West Virginia State baseball coach Sean Loyd has been able to consolidate the hats he has worn in Institute down to one, that of the Yellow Jackets' skipper.
Loyd had been the university's athletic director until stepping down in January to focus on the baseball team, and said he's quite comfortable in his role.
"I feel like I was doing what I'm meant to do," Loyd said. "It's not been that big of an adjustment, because I was ready for it. If anything, I'm more relaxed, I think, than I have been before. I have more time to prepare."
Now he can reserve all of his attention for figuring out how to lead the Yellow Jackets to a third straight Mountain East Conference title. West Virginia State has been the only team to hold aloft the conference's tournament trophy since the MEC was formed, and Loyd has several key players returning to attempt to keep that streak alive.
The Yellow Jackets, who finished 35-16 overall and 30-10 in the MEC last season, return both their top hitter for average, senior outfielder Jamison Jones (.354 in 2015), and their top hitter for power, senior third baseman Trenton Porter (seven home runs in 2015). They're joined by three other returners - sophomore infielder Brandon Wright, sophomore utility player Trayvis Patterson and junior first baseman Phil Mandt - to form the top five batters in the State order.
Mandt has jumped out to a hot start. The Yellow Jackets picked up a late doubleheader with Mercyhurst, which finished third in the country last season, in Washington, Pennsylvania. Mercyhurst swept the two games, 4-0 and 2-1, but Mandt hit .600 in those contests.
Those five are joined in the lineup by sophomore catcher Jonathan Cline, freshman outfielder Dylan Grimm, junior utility player Jalen Benjamin and freshman outfielder Justin Graham.
State lost top pitcher Tyler Thompson - who led the team with a 9-2 record and a 1.52 ERA last year - to the minor leagues, but returns Tyler Hall, who went 5-2 with a 2.93 ERA last season, along with the next five hurlers on the list of innings pitched.
"We've got a couple of guys with two championship rings," Loyd said, "and some guys who have been through the wars, so to speak. We rely on those guys who have experience to help some of the young guys we're trying to get into the mix."
While the Yellow Jackets dealt with a bumpy beginning - a four-game mid-February home series versus Kentucky State was postponed due to weather and Mercyhurst already was seven games into its season when it met WVSU - Loyd saw plenty of bright spots during the weekend.
"The first thing I said to them when I got into the huddle after the game was over was 'I'm encouraged,' " he said.
The Yellow Jackets take their next step into the season at noon today with a doubleheader versus Ohio Valley University in Vienna. After a four-game stint this weekend in Wilson, North Carolina, WVSU has a break until its MEC opener versus Urbana on March 19 at Cal Bailey Field.
The Yellow Jackets once again will be the target of every team in the Mountain East, and they have a reputation they'd love to uphold. But Loyd has his squad looking forward, and doesn't feel he'll need to push the group to work.
"Just like I told the team at the beginning of the year, it doesn't matter what we did last year," he added. "We could have the exact same people come back from last year, we're still a different team. Until we kind of get everything in order and some goals get defined, we'll be searching a little.
"We have some self-motivated guys. And they're prideful."
Feb. 28 at Mercyhurst L, 4-0
Feb. 28 at Mercyhurst L, 2-1
March 1 at Ohio Valley (DH) noon
March 4 vs. Aquinas [1] 3 p.m.
March 5 vs. Clarion [1] 1 p.m.
March 5 vs. Kutztown [1] 4 p.m.
March 6 vs. Aquinas [1] noon
March 19 Urbana (DH) noon
March 20 Notre Dame (DH) noon
March 25 at Shepherd (DH) noon
March 26 at Fairmont State (DH) noon
April 1 Wheeling Jesuit (DH) 1 p.m.
April 3 at West Liberty (DH) 1 p.m.
April 9 Concord (DH) 1 p.m.
April 10 Concord (DH) 1 p.m.
April 16 at UVa-Wise (DH) 1 p.m.
April 17 at UVa-Wise (DH) 1 p.m.
April 23 W.Va. Wesleyan (DH) 1 p.m.
April 24 W.Va. Wesleyan (DH) 1 p.m.
April 30 at Glenville State (DH) 1 p.m.
May 1 at Glenville State (DH) 1 p.m.
May 7 at Charleston (DH) 1 p.m.
May 8 Charleston (DH) 1 p.m.
(DH) Doubleheader