WATCH: Nick Lee On Ragin’ Cajuns 2017 Season
Nick Lee was basically a second ace in the staff for Tony Robichaux's Ragin' Cajuns as a freshman, but he wants to keep building on his solid foundation.
When you take a talented arm like Lee's and put it in Robichaux's pitching system, the results are undeniable. Lee didn't try to mess with his approach too much this offseason, he just tried to keep buying into the system that brought him immense success in his first year on campus.
With his 7-1 record last season, Lee earned national First Team All-Freshman honors from Louisville Slugger and was also named the Sun Belt Freshman of the Year. If it's not broke, don't fix it, and that's why Lee is simply staying the course.
"I'm really just focusing on trying to learn the system and get fully equipped with the system that Coach Robe always preaches about," Lee said about his offseason goal.
There will be one major change to the system Lee pitches in, and it has to do with the man behind the plate.
Lee got used to having Nick Thurman at catcher last season. Thurman served as a steadying presence behind the plate, helping to calm him down and keep him focused on the task at hand. This year, Lee has Handsome Monica catching. It's safe to say there are some big differences between Thurman and Monica.
"Thurm was a little more quiet, Handsome is a little more outgoing, but they're both really solid catchers and really good people," Lee said.
Lee just tends to roll with the punches. He might have a new catcher, but it's still the same game.
Even as a freshman, Lee's ability to tune out distractions was incredible. He pitched like a veteran in salty situations, so it should come as no surprise that the construction of Russo Park barely phased him.
Lee learned to deal with the construction noise like everything else in his career, and he actually thinks the process helped the team.
"It's really good to have stuff like that going on because sometimes the fans can be distracting, especially on the road when they're screaming stuff at you that you don't want to hear," Lee explained.
Noise isn't the only thing Lee tunes out either. Coach Robichaux doesn't put any stock in preseason rankings, and Lee doesn't listen to that noise either.
The Ragin' Cajuns were unanimously picked to win their division in the Sun Belt this season, but Lee echoed the same sentiment Robichaux expressed time and time again.
"We don't pay attention to any stuff like that. Like Coach Robe says, they rank that off of last year's team and we haven't proved anything yet. We have a lot to prove still," Lee said seriously.
Lee said the mission is to make it to Omaha and win the whole thing. If Louisiana wants to make it to the holiest grounds in college baseball, Lee will have to help shoulder a heavy load.
Find out how Lee is preparing for the 2017 season by watching the full 1-on-1 interview above, and find out who impressed him at the plate this offseason.