Getting To Know: Channing Nesbitt

The Huskies have 13 new faces on the roster this season. GoHuskies.com will present "Getting to know" segments on the newcomers leading up to the season. Up first, left-handed pitcher Channing Nesbitt.

How has the adjustment from high school to college went for you?

High school was more structured. We have more free time, and there’s more freedom in picking what you want to do. The biggest thing that I’ve taken away from it is I’ve gotten to focus in on what my strengths are in the classroom and looking for what I might want to do after school. So I’m trying to take classes that will help me with that. Overall, I’ve been doing pretty well in class.

You had one of the highest GPA's on the team during fall quarter. What do you attribute your early academic success to?

I think not knowing what to expect was what had me so focused. I talked to my parents all the time about how focused you have to be. And you want to have a balance, but school is really important in the grand scheme of things. So I just really took my time with the study hours we had to do. I think we’re required eight hours per week. That really helped me get what I had to get done. I took all the extra time I could to study for exams, and it all came together.

The team had its highest GPA as far back as we could find. What does that say about this group of guys?

That shows you how focused and determined we all are, and Coach Meggs really set us up great with all the study hours and help with tutors. They give us what we need to succeed. We’re going to take advantage of all the opportunities we can and stay driven throughout the whole course of things.

What is your intended major?

I’m looking at law or psychology, but I don’t know which one yet. It’s going to be based on what can fit in best and what prerequisites I need to get done. But those are my two interests.

What kind of role do you expect for yourself this season?

I can see myself contributing a lot to the team out of the bullpen as a lefty. My biggest challenge is going to be staying consistent and throwing strikes. So one of my main goals is that when I get that opportunity I take advantage of it to the fullest effect, and get my role and maintain it throughout the year.

What are your expectations for the team?

I think we can go as far as we bring ourselves. If everyone is accountable for each other and everyone sticks to the plan that Coach Meggs has for us, we can do some pretty great things. I’m not going to make any guarantees, but we’re a really young team but we have potential to be a really great team.

Give us a scout of yourself and tell us about what your strengths as a pitcher?

Me and JK (Jason Kelly) have talked a little about what is expected of me this year. I’m a lefty, so I’ll be throwing for shorter stints when they need to face a group of lefties in a row or give another look from the other side when the starter comes out. So for me, one of my strengths is my curveball to keep batters unbalanced. If I can gain full control on that as well as more command on my fastball, I think I’d be a good change of vision for batters on the other team

Left-handed pitchers have a tendency to be quirky. Do you have any strange characteristics that are associated with being a southpaw?

I’ve had a lot of people tell me that I’m not the typical left-handed pitcher. I’m not really strange or out of the box like some of these guys are. I’m very introverted on the field. I’m more of a quiet, behind-the-scenes type guy. If you need me to get riled up, I’ll get hyped. But for the most part, I’m very level-headed. I’m in the moment and very calm.

Since you're from Oakland, what do you think about the Seahawks Marshawn Lynch?

I’ve seen Marshawn Lynch a bunch of times in Oakland. He came to a lot of my high school football games. He went to Oakland Tech which is five minutes away. So I’ve always had love for the Seahawks and it’s cool to see them do so well and how Seattle responds as a whole. It’s going to be exciting these next couple weeks.

Did you play other sports in high school and growing up?

I played football for the first two years of my high school career. After that it was strictly baseball. I was a pretty good quarterback. I loved throwing the deep ball. I had some really good receivers and my job wasn’t hard. They’d just run under the ball, I would just throw it as far as I could. I played wide receiver a little bit too, and that was pretty fun.

How did baseball end up being your sport of choice?

After I got hurt at the beginning of my sophomore year, things with my football situation and the idea of me playing football later on in life went down for me and I lost a little love for the game. Then baseball picked up after that and I started getting interest from scouts. So I knew I wanted to play college baseball

Have you been able to find a favorite thing about Seattle yet? 

The food is really good. The group of guys is really awesome. But I have to say, it feels kind of like home. People always complain about the weather, but it hasn’t really rained at all. The whole atmosphere of Seattle, it’s like one huge family in a sense. There’s just love around the city, and that reminds me of home because the bay area is similar.