In 2013, IU saw a trio of players selected by the Twins in the Major League Baseball draft. Starting pitcher Aaron Slegers went in the fifth round, third baseman Dustin DeMuth in the eighth round and Halstead, the closer, was selected in the 26th round. The three also lived together.
It wasn’t Halstead’s first chance to play professional baseball. He had also been drafted out of Los Osos High School as a pitcher in the 36th round by the Houston Astros, despite only pitching 16 innings in his high school career.
Surprised at being selected with so little experience, and only having a few days to decide, Halstead chose to continue his education.
“My mom definitely wanted me to go to college, my dad wanted me to go to college, too,” Halstead said. “I didn’t really want to argue with them about it.”
After setting the school record for saves in a season as a freshman with nine, then breaking his own record again his junior season with 11 and then taking the record for career saves with what is now 25, he has become one of the most feared closers in college baseball. Add on a trip to the College World Series and it’s safe to say Halstead is making the most of his decision to attend college.
But he isn’t all about the records. Halstead’s focus was on one thing — the team.
“It’s definitely cool to have (the save record), but it’s more about my teammates,” Halstead said. “Without them I wouldn’t have been put in that position. I’m just thankful to have had that role.”
So naturally, when it came time to decide whether to return to IU for his senior season, or to sign with the Twins, it became about the team.
Slegers was headed to the Twins. DeMuth and Halstead had yet to announce their intentions, so the two sat down together to talk. Halstead was blunt.
“I said, ‘You know man, I’ll come back if you come back,’” he said.
Soon after, the two players announced they would return to Bloomington for their senior seasons. The idea of playing another season with guys like Kyle Schwarber, Sam Travis and Joey DeNato, was too good to pass up for Halstead — especially if it meant a possible National Championship.
***
It was a cold, snowy Wednesday in Bloomington.
The team had to shovel snow off the field just so the game could be played.
It was the eighth inning, and former-IU Coach Tracy Smith decided to bring his closer out to protect a 2-0 lead. It was Halstead’s fourth appearance of the season, and he had yet to allow a run.
A soft grounder rolled toward the third base side of the mound. Unsure if DeMuth would be able to get it, Halstead went for the ball.
As he reached for the ball, his cleat got caught on the turf. He felt his knee twist and give way.
Then, he heard the pop.
That’s when he knew it was ?serious.
He fell to the ground screaming in pain while trainers rushed onto the field. Halstead, after being carted off the field, would later find out he had torn his ACL and would miss the remainder of his senior season.
“I walked into the dugout and it was like a morgue,” said fellow pitcher and current junior Kyle Hart after the game.
It was obvious how much Halstead meant to the team.
“It was a new challenge and something I had to face and overcome,” Halstead said. “I had to change my whole view on things. I had to help my teammates, and make sure I did my rehab, and do what I had to do to get better.”
While his season was over on the field, Halstead became an even greater supporter of his teammates as he watched every game from the dugout.
Despite it being tough not being on the field, he said he gained valuable insight that he wouldn’t have received had he not been hurt.
“I had to sit back and watch baseball from a perspective that I’d never really done before,” Halstead said. “I sat in the dugout and talked with the coaches, picked everyone’s brain, and cheered on my teammates.”
In order to get back on the field, he had a lot of rehab to do. It took more than a month of rehab just to get his knee in good enough shape to have surgery. Then in April he got the surgery done in Bloomington.
After the season ended with a disappointing loss against Stanford in the NCAA Tournament, he returned home to California to continue the rehab process, which took about seven to eight months.
“It was a crazy journey,” Halstead said.
***
If given the opportunity, Halstead wouldn’t change what happened. He wouldn’t accept the Twins’ contract offer. He’d still come back.
He said he believes everything happens for a reason.
Halstead was granted a medical redshirt that allowed him to return to IU. In his fifth year, he is looked at as one of the team’s leaders.
It’s a locker room that doesn’t have Schwarber, Travis, DeMuth or DeNato, who all went to MLB farm systems. It’s a locker room without Tracy Smith, who left IU in the summer to become the coach at Arizona State. But it’s also a locker room with a lot of talent, filled with expectations.
Halstead will once again anchor the bullpen. It’s something IU Coach Chris Lemonis is happy about.
“To have that ability the first night to hand the ball to a guy who’s pitched in so many big environments, it’s big for us,” Lemonis said. “I know as a new manager, that bullpen is a huge part.”
Halstead said the biggest challenge for him would be bouncing back mentally, and couldn’t help but smile when asked how good it would feel to get back on the diamond.
When the Hoosiers got revenge against Stanford last weekend, Halstead got his chance.
He entered the season opener in the ninth inning with IU up 4-1. The first batter hit a groundball to first base, and Halstead was forced to cover first. With no time to worry about his knee, he ran over and made the play.
He finished the inning allowing one run on three hits, but stranded two runners to seal the victory.
“We were excited to have him out there,” Lemonis said. “He was great, and he fought out of a jam which was nice to see.”
The game also gave Halstead the opportunity to throw his new favorite pitch. During his rehab over the summer, he added a curveball to his arsenal to go with his fastball and slider.
Halstead wasn’t the only one excited about his return. His teammates were glad to have him back.
“Having Halstead back, it’s huge, just from being a teammate, it’s good to have him back,” junior pitcher Scott Effross said. “Great teammate, great locker room guy, and he was last year even when he was hurt.”
Effross filled in as the team’s closer after Halstead’s injury.
Halstead hopes no one has to do that again.
“My personal goal is definitely to stay healthy for the whole year after what happened last year,” Halstead said. “Just stay healthy, keep my arm in shape, and do what I have to do for the team. I want to go out there and help the team.”
He wouldn’t have to wait long before getting to help the team again.
He entered the 10th inning of game two at Stanford and got the save in IU’s 4-3 win.
“It was definitely fun,” Halstead said. “It’s good to be back out there. It’s been a while since I’ve been out there, so it was kind of weird at first. I just had to take it all in.”
