MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) – At his introductory press conference in June, Matt Riser planted his flag immediately.
“I want to be able to win a championship now, I think we have the ability to do that now,” he said.
Now his first opening day as Tigers head coach has arrived, and he’s not backing down from that declaration.
“100%. I mean look, at the end of the day, the (JT) Durhams, and the (Austin) Baskins and the (Jake) Curtises and (Brennan) DuBoses, they’ve got one year left,” Riser said. “So, why waste time in saying, ‘Hey man, we just want to build and be in that vicinity of being competitive, let’s go be competitive now.’”
That mindset combined with Riser’s obvious energy and competitiveness is one that’s proven to be popular in the clubhouse right away, especially among his leaders.
“(It’s) definitely exciting,” said Brennan DuBose, a senior catcher. “There’s no type of persona he puts on in front of cameras or anything like that. What you see is what you get. You come out to a practice, you know he’s an intense leader, but he does it out of love. For that reason, definitely the type of guy you want to play for.”
The Tigers are looking to build off a 29-win season, their most since 2017. It’s a roster split basically down the middle, with 18 returnees and 19 new faces, either freshman or transfer portal additions.
At the dawn of a new day in Tiger Baseball history, optimism is high.
“Man, I really think we’ve got a chance to be really good this year, especially with this new staff,” said senior third baseman Austin Baskin. “They bring in a lot of good energy, that transfers over to the players.”
“We’re betting on the Tigers, I can promise you that,” DuBose said.
