April 18, 2018

Just my buddy @Alexjmckenna showing me how to improve my selfie game before the Green Out Game on Friday! #PackTheBagg #RideHigh pic.twitter.com/YUQrcYkpvd

— Musty the Mustang (@MustytheMustang) April 18, 2018

I wouldn’t expect a sellout or anything close. Capacity is over 3,000 at Baggett and Friday night’s forecast says that it will likely be under 50 degrees at first pitch. But the marketing department at Cal Poly Athletics is certainly doing everything they can to hustle more people for the TV game.

While bleachers were renovated prior to the season, the clubhouse facility is scheduled to be demolished and rebuilt as well. Construction is likely to last through next season.