Calling it a “dream” opportunity, Waubonsie Valley head sophomore coach Bryan Acevedo recently found out that he’d be the one to succeed Dan Fezzuoglio as head varsity baseball coach.
Fezzuoglio stepped down in September from the post he held for 14 seasons, in which he led the Warriors to three conference titles, three regional titles and a berth in the 2005 Class AA state tournament, thanks in part to the pitching efforts of former Red Sox and Cubs right-hander Michael Bowden.
“It was kind of a shocker that it opened because we were obviously getting into the start of the school year,” Acevedo said. “I wasn’t necessarily thinking that was going to be the case, but it has definitely been a position that I’ve really wanted and kind of sought for many years. It’s kind of been the passion and dream of mine. Really kind of excited about that opportunity.”
Last spring, Waubonsie Valley won 26 games and its first regional title since 2005 before bowing out to Downers Grove South in a Class 4A Oswego Regional Semifinal.
With experience coaching at Hinsdale South, Wheaton North and the last five years at Waubonsie Valley, Acevedo, who spent the last two years as Waubonsie Valley’s head sophomore coach, is just looking to keep the program going in the same direction Fezzuoglio had guided it throughout the last 14 years.
“I think we’d like to try to build on the success of last year, for sure. Twenty-six wins, conference title, regional title. You know, that’s a big year in any program, for that matter,” said Acevedo, who added that he found out about a week-and-a-half ago that he’d get the opportunity to take over the Warriors’ varsity program. “Just try to continue on that good foot from last year. Just sort of build off of that. We’ll do some things that we’ve done in the past here, but we’ll also kind of try to change the culture a little bit and just sort of the expectation within the program.
“It’s been a few years since we were able to accomplish some of those things or the regional (title), at least. We had won a couple conference championships in the five years that I’ve been here prior. So just to kind of raise that bar, so it’s more of a expectation every year or a goal of ours every year to kind of be doing those things and trying to strive for.more.”
Catcher Luke Marzano, second baseman Ryan Jones, shortstop Garret Howicz, outfielder Ryan Strick is among the seniors that will help guide the Warriors’ offense in their final year in the Upstate Eight before moving into the DuPage Valley Conference.
Junior Brandon Petersen, who was on varsity as a sophomore last year, will be asked to lead the staff that loses Tyler Hasper but returns Zack Bennema.
“The DVC now, with the teams that will be in there, there’s really no bottom feeders,” Acevedo said. “So it’ll be a battle. I’m kind of glad we’ve got a year kind of under the belt before we get into that. The Upstate Eight is definitely a very competitive conference, as well. So we’ll have our hands full this year also.”
