USD Magazine Spring 2026

TORERO ATHLETICS

Drake Frize throwing from the mound at Fowler Park. An injury sidelined Frize for all of 2025, but he made his return to the field this spring.

The Long Game

opportunity. Channeling his energy into his graduate studies, he took a course in coaching and leadership, strengthening his ability to support the team while he made his way back from injury. Frize took some of the lessons directly from the classroom to the clubhouse. He drew on his experience and became something of a player-coach, a peer his teammates could lean on and someone with the know-how to teach. “There was a lot of conversation with the coaches about what they were expecting from me,” Frize said. “I couldn’t help on the field, but having been in this program for four years at the time, I could offer a different level of leadership.”

Frize has experienced plenty of ups and downs in his time at USD. After his redshirt year as a freshman, he came into his own, capping off his first season with a couple of scoreless innings in a dramatic extra-innings game to capture the West Coast Conference title. Frize saw steady improvement and increased playing time over the next two seasons. Although his sophomore season included a back injury that kept him out for several weeks, he returned stronger than ever for his junior season. With a sub-3.00 ERA and a career high in strikeouts, it was all coming together. When opposing batters stepped into the box, you could almost count on them shaking their heads in frustration as they made their way back to the dugout. The big leagues were paying attention, and Frize was selected

As Drake Frize takes a moment to think back on his career, a smile starts to form at the curl of his handlebar mustache, reminiscent of the style made famous by legendary relief pitcher Rollie Fingers. It’s one of many things that have changed in Frize’s six seasons with USD Baseball. When he arrived on campus in 2020, the world was finding its way through a pandemic, and Frize was just a 160-pound teenager. He had been a strong player in high school, but he knew he had to grow in order to compete with the men playing in college. Six years later, he laughs when he realizes he’s one of the elder statesmen now. “We had one of my old teammates come by the field recently, and you don’t realize how fast things transpire until you’re looking back. It feels like I was just a freshman,” Frize said. “It’s been the quickest six years … but also not really.” Baseball is a game of volatility. One swing of the bat, one skip of the ball and everything can change. It’s a numbers game. Play long enough, and you’ll experience it in some form or fashion, and

in the 17th round of the 2024 Major League Baseball draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks. But then, another setback. Late in the 2024 season, Frize injured his elbow. He’d have to miss a year of action while he recovered, and he wouldn’t be able to join the Diamondbacks. Dejected, but not defeated, Frize turned the situation into an

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