College baseball is more than just clutch hits and insane catches, it's also full of many hilarious moments off the field, specifically during interviews. Between players cracking jokes and the rest of the team sabotaging the interview, the sport is in no shortage of comedic gold.
Todd Peterson - LSU
Back in 2018, a Louisiana State University pitcher became an unexpected hero at home plate during the SEC Tournament. Peterson had convinced his coach, Paul Mainieri, that he could hit. Even though Peterson never hit in practice, all he had to do was tell Mainieri that he hit homers in high school and he earned an at-bat.
In a crucial moment against South Carolina, he not only made contact but hit a two-run double off the wall. This helped LSU secure the win. After the game was over, Peterson admitted to Mainieri that he had lied about his actual high school hitting experience. Mainieri hilariously thanked him for doing so, since it paid off in the end.
Stephen Stotch - University of Virginia
After a great performance on the mound, pitcher Stephen Schoch revealed that a fan from the other team had jokingly offered him free Dippin’ Dots if he pitched bad intentionally.
Schoch admitted that he thought about it for a second because the price of the popular ice cream had gotten so high he couldn’t afford them for himself. In the end, Schoch made it clear that even though he loves the ice cream, he loves winning more.
Jacob Cantleberry and T.J. Sikkema - University of Missouri
Cantleberry wasn’t the main focus of this interview, even though he was the one getting interviewed. Instead, his teammates Tyler LaPlante, Trevor Mallett, and Ty Olejnik, and Trevor Mallett stole the show.
While Cantleberry was discussing his strong outing, LaPlante, Mallett, and Olejnik, and Mallett were reenacting a Game of Thrones knighting scene behind him. With a toy sword, a water bottle for a chalice, and a batting helmet for armor they turned the field into a medieval ceremony. Their spectacle made it difficult for the commentators to keep their composure.
The next day, during T.J. Sikkema’s interview after his dominant no-hit performance, the team stole the show once again. This time they instead staged a mock boxing match.
Ryan Quinn - Cincinnati Bearcats
Back in 2013 the Cincinnati Bearcats were notorious for their shenanigans during interviews. While it was multiple players contributing to the pranks, Ryan Quinn was the mastermind of it all. It started when Quinn, walked behind freshman first baseman Devin Wenzel during an interview with BearcatsTV, and flashed a smile at the camera. He stepped up his game after a win against Ohio State, by jumping on a teammate’s shoulders and becoming “The Lookout,” scanning the field. After seeing the positive response from his antics, Quinn's creativity took off, leading to more hilarious moments like his favorite “The Pig Roast,” where he acted like a pig tied to a spit and was carried by teammates, and “The Joust,” where he and a teammate pretended to charge at each other with bats and catchers' helmets. There was also “The Swimmer,” where he swam the freestyle stroke behind teammate JP Jackson, who did the backstroke, and “The King,” where three teammates carried him as he waved and blew kisses to the crowd while others fanned him with rakes. Quinn’s final antics of the season, included getting water dumped on him from a Gatorade bucket and whipped cream smeared in his face during the final series of the season against Notre Dame.
These funny moments from college baseball show that the sport isn’t just about on-field performance, but also the fun personalities of the players. These interviews show that college baseball is full of unforgettable and entertaining moments.
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