HIGH POINT, N.C. — The High Point University baseball team heads into Big South Conference play with a completely new pitching rotation than what the Panthers had when they won the conference last season for the first time.
 
Although the program lost the likes of Gus Hughes and Brett Wozniak, HPU pitching coach Jerry Edwards believes the club has what it takes to be successful in the conference once again.
 
Edwards is in his second season with the Panthers after spending four seasons at Jacksonville and seven at UNC Greensboro. When looking at pitching development, Edwards looks into pitchers having a solid secondary pitch, whether that be a changeup, curveball, or slider. The way pitchers throw and how they do it, is not a concern for Edwards.
 
"It is kind of like, 'You walk the way you walk," Edwards said.
 
He believes the new pitching staff's development has been impressive as he knew precisely what to add in the offseason. Edwards wanted to improve the bullpen and rotation to create different looks that the club did not have last year.
 
One of those new looks comes from Friday starter, freshman Wade Walton. Edwards highly praised his new starter, who heads into conference play with a 1.85 earned-run average.
 
"Just watching him in the fall and the spring and kind of how this stuff has continued to get better, and also his mental makeup, is one that you don't find in a lot of freshmen," Edwards said. 
 
Edwards believes Walton does not get rattled and that he knows who he is while trusting his "stuff."
 
The transfer portal benefited the Panthers after they lost much of their pitching staff after their postseason run, which included the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament win over Vanderbilt.
 
The Panthers' staff has benefited from analytics and different resources to help narrow down transfer talent to match the program's outlook.  Each coach focuses in on watching film while doing their homework on players who could transfer to the school. 
 
One of those transfers who came into the program for the 2025 season was sophomore Dylan Story. Story is a local North Carolina native who came to High Point from Wingate University. 

"He was throwing in summer ball, and one of our coaches called us and said, 'Hey man, I got a guy here. He's going into the portal," Edwards said.

Another starter-caliber guy is Cord Bulter, who came to High Point after a successful career at NC Wesleyan where he was a D3 All-American and was 12-0 with a 2.43 ERA in 2024. 
 
Regarding pitchers returning to the program for the season, Joey Tuttoilmondo is one to look out for. He is a long-relief guy who can give the club many solid innings of work. Dalton Olsovsky also returned after appearing in 19 games last season (six starts). 
 
"Dalton's development in the fall was really good," Edwards said. "The velocity had really gotten up. His slider (and) cutter were really good."
 
Two returning pitchers from the bullpen that Edwards believes will be crucial down the stretch are Tuttoilmondo and graduate student Adam Grintz. The versatility is beneficial in the eyes of Edwards. Both pitchers can go short stints out of the bullpen but can also be stretched out. 
 
In the Big South Tournament last season, Grintz pitched four and two-thirds of an inning and did not let up a single run. Grintz has been a great surprise for the Panthers due to him not pitching much at Tulane, resulting in limited film to review. 
 
"He was still trying to figure himself out and get comfortable," Edwards said. "Once he did last year, it was really good, and we didn't really find out after the season, he had another year left."
 
Edwards knows when Grintz comes into the game that they are going to go and attack hitters, which comes into effect when considering who can be the club's new closing pitcher. 
 
Last year, the Panthers would take Cael Chatham off third base and have him pitch to close games out. Now, heading into conference play, the Panthers currently have a committee of pitchers who could be that set closer. 
 
Two of these potential closers are Tuttoilmondo and Grintz but another that comes to the mind of Edwards is Wake Forest transfer Charlie Jones. With a 4.91 earned-run-average this season, Jones did not give up a run through his first three appearances as a Panther.
 
Post University transfer Nick Semon is coming off a season in which he pitched 33.2 innings with a 4.28 earned-run-average and is another name that could be in the closer mix.
 
Edwards is looking towards the future in conference play, and believes the team is heading in the right direction. He believes the team has the leadership needed to succeed especially at the top with HPU Head Coach Joey Hammond. 
 
"I like our philosophy as far as how we go about trying to get the premier pitching that we need to compete and win on a national level and get to a regional," Edwards said. 
 
The Panthers open up Big South Conference play against Charleston Southern in a three-game weekend series, starting on Friday, March 14 at 6 p.m.