After an up-and-down opening stretch and a roster filled with new faces, Elon Phoenix baseball enters the heart of its spring season still searching for consistency.
Head coach Mike Kennedy made one thing clear: while this year’s roster may look less experienced on paper, that doesn’t mean the team lacks game-tested players.
“This team’s roster isn’t as experienced at Elon,” Kennedy said. “But Connor Roche has played every day, Jared Hall has played every day where he was at, and we’ve got junior college guys like Brian Duroff who have played a lot of baseball. There’s experience, maybe just not within our program.”
Elon brought in 14 transfers ahead of the season — including Roche, Hall and Duboff. That distinction has shaped how the coaching staff approaches the early season. With transfers and newcomers still adjusting to a new system, Kennedy said the biggest challenge is learning how each player responds to coaching and in-game adversity.
“When you’ve had guys for two or three years, you know how they tick,” Kennedy said. “With new guys, you’re learning as you go, when to make a swing change, when to address deficiencies, and how they’ll take it.”
Through the first eight games, the Phoenix have shown flashes of strong play, particularly defensively, but Kennedy emphasized that pitcher development remains the biggest area for growth.
Kennedy pointed specifically to younger arms who are still working toward consistency in the strike zone.
“The biggest thing is getting those younger guys to grow and be more consistent,” Kennedy said. “The stuff is better overall, but getting them in the zone more, that’s where we still have work to do.”
That command issue has directly impacted results. After opening the season 4-0, Elon dropped four straight games. Kennedy said the losses shared a common theme: self-inflicted mistakes.
“In each of those losses, every rally or crooked inning started because of something we didn’t do,” Kennedy said. “When we throw strikes, we’re 4-0. When we don’t, we’re 0-4.”
While the pitching staff continues to develop, sophomore shortstop Jake Hajdu has embraced a larger leadership role in the infield. After being one of the new faces in the lineup last season, Hajdu now finds himself among the team’s more experienced players.
“It honestly feels pretty similar to last year,” Hajdu said. “But having a lot of new guys that gelled pretty quickly, it kind of just feels like it’s meant to be. We’re all supposed to be out there.”
Hajdu said the new roster has brought noticeable grit and competitiveness, regardless of game outcomes.
“A lot of heart,” Hajdu said. “We’re always competing, whether the games go our way or not. We stick to our plan and put our best foot forward.”
That approach will be crucial for an offense that was the team’s strength last season. Maintaining that production, according to Hajdu, comes down to consistency in approach at the plate.
“Whether it’s hunting off-speed, hunting fastball or fighting with two strikes, we’ve just got to stick to our plan,” Hajdu said.
Time is not on Elon’s side. With only a few non-conference games remaining before CAA play begins, the coaching staff is still evaluating roles and overall identity.
“We only have three weeks to prepare, and it feels like we just started,” Kennedy said. “We’re trying to establish who does what well and what type of baseball we have to play.”
The schedule ahead only intensifies the urgency, with challenging matchups against in-state powers and conference opponents on deck. Kennedy stressed that wins and losses in non-conference games won’t define the team as much as overall performance.
“I’d rather us play good baseball than worry about being in a ‘good position,’” he said. “You can play good baseball and still lose. What we haven’t done is play good baseball and lose. We’ve played bad baseball when we’ve lost.”
Despite early inconsistencies, internal confidence remains high — driven in part by improved team chemistry.
“I think the team camaraderie has improved drastically,” Hajdu said. “We’re all very close, and that helps us when we’re competing.”
For Kennedy, the formula for success is simple but demanding. Throw strikes, limit self-inflicted mistakes and continue defining the team’s identity before conference play.
The Phoenix have already shown they can be competitive when executing clean baseball. Now, the challenge is sustaining that level of play against a demanding spring schedule.
If Elon can pair its strong defense and offensive approach with improved pitching command, the Phoenix could position themselves as a dangerous contender in CAA play. Not because of early-season results, but because of how well they’re playing when it matters most.