SAN ANTONIO -- Senior Karan Patel is not your traditional two-sport athlete. Despite anchoring the UTSA pitching staff, baseball is not his most accomplished sport. That sport on the resumé is reserved for cricket.
The son of Kuldeep and Deepali Patel, Karan has followed in the footsteps of his father as a standout athlete. Kuldeep starred for the USA Cricket National Team, which naturally rubbed off on the younger Patel during his growth as an athlete.
When Kuldeep retired from professional cricket, he shifted into a scouting and advisory role with the USA National Team. This furthered Karan's love for the sport, resulting in his tenure with three USA Cricket National Teams over the course of his youth, including the U-19 team in 2015.
Patel's cricket experience is a unique element he brings to the table as a collegiate baseball player. A diverse experience in international competition can only help the right-hander when he takes the mound for his final season in 2019.
In 2018, under the direction of first-year pitching coach Jim Blair, the Roadrunners pitching unit posted the second-best ERA in the history of the program (3.54), while fanning 454 with just 206 walks in 491 innings.
"The transition was pretty good under Coach Blair," Patel said. "Watching what Coach Blair did with the hitters the year before and then him switching over (to pitching coach), allowed us to really build a relationship. He just gave us the reigns to because we were a good group of older guys who knew what we had to do. We had the mentality that we were going to get in there, do work, get outs and let our hitters do their thing."
A native of Sugar Land, Texas, Patel is coming off a season where he led one of the best pitching staffs in program history. A six-foot, 215-pounder, Patel went 3-3 with a 3.96 ERA over 63.2 innings as a junior, walking 29 and striking out 56, allowing only 53 hits.
His breakout 2018 came after an up-and-down first two seasons in San Antonio. Patel went 2-5 with a 5.30 ERA over 18 appearances and 10 starts as a freshman, before dropping to a 7.28 ERA over 15 outings and seven starts as a sophomore.
"Basically, to turn the corner for 2018 from the year before, I lost some weight, focused on some little things with coach Blair, and found some other training exercises that could help with consistency," Patel said. "It really helped me figure out what was going wrong with my body. It was able to click."
As he enters his senior year, Patel is in a position to be relied upon as a fixture in the starting staff. The Roadrunners will need to replace four key arms on the pitching staff, including starters Chance Kirby (7-4, 2.63 ERA in 2018), Steven Dressler (5-4, 3.05 ERA), Derek Craft (3-5, 1.89 ERA, 3 saves) and Nathan Alexander (3-1, 3.19 ERA). This puts Patel – along with seniors Bradley Griggs (0-1, 2.81 ERA), Palmer Wenzel (6-2, 3.27 ERA), Tyler Giovanoni (4-3, 3.41 ERA in 2017) and Kyrell Miller (4-1, 4.94 ERA) – in key positions to lead.
"It's just about sharing knowledge and experience with everyone," Patel said about taking on a leadership role. "With some new guys coming in, it's just about sharing the ups and downs and how we handled it, from a personal and team perspective. I've had some good and bad in my career and the opportunity to share my experiences with younger guys is a great asset."
Patel sports 10 quality starts over the course of his career, with six coming in 2018. He worked a career-long eight innings in a win over Columbia but starred in shutout quality starts vs. Western Kentucky and Charlotte.
"Personally, its going deeper in the game," Patel said about his focus entering 2019. "Last year I had a couple of short starts. I'm focused on getting through the lineup a third time around. It's just about being down and being as effective as possible for as long as I can help the team."
UTSA opens up the 2019 season on Feb. 15-17 with a lidlifting-weekend vs. McNeese State at Roadrunner Field.
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