The catcher.
To some, it is the most important position on the team.
Good thing Kentucky sports Sean Coughlin, a first-team All-American, as its senior backstop.
?Obviously Sean Coughlin, we feel like, is one of the best hitting catchers in America,? Kentucky head coach John Cohen said. ?His leadership behind the plate brings us a whole lot of experience. Sean gave up the opportunity to be a tremendous draft pick a year ago, he probably goes anywhere from the fourth to the sixth rounds if he makes it known that he is interested in going out and playing professional baseball. He wanted to come back. He believes in where our program is heading, and I am really pleased with what he brings to the table. I think he?s going to be a great professional player one day and I think he?s going to be a great coach one day. He?s like having a coach on the field.?
The Morrison, Colo. native arrived on the scene a year ago and quickly established himself as one of the top slugging catchers in college baseball. Coughlin batted .325, blasted 17 dingers, and drove in 55 runs while batting in the heart of a potent Wildcat lineup that featured Southeastern Conference Player of the Year Ryan Strieby. Coughlin won’t be batting before or after Strieby this season but he will have slugger Collin Cowgill to accompany him in the lineup.
Coughlin, who swings from the left-side of the plate in hitter-friendly Cliff Hagan Stadium, will continue to direct the Wildcat defense from behind the plate in 2006 while splitting time with junior college transfer Tyler Howe. Howe, also a powerful left-handed bat, spent the last two seasons as a multi-purpose standout for Kirkwood Community College. The Clinton, Iowa native will concentrate on catching duties while bringing his powerful arm, clocked above 90 mph, as a deterrent to would-be base stealers.
?Along with Sean, we have a young man named Tyler Howe, who probably has as much arm strength as any catcher in the Southeastern Conference,? Cohen said. ?I think Tyler was kind of an overlooked entity in junior college baseball last year. He?s a guy who?s throwing 94 miles per hour off the mound and he doesn?t pitch for us, but that tells you the kind of arm strength that he has behind the plate. He also swings it from the left side, so our top two catchers are both left-handed hitters, which is kind of an interesting set of circumstances.?
Joining Howe and Coughlin behind the plate are redshirt freshman Marcus Nidiffer, sophomore Dan Reale, and freshman Brian Suerdick.
?Marcus Nidiffer has made tremendous strides behind the plate,? Cohen said. ?He can very well contribute behind the plate, really proud of the strength levels that he has put on. He has tremendous arm strength and a lot of leadership behind the plate. Brian Suerdick is a catcher who is a battler, a hustler type of guy. He is going to have to get better at a lot of areas but he has tremendous arm strength and we are excited about that part of his game.?
Editor’s Note:
This is the third of a four-part series on the Wildcat baseball team leading up to the 2007 season opener on Friday, Feb. 16 at Furman in Greenville, S.C. On Thursday, UKathletics.com will preview the Wildcat pitchers.
