Steven Trout’s eyes were glued to his iPad during the offseason. He wanted to soak up every second of watching his players in summer league baseball that he could.
When the Sun Belt shut down the 2020 season on March 17 and players were sent home due to COVID-19 precautions, Trout wasn’t allowed to work with them again until they returned in the fall. The Texas State head coach was itching to get back to the game but had to settle for just streaming their offseason games.
Trout’s feeling is one shared by the rest of the team. After all, the Bobcats’ .778 winning percentage was tops in the conference and Trout’s 14 wins were the most by any first-year head coach in 2020. They tasted a regular season championship in 2019 before being knocked out in the first round of the league tournament — the bad taste in their mouths was left to sit for another year. For some, it was the longest time away from the sport in their careers.
