'I Wanted to Give Everything I Can' — Pesca's Transformation Sets Tone for OSU Baseball

Mario Pesca walked into the O’Brate Stadium team meeting room, donning a new physique and a new mentality. 

The new mentality? Stone-cold focus on the task at hand. Maintaining feasible pitch execution and durability to help OSU attain new heights for the upcoming season. 

As for the new physique? Pesca, OSU’s 6-foot-8, right-handed pitcher, flashed noticeable weight loss when appearing in front of reporters for the first time this season during the Cowboys’ annual team media day last week. 

When asked whether he’d lost weight this offseason, Pesca answered from a more light-hearted lens. 

“A little bit, yeah.”

Any clarification as to how many pounds he’d lost?

“A few.”

Laughter was shared briefly between Pesca and members of the media before attention was shifted to a more serious matter — the 2026 season.

As the Cowboys shift their focus ahead after a turbulent season, Pesca said he hopes to be a staple within OSU’s pitching rotation during his senior year. Amid a 2025 campaign that featured key injuries and weather hindrances at large, putting a damper on any chance at continuity and consistency within the roster, Pesca was a silver lining along the way. 

Now, he hopes to be a primary source for OSU’s success in 2026. One that aids the Cowboys in contending for a Big 12 championship and returning to the College World Series for the first time since 2016. 

His first step? Losing weight. Getting in shape and attaining a feasible body weight to be able to compete at his best when necessary.

Once the offseason commenced, Pesca said he lived in the weight room. Countless hours and long nights were spent at OSU’s team facility, working toward his goal of reaching an ideal body shape. 

Pesca said he dreaded surrendering his favorite food, pizza, from his appetite. He simultaneously made light of the matter, calling his decision “ironic” being a native of The Bronx, New York, and not eating it.

In the end, it paid dividends.

Eight months later, Pesca has lost north of 30 pounds, according to a source within the program. His body is in ideal shape. His pitch velocity on his fastball has elevated. The movement on his breaking pitches are better. And perhaps most importantly, his pitch ability is at an all-time best, his teammates and coach said. 

“I love being here and I wanted to give everything I can,” Pesca said. “I wanted to look in the mirror and say, ‘What can I do to really further that?’ And I thought that the best thing that I could do at that time was get in the best shape possible, and hopefully be a good part of winning some ballgames.”

After spending his first two seasons at St. John’s, he transferred to OSU ahead of last season and swiftly established himself as one of the more reliable arms within the pitching staff. There, he logged a 4.46 ERA, to go with 60 strikeouts and a .261 opponent batting average through 66 2/3 innings pitched and 22 appearances, serving as both a starter and reliever over the season’s course. 

“He took what I thought was a very gutty junior last year and he’s built on it,” OSU coach Josh Holliday said. “And I think he’s focused and he knows what it’s gonna take to have an even better year.”

A message from Visit Stillwater

Love is in the air this February! Savor unforgettable meals, browse one-of-a-kind Stillwater boutiques, and enjoy live performances in the Original Home of Red Dirt Music.

Now, Pesca is set to be a preliminary piece within OSU’s starting pitching rotation heading into a gauntlet of an Opening Weekend slate.

The Cowboys open the season Friday at 7 p.m. against No. 7 Arkansas at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas as part of the Shriners Children’s College Showdown. Pesca will take the mound against Bedlam rival Oklahoma on Saturday at 3 p.m., before OSU finalizes its weekend in the Lone Star State on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. against No. 23 Vanderbilt. 

Pesca’s commitment to himself and his team has not gone unnoticed. Teammates have watched the daily discipline — the early lifts, the altered diet, the steady attention to recovery — turn into visible results during fall camp. And so far, it’s carried over into the spring.

For a program looking to reestablish its standard, Pesca’s transformation has become more than a personal achievement — it’s set a tone. But for Holliday, it represents the precise form of investment required to elevate both an individual and a team. 

“Mario is in amazing shape, I really tip my cap to him,” Holliday said. “He made a commitment to being in the best shape of his life. He wanted his senior year here to be one in which he put it all on the table. And he started out by figuring out how to get his body in premier shape. 

“He’s been a great example to his teammates, that if you want to make changes in your game and elevate your game, you can do it.”