Wake Forest Athletics
Deacon Sports Xtra: Lowder Leaving Legacy as 2023 Regular Season Rapidly Closes
5/17/2023 9:47:00 AM | Baseball
The routine dominance of which we've become accustomed almost didn't come to fruition, and is now quickly coming to an end.
Rhett Lowder wasn't a big kid, didn't throw particularly hard and was underrecruited entering his senior season at North Stanly (Albemarle, N.C.) High School, but he finally did just enough in front of Wake Forest associate head coach Bill Cilento to earn his first power conference offer.
Lowder is getting set for his final regular season start as a Demon Deacon Friday against Virginia Tech as he leads Wake Forest down the stretch of his historic season with amplified postseason potential.
"I was one of the later commits here," Lowder said. "I was a smaller kid out of high school, and didn't throw very hard. I wasn't talking to a lot of the bigger schools. I was only being recruited by many of the mid majors around North Carolina.
"It took Billy a little bit to be convinced about me. I didn't get my offer until I was going into my senior year. I was one of the later guys, but it worked out."
With offers from Appalachian State, Campbell, UNC Wilmington and a couple of Ivy League schools, Wake Forest was the first, and only, power five conference team to give Lowder a chance to compete at the highest levels of collegiate baseball. Lowder had a chance to compete in a camp at Wake Forest and pitch in the lab.
"I had no idea what was going on," Lowder said. "I'd barely thrown at that point in front of a radar gun. I was super skinny, all markered up in front of everyone and was kind of nervous. I had no idea what was going on. I was just throwing.
"I've been around Winston-Salem my whole life so I was familiar with the campus. I came for a camp when I got my offer and threw in the pitching lab. Then I went around campus with Walt (Wake Forest head coach Tom Walter). It was the next day when I committed. I knew pretty quickly where I wanted to be."
The opportunity at Wake Forest became even more fortuitous for Lowder, who had his senior high school season essentially wiped off the board as the COVID-19 pandemic descended upon the country.
"I only had one or two starts," Lowder said. "I realized once I committed I had to work even harder if I was ever going to be able to play here. That's where I locked in and started taking baseball more seriously. I showed some improvements my senior year, but it got cut short.
"I knew in the fall when I started pitching in the intra squads that I was a little bit behind some of the guys physically, but I was getting outs and competing. I knew this was where I belonged. Even if it wasn't that first year, I was going to improve by working with these guys and learning from the veterans. I went home, packed on some pounds and gained some velocity. There were some injuries and I got some time on the field, but it was a lot earlier when I realized this was a great spot for me."
Lowder is fourth in career strikeouts and fifth in career wins at Wake Forest. He's currently leading the ACC and third in the nation in earned run average among starting pitchers.
Lowder is just the second pitcher in program history to post back-to-back seasons of at least 11 wins and is the only power five pitcher with an 11-0 record in 2023.
He's made significant improvement from his freshman-to-sophomore seasons, and then again from sophomore-to-junior.
"The lab is awesome, especially in the offseason," Lowder said. "Just getting in there with trackman and the force plates. The video work is awesome. I didn't really have a breaking ball in high school or my freshman year at all. Being in the lab, you can specifically work on one pitch, and for me that was my slider.
"It's just trial and error until something sticks. With the lab, you can see what works and break it down, because you get so much data on every pitch."
The Demon Deacons have grabbed series wins in each of their first nine opportunities in ACC play, and look to close it out strong this week against Virginia Tech.
"There were definitely games where we were clicking in every facet, but we found ways to win," Lowder said. "To me that was a testament to just how good we could be. When you look back at the weekend and know you didn't play your best, but still came away with the series win or sweep. You're not going to have your best stuff everyday. Even on the mound, I'm not going to have my best stuff every time, but you still have to find a way to compete. That's what we've done really well to this point."
As he gets set for his final regular-season start as a Demon Deacon, Lowder believes the best is yet to come.
"Being part of the turnaround, from '21 to '22, by earning ACC Pitcher of the Year, is something I'd like to hang my hat on," he said. "But what we're about to do this year is really special.
"I think this year what we're about to do is going to be the highlight of my career. This team is very special."
Rhett Lowder wasn't a big kid, didn't throw particularly hard and was underrecruited entering his senior season at North Stanly (Albemarle, N.C.) High School, but he finally did just enough in front of Wake Forest associate head coach Bill Cilento to earn his first power conference offer.
Lowder is getting set for his final regular season start as a Demon Deacon Friday against Virginia Tech as he leads Wake Forest down the stretch of his historic season with amplified postseason potential.
"I was one of the later commits here," Lowder said. "I was a smaller kid out of high school, and didn't throw very hard. I wasn't talking to a lot of the bigger schools. I was only being recruited by many of the mid majors around North Carolina.
"It took Billy a little bit to be convinced about me. I didn't get my offer until I was going into my senior year. I was one of the later guys, but it worked out."
With offers from Appalachian State, Campbell, UNC Wilmington and a couple of Ivy League schools, Wake Forest was the first, and only, power five conference team to give Lowder a chance to compete at the highest levels of collegiate baseball. Lowder had a chance to compete in a camp at Wake Forest and pitch in the lab.
"I had no idea what was going on," Lowder said. "I'd barely thrown at that point in front of a radar gun. I was super skinny, all markered up in front of everyone and was kind of nervous. I had no idea what was going on. I was just throwing.
"I've been around Winston-Salem my whole life so I was familiar with the campus. I came for a camp when I got my offer and threw in the pitching lab. Then I went around campus with Walt (Wake Forest head coach Tom Walter). It was the next day when I committed. I knew pretty quickly where I wanted to be."
The opportunity at Wake Forest became even more fortuitous for Lowder, who had his senior high school season essentially wiped off the board as the COVID-19 pandemic descended upon the country.
"I only had one or two starts," Lowder said. "I realized once I committed I had to work even harder if I was ever going to be able to play here. That's where I locked in and started taking baseball more seriously. I showed some improvements my senior year, but it got cut short.
"I knew in the fall when I started pitching in the intra squads that I was a little bit behind some of the guys physically, but I was getting outs and competing. I knew this was where I belonged. Even if it wasn't that first year, I was going to improve by working with these guys and learning from the veterans. I went home, packed on some pounds and gained some velocity. There were some injuries and I got some time on the field, but it was a lot earlier when I realized this was a great spot for me."
Lowder is fourth in career strikeouts and fifth in career wins at Wake Forest. He's currently leading the ACC and third in the nation in earned run average among starting pitchers.
Lowder is just the second pitcher in program history to post back-to-back seasons of at least 11 wins and is the only power five pitcher with an 11-0 record in 2023.
He's made significant improvement from his freshman-to-sophomore seasons, and then again from sophomore-to-junior.
"The lab is awesome, especially in the offseason," Lowder said. "Just getting in there with trackman and the force plates. The video work is awesome. I didn't really have a breaking ball in high school or my freshman year at all. Being in the lab, you can specifically work on one pitch, and for me that was my slider.
"It's just trial and error until something sticks. With the lab, you can see what works and break it down, because you get so much data on every pitch."
The Demon Deacons have grabbed series wins in each of their first nine opportunities in ACC play, and look to close it out strong this week against Virginia Tech.
"There were definitely games where we were clicking in every facet, but we found ways to win," Lowder said. "To me that was a testament to just how good we could be. When you look back at the weekend and know you didn't play your best, but still came away with the series win or sweep. You're not going to have your best stuff everyday. Even on the mound, I'm not going to have my best stuff every time, but you still have to find a way to compete. That's what we've done really well to this point."
As he gets set for his final regular-season start as a Demon Deacon, Lowder believes the best is yet to come.
"Being part of the turnaround, from '21 to '22, by earning ACC Pitcher of the Year, is something I'd like to hang my hat on," he said. "But what we're about to do this year is really special.
"I think this year what we're about to do is going to be the highlight of my career. This team is very special."
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