Black, Piotto ready to lead charge for Wright State

Canadians Tyler Black (Toronto, Ont.) and Konner Piotto (Abbotsford, BC) are ready to help lead the Wright State Raiders this season. Photo: Wright State Athletics

February 19, 2021

By Jonathan Hodgson

Canadian Baseball Network

Nearly a year after last season was abruptly halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 NCAA Div. 1 baseball season kicks off this weekend.

For Canadians Tyler Black and Konner Piotto it means a restart to their second seasons with Wright State University (Horizon League) where they have both stepped into leadership roles.

“We’re pumped,” Black said. “It’s been a long wait so our team is ready to get back out on the field again and show what we can do.”

Black (Toronto, Ont.), a sophomore third baseman will get his chance to follow up on an eye-opening freshman campaign when he was the Horizon League’s Freshman of the Year in 2019, hitting .348 with seven home runs in 49 games.

Piotto (Abbotsford, BC), a senior, breathed a sigh of relief when the NCAA granted spring sports athletes an extra year of eligibility in the wake of the cancellation of the 2020 schedule, just 15 games into WSU’s season.

It will be 346 days between WSU’s final game of 2020, a 16-5 win over Miami (OH) in the Raiders’ home opener at Nischwitz Stadium in Dayton, Ohio, until opening night on February 19 in Nashville, Tenn., against the 2019 national champion Vanderbilt University.

Wright State is a small school located across town from the University of Dayton (Atlantic 10) and roughly an hour’s drive north of the University of Cincinnati (American Athletic Conference) and Xavier University (Big East).

While WSU may not have the same resources or get the attention that larger programs do, the Raiders consistently punch above their weight class, winning three Horizon League tournaments since 2015, sending them to regionals of the NCAA Tournament in 2015-16 and 2018.

Along the way, they have earned a reputation as giant-slayers, posting several signature series victories like taking two of three against then No. 10th ranked Clemson to open the 2017 season, earning their first top-25 national ranking in program history. Before last season was wiped out, the Raiders picked up a 10-3 road victory in their lone meeting with top ranked Louisville (Atlantic Coast Conference), and a series victory over 11th ranked Tennessee (SEC).

Wright State showcased a young catcher named Sean Murphy for three years (2014-16). He was selected by the Oakland A’s in the third round of the 2016 draft and also saw five of his teammates taken that year. Murphy debuted in the majors in 2019 and was a regular behind the plate for the Athletics in 2020. Going a little further back, former Toronto Blue Jays reliever Joe Smith was drafted out of Wright State in the third round in 2006 by the New York Mets and has gone on to pitch 13 seasons in the major leagues.

Black is the latest budding star for the Raiders. As a freshman in 2019, the two-time T12 participant was named conference Freshman of the Year and received a First Team all-star nod.

The hard-hitting infielder found his way to WSU from the Toronto Mets thanks to an initial call from Rich Leitch, the Mets’ hitting coordinator and director of baseball operations, to WSU’s recruiting coordinator Nate Metzger. Initially hired by WSU in 2016, Metzger flew to see Black play, and knew immediately that they needed to get him.

Toronto Mets alum Tyler Black (Toronto, Ont.) will be a key infielder for the Wright State Raiders in 2021. Photo: Wright State Athletics

An offer was extended, and Black entered the program in the fall of 2018. Still, immediate success was far from a given. The original plan called for Black to redshirt his first season, but he earned a roster spot for the spring with his work throughout the year. After that, he had to compete for the third base job.

“Once I won my position, I never let go and tried to make the most of it,” said Black, who represented Ontario at the 2016 Canada Cup.

Black, who first played organized ball at age seven with the Markham Mariners, is known for his advanced ability with the bat, and while he did solid work with the glove as a freshman, he said he is working to become a more consistent defender. No longer the new kid, Black reflected on the change in his perspective entering his sophomore season and his third year in the program after the cancelled season a year ago.

“I’ve definitely taken on a bit more of a leadership role,” Black said. “I enjoy seeing others develop and mature like I am, and I want to leave this program better than when I got here.”

Piotto, meanwhile, also put on the Raiders’ green and gold for the first time in 2019. The strong defensive catcher started his collegiate career with two years at Glendale Community College in California. He continued to work and started to shine with the bat as a sophomore earning first-team conference all-star honours by hitting .344 with 20 RBIs. That led to his opportunity with WSU, transferring in the fall of 2018.

He competed in 22 games as a junior and had taken a step forward in 2020, starting 11 of the Raiders’ 15 games, recording five multi-hit performances. A year later, he has taken on even more of a leadership role according to Metzger who is now the associate head coach on the staff of head coach Alex Sogard, who is the brother of former Blue Jays’ infielder Eric Sogard.

“Last year was a complete transformation for Konner,” Metzger said. “He basically just stepped up and through his play said ‘this is going to be my job and somebody is going to have to take it away from me.”

Abbotsford Cardinals alum Konner Piotto (Abbotsford, B.C.) will be a leader behind the dish for Wright State. Photo: Twitter

All four WSU seniors took advantage of the opportunity to come back in 2021, and it is especially meaningful for Piotto, whose goal ever since he played for the Abbotsford Cardinals in the British Columbia Premier League, was to play Division I baseball.

One of Piotto’s coaches with the Cardinals was former Junior National Team coach Corey Eckstein, now the director of player development and personnel for the Ontario Blue Jays.

“Konner is definitely one of my favorite players I’ve coached over the years,” said Eckstein. “He was never the most talented player on the field but his drive surpassed everyone around him, and that is the reason he has realized his dream of playing division one baseball. I am excited to see how he does this season and won’t be surprised if he gets an opportunity to play professionally at some point.”

Piotto credited that work ethic being instilled by his dad, who would install an outdoor rink in the family’s backyard when Piotto was young.

“My dad said I’ll support you in whatever you need as long as you are working your tail off,” Piotto said. “He said as long as you’re putting your heart into everything you do, it will work out. No matter what happens, I can go to bed at night knowing I gave it everything I had.”

When Piotto tried out for Fieldhouse Pirates and did not make the cut, his dad bought him a train pass so that he could make the 17-kilometre commute from Aldershot, Ont., to Appleby, Ont., every day to hit at Fieldhouse. Piotto’s father took a job and moved to the coast.

Piotto has also been spending time working with Murphy, who regularly works out with his alma mater during his offseason. The young catcher shared about what he has gained from having a major league catcher to talk to.

“Sean knows that the work he puts in every day is going to put him in the best position possible to be successful,” Piotto said. “It’s pretty special to have him as a resource. I talk to him a lot about what he does to put together a pregame report on opposing hitters. It’s cool to have somebody like that to ask questions about the game, and, of course, a lot of cool stories.”

Tyler Black (Toronto, Ont.) hit .348 with seven home runs in 49 games in his freshman season for Wright State in 2019. Photo: Wright State Athletics

Black, who played four sports growing up including ‘AAA’ hockey with the Markham Waxers, expanded his recognition to include all of the former WSU players who have been drafted and play professionally, who come back to coach and mentor the current team.

A handful of those players previously showcased themselves in the summer-collegiate Western Canadian Baseball League, including 2018 Horizon League Player of the Year Gabe Snyder, who played a summer with the Regina Red Sox in 2015 before being drafted by the Twins in 2018. Former outfielder and now volunteer assistant coach Zach Weatherford also suited up at Currie Field for the Red Sox that summer.

“They both have really grown, not just as players but as people,” Metzger said of his team’s Canadian connection. “Just the maturity is what has been cool with both of them in how they handle their business.”

The coaching staff has supreme confidence in their team to continue that trend, as they scheduled Vanderbilt University to be their first opponent this season, opening up in Nashville, Tenn. on Feb. 19-21.

The second-ranked Commodores are expected to send Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter to the mound during the three-game set.

Rocker racked up a litany of accolades as a freshman in 2019, including Most Outstanding Player of the College World Series, and was Baseball America’s Freshman of the Year with 12 victories. Leiter meanwhile, was 20th round pick of the New York Yankees in 2019 and was ranked no. 62 on Baseball America’s top-150 players in college baseball in 2020.

“I would be shocked if our team is intimidated or have any fear,” said Metzger. “If we can pitch and defend, we’ll give ourselves a chance because we’re going to compete offensively.”

Piotto has ambitious goals for his senior season with WSU, who have been picked by the pundits to again win the Horizon League.

“I want to do something that the program has never done,” Piotto said. “I want to win a regional and go as far as we can. I’m fully confident in our team and I think we’re going to have a great season. We have so many leaders and are a much more mature team than we were last year when we were already a very good team.”

Asked why he thinks WSU performs so well against power programs, Black points to a blue collar work ethic throughout the team, and a feeling of having a chip on their shoulders when they square off with bigger programs.

“We may not have the nicest gear or best facilities, but that makes us hungrier,” Black said. “We crave playing against the top dogs and we love having that chance to prove ourselves”

Coming off of his impressive freshman campaign, Black was named the Preseason Horizon League Player of the Year. In response, he said that accolades and projections don’t occupy much time in his thoughts.

“Those things are cool to see but I try to stay in the moment,” Black said. “Right now I’m just looking forward to getting on the field with my buddies and winning a lot of games.”

Also a football and basketball player growing up, Black was around the ballpark consistently from a very young age, partially thanks to his father Rod, who is currently the studio host for Toronto Raptors and pulls double duty as a host and play-by-play announcer for Canadian Football League telecasts on TSN.

Earlier in his career, Black covered the Blue Jays in three separate stints. He co-hosted CTV’s pregame coverage of the 1992 and 1993 World Series victories alongside Rob Faulds, was in the play-by-play seat in 1999-2000 on CTV Sportsnet with 1993 World Series hero Joe Carter as his analyst, and finally from 2002-09 on TSN beside 1992 World Series champ and long-time analyst Pat Tabler.

Having also covered multiple Olympic Games, Black said that being part of the coverage of the first World Series title for a Canadian-based team and then the Blue Jays repeating at home rank right at the top of his career highlights along with being part of TSN’s telecast of Game 6 of the 2019 NBA final in Oakland, Calif., when the Raptors claimed the first NBA title for a Canadian-based team.

Rod and his wife, Nancy, have four kids, three sons and a daughter. Brody, who is 18 months younger than Tyler, is currently a freshman outfielder at Dawson College in Montana. Rod remembers Tyler and Brody first showing a serious interest in baseball around age four or five. Rod and Nancy took their boys to spring training in Dunedin, Fla., each year that Rod was calling Blue Jays games.

“As much as they liked to go to Disney World on my days off, they really enjoyed playing baseball,” Rod recalled. “We got them little plastic bats and balls and they really enjoyed playing outside and throwing the ball around.”

By the time the boys were around eight and nine years old, Disneyland had given way to the ballpark as the destination of choice.

“Our place was close to Lakeland and Winter Haven, so we went and saw the Tigers a lot and the Braves in Orlando,” Rod said. “I’ll always remember when we’d go to the Braves game at Disney’s Wide World of Sports, we’d sit on the grass down left field and the boys would watch the game for an inning and then start throwing the ball around.”

Tyler said that being able to watch major leagues from a very young age definitely sparked his passion for baseball.

“I will always remember being a kid at spring training and having players like Chipper Jones walk by and being around Albert Pujols” Black remembered of his early days at the ballpark. “I think that’s where my brother and I fell in love with the game. Hockey had been my number one sport until I was 13 or 14 years old, and that was when my dad was doing Blue Jays games.”

“Being around the ballpark like that definitely grew my love for baseball,” Tyler said.

When Black worked with Tabler on Blue Jays telecasts, Tyler would sit in the booth.

“Tyler just loved being there,” Rod said. “He watched every pitch and followed the stats. He also had a chance to meet players, like his meeting with the Blue Jays second baseman at the time, Aaron Hill. I still hear Aaron clearly saying, ‘go to school, keep your marks up, love the sport.’ It wasn’t just a normal fan conversation.”

The elder Black calls coaching the love of his life from a sports standpoint, and although his broadcasting career has kept him busy, he has coached his sons at different times, but is always sure to let them chart their own path.

“They would use me as a sounding board for things within the game, and they would talk to me when it came time to make decisions on where to go,” Black said. “But one lesson I’ve learned is to let them make their own decisions. I will give them as many tools and as much information as I can, and then it’s up to them. They’ve done it themselves in so many ways and we’re obviously very proud of them.”

When Rod and Nancy moved to Aurora, Ont., they installed a batting cage and father would regularly pitch to his sons.

Even with Tyler’s unique experiences as a youngster around spring training fields, and the fact that his dad has worked around prof sports throughout his life, Rod believes his son’s mindset and clear vision of what he wants to achieve, are the primary reasons for his success.

“Tyler has had that vision for a long time,” Black said. “He has a big vision where he wants to go, and he’s done it with hard work. I’m very proud of all of my kids, and I’m proud of Tyler and Brody for the fact that both of them have worked so hard at this sport because it’s not an easy path.”

The Raiders’ season-opening road trip will also take them to Tuscaloosa, Ala., for a three-game set with the University of Alabama. The Crimson Tide roster features Canadian sophomores OF Owen Diodati (Niagara Falls, Ont.), and LHP Antoine Jean (Montreal, Que.). Diodati was named to the preseason All-SEC second team after leading Alabama with 22 RBIs as a freshman, on the power of five home runs.

WSU then opens their conference schedule at home against Northern Kentucky Univ. NKU features Canadian catcher Jayden Wakeham (Victoria, B.C), a former Okotoks Dawgs Academy Dawg and two-way player Noah Richardson (Windsor, Ont.).

The Canadian combo of Tyler Black and Konner Piotto are ready to lead the charge in 2021 for a Wright State Raiders squad that is perennially overlooked outside of their conference. They’re ready to prove themselves to the nation yet again starting this weekend.