2014 was the year that put Sacramento State baseball back on the map with breaking records (.240 opposing batting average), setting new ones (earned run average of 3.27) and becoming the program’s first team to advance to the Division I NCAA Regionals. The Hornets are determined to have another successful season and are looking to senior right-handed pitcher Brennan Leitao to help take them there.

Leitao has been selected to the Louisville Slugger Preseason All-American Third team and is the program leader with 24 career wins and 304 innings pitched.

“He doesn’t walk [batters],” said teammate and fellow pitcher Justin Dillon. “He makes hitters earn it; he is consistent and fights until he gets out of the inning.”

This holds true with Leitao being eighth in program history with 171 career strikeouts and last season having the fifth-lowest ERA (2.15 over 117.0 innings pitched).

“He’s just been really instrumental in terms of changing the culture in the last couple years,” said Sac State coach Reggie Christiansen. “He gives us the chance to win every single Friday no matter who we play against.”

Leitao has also been on the Academic All-Western Athletic Conference team the past three years and is looking to be on it for a fourth. In order to be eligible, the student-athlete must maintain a 3.00 cumulative GPA and participate in at least 50 percent of the team’s contests.

“He’s a mentor to a lot of the younger guys; he’s like a coach,” Dillon said. “[He] helps tell the younger guys which classes are better to take during the season.”

Christiansen agrees that Leitao is a sort of mentor.

“He really is kind of like a coach on the field as well as a player,” he said. “He’s really what a student-athlete is all about.”

Though Leitao is a key player for the Hornets, he was not originally a sought-after commodity.

“A lot of other schools overlooked him. He was actually the fourth-best pitcher on his high school pitching staff,” Christiansen said.

Leitao was throwing 83-84 mph out of high school, but didn’t limit himself as a one-sport athlete and a pitcher prior to his college career. He also split his time playing football.

“I primarily played shortstop in high school, so not a lot of my time was devoted and focused to being primarily a pitcher,” Leitao said. “This coaching staff has done a great job of educating me of how to pitch.”

He now throws around 90-91 mph and attributes it to off-the-field workouts, as well as his experience with playing football.

“I think dual-sport athletes, more often than not, will experience more success in the long run because their bodies are used to the grind,” Leitao said. “We’re working out with a couple guys downtown at The Academy … and that’s been a huge part of why I’ve been able to throw harder here.”

Between drastic improvements as a pitcher and being a role model on and off the field, Leitao has shown that he is more than ready for another successful season and hopefully the chance to continue his baseball career after graduation.

“I think a lot of these younger guys look up to him because he truly has earned everything he’s been given and certainly has a chance to play professional baseball after this year,” Christiansen said.

The team faces a significant challenge in their pursuit of Super Regionals this year with freshmen starting in center field and third base, mixing in at first base and in the bullpen.

“It’s going to come down to how quickly they’re able to adapt and get used to playing college baseball,” Christiansen said. “I think this year’s team is set up to do it again… and we are better on the mound this year than a year ago, I think defensively we are as good if not better.”

The Hornets will start their season at home with a four-game series against Utah State Feb. 13 at 2 p.m.

“I think… people are starting to respect Sac State as a baseball program,” Leitao said. “Over the last few years we’ve been able to get plenty of wins under our belt, so that kinda opens up the scope and avenue for people to look into this program and see the talent that we really have.”