Stanford baseball kicks off the season Friday at the 2019 Angels College Classic in Tempe, Arizona. Joining the Cardinal roster are eight freshmen looking to make their mark on the program. In an attempt to get to know these fresh faces a bit more, here is a brief break down of their hometowns, personalities and life at Stanford thus far.
#5 Austin Kretzschmar (Infield, 6’0”)
Hometown (high school): La Mesa, CA (Helix Charter)
Favorite place in your hometown: The beach
Favorite athlete: Derek Jeter
Favorite place on campus: Klein Field at Sunken Diamond
Most random thing in your dorm room: Rock Em Sock Em Robots
Pre-game hype song: Any song by Lil Uzi or Playboi Carti
Last movie you watched: Step Brothers
#7 Brandon Dieter (Infield/Right-Handed Pitcher, 6’0”)
Hometown (high school): Covina, CA (South Hills)
Favorite place in your hometown: 212 Training Center
Favorite sports memory: Winning a gold medal with Team USA in Canada
Which game are you most excited for this season?: The first game of the season. We did so much work to get to this point, and it will be nice to finally piece it all together.
Favorite place on campus: Sunken Diamond
Pre-game hype song: “Money Longer” (Lil Uzi Vert)
#13 Justin Moore (Infield/Right-Handed Pitcher, 6’5”)
Hometown (high school): Austin, TX (Vandegrift)
Favorite place in your hometown: My house
Favorite athlete: Tom Brady
Favorite sports memory: Hitting my first home-run in high school
Favorite place on campus: Main Quad
#15 Grant Burton (Outfield, 6’2”)
Hometown (high school): San Juan Capistrano, California (Mater Dei)
Favorite thing about your hometown: Close to the beach
Which game are you most excited for this season?: Washington, because my older brother is on the team there.
Favorite place on campus: Murray 307
Favorite memory: Team bonding
#28 Alex Williams (Right-Handed Pitcher, 6’3”)
Hometown (high school): Castro Valley, CA (Redwood Christian)
Favorite athlete: Stephen Curry
Favorite sports memory: Winning back-to-back section championships in high school
Which game are you most excited for this season?: Opening day, just to embrace the moment. I’ve been waiting for the season for six months, and I can’t wait to finally compete against another team.
Favorite place on campus: Suites
Most random thing in your dorm room: Barrel man statue
#40 Nicolas Lopez (Left-Handed Pitcher, 6’4”)
Hometown (high school): Redwood City, CA (Serra)
Favorite athlete: Kobe Bryant
Favorite sports memory: Little League World Series
Which game are you most excited for this season?: Berkeley, because my high school best friend plays for them.
Favorite tradition at Stanford so far: Hanging out at Suites with the team.
What was the last thing that made you laugh? A joke by the one and only Jacob Palisch.
#18 Cody Jensen (Right-Handed Pitcher, 6’3”)
Hometown (high school): Roseville, CA (Jesuit)
Favorite sports memory: Playing at Citi Field
Which game are you most excited for this season?: UCLA, because I have some good friends there. It’s going to be a battle for the Pac-12, and it’ll be a good series.
Most random thing in your dorm room: A skeleton
Who was the last person that made you laugh? Pat Burrell
Pre-game hype song: I’m Different — 2 Chainz
Do you have a characteristic phrase?: “Let’s Get Weird”
#16 Vincent Martinez (Catcher, 6’2”)
Hometown (high school): San Marcos, CA (San Marcos)
Favorite thing about your hometown: The people there are great, and the beach is close.
Favorite athlete: Kobe Bryant
Most random thing in your dorm room: “I Love Mom” sign on my shelf that my mom bought
Favorite memory at Stanford so far: Hanging out with the team
Last movie you watched: Major League
Contact Cybele Zhang at cybelez ‘at’ stanford.edu.