USFDons.com will take a deep dive into statistical accomplishments of the 2020 USF baseball team with its new web series titled, "2020 Vision," expanding on some of the best quantifiable performances this year by USF student-athletes and how they impacted their seasons, their teams and their careers.
 

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SAN FRANCISCO — Rickey Henderson stole 867 bases while playing 14 years of his Hall-of-Fame career in Oakland and holds the MLB record with more than 1,400 career swipes – an obvious choice for a young, developing base stealer from the Bay Area to idolize.
 
But not for University of San Francisco's Tyler Villaroman.
 
"Honestly, not really," Villaroman said when asked if he emulated or looked up to any player while growing up. "I just, whenever I got to first base I just go. I didn't even think about it."
 
"… I just go. I didn't even think about it," is the exact mentality that led Villaroman to become one of USF's all-time greatest base stealers. He had 50 career stolen bases in his pocket entering the 2020 season and needed 12 more to tie for second on the Dons' career records list. In only 17 games played before the season ended prematurely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Villaroman stole 13 – including a career-high-matching three on March 10 in the Dons' final game of the year – to place himself alone at No. 2 on the all-time USF career steals list with 63.
 
"I JUST GO"
 
Of course, speed would be a pretty important quality for a base stealer to have. But the quality Villaroman held perhaps above all others was his mindset.
 
If he ever got on first base - which he did plenty over his career with a .347 on-base percentage, a number that was even higher his junior (.364) and senior (.407) seasons – it wasn't "if" he was going to steal, it was "when."
 
"I always know I'm gonna wanna go to steal second, but there's always situational things that have to be in line, and that's always a pre-pitch thing that you have to know," said Villaroman about his process. "But like I said, I'm always gonna go to take that base. It doesn't really matter who's pitching or catching."
 
The Dons' everyday center fielder had 10 multi-steal games in four seasons, including eight the past two years and five in 2020 alone. And when he did go, he was one of the most successful of all-time at USF. His career stolen base percentage of 86.3% (63 for 73) ranks fifth all-time. He was only thrown out four times in 28 tries over the past two years.
 
"When I'm over there at first, I'm just thinking, 'All right, just need to be loose and go for it. If you don't feel it then just shut it down.' I always tell the guy batting behind me, 'Don't worry about me, don't worry about when I'm gonna steal or not, just worry about hitting and I'll get over to second. Don't worry about that.'"
 
Giving the green light to Villaroman was an easy decision for USF head coach Nino Giarratano, who recruited the first team all-West Catholic Athletic Leaguer out of Junipero Serra High School in San Mateo in part due to his speed.
 
"It's interesting because Villa had done it all year for us," said Giarratano of his senior's hot start. "He just kept doing his thing. Probably his best weekend of the year was at Northridge. We didn't have an opportunity to win, we didn't have the other pieces, but boy, he's done his job since game one all the way up to game 17."
 
"From my freshman year I've pretty much had the go-ahead whenever I want," added Villaroman. "If it's a situation that they think, 'All right, we don't need the extra base right now, let's just go base to base,' then I'll shut me down, but before saying anything, I know I have the green light."
 
SETTING THE TABLE
 
Before Villaroman can steal any bases, he has to get on base. And in each of the past three years since his freshman season of 2017, his numbers have gotten better, and better, and better. From a .194 batting average in 93 at-bats as a rookie to a .342 clip this spring. An on-base percentage that rose from .294 in '17 to .407 this season, and rising numbers in total hits, RBIs and walks     - all boosting Villaroman's astronomical climb as not only a dangerous base runner, but a threat at the plate as well.
 
And as Villaroman goes, so have the Dons. He was USF's leadoff batter in each of the team's 17 games this season, and he was in the No. 1 spot in the order 45 times last year, sparking momentum throughout the lineup with his bat and his running.
 
"I think a lot of the credit goes to the work those guys put in everyday with Naks (USF Associate Head Coach Troy Nakamura), just reading pitchers and figuring out their jumps and getting comfortable in their looks and their windows that they get," said Giarratano. "I think hitting, stealing bases, defense, pitching, I think it's all contagious. I think when one guy does it, I think so many more guys want the opportunity to follow in those footsteps."
 
"Oh yeah, definitely (running is contagious), and it's the same with hitting," said Villaroman. "If you see guys hitting, you're just gonna start hitting, too. There's no doubt that it's the same way with baserunning. It's a confidence thing, for sure."
 
Fellow outfielder Nick Yovetich, who was having his own career offensive season in 2020 before the year was cut short, knew that Villaroman's speed just made everyone else's job easier.
 
"Villa was our life at the start of our lineup," said Yovetich. "He was kind of our 'rabbit,' meaning he would set the pace for the game and for our offense, really. Whether he was getting on with a hit and getting a single or a double, or having a good AB and working a walk, all of them were just as important because if he walked or hit a single, we knew he'd be on second in one or two pitches. Villa's Villa. He's the best leader there is on the diamond, so it was great having him at the top."
 
FLYING ON THE FIELD
 
Villaroman's historic speed has not only helped him and his team on the base paths, but also in the outfield, where he covers an impressive amount of acreage.
 
In fact, he'd be the first to tell you that more than stealing a base, taking something away from someone, giving his team an advantage, hitting the ball and scoring runs… defense is his favorite part of the game.
 
"Defense is my favorite part of the game and it always has been from a young age," said Villaroman. "I remember when I was really young, I don't watch a lot of sports on TV, but I remember wondering if there was a defensive-only player because I literally liked catching fly balls so much.
 
"I've always had more pride in defense and going crazy out there at practice and catching as many balls as I can, diving all over the place, running into the wall, always talking to my side outfielders about laying out over the fence to catch a ball. I've always wanted to do that, but I didn't really play the corners so I didn't really have a chance to dive over any fences. It's super fun running around. You have the most space out there in center field so you get to really show off some speed and track down balls."
 
Yovetich, who played right field alongside Villaroman in every single game this spring, attests to Villaroman's fascination for the fantastic:
 

"Defense is my favorite part of the game and it always has been from a young age. I remember wondering if there was a defensive-only player because I literally liked catching fly balls so much.

-- Tyler Villaroman, USF baseball senior outfielder

"It's actually pretty funny," quipped Yovetich. "Villa and I have a really close relationship, especially on defense, and I think he was the one that brought it to me. He said, 'Hey, have you ever jumped over a fence and got an out before, by jumping the fence?' I said, 'No, no I've never done that before.' He goes, 'All right, imagine this: We're at home, there's a fly ball down the right field line, it's going into the bullpen, and you Superman dive over the fence, catch it, come up holding it.' He goes, 'That is my dream catch. It's not even me catching it, it's watching one of you guys diving over our fences and making a grab.'
 
"It was something that was talked about every day, too, it wasn't just a, 'This would be cool,' one time and then we forget about it. It was an everyday conversation."
 
It was Villaroman's speed last year that allowed him to track down a ball in the gap against Saint Mary's, keeping the Gaels off the board when they had the bases loaded, and later scoring the winning run in the 12th inning all the way from first base.
 
A LASTING LEGACY
 
Villaroman is a four-year player on The Hilltop, having come to The City from the Peninsula after playing for Director of Player Development Craig Giannino at Junipero Serra High. And his name projects to stand in the record book for some time to come. No one has come within 20 bases of Jermaine Clark's (1995-97) career stolen bases mark of 86. Only five players who have played for the Dons within the past two decades have made the list in that category.
 
"It's always something I wanted, to feel a real sense of pride about being a Don at the end of my career, and I can definitely say that's happened," said Villaroman. "You work hard all these four years and then you can really take ownership of it."
 
It comes from early development as a child, all the way through continuing to learn with the USF coaching staff.
 
"I remember when I was probably in Little League, one of my dad's friends, Doug, helped me out with base running," remembered Villaroman. "Just like, foot angles and a little bit of mentality and stealing third. But other than that, it was kind of a lot of trial and error. A lot of it is relying on speed most of the time, and then Coach Naks helped me out so much in terms of rhythm and getting that extra couple of feet when it comes to being safe or out at second."
 
Villaroman credits his father for being his biggest supporter. A presence at every home game and responsible for wafts of barbecue smell coming from the patio above Benedetti Diamond on the weekends.
 
"He's been to every home game, he cooks on the weekends up on the patio, definitely my biggest fan. I owe everything to him," said Villaroman.
 
No one knows what Villaroman would have done in a full season. Mathematically, he was on pace to steal 42 bases, tying the single-season record and easily eclipsing Clark's all-time career mark.
 
What Villaroman does know, is that he was just starting to find his rhythm, especially after stealing three in one game – the last game USF would play in 2020.
 
"I was definitely finding that groove when it came to stealing bases."