In one way, UL's newest transfer pitcher has some college experience.
After all, he's attended three different junior college programs since leaving high school in Tallahassee, Florida, three years ago.
On the other hand, all signs point to Joey Ervin's best days being ahead of him.
That's what the Ragin' Cajuns are hoping for by adding the redshirt junior to their pitching staff.
"I feel like at this point, I've progressed a lot and I know my stuff is good enough to play at the Division 1 level," Ervin said. "It's just a matter of getting comfortable and doing what the coaches want me to do."
Ervin's collegiate journey began at Daytona State College out of high school.
"It was my first taste of college baseball," he said. "The program was kind of military style, where you show up early in the morning and go through workouts ... you do everything as a team. It was a cool experience."
A broken foot kept Ervin from actually pitching that first year.
From there, Ervin went to Coastal Alabama Community College, where he saw the mound for the first time in college.
That was important because he was primarily an outfielder who pitched some in high school. In fact, Ervin was supposed to be a two-way performer at Daytona State, but "they saw me throw 90 and said, 'Alright, you're a pitcher,' and I never picked up a bat."
He got to play for legendary junior college coach Keith Griffin, "Who we called the Juco Saban when I was there."
Ervin's work at Coastal Alabama was exclusively as a reliever.
"In high school, I threw a lot of fastballs because that was the easiest pitch to command," Ervin explained. "At Coastal, I had some tendinitis in my forearm, so I was really trying to stay healthy. It was just more lifting and doing mobility and helping keep my arm on time."
Ervin really elevated his level of competition at Chipola.
"Chipola was a big-time junior college program," Ervin said. "They had Trackman and a few other devices, so I learned a good bit about my fastball. I had arm-side run on my fastball. I learned how to throw the two-seam in on righties and let the slider play off that."
In 16 appearances with four starts, Ervin was 8-1 with a 5.74 ERA. In 42.1 innings, the 6-foot-1, 195-pounder allowed 44 hits, 30 walks and struck out 58. Opponents hit .256 against him.
"I wouldn't so much say I feel like I'm playing catch-up anymore," Ervin said. "I feel like I'm just as good as most of the pitchers in division one baseball.
"It's more of just kind of doing what the coaches say and executing when I need to execute and just coming through in the big moments. That's really what I've always wanted to do, and that's kind of what I aim to do."
Initially, Ervin committed to Jacksonville State after his progress at Chipola, but began looking elsewhere once the coaching change took place there.
That's when he shifted his focus to the Cajuns.
"I just thought it would be a good fit, so I made it happen," said Ervin, who committed Monday and said there's no specific plan yet on whether he'll be a starter or reliever for the Cajuns. "I didn't really want to let this opportunity pass. I liked the coaching staff and the facilities and the fans pack the place."
These days, Ervin said his slider is his best pitch.
"I feel like I've got a good bit of experience and a lot of tread left on the tires," Ervin said.
Ervin is now the sixth pitcher the Cajuns have added to the roster. The new group includes the Marshall trio of Charlie Krebs, Griffin Miller and Blaine Albright, as well as Kendall Dove of UTSA and Jackson Evers from Jacksonville State.
UL also added four position players in Texas State designated hitter Manny Salas, Kansas State infielder Micah Kendrick, Loyola-Marymount catcher Jose Carmona and infielder Tanner Hornback from UT-Tyler.
"The coaches are really excited about the upcoming team," Ervin said. "Everybody has their eyes on Omaha. That's kind of the goal. I want to keep that going and do whatever I can to help the team get there."