When asked about how he feels about Logan Sauve, West Virginia head coach Steve Sabins was very blunt in his assessment of his catcher.
"Logan Saave is a flat out rockstar," Sabins said.
While Sauve's name might be the center of attention this season, he is doing everything he can to make sure the focus is not on him.
Last season, Logan Sauve fractured his kneecap. The catcher would then return as quickly as possible, before he stepped up to the plate in a big way to help the Mountaineers reach their first-ever Super Regional.
"He got hit in the knee with a fastball at Western Kentucky last year and broke his kneecap and then came back as soon as possible and basically caught every day he possibly can," Sabins said.
As a catcher, Sauve knows he will not stand out as much as other guys like a JJ Wetherholt or a Sam White. That's just how Sauve wants it to be though, with the focus on everyone else but him.
"I think Logan's personality is probably a little bit more understated than JJ. He also is a catcher, so he's of that service leadership kind of mentality. He says less and does more, and then you look up after knowing him for a month, and you're like, that might be the most consistent worker and person that's on this team. So it's just that day in and day out, he doesn't want the limelight, he doesn't look for attention. And I think that's probably part of the reason why he's so good is because he's literally trying to highlight the pitcher for that day. He's trying to make the pitcher have their best day of their career on the mound every time, so it's just that selfless, humble, rock-solid, Mountaineer attitude," Sabins said.
Last season, Sauve played in 45 games, starting 44 of them. In those games he hit .308 with eight home runs and 37 RBI, while serving as WVU's primary catcher as well. This led him to test out the draft waters this past summer, but he ultimately decided to pull his name out of the draft and return to West Virginia.
"It was good to go through," Sauve said of the draft experience. "You know, fortunate that I have a couple more years left in college that I was able to take my name out of the draft, but it can be stressful at times. I think a big part of last season was trying to put it behind me and not worry about as much and focus on the team and you know whatever I can do to help the team win because at the end of the day that's when we have the most fun and obviously winning the regional last year was pretty fun. But like I said, just trying not to think about it too much, but at the same time learned a lot throughout it and made the best choice of my life, come back to school here."
Sauve was named a Preseason All-Big 12 Selection before the start of this season, but his goal this year is to be the best player he can be while helping to make the West Virginia pitching staff the best they can be.
"Every offseason I think I just try to improve on all my skills and I think that will help me become the best player that I can become. Like Coach Sabins was saying earlier, the big focus for me is to make sure I'm best friends with every guy on the pitching staff. That's our goal here to make sure they have the best day that they can and I think if that happens, I think we end up in good shape," Sauve said.
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