Around the Diamond: DeMeo, Furman Proud Representatives of SAAC
11/29/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
The University of Pittsburgh baseball team suffered a great deal of turnover from last season to this year, as they will be without the contributions of five players from their starting lineup and two of the top pitchers last season’s starting rotation.
Such turnover is common in college baseball, creating a void that is expected to be filled by upperclassmen stepping up and new talent being brought in.
Even with a youthful Panthers team, one quality that would be expected to be suppressed in this situation is the amount of leadership. However, the Panthers didn’t wait until the regular season got underway to build up their team leaders. They took it on head-on, exposing the team to The Program.
The Program is a leadership development program, which the Panthers underwent as a two-day team bonding experience this fall.
“It was one of the most beneficial things I’ve ever done,” said redshirt junior pitcher Dan Furman.
“We had some leaders we knew about going in, but there were also some guys who really took a major role, and emerged as leaders that we didn’t expect to,” chimed in senior utility infielder P.J. DeMeo.
DeMeo and Furman’s leadership intangibles extend far beyond what they went through with their teammates in The Program. In fact, they even extend off the field as well.
“When I was a freshman, one of the older guys took me aside and told me I should go to the SAAC meeting that night. Now I’m a part of the council and it’s a great experience,” said DeMeo.
The Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) is composed of a few select student-athletes. The members of the committee help inform Athletic Director Scott Barnes and other Panther administrators about how the student-athletes feel on any newly imposed regulations and rules.
It gives the student-athletes at Pitt, and other campuses around the country, a voice. Each school in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) features a set of student athletes in the SAAC, and the member institutions regularly gather to meet as a group.
“The administration does a great job of listening to what we have to say,” lamented DeMeo.
“It’s important to have an impact on all the student-athletes here at Pitt, to give them a voice, and let the administration know how we feel,” said Furman.
The two players are interested in athletic administration in their future. They recognize that the vast amount of experience that they are exposed to in these meetings, and how it can be beneficial down the line in their chosen career paths.
While they are already making noise off of the field, they hope that they will increase their contributions to the team once the 2017 slate gets underway.
DeMeo, a Pittsburgh product who hails from Sewickley, and attended Central Catholic High School, made significant strides last year. He played in 20 games, starting six, and hit at a .265 clip in 34 at-bats.
The senior infielder had one home run and six RBIs while also scoring four runs. Out of his nine hits in 2016, four were of the extra-base variety, including a triple, giving him a healthy .471 slugging percentage.
Furman, a native of Brookhaven, Pa., will look to be more of an option for head coach Joe Jordano, after only making one relief appearance in 2016. In 2015, he appeared in five contests, picking up his first collegiate win. In 9.2 innings pitched in 2015, he had a 4.66 ERA and seven strikeouts.
Furman was clear in stressing one thing about the SAAC, stating, “It’s really all about making Pitt a better place for its student athletes. All 476 of them. We all want to have the best experience we can in our four years here, and it’s important to make sure each and every student athlete feels that way, and to give them that chance.”
It’s quite the impact off the field, and the experienced Panthers possess aspirations for on the diamond as well.
Both players produced the same response when asked about their goals for this season, radiating a sentiment much more team-oriented, than boasting out expectations for individual statistics.
“Win the ACC for the first time in program history. That would be my goal,” they both echoed.
DeMeo, Furman, and the rest of the Pittsburgh Panthers will kick start their quest for an ACC title when they take on Delaware on Feb. 17 to open the season in Kissimmee, Fla.