Lefty Pitcher Chooses Tampa Over Other Conference Rivals

Although he currently plays baseball for the University of Tampa, this Spartan pitcher already has a history in the MLB.

“My dad played professional baseball. He got drafted out of high school and signed with the [Houston ] Astros right then,” UT senior John Wiedenbauer said.

Born in Daytona Beach, Fla., Wiedenbauer has been playing baseball ever since he was hitting the ball off of a tee at the age of five.

He also played a variety of other sports, but his enjoyment of the game and the encouragement from his father kept him playing baseball.

“[My dad] had a lot of influence on me playing baseball,” Wiedenbauer said. “I just really liked it. I had success with it when I was younger, so I figured I’d continue with it.”
Wiedenbauer attended Seabreeze High School. Being a left-hander, he not only pitched, but was utilized at first base and the outfield at times.

During his senior season at Seabreeze Wiedenbauer went 10-1 with a 0.61 era while also notching 93 strikeouts.

He decided to sign with UT in the fall before his senior year. Wiedenbauer was also scouted by Rollins and Florida Southern, schools both within Tampa’s conference.

Wiedenbauer said that the UT coaches, Joe Urso and Sam Militello, played an important role in his decision to become a Spartan.

“The biggest thing was their coaching experience. They’ve both played professional baseball, they both have really good knowledge of the game and they seemed like they knew what they were talking about at the time,” said Wiedenbauer. “[So], I came here and I couldn’t have been happier.”

Before attending UT Wiedenbauer first had to choose between going to college or going pro, an opportunity he never expected.

When he was drafted in the 24th round by the Houston Astros, the unexpected became a reality.

“I was pretty set on coming to school but I definitely thought about [joining the Astros]. It was an honor being drafted,” said Wiedenbauer. “There’s not that many people that get that privilege, and I was really lucky to get drafted,”

After sitting down with his parents and weighing out his options, Wiedenbauer felt it more appropriate that he go to college.

“I figured that I could do a lot of growing up at college.  I was still young. There was a lot of stuff I still wanted to learn and I just felt like college was a good choice,” Wiedenbauer said. “I want to get a degree. I want to get a college diploma. I’ve always been academics first, really.”

In Wiedenbauer’s sophomore campaign as a Spartan, he had a record of 4-0 with a 4.30 era through over 29 innings.

Last season, as a junior, Wiedenbauer lead the Spartans with 12 starts. He went 5-1, striking out 46 while only walking 18.

Wiedenbauer is now academically in his senior year at UT. As an athlete, he is a red-shirt junior because of an injury he suffered his freshman year.

After this season, he will have another year of eligibility, but he says he is not yet sure whether or not he will return.

“We’ll see how the season goes, but I definitely want to continue playing baseball after the season,” said Wiedenbauer.

Despite having to battle back from a partially torn MCL in his elbow as a freshman, Wiedenbauer described his biggest accomplishment as being achieved that same year.

“[My greatest accomplishment was] probably going to the NCAA Championship my freshman year and winning it. That was a lot of fun, even though I didn’t get to play in it,” Wiedenbauer said.

He said he enjoyed traveling with the team during their 2007 title run, when they were named NCAA Division Two National Champions for the second consecutive year.

As a senior who has been in the same system for his entire college career, Wiedenbauer hopes to be one of the leaders on the team this season.

“I hope that I can teach a lot of these newer kids and my other teammates some leadership and hope that we can make another run at this National Championship,” said Wiedenbauer.

Wiedenbauer made his first appearance of the 2010 season against in the second of a three  game set against Georgia College & State as part of a three-game road series.

He came on in relief against the 27th ranked bobcats and tossed 3.2 innings giving up three runs on four hits, while striking out two and walking four.

Wiedenbauer was recently chosen to represent the Spartans as a blogger for “Ping! Baseball”. He will be providing readers with insight on the Spartans’ 2010 season.

To follow  Widenbauer’s blog, visit: http://www.pingbaseball.com.