Villanova Baseball: Freshman AJ Hansen opens up on the shutdown

With college baseball still uncertain as to what their future holds, Villanova infielder opens up about how he has been dealing with the COVID-19 shutdown.

“I started to look at the shutdown right when it happened as an opportunity” -AJ Hansen, Villanova baseball

While everyone’s focus is set in on what the future holds for the Philadelphia Phillies (and the rest of the MLB), college baseball players all around the country are sat waiting completely in the dark, unsure of what the next step is when it comes to their playing careers. Villanova baseball hasn’t played a sanctioned game since March 10th, leaving pretty much all of their players in a state of limbo moving forward. Some guys were looking to cap off their senior year with a successful season, some had aspirations of playing professionally. All of it came to a screeching halt due to COVID-19.

I was lucky enough to sit down with freshman infielder AJ Hansen a few weeks back (it was a Zoom call in reality), to discuss how he’s personally handled the lockdown and what he and his teammates have been doing in the meantime to stay locked in both mentally and physically. AJ is a Pennsylvania native, winning a plethora of “All-Area” and “All-League” nominations across multiple sports during his time at Perkiomen Valley High School.

Sent back home just a day after their first home game, AJ said it was a hectic time for both players and coaches alike. No one was sure what the future held and nobody was quite sure how long the virus would impact collegiate baseball. For AJ, his teammates, and his coaches, they viewed this as a time to get better:

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“First couple months of shutdown were all about getting my body feeling good, and getting my body bigger, faster, and stronger… I feel great, best I ever have in my life to be honest, physically… We were playing a little bit, you know BP and doing some drills and stuff. Then about a month ago, a local league started up near my house… we’ve been playing some games recently.”

AJ also went on to to highlight the important role that his Villanova coaches/trainers have continued to play during this time. Sending workouts, having team Zoom calls, and most importantly putting a ton of emphasis on the mental side of things.

“At this crazy time we’re just trying to make sure everyone of us is in a good spot (mentally).”

Despite being a true freshman, AJ was actually starting to emerge as a serious rising star for Villanova prior to the shutdown. Through eight games he was slashing .400/.400/.538, with three RBIs and five runs scored. He also had a perfect fielding percentage, recording two assists playing a combination of both infield and outfield. Villanova won 7/8 games AJ appeared in, and having COVID step in and put a stop to that red hot form was more than frustrating for the young hitter.

“We were as a team rolling and I felt personally I was really getting the hang, my swing was feeling great, felt comfortable on the field. Yea, it was as frustrating as it gets (having the season get canceled).” 

AJ went on to highlight the importance he’s put on himself when it comes to position flexibility. He played both second and shortstop in high school, and has found himself moved all over the field for ‘Nova. He’s credited his athleticism and his desire to bounce around as a reason he found himself getting some extra at-bats.

“I’ll always love middle infield, that’s what I grew up playing…it allows me to use my athleticism the most, but I loved playing the outfield too…In baseball, being able to play anywhere is a big thing, especially for a hitter”.

Obviously, AJ is a pretty big baseball fan himself. Here are some of the biggest takeaways from when I asked him some questions pertaining to the MLB:

-He’s a Philadelphia Phillies fans (duh)

-JT Realmuto is his favorite current Phillie, and the team needs to re-sign him

-Jimmy Rollins is his favorite past Phillie

-the Phillies should have signed Yasiel Puig (they still can!)

AJ rounded out the interview detailing how Villanova baseball’s future is pretty much in the hands of the Big East, as they will likely get the final say on who plays and when they play. Until then, AJ and all his teammates will continue to work daily in an attempt to stay in shape for when baseball does finally return.