Delay and Ellison were receiving positive reviews from Commodore pitchers before appearing in a single college game. Experienced SEC pitchers and MLB draft prospects such as Tyler Beede and Jared Miller indicated they would rather throw to the freshmen backstops than junior Chris Harvey. Beede even invited Delay to his Massachusetts home over Christmas break to work out and develop a connection before the season.
“It’s pretty exciting to come in and get that reaction from guys like that,” Delay said. The players whom he and Ellison had watched on TV while being recruited were now choosing to work with them over a more experienced option.