Oregon State ace Kevin Abel’s next pitch on a college mound will be his first in almost two years.

When he stops to think about what that will be like, Abel says he sometimes gets emotional.

“Every time I think about it I get a little teary-eyed just because it’s been two years and a lot of people have helped me through this,” Abel said. “I can’t wait to be able to contribute to this team again especially after they’ve all supported me so much to get back here.”

Abel had plenty of Beavers fans crying tears of joy in June 2018.

Abel, a 6-2, 195-pound righthander, tossed a two-hitter against Arkansas in Game 3 of the College World Series finals to secure Oregon State’s third national championship.

But after opening his college career with a 10-1 record and a 3.04 ERA in 26 appearances (11 starts), Abel’s rise was halted when he learned he needed Tommy John surgery.

After throwing only 16 1/3 innings in 2019, Abel sat out all of last season.

And the Beavers haven’t been the same since.

A year after the disappointment of being eliminated at home in the regionals, Oregon State struggled to a 5-9 record before COVID-19 shut down the remainder of the 2020 season.

Oregon State is scheduled to begin its 2021 season on Feb. 12th in the Sanderson Ford Classic in Surprise, Arizona, and did not crack the top 25 in preseason polls released by Baseball America, Perfect Game and D1Baseball.com.

“Just seeing how 2019 ended was probably the hardest part of all of this,” Abel said. “That team was really talented and really could have done much greater things. But at the end it kind of snowballed with me and a couple of other guys going down. I really feel we could have made another run at Omaha. I felt like I let everyone down.”

This spring, Abel is eager to prove he and the Beavers won’t just be back, they’ll be better.

Growing up in San Diego, Abel idolized Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman.

Before long, Abel was throwing filthy changeups of his own for his hometown Madison High School.

The most important trait Abel says he learned from years watching the former Padres closer though was his knack for finishing hitters in tough spots.

“I was always more locked in and more focused whenever I was in a tough spot like with a runner in scoring position and the game on the line,” Abel said.

Abel, a redshirt sophomore, features a changeup which scouts consider his best pitch, but he complements it with a low-90s fastball and a deceptive curveball.

“The changeup, it’s scary how it came back so quick, but I think that goes back to throwing it so much and having that trust in it,” Abel said. “My curveball has a little sharper movement. Other than that, I’m just focusing on fastball command and getting more consistent and more control to make it harder on hitters.”

All three pitches have looked lively against live hitting this offseason according to second-year Beavers coach Mitch Canham, who said now it’s just a matter of Abel getting back into game action and trusting his arm and stuff.

“When he’s built back up, the mental game will be extremely important,” said Canham, a former Beavers standout who managed in the minor leagues for three-plus seasons prior to becoming the coach at his alma mater. “Some guys come back from injury a little timid. Is (my arm) going to hurt or am I going to get hurt again? At some point, you have to say let’s go get it. Watching him throw, he looks extremely confident and everything is coming out really well out of his hand. Everyone is very confident and excited to watch him compete.”

A fan of outdoor activities like dirt-biking and spikeball, Abel thrives when facing a challenge.

He persevered through a daily five-hour rehab program under the guidance of Oregon State trainer Davey LaCroix, who previously worked with the Minnesota Twins. Abel began throwing again in November 2019 and pitching again last spring.

Abel also trained with former Oregon State pitcher Trevor Larnach, who also occasionally stepped in the box to face him during pitching sessions.

Abel said working with Larnach and facing live hitters helped him feel like himself again on the mound.

“(Larnach) hit a fastball up and in and he flied out at the warning track,” Abel said. “It wasn’t as up or as in as I wanted it. He let me know he had just missed it. I just gave him a look and told him that was his one chance. It felt good to battle again (with a hitter) and get back to that war mentality (on the mound).”

Abel, a former draft pick of the Padres in 2017, was selected to Perfect Game’s Preseason All-American team second team and Collegiate Baseball’s All-America third team. He is ranked No. 71 among Baseball America’s top college draft prospects.

But a season resembling or surpassing his freshman campaign when he went 8-1 with 108 strikeouts in 81 1/3 innings would greatly improve his draft stock.

But Abel said his lone focus is to pitch well enough to help an Oregon State squad, which had only three seniors on its roster last season, return to national prominence.

“My sole focus is on winning and getting this team back to Omaha,” Abel said. “I think if we can do that, it will show how much I’ve progressed and who I really am.”

Andre has covered baseball at the high school, college and both minor-league and major-league levels for the past 15 years for multiple publications including the Miami Herald, the Athletic and Baseball America. You can follow him at @FernandezAndreC on Twitter.