(Photo: Sammy Nute/WCSN)
PHOENIX – When Spencer Torkelson stepped into the right-handed batter’s box at Phoenix Municipal Stadium for his first at-bat in the Arizona State celebrity softball game it had been nearly five years since his last in game at-bat as a member of the Sun Devils baseball team.
In those five years, a lot has happened. Torkelson went on to be selected by the Detroit Tigers as the number one pick in the MLB draft after the Covid-19 Pandemic shortened his 2020 season. ASU baseball had a losing season and football experienced three.
But now, as the 2025 college baseball season is around the corner, ASU athletics are as healthy as ever.
Football head coach Kenny Dillingham led his Sun Devils squad to a Big 12 Championship and College Football Playoff appearance, spearheading an exciting movement for ASU Athletics and building a sense of togetherness that has impacted all programs, including fourth-year head coach Willie Bloomquist’s baseball team.
“It’s a big buzz,” Bloomquist said. “Starting off with how football did and volleyball and how ice hockey is doing right now. There’s some programs that are really taking off and doing some great things. I think everyone’s excited.”
Those aren’t empty words. There’s excitement around Tempe. Players and coaches have been seen attending other sports events and Dillingham was a surprise guest at Sunday afternoon’s softball game.
Dillingham lined out to left field in his only at-bat, but his appearance and commitment to “Activate the Valley” is creating a tighter bond between the different sports. It’s something that new athletic director Graham Rossini appreciates seeing.
“There’s a lot of success all over the department right now and it’s been really fun to see the coaches challenge each other,” he said. “But more importantly, they’re collaborating.”
Rossini said that it was Dillingham who reached out to Bloomquist to be part of the event. Dillingham grew up in Arizona as a Sun Devil fan, landing the football head coaching job was a dream come true for him. His mantra of “Activate the Valley” is living proof of his commitment to making Arizona State as good as it can be.
With Dillingham as a lifelong fan and alumni and Bloomquist as a former player, the two are leading their respective programs toward a culture of Sun Devils excellence that they know well.
“I think that’s just an X-factor for us when people are aware that this place needs to be a destination, this isn’t where you come to be good and then go to your next stop,” Rossini said. “This is where people want to spend the best years in their career and you’ve got two coaches that are living proof of that.”
The softball game, which Rossini said was created through collaboration between Bloomquist and the Sun Devil Athletics marketing team, was a chance to create excitement for the upcoming season, giving fans a chance to see loved alumni back in Tempe before the 2025 team held a scrimmage of their own.
Bloomquist had twelve baseball alumni, alumni of four other sports and baseball influencer Eric Sim, known online as the King of JUCO, take part in the scrimmage that drew interest from many Sun Devils fans.
“This is what being a Sun Devil is all about,” Bloomquist said. “You got different sports and great names across several sports at our university just all coming together and being part of the Sun Devil family.”
Torkelson, who hit 54 home runs and slashed .337/.463/.729 en route to becoming the best Sun Devil baseball player in recent history, cited the recent turnaround of the football program and the “Activate the Valley” initiative as two feats that pulled himself back into the world of ASU.
“It almost reignited the fire,” Torkelson said. “The passion of everything that we have, the passion that we have for this school, not only for the baseball program but for the football program as well and every single part of this school we have a lot of pride in because of the way we were raised on this campus.”
Carter Aldrete, a former teammate of Torkelson’s at ASU, was one of the baseball alumni who returned to Muni for the softball game. Aldrete echoed Torkelson’s pride in the state of the program. As Arizona State baseball completes the school’s transition to the Big 12 Conference, Aldrete is ready to support his fellow Sun Devils and the growth of ASU athletics.
“Arizona State’s growing rapidly, as it should be,” Aldrete said. “It’s one of the best places in the country to go to college, and I think we all know that, and it’s time for the rest of the world to know that too.”
