Deacon Sports Xtra: McGraw Enjoying “Indescribable” Experience with Collegiate National Team
7/8/2022 5:00:00 PM | Baseball, Les Johns
“It’s nothing like I’ve done before. It’s one thing to represent your hometown, school or college, but representing your country is unlike anything else. It’s almost indescribable.”
Teddy McGraw became a lockdown Sunday starter for the Demon Deacons, helping to salvage the series at UNC before pitching a gem in the final game of a series sweep at NC State — games which were absolutely crucial for their postseason outlook.
He finished the season 5-2 with a 4.08 ERA, but was especially potent down the stretch of the season. In McGraw's final six appearances, he went 29 innings with a 0.93 ERA, allowing just 14 hits while striking out 28. Opponents batted just .203 against McGraw this season, the lowest on the 2022 Deacs.
The Demon Deacons earned 41 victories, a 21-game improvement from 2021, but fell in the Maryland Regional after losses to both the Terrapins and UConn.
"Obviously we would have loved to have made it out of the regional and played more games," McGraw said. "But I was glad we were able to get that experience as a team. I can't wait to get back in the fall and start working.
"That's the game of baseball. You can't get caught up in results, but instead have to stay in tune with your process, or you're going to be heartbroken a lot. That's what baseball does."
McGraw was one of four Demon Deacons invited to the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Training Camp, where he worked a pair of scoreless innings in the opening game of the exhibition series in Cary.
"It was a good experience," McGraw said. "I faced a stacked lineup. There were no breaks, facing several of the top guys in the country. It was a lot of fun."
Joining McGraw at the camp that has taken place in Cary, Durham and Charlotte was fellow Demon Deacons Rhett Lowder and Brock Wilken, helping Wake Forest stand as only one of three teams in the nation with a trio of representatives. First baseman Nick Kurtz was invited as well, but was unable to participate.
"It's nothing like I've done before," McGraw said. "It's one thing to represent your hometown, school or college, but representing your country is unlike anything else. It's almost indescribable."
McGraw came to Wake Forest as a top-500 rated recruit by Perfect Game, but missed his senior high school season because of Tommy John surgery. As a freshman in 2021, McGraw worked exclusively out of the bullpen striking out 22 in 18.1 innings pitched with a 4.42 ERA.
The Wake Forest weekend rotation of Lowder, Josh Hartle and McGraw all return for the 2023 season, along with a core nucleus of young position players.
"We can't get caught up in expectations or what-ifs," McGraw said. "We just have to put our heads down in the fall and get to work. We have three guys here representing Wake Forest at USA Baseball and it would have been a fourth if Nick Kurtz could have joined us. It's pretty awesome. There are a lot of guys doing great in the Cape. I can't wait for the fall."
While McGraw has been pitching against the best competition in the country at the USA Baseball camp, the Wake Forest staff has done an unbelievable job adding talent and depth to the 2023 roster, including several quality arms.
"It's going to add to competition in the fall and help make everyone better," McGraw said. "Then when the spring comes, I like our chances."
McGraw and Lowder both received good news on Tuesday afternoon as USA Baseball announced the pair of Demon Deacon arms landed on the 26-man Collegiate National Team roster that will travel to the Netherlands on Wednesday and begin Honkbalweek Haarlem on Saturday, July 9.
The stars and stripes open against Japan at 8 a.m. ET and follow with games against Italy, Cuba, the Netherlands and Curacao to complete group play. All games will be streamed online via HonkbalSoftbal.tv.
Lowder and McGraw join Johnny Aiello (2017), Kyle Sleeth (2002), Bret Wagner (1993), Jake Austin (1989) and Erik Hansen (1985) as Wake Forest representatives on the national team.
Wake Forest is one of five schools in the nation with multiple players on this year's squad (Florida State, LSU, Ole Miss and Vanderbilt).
