NAIA World Series Coaches (Part I)

[00:00:04] Speaker A: Welcome to the abca's podcast. I'm your host, ryan brownlee. This episode is sponsored by Netting Pros. Netting Professionals are improving programs one facility at a time. Netting Professionals specializes in the design, fabrication and installation of custom netting for backstops, batting cages, dugouts, BP screens and ball carts. They also design and install digital graphic wall padding, windscreen, turf, turf protectors, dugout benches, dugout cubbies and more. Netting Professionals is an official partner of the ABCA and continues to provide quality products and services to many high school, college and professional fields, facilities and stadiums throughout the country. Netting Professionals are improving programs one facility at a time. Contact them today at 844-620-2707 or infoettingpros.com, visit them online at www.nettingpros.com or check out Netting Pros on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn for all their latest products and projects. Make sure to let CEO Will Minor know that the ABCA sent you. Now on to the podcast. This week's ABCA podcast is an on location episode from Lewiston, Idaho for the NAIA World Series. It was my third time in four years in Lewiston and it was another great event. The ABCA and Lewiston host a youth clinic the night before the tournament starts and had 500 kids this year. They have also kept their tradition of having opening ceremonies before the last game on Friday night. Lewis Clark State has hosted the national tournament for 24 years. This will be part one to split up the interviews. In this episode we'll hear from IU Southeast, Vincent Tornicasa, Lewis Clark State's Jeremiah Robbins, Taylor University's Kyle Gold and Tennessee Wesleyan's Billy Berry. Congrats to Tennessee Wesleyan's Billy Berry for winning his third NAI championship. As always, I appreciate the coaches for taking time out of their schedules to sit down with me. Let's welcome everyone to the PODC. All right here with Vincent Tornicasa, IU Southeast, but first year's head coach, but was an assistant 2025 but come in at 42 and 14. So thanks for jumping on with me. [00:02:33] Speaker B: Yeah, thanks for having me. [00:02:35] Speaker A: Amazing job first year as a head coach. So congratulations. [00:02:38] Speaker B: Appreciate it. Yeah. [00:02:39] Speaker A: How's it been for you with the transition? [00:02:42] Speaker B: It's been a lot. You know, we started off the fall with some, some field difficulties. We we had to resurface the infield so for the first month of the fall season we didn't, we weren't able to get on the infield. And so that, that sets you back right from the start and then Learning on the. On the job is putting it lightly, but we got a great group guys, so it's definitely made it a lot easier, especially once the season got rolling. So, all in all, it's been great. It's been a great experience. [00:03:15] Speaker A: What would be some tips now for somebody that may be taking over a program for the first time? [00:03:21] Speaker B: Don't underestimate any. Any part of the job, and if you can get something done, get it done, because something will always pop up the next day. Yeah. [00:03:31] Speaker A: How did you prepare for your first team meeting with everybody? [00:03:35] Speaker B: Well, it started off the interview process and kind of getting everybody on the call. And then when we went right into getting everybody on campus, we brought in 25 guys from Middle of July, late July, that as the interim. And then once I finally got the head job, so we had some guys showing up, you know, three days before school started. And so when we got on campus, it was very clear to the guys what the expectation was. What we were setting out to do this year, and ultimately coming to Lewiston was part of that, that. That goal. And it was making it very clear that it was about the players and that we're here to provide them the great experience that they deserve and that it's their job to come together as a team and to create their own identity. And I think that was something that we reinforced throughout the year quite often, and that's. That's been a very big building block for our program. [00:04:42] Speaker A: Well, how hard is it to get on a college campus right now and play college baseball at every level? [00:04:46] Speaker B: It's tough. I mean, you can go play anywhere. Any high school kid can go find a program he could play at. I truly believe that. I think it's doing the research right, and having people that you trust that have connections to the college level to help you find the best spot. But, no, I mean, I've been at the Division 1, Division 2 now, NAI level, and I've seen good baseball at every. Every step of the way. And it's really. There's a lot of talent playing college baseball right now. So it's. It's not for somebody who's just going to walk in and want it kind of handed to them. [00:05:24] Speaker A: And it's not a lot of different. It's. There's really not a lot of difference at every level now. [00:05:29] Speaker B: No. [00:05:30] Speaker A: Really not. [00:05:31] Speaker B: No. There's so much more parity. And I know there's, you know, they're talking about some rule changes again at the Division one level, which obviously will, you know, make The Division two and A level stronger. And, you know, you see on every roster, you see the Division 1 bounce backs at D2s and at NAIS, and then you see the different movement at the Division 1 level. And so, you know, it's. A lot of it has to do with finding the right spot for that individual player. And then that's how most of their talent will come to the top, is what I believe, at least. [00:06:07] Speaker A: Did you feel like this team could do this coming out of the fall [00:06:11] Speaker B: from a talent level? Yes. I thought we were talented. I thought we recruited well. I thought we brought in some different pieces to help strengthen what we already have in place. But getting here to this point, I talked to the guys about it in our last team meeting was you gotta appreciate it because you could have a great team, you could have a great season and everything could be great, but you're one bad hop away and then your season's over. So to say, you know, that I think we get here. Yes, from. Because I know we brought in a lot of special players, but never. Nothing was ever certain. You know, you still have to kind of go there and do it. And I mean, even for us to win, you know, in the Bellevue Regional, we walked it off on a 12 count with, you know, one out. So from the talent, I did think that we had a chance to be here because I was here last year and saw what it looked like at the regional against some really good teams. And I felt like our pieces we brought in that added to the pitching staff that we had bringing back and some of the pieces we had that we were bringing back, I thought we would have a chance. Yeah. [00:07:22] Speaker A: What did you take out of coming out of here last year? [00:07:25] Speaker B: You need pitching. You need pitching. And I think that's the obvious answer. Right. But it's not just with the pitching. It's. It's strike throwing and then it's having swing and miss. And in addition to that, it's the defense and protecting the baseball and manufacturer. It all goes into it. But I did, you know, I did realize last year that there wasn't a team once we got to the regional that was, wow, there. I mean, they're that much more talented. I think there was more complete teams. I thought UBC played great baseball last year, very clean. William Carey, very talented. And so I got an idea. We got to play Shreveport earlier in the year, obviously, just a great coach team, Tennessee Wesleyan last year. So I got to see different parts of the landscape in college, an NA level and getting to Play with Loyola and Faulkner and you know, I thought from a talent perspective we could, we could compete with everybody. It's. Can we play a clean style? [00:08:28] Speaker A: Did that change your scheduling at all for this fall and coming into the spring as far as who you guys played? [00:08:33] Speaker B: Yeah. So taking over, we had some things fall through, you know, just from things that were scheduled and then we had to make some adjustments too with the difference of, you know, budgets and everything that goes into it. And we were actually able to navigate pretty smoothly, I would say, for the most part. And we were able to fundraise and get down to Fort Myers and then we ended up getting Loyola and Faulkner on the schedule, which looking back and even at the time we knew that was going to be big for us. And so for next year that was the same idea. My goal is to play every non conference game against a ranked opponent earlier in the year and really see, you know, where you stack up early because it gives you the rest of the year to work on it. [00:09:23] Speaker A: What is strength of your guys team? It looks pretty balanced. I mean, yeah, I mean looking at [00:09:28] Speaker B: it from on the field, I think it's our pitching, I do. But I would say really our biggest strength is, is the belief in one another. I really mean that and I think it's. Could be almost a cliche answer but you know, when you see teams playing with belief, it's a, it has a different look to it and we've, we haven't had that every game, but we've had it for a majority throughout the year and especially late. And I think when you have that in addition to some pieces on the mound, some pieces, you know, in the lineup, it gives you a chance and every team here has a chance for that same reason. [00:10:07] Speaker A: Any individual players to watch? [00:10:09] Speaker B: Colter Hamilton's been very good for us. He's our shortstop actually. We truly use him as a utility. We bounce him around. Our three and four with Trevor Goodwin, Bryson Arnett are about as good as you're gonna see. And then on the mound, it's the obvious ones, you know, Whelan and, and Sandrella and Harvey and Gothrop, but we, we feel confident giving the ball to any single pitcher on the, on the roster right now. And you know, if you actually go back and look, we've, we've shuffled lineups since game one to right now and it's, you know, it's, it, our team has a lot of depth and I think that's where also that belief stems from is we've seen every single guy in this roster come through for us in a big moment throughout the course of the year. [00:11:02] Speaker A: Do you have a set rotation with him being a utility player? Does he kind of know where or does he show up and check the lineup and see where he's at? [00:11:09] Speaker B: No. So he'll for the most part, he's either starting at short or at first, and more so at short, but then it's usually all right. Do we have to run late in the game? If we do okay, then we know Kemper, Wisman's going to shortstop. You know, if we for some reason have it to where Colter's at first base and we need to bounce him back to second, we feel comfortable with him at really every position in the infield. And that's also because we trust some other guys to move around the infield as well. With Alex Shuler and even Bryson moving over to first base at times. [00:11:43] Speaker A: You don't see that combo though, first base, shortstop though, as much. [00:11:46] Speaker B: No, you don't. You know, it helps him with the 6, 4 frame. And I think we've established throughout the year we can go with some. Some speedy lineups. We can go with more of a, you know, a bully ball type lineup. And so he being able to have him at short either in the two or the five in the lineup, it makes our lineup deeper. And, you know, off of that, it's the matchup game that we'll play. And you could see anybody from Schuler to Kevin Moore to Kemper, Wisman, you know, at. At second base or shortstop. And, you know, it's just really based on the matchups. [00:12:25] Speaker A: Has that been like that at other places for you, using that many different lineups? [00:12:29] Speaker B: Not. Not that I've been at, no, not really, No. [00:12:34] Speaker A: I mean, how did you come to that conclusion that that's going to be the best thing for this team? [00:12:38] Speaker B: Early on, the whole thing I talked to the guys about when I was first taking the job was that we had a lot of guys with. With very little playing experience. I mean, you remove Bryson and Goody, not many guys really played, you know, consistently. And so my biggest thing was I look especially in recruiting, what guys can do, and I talk to the guys about that throughout the year. And if you can do something consistently, I can then put you in the lineup when I know what to get from you. And that's what it was. Beginning of year, we had guys that, you know, Joel Johnson, perfect example, didn't start early in the year, gave him an opportunity against Unoh. He's ready Goes on a heater, you know, slows down a little bit and not so much slows down. But we had some matchups where we like some other guys plugged in some other pieces. He's leading off the game against, you know, Bellevue. So I think guys just know to be ready because they could go at any time. And so it was never planned out throughout the course of the year, was just planned out early that, you know, in order to see what you got, you got to see what you have, right? It's like when people say, well, he can't play, he doesn't have experience. You got to get him on the field to get that experience. So that's. That's what our goal was, and that's what we were able to do both with position players and on the mound [00:14:04] Speaker A: with being here last year. Did you tweak your prep at all this week? [00:14:07] Speaker C: So we didn't. [00:14:08] Speaker B: So I was in 24. We went to the World Series. We only made it to regional. The one thing I'll tell you is that I got, you know, I have a lot of people that. That reach out and that have helped me along the way, and I've gotten bits and pieces from them, and that's. That's kind of how you make your style, or at least how I've made my style as a coach. And the one thing that I just kept going back to is what has worked for our guys. You know, the temperature of our team is different than any other team. You know what I mean? So we just kind of stuck to what works for us. And I'll give you an example was we practiced. We got back a day later, and so we gave him the day off on return. Then we practiced the next day, and we're doing IO and not very clean. It wasn't from a lack of effort, right? Or we're. At this point of the year, everybody's trying. Guys just look slow and, you know, something I'm known to do is when I don't really like what I'm seeing, we just shut it down, move on to something else. And as soon as I said, I said, nope, we're not going through the motions. We're not doing it. It's not going to benefit us, in my opinion. So we just stopped it. We wanted to bp and I told him at the end of the day, I said, fellas, I don't mind you guys being tired, communicate so I know how to help you take care of your bodies and then, you know, do that in your time. But know the prep, we, you know, outside of the travel and figuring things out on the fly, it's been. It's been about as normal as, you know, an unnormal situation could be. Right. You're doing something for the first time. I don't think there's anything to. To fall back on other than just trying to stick to what your guys are used to. And, you know, we've had quite a few travel stories starting out the year with some delays and some different hiccups. So our guys are, I would say, about as prepared to travel across the country as any team. Just from the, you know, like I said, the hiccups we saw earlier in the year. [00:16:15] Speaker A: Have you always been that patient? Not a lot of coaches, because, you know, if it's going bad, I've seen a lot of coaches react much differently if practice isn't going well. [00:16:23] Speaker B: Yeah, well, I told you what we did. I didn't tell you how I reacted. No, I think. Patience, man, I would say. I would say that I think I am better. Because the one thing that I do appreciate about this game is it's not easy. We had Glenn and Rush on the staff last year, and he. He talked about it all the time, and it was just, you know, it's. It's. It's one of those things where. And I joke about, and I talk about it in recruiting and with the guys is nobody's going up there to try and strike out. Nobody's trying to go up there and make an error. And so I could get frustrated, but it's also, I really do try and stay grounded. And the guys help me do that by being themselves and having that personality. And so they take the coaching, they take the criticism. I can get into somebody, and I could be laughing two seconds later because if I think they got the message, what is yelling at them going to continue to do, right? And so that's, I think, the trust and just my style of, hey, man, there's a great line. And it's, you know, if the bus shows up and the players are on it and the coaches aren't, that game could still get played. Okay? If the bus shows up and the coaches are on and the players aren't, the game's not getting played. And so that's something that I try and remind myself throughout this year that they're why we're winning, right? They're the reason we're here. I'm here to help guide them and help aid them any way I can. And. And I think the guys have reciprocated that tenfolds of what I could ever imagine. [00:18:06] Speaker A: What do you feel like at this point's helped you the most in your career? [00:18:13] Speaker B: Maybe. Maybe ignorance in a sense of just not allowing opinions, or maybe some setbacks to really chip away at my belief. I think that I've always believed in myself as a coach, and I think I've been around so many great baseball minds that I've gotten to learn from that, you know, have. Have believed in me as well, that it gives you some confidence, but I think it's just. It's really focusing on what you believe in. And then when you see it put into play and you see it work, it kind of gives you that. That little momentum to say, hey, listen, you start building up some examples you could use, right? And at the beginning of the year, one of the first team meetings we had, I said, fellas, I got a plan. I think it's going to get us to the World Series, okay? But so does every other coach in the country. We could set ourselves apart right now by probably 50% if you guys just all believe in this plan off the start and give it a chance by doing that. You know, there's some teams out there, unfortunately, where guys might not buy into the plan that was given to them right from the start. And that's something that's held true, is just buying into what we're talking about, reinforcing it and not just talking about it, but showing it, you know, every day. And I think that's been. That's been really big for us throughout the year. [00:19:42] Speaker A: What'd you learn from Dave Pischker? [00:19:45] Speaker B: A lot. I learned how to run polls. I learned how to know. I'm just kidding. [00:19:49] Speaker A: That's true, though. [00:19:49] Speaker D: I mean, it still works, man. [00:19:51] Speaker B: DP was like. It was so. It was. It was. I learned all the lot from the players that I played under. I mean, we had a great. Adam Norton and Ryan Denis, these guys, they were so great to learn from. And, you know, it was even before really getting with DP is with Jim no Host, who has long been connected to Northwest Indiana baseball and learning the style that DP would eventually play. But then it's been afterwards. I mean, DP talked last week and. And you know, it's just like, it's so nice to just be able to pick up the phone because he'll answer every time I call and he'll check in on me. But, man, just. Just the. The basic understanding of what it takes to win and the mindset to win and. And the Buy in and, and you know, you need good players to win, but when you got them, you. You still have to teach them how to win. So, man, I just. Me and dp, we pick each other's brains all the time. And I think he does it just to make me feel like I'm going in the right direction. [00:20:53] Speaker D: Right? [00:20:54] Speaker B: But no, he, I, I've learned, I've learned a lot. And especially when I got to go back in 23 on his staff, it was just so cool, right? Like, I hear him, you know, yelling at a guy and it's like, ah, that's not me anymore. Right. So that was a full 360. But no, just the systems, the organization, that guy, the practices that he runs. It's, it's. [00:21:15] Speaker D: There's. [00:21:15] Speaker B: I've never seen anyone better at it. I mean, guys show up, they know exactly what they're doing at what time and what the expectation for each drill was. And for me, that helped me buy into being a role player because I knew if I did my job, we were going to have success because everybody else was doing theirs. And that's something the practice plans and just the buy into your role is something that I definitely stolen from him and definitely put into place or try to here as best as I can. [00:21:46] Speaker A: And a really good example of evolving as he's gotten older too, because he's still into some of the new stuff too. [00:21:52] Speaker B: Oh, absolutely. I mean, in some regards, more than me. Seriously, in some regards, he just. It's a perfect example of somebody who is so dedicated to his craft that if there's a better way of doing something, he's going to do it and he's at least going to try it out and, and then he'll go back and say, you know what, maybe what we had in place was better. But if there's a, you know, it's something I like to tell myself, if you got a good idea for me, I'm going to say thank you. I'm not going to say no, my way's better. I'm trying to learn too, and I'm trying to get better every single day. And when you watch a guy like that who has had so much success, that's his mindset every single day. It's really easy to appreciate being somebody who played in the. Then work for him. [00:22:35] Speaker A: Any other shout outs you want to give before I let you go? [00:22:37] Speaker B: Obviously, Ryan Copeland, he's, you know, he's been awesome as a mentor and somebody that stays in touch and he, you know, you see what he's doing at niu and that's. That shouldn't be a shock to anybody. Guy's a winner and I learned a lot from him. And then Dave Griffin at Purdue Northwest, he gave me my shot early. And you know, my uncle, who's he, he's been helping me with the hitting. He's got a hitting background with the Padres for a long, long time and he's been my saving grace, just like a lot of those guys have been. But no, those guys, they're all people I truly care about and really have helped me along the way. [00:23:20] Speaker A: What's your uncle relayed to you about hitting that you felt like has helped? [00:23:25] Speaker B: The funny thing is it's how simple can you make it? I think a lot of times we, you hear guys and they, they want to use big complex words and terminologies and dive into things and I think it's all great, but we're trying to make hitting just like a math problem, right? And the first thing you do that you're taught is you simplify. And so listening to him to explain to guys and making it so easy to understand, it's truly a gift. And his creativity, it's a gift that, that I think it just, you know, he was born with and then he worked his butt off to learn everything. And I would say, you know, that and the importance of being on time and a good hitting position. If you ask any one of my guys, because he comes down and worked with our guys, it's, you know, they, we got a drill called the tourney and they, they know it's being on time in a good hitting position is the key to success. [00:24:18] Speaker A: So. Yeah, thanks for your time, coach. [00:24:20] Speaker B: I appreciate it. Thank you. [00:24:21] Speaker A: All right here with Jeremiah Robbins, Lewis Clark State, but came back, was here won three national championships. Guys are 44 and 7 right now, but congrats on getting back here. I know it's a big deal for you all. [00:24:38] Speaker D: Yeah, it's obviously a grind of a season and then to get to live the dream and be back in the World Series with LC State as the host and being a part of this. [00:24:49] Speaker A: How cool was it to get here at home for the, for the first opening round? [00:24:54] Speaker D: It was really cool. And you know, my, my first six years, we didn't have opening round, we didn't have a conference tournament. So to play in both of those events was incredible for our, for our guys and incredible for our community. And then the way we did it in the opening round with the walk off hit in the 10th, that was pretty Cool for, for our guys to get some momentum going into this thing. But yeah, this is obviously a special community and the support we get was huge. So it was fun. [00:25:23] Speaker A: What have been the biggest differences with coming back and being here before? [00:25:27] Speaker D: Not a lot, man. It's just the people just love their baseball here and our support staff here on campus, from our president to our AD and our faculty and everybody involved with this, it hasn't changed a bit. So that was the piece that made the answer easy for me to come back is you got support and you got people that are like minded that want to compete. So it's, it's been a blessing to be a part of this. [00:25:50] Speaker A: What are the keys to winning here? [00:25:52] Speaker D: Boy, you got to be resilient. You're going to get punched in the face at some point and you got to get back up. You got to answer the bell. So you know, the teams that control the moment will probably be the last two teams standing. Pitch play, defense, the cliches, that's a no brainer. But there's an emotional piece in this that you really got to contain your emotions as you go through and play old school baseball and you'll be in a good spot. [00:26:15] Speaker A: What was your message to the team this fall when you came back? [00:26:18] Speaker D: Yeah, it was a unique message because we had a group of 20 returners and then a group of about 35 new guys as well. The chemistry piece, as I look back at our run that we had 15, 16, 17, we had team chemistry on all year. All those three years we had different bodies, different players, different velos, different batting averages. But the team chemistry was the same and we need to start building that from day one. And it's been a continual growth and I sure like where we're at right now. [00:26:47] Speaker A: That word gets tossed around a lot. How do you build team chemistry? [00:26:51] Speaker D: Well, you got to get your guys together as much as possible. And that's what I love about NAIA baseball. We get that opportunity to develop those relationships, player, coach relationships, and then teammate to teammate, and create a unique situation where they got to work and develop and be one with each other as they grind through. We won't win this thing with one guy. It's got to be all 28. [00:27:13] Speaker A: And it seems like this team's kind of a little bit of a throwback to LC because you guys hit, you pitch, and you also play really good defense. [00:27:20] Speaker D: Yeah, we've shown some attributes in those three areas. I really like, especially on the mound. I like what our bullpen's done when they get the call out of the pin, they're ready to compete, and that's the big thing. And every coach that you'll interview about this, you got to compete, and we've been able to create that. And we're competing offensively and we're competing on the mound. And then our position players have really kind of found their way as we've went through the season. [00:27:45] Speaker A: You guys do anything like the old days, like what Coach Sheff was doing as far as team, team building stuff? [00:27:50] Speaker D: Yeah, we do a few of them. Some of them you can't do anymore, but some we do. And that's, you know, that's respect to coach. I wouldn't be where I am today if it wasn't for Coach Chef and what he's done for Northwest baseball. I didn't get to play for him, but I went to every single one of his clinics and became a huge fan and was able to play numerous years over here and created a relationship and his impact is going to last forever. So, yeah, it's pretty cool. [00:28:20] Speaker A: Who are some players to watch this week? [00:28:23] Speaker D: I think a couple of our starting pitchers, Evan Canfield, Mason Goodson, and in our bullpen. I could throw out numerous names out of our bullpen. Offensively, we got that last game in the regional. We kind of went silent a little bit, but Brandon Nguyen, our leadoff guy, when he gets going, it's pretty cool to watch. And he's a unique young man that has sat out for two years and was able to come back and be with us and has made the most of his opportunity. [00:28:50] Speaker A: How do you help pitchers make that transition to this level? Because they probably started before they get to you because they're really good. How do you help them handle that transition and going to the bullpen? [00:28:58] Speaker D: Yeah, I think the big thing is we inter squad all the time and putting them in different circumstances, loading the bases with two outs and they get to kind of define it themselves. But at the end of the day, what's best for the team? And that goes back to our original talk of that team chemistry, of how do we make LC great. Sometimes that's you going in the bullpen. I remember in 2015, you know, young man by the name of Bo kearns, he is 12 and all going into the end of the tournament, he never started one game for us pitched out of the pen. If it wasn't for Bo pitching out of the pen, we don't win the national championship. So it's team first and they bought into that real quick. [00:29:35] Speaker A: How do you Help them, though. Kind of know that they are ready to go in. Sometimes the biggest thing is relievers rush themselves before coming in. How do they know when they're ready? [00:29:44] Speaker D: Our pitching coach is phenomenal. Brandon Val. This guy is. Is one of one. He's done an incredible job of prepping those guys. We divide the team up into units. It's his unit, and he owns it every single day. Converses with me daily as well as we're prepping guys. And I got complete trust in him. When he says this guy should throw, we go with that guy. And that's his relationship with those. Those pitchers. And it's unique, it's special, and it's made a huge impact. [00:30:16] Speaker A: What other units do you have? [00:30:18] Speaker D: We have an offensive unit. That's my unit. Coach Silvestri is our defensive unit. Our catchers units are Coach Trainer and Coach Stevenson. So everybody is assigned to their group and they own it and they're held accountable for it as well. [00:30:34] Speaker A: Any good surprises on the roster? [00:30:36] Speaker D: Yeah, yeah, a couple. Bryce Johnson, kid that was on the roster last year, got one at bat, has kind of made a name for himself. Dynamic outfielder. And then it's starting to add some thump in the middle of that order for us. So it's been a special year for him, and we look for him to stay hot. [00:30:52] Speaker A: How do you prepare for this bracket? Something you guys don't see all year, but how do you prepare for this bracket? [00:30:57] Speaker D: Yeah, I think the big thing for me, and I talked about this in another interview, is playing in that regional prepares you for this bracket. I don't know if you saw the teams that were in our regional. There's. Well, one won a national championship and have been in this numerous times. So grinding through that and being able to come out on the good side of that, I think prepared us immensely. And then, you know, with me and Coach Silvestri, of being in this thing before, of kind of the emotional piece and that's the big thing that I've tried to prepare him for is the emotional piece of the crowd and the community and the big E, the expectations. And I think they. They've listened and they've learned throughout the season. And, you know, I like where we're at. [00:31:40] Speaker A: Any adversity this year? [00:31:43] Speaker D: Adversity, tough word for me. We're playing a game. We've had some injuries, kind of some odd injuries. Usually it's a knee, an ankle, a shoulder, and this has been a pinky got dislocated, a bursa sack got busted. What was our other One, a fractured forearm from an inner squad. Guy getting hit in inner squad. So it's been some goofy ones, but we're healthy. Finally. This will be our first time with our full lineup tomorrow night. So we're excited about it and we're good to go. [00:32:17] Speaker A: I love how you're reframing it away from adversity because it is just a game. [00:32:21] Speaker D: It is. Yeah. Yeah. It's adversity is not being able to pay your mortgage. These guys get to go play in front of a large group of people that believe in them and trust them, and we just go out and treat it as that. [00:32:33] Speaker A: It's a game and a season. How do you handle those conversations with roll guys or maybe guys who haven't gotten a ton of opportunities? [00:32:39] Speaker D: Yeah, I think, you know, just once again addressing the front of the jersey. It's about LC State baseball. You know, this thing was built a long time ago and it's doing well. It don't matter who the head coach is. It's been through, it's doing well. We're going to continue to move that forward and to be able to leave your legacy, whatever role it may be. And there's numerous stories we can talk about with guys that got very little playing time and roll into this thing and all of a sudden they. If it wasn't for them, we wouldn't have won. So the front of the jersey is the most important. Leaving here with a degree and some lifetime of memories. That's. That's our goal. [00:33:14] Speaker A: Yeah, it probably is. Some unexpected guys that will show up this week for Forever wins. [00:33:17] Speaker E: It. [00:33:17] Speaker A: It's probably going to be some guys they maybe didn't expect 100%. [00:33:21] Speaker D: It always happens that way for. From every team here, there'll be a guy that maybe hasn't performed at the highest level and he gets his opportunity and then shows out. So that's what's special about this tournament. [00:33:32] Speaker A: What do you feel like has helped you the most in your career at this point? [00:33:36] Speaker D: Honesty. I'm, I guess brutally honest at times, but I'm always honest with my players. I think being surrounded by a group of people that continually support me and move me forward, I think that's been a huge piece. But I've never lied to a player. I've been there for them 100% of the time. And that's the key because that builds relationships and once you have relationships, sky's the limit. [00:34:04] Speaker A: How do you fight that in this narrative? You know, in 2026, you don't always see that. How do you fight that in this narrative. [00:34:09] Speaker B: Narrative, yeah. [00:34:10] Speaker D: It's tough. It's getting tougher. I think spending more time with your players on the one on one session. It used to be when I first broke in, 28 years ago, you'd say one thing to a group and they'd go run through the wall. Now you got to take them to the side and have a one on one for with them, and that's. That's fine. I'm okay with that. I'm not. I'm not old school. My God. We're going to do it this way or it's not going to happen. All right. You got to be adaptable as a coach. And I enjoy the relationship piece. Whether it's one on one or in a group setting or whatever it may be, our job is to find the best way to move this young man on. [00:34:46] Speaker A: How do you handle tips for assistance, maybe, and especially giving them autonomy to do their jobs? [00:34:51] Speaker D: Yeah, you got to be grinders. Be loyal to your head coach. I'd say that's a huge one. And then number one, be where your feet are. You're an assistant. Grind as an assistant. Don't. Don't try to be a head coach. Those. Those days will come. And I've talked about this to numerous assistants. Just be where your feet are, enjoy the grind, build the relationships, because at the end of the day, your players are going to be your best recommendations, because that's where it's going to come from. So it's been good. [00:35:21] Speaker A: Umpqua Community College. [00:35:23] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:35:24] Speaker A: What was the. What was the initial for that to start the program? [00:35:28] Speaker D: So I'm from that area in Roseburg, Oregon. I grew up there, and in 1985, they cut the program. And in 2018, I got a phone call that they're bringing the program back. And if I had any interest, and I thought it was unique to start a program from the ground floor. I don't know if a lot of head coaches get that opportunity. And then the icing on the cake was my hometown. So to be able to go back, reconnect with my family, and start that program and get it moving and moving it quickly, it was. It was a lot of fun and a lot of good relationships were built. And I got a couple of those players here with me now at Umpqua, and we. We're going to create a nice little pipeline with us and them over there, my former assistants, now the head coach, and they're doing some great things. [00:36:18] Speaker A: So where do you start when you start from scratch? [00:36:21] Speaker D: Oh, man, well, you got to order baseballs and practice pants and uniforms. We had a year to kind of get the ball rolling with it, so to speak. And then it was go time and Covid in 2020 and we got shut down after 10 games and then kind of limped our way along in 21 and then 22, 23, 24, 25. Man, this thing's been rolling. Had a kid drafted out of our program, Hunter Kublick, 18 rounder by the Cardinals and have sent numerous players on to the four year level. And yeah, it was a, it was a wonderful experience. [00:36:55] Speaker A: 12 consecutive conference titles at Western Oregon. [00:36:57] Speaker D: Yeah, once again, winners win. [00:37:00] Speaker A: I mean, I asked that because winners win. Like it's. No matter what situation you've been in, you've had success. [00:37:06] Speaker D: Yeah, that was a special place as well. And I played at Western Oregon, so that was more of a personal tie, being able to come back and be the head guy there. And my wife graduated from there with her teaching degree and yeah, it was rolling in a good spot and developing guys. The budget was really, really minuscule and it was a grind every year with fundraising and we're the bus leagues and hauling all over the west coast and our region and once again, some great people over there. That really shaped me as a coach and some players that really shaped me as a coach. So very enjoyable experience. [00:37:41] Speaker A: You have any fundraising tips? [00:37:43] Speaker D: Oh, boy. We used to do this firewood project and they haven't done it in a few years. We're going to start it back up. But yeah, fundraising is so tough. It's getting tougher. But yeah, we're just trying to be as creative as possible. We brought in this year we did a first pitch dinner. I was able to go when I was over there, became friends with Mark Wasikowski up at U of O and he invited us up to that, to their first pitch dinner. I think it was really cool. And so, yeah, we'll continue to do that and yeah, it's getting tougher every year though. [00:38:12] Speaker A: I think that's a culture building event too, for teams that don't do it. I think that's a culture building event also. [00:38:17] Speaker D: Yeah, it was it, you know, for the first year doing it. I mean, it was a great fundraiser and a great reconnect with a lot of our alumni in our community. So it was a hit. [00:38:26] Speaker A: Any other shout outs you want to give before I let you go? [00:38:28] Speaker D: No, it's special what ABCA does. I'll give a shout out to ABCA and their support of all of college baseball and. And us coaches as well. I'm a member and will always be a member. So thank you to abca. [00:38:40] Speaker A: Thanks for your time, coach. [00:38:41] Speaker D: You bet. [00:38:41] Speaker B: Thank you. [00:38:41] Speaker A: Here with Cal gold, Taylor University, 22nd season as head coach, but coming in 52 and 5 overall. So congrats on another great year. [00:38:49] Speaker E: Thank you very much. [00:38:50] Speaker A: I mean, obviously, you and I talked about this last time, too, but just being an alum and then as long as you've been here and building the program, because it wasn't always like that in the beginning, but it's got to be gratifying for you. You. How much you've built the program. [00:39:02] Speaker E: Yeah. I love Taylor. I'm a Taylor alum, and I love Taylor University, what it stands for. And I think in a really difficult education environment like Taylor's thriving, and we have great leadership there. You know, our president, Dr. Lindsay, is incredible and just really held true to the mission and the vision of the university. And so I'm really proud to work at Taylor. And then Taylor baseball. I say this a lot. The best, best, best men I've met in my life have been Taylor baseball guys. And that goes back to when I. Back when I played there and then. And then being able to coach there. And I'm just. Just really proud of all the people I get to. To be around and just blessed to watch these guys play baseball every day. [00:39:39] Speaker A: What is the culture? I mean, why is it so special with Taylor? [00:39:42] Speaker E: Well, it is. There's a lot going on. Taylor is. It is rooted in our Christian faith, and that. That's number one. It's. It's rooted in that. It is rooted in, like, very strong academics, and our team is no exception to that. But it's a place that is serious about faith, serious about academics, and then we're really serious about baseball. But the campus itself, it's a little bit in the middle of nowhere, but that's a huge advantage to us, I think, as a university. We're about 30% Indiana kids, and so you get community, so you get these incredible student activities, like Silent Night, which is a big basketball thing that's kind of famous, but it's kind of like that all the time is our friends in student development, the people at Taylor. It's just a really fun place to go to school. And. And for the right kid, it's the right place. So we're pulling, like, retention rates of 94% of students. Like, we're doing all these incredible things outside of baseball. So it's a. It's a great place to recruit guys to. And like I said, we're working really hard at the baseball, and we want to be the best possible baseball team. We can be the best baseball program and give them this great experience and play at a high level, but also know they have this incredible experience at Taylor, and we just lean really hard into that. We don't try to hide it. We don't make baseball the only thing going on in their life. We just try to. Like I said, it's about faith, it's about academics, about baseball, and having a great time doing it. [00:40:54] Speaker A: How come you guys played so well on the road? You're 26 and three on the road. [00:40:57] Speaker E: Yeah. Well, I think if you're a Midwest team, you're just used to playing on the road. And so it's. It's. I was actually talking to a friend of mine today, and he was talking about people playing, tough schedules. I said, well, that's easy for you to say. Where you're at, you just get to sit at home. So I think it's just part of the deal. The other thing is we have a. We have a veteran team that have played together for a long time, but to be honest with you, it's just not something we talk about. We just go play baseball and it's. I think sometimes we focus on things like that. You get distracted and, you know, we're all dealing with the same weather. We're all dealing with the. The same umpires, the same. All of it. It's just. You just go out and play is because you're older. [00:41:33] Speaker A: Is that why the power numbers are so good? The LPS is unreal. [00:41:37] Speaker E: It's incredible. Yeah. I think we have, you know, we start six. Six seniors in our everyday lineup. Five of them have been with us for four years. And then we start. Lately, we've been starting three juniors, but again, two have been with us the whole time. So it's an older team that we've kind of played the way we play. We train the way we train, we practice the way we practice. And so they're kind of used to it. Sometimes before a game, we'll talk about a pitcher. And, you know, I start talking about them. I'm like, they could finish this for me. But, yeah, I think that. I think, you know, they're older, they're physical, but. But I think it helps, too. They've lifted in the same lifting program, they've trained the same way at the same place. And so I. I think in some ways we're like a throwback team. To when people went to school and stayed for four years and played together. And these guys love each other. I mean, you can, you can see it when you watch us play and you can see like how excited when we clinch to go back to the World Series, the, the celebration. And I, I'd say this is a credit to him. If you, if you just sat in the bleachers, you wouldn't know like whose family's with what kid. They love each other, they love their K kids, they hang out together, their parents vacation together. And it, I just think it's a little bit of a throwback and I think it's a little bit different than what's going on in college baseball right now. And I'm okay with that. These guys have been through a lot together and a lot of great, great things. Certainly a lot of wins, a lot of championships, ton of dog piles. I think this senior class is at least eight, maybe nine. I'd have to think about it. And so they've been through a lot together and they play together and certainly the physicality of, of being a senior is really helpful. So I think that is a big part of it. [00:43:04] Speaker A: Do you think it'll ever swing back? The pendulum will swing back to that where we get kids to stay at places longer. [00:43:11] Speaker E: I think what goes on everywhere is not necessarily relevant to what goes on at Taylor. And I understand that every level of baseball, it's different and I think some levels, you can't do that. We just do what we do and we try to be really upfront with kids. So of our 36 guys, 30 of them are four year guys. We do have six transfers and we love those guys. And those guys are Taylor baseball guys and they jump right in. So I'm certainly not saying a kid should never transfer, that there's never a reason someone should transfer, that it wasn't the right fit, that they don't find something better or different. I'm not being critical of that. I think all of college baseball will change when, if and when Congress passes things and there's some real rules are in place until then, everyone's gonna sue each other and do exceptions. And I think it's coming at some point, but I think we're all used to maybe the federal government not operating super quick. I'll just leave it at that. [00:43:56] Speaker A: Braden Manning, probably the one to circle for the week to watch. [00:43:59] Speaker E: Yeah, he's been incredible. [00:44:00] Speaker A: I know you've got a ton. [00:44:01] Speaker E: Yeah, we do. I hate to single him out because I love him all so much. But he is special. I think he had four extra base hits as a freshman here in one game against Georgia Gwinnett, which is a big night for him. He's, he's, he is an incredible athlete. He's very unafraid and he just plays his best when it matters the most. And I think our team feeds off it. So the bigger the game, the better he plays. And that has been true for him the entirety of his time at Taylor. And probably if we go back to Lakeville North High School in Minnesota, it was probably true there. He's a great basketball player as well, but he's big, he's physical, he's uber, uber competitive. And when the, when the chips are down, when it's the biggest spot, like he's at his best. And I think that's really spread onto our team. And then, you know, Jordan Mallot's got 92 RBI hitting right behind him, which is pretty incredible. Ben Kennedy is a shortstop, he's been a four year guy. Sam Glatter, dh, hit four home runs in the World Series as a freshman four years ago. Battled through a lot of injuries, but he's playing his best baseball here late. Fletcher Remick, our third baseman, another four year guy, has been incredible for us. And then Brendan Frickel, our second baseman, has been through a lot, missed two years with injuries, but what an incredible year he's having. So those seniors, just those six guys make us all look really good. [00:45:15] Speaker A: Any good surprises? Any guys you didn't expect? [00:45:17] Speaker E: Oh man, so many of them. Yeah, I think, yeah, I think we kind of knew what those guys and they all had different progressions. Like Braden and Ben and Sam. Those guys came in as a freshman, it was just right away. But even their progression offensively, like for Ben, he's always been an elite defender short. His offensive progression year by year is pretty incredible. And you know, I've shown that to some guys we're talking to. Like, look at his, it's not like where you start and his development there. And then I think some of the other guys, they're consistent developing with it. But yeah, Luke Sutter's a junior. He didn't play a ton as a freshman, played a lot last year and he hit second for us. He's been great. Nate Simpson's battle injuries all year, but he's been really, really good for us. And he's healthy right now and playing well. And then we've used three catchers this year. We have a junior, Caden Wu, one of our transfers, and we have two Freshmen and they've all played well and that's part of the reason we've used all three of them. But yeah, like all teams we've suffered some injuries, you know, on the mound. One of our better guys Andrew I think nine pitches this year before he got hurt. We had a freshman, J.T. tabor stepped up. I think he's like 8 and 1 right now. It's pretty. For a freshman that's pretty good start. So Wes Hunt, Brody, fine. Those guys at the front, Lane Lewis, the sophomore is throwing great and then we just have some depth in the bullpen. You know, Nathan Frady and Nick Crabtree came back from Tommy John. He's been great this year year. And Jake Boyer has been a engage gong. Were again on the pitching side. Gage and Jake and Nick and Wes all through here as freshmen and they're still there. So we just have a little bit of length to our pitching staff. And then some of the other younger guys have come along and so Justin Barber, our pitching coach is as good as anybody at any level in college baseball. He's incredible with those guys and he is as knowledgeable on the, on the new development stuff and the technology. We have Trackman, we have all of it. He's really good at applying that practically to pitchers. So they're training their development, the feedback he gives them, the belief he builds into him and he's able to train them all as individuals, which is really hard to do in a group setting. So he is, he's incredible. And I say this all the time like we are like true partners in this and I say this halfway joking. I coach the baseball players and he coaches the pitchers but he's incredible and those guys love him and they believe in him and he just, he puts a lot into them and, and the development on the pitching side. I know we score a lot of runs and it gets a lot of attention, but man, we've had some incredible performance on the mound. [00:47:32] Speaker A: What is the art of that as a pitching coach now? To be able to take what we're doing on the data analytics side and then make it digestible so a pitcher can actually go out and perform. [00:47:41] Speaker E: The information only matters and how we apply it to players in their development. And we're blessed. The coordinator of pitching analytics for the Dodgers, the Taylor baseball guy. And so we have some access to him. But I think Justin is, he's really good on the like understanding the data and he's good at like helping tell the story. And it's the same thing with our hitters when we're getting track band reports, like I say this all the time. I like data if it tells a story. So when we talk about chase rates and end zone swing percentage, end zone whiff percentage, it's just a way to tell the hitters what's going on. I think sometimes as coaches who've been doing a long time, we get afraid of it and I think it can intimidate us. But I think what it does is allows players to hear less opinions and more facts. And I, I try to remember we talk about this a lot. These guys have had so many coaches in their career and at some point it's just noise. But when you can show them, you know, like Justin will pull out the edge oftronic camera, the trackman, like this is what your ball's actually doing and here's a comp and here's what we wanted to do. I think our guys have responded well to it. But yeah, it's, it's only as valuable as how it helps the players get better. That's what doing we're doing, we're trying to help players develop and with us being so Reliant Independent on 4 year guys, it pushes you into development. I think the, the fear, I think in college baseball is when you can just run guys in and run them out. Like how much time we spend developing them and I think that's why we got into coaching and that's the fun part is to see players and more importantly people develop. So when you talk about will it ever swing back? It's like, well, I still think there's places that are in it for development. And so that's what we aim to do. At Taylor. [00:49:09] Speaker A: How do you get freshmen ready to catch? It's not an easy thing to do. [00:49:12] Speaker E: You just throw them in and do it. Yeah, and those guys have all done a good job and they're all very defensive. All three of them do a good job. But you just, you know, you try to get them in the fall and you try to get them, you know, we've hit our catcher ninth, I think every game, the whole year. And you just try to get them to understand like we're catching first, we're catching second, we're catching third, we're catching fourth. And I think they get older, I think there's some offensive, real offensive ability in them as they get older. But yeah, you just want to make sure that they understand. Like your number one objective is to receive the ball, catch the ball, block the ball, throw the ball, and again like a Lot of the stuff we're doing and catching right now is. Is designed to steal to turn balls into strikes. And I think where we try to start. Let's just start with keeping strike strikes. And I think right now the trend and, and you know, you go out and see a lot of getting a little bit off topic, but you see a lot of amateur baseball, you see a lot of catchers trying to do what big leaguers are doing. And I say all the time, if our shortstop tried to do with the shortstop for the Chicago Cubs did, he wouldn't be very good either. And so I think we're trying to get a really good base and like, understand a lot of the newer stuff is good and is better, but we still have to, number one, keep strike strikes, keep them on front of you and be able to throw it accurately. If we can still steal a few pitches, that's fine. I just don't think stealing six strikes is worth three pass balls. So that's great. [00:50:33] Speaker A: Great coaching tip, by the way, allowing your players to have their strengths. Because sometimes you do try to make players do things that they're not capable of doing. [00:50:42] Speaker E: Yeah, I think there's a real temptation in development to just constantly take players and like, they've got to do what they do. I won't say bad, but what they're. What they're struggling with the most, that's got to get better. But I think players impact the game and their strengths. And so if you have a catcher that has a good arm, like, you better backpack because, like, that's how you better throw. You better. You better throw a lot. And if you have a catcher that's, you know, or you have a hitter who's a power guy. Yeah, we need the contact percentage to go up. We need to be able to use the whole field. You also need to hit 15 home runs, you know, and if you're a guy who can bump for hit, bump for hit. If you're a guy who can run, run. And I think we try in development. And again, on the pitching side, Justin does this really well. Hey, what's your best pitch? Let's get it out of your hand more. And yes, we're working on the other stuff, but let's not forget you're going to get out of the biggest spots on the mound by throwing your best stuff. [00:51:27] Speaker A: What do you feel like has helped you the most at this point? I think you've evolved greatly over your career. What do you think, like, helped you [00:51:33] Speaker E: the most as a coach? [00:51:34] Speaker A: Yes. [00:51:35] Speaker D: Oh, man. [00:51:36] Speaker E: You know, I say this like, kind of joking. I've been at Taylor the whole time. Our games aren't. Aren't on espn, so if something doesn't work, like, no one really knows. I think just. Man, I've been really blessed by the ABCA to attend the conventions, and that has been a huge blessing to me. To listen to speakers who say things like, oh, and we think like, oh, we're kind of already doing that. But then to hear things really different from a different perspective. I've appreciated the question and answers. To just sit there and listen to people off script and you kind of get to the heart of, well, this is what they're actually doing. This isn't a presentation. This is how they do it. So I think that's been good. I try to read a lot, and I am blessed to be friends with some really, really, really smart people who are open with information. And then I think just remembering, like, we're coaching people and at a place like Taylor, that is an expectation, it is a requirement. And that has really helped to just understand, like, no, we're coaching people and we need to take care of people and we need to help develop people. And when we care about them and when, when they, you know, this generation is great. They take a bad rap, but I think every generation is taking. Taking bad rap from older people, but they care about each other a ton, and they care a lot about, like, they need to know that you care about them. And I would just say this at ted, we genuinely, like, love our players, care about our players. We're very proud of them. Whether we win a national title this week or go 02. Like, I wouldn't trade them for anything. It's been an incredible ride. And the senior class is as great as they've been on the field and they have been. They're better people and they're going to. What they have in front of them is far, far better than anything they've done on a baseball field. So I don't know if that answers your question. [00:53:06] Speaker A: I think it's most empathetic generation we. [00:53:08] Speaker E: We have 100%. [00:53:10] Speaker A: And I think there's a bright future, by the way, for America. [00:53:13] Speaker E: There's a very bright future with these guys. And I think what. I think what we lose sometimes is like, as coaches, hey, when you treat a player on your team poorly, they're tribal. His friends don't like it and they shouldn't. And I think that's maybe better than some of us who are older who are like, well, thank God it's not me. I think they don't like it and they don't want to be a part of it and they don't trust you. So when you treat him poorly, we lose trust with it. And so I think for all of us, if we're honest, if we look at our teams, like a lot of times our best players are best friends with guys who aren't getting a lot of playing time. It's like. But they, they care about them and they. And when they, they see how you treat them and they see how they're valued and I don't think they're wrong. I think that certainly there's things that, that all of us, Oliver could do better, but I think that is one that I think all of us as coaches are wise to remember. Like, they're tribal and their loyalty is to each other. And I just, I'm not convinced that's. That they're wrong. [00:54:05] Speaker A: I'm not either. [00:54:06] Speaker E: Yeah, that's all. I say this all the time. Like, you know, people say a lot like, hey, I'm in coaching to get invited to weddings. I'm not. I just like to go and see all their teammates up there with them. And our job is to connect them with other great people. And at Taylor, that means our job is to recruit kids who fit Taylor and surround them with other people who fit Taylor. And I think that's true at most schools. And so that is like, that's way [00:54:27] Speaker A: more the focus you do outside reading with them. I know it's a high academic school, so you do. Do you have them read outside stuff? [00:54:33] Speaker E: Yes, we do. We do. We do book studies a little bit different. Some years we do every class we do with our senior class, we do the book Legacy, which is an incredible book. And it's like everything. Some, some groups like really attach to reading more. We have some super academic guys that are probably have enough schoolwork to do. But I enjoy reading and I enjoy. I think it's really good to consider other people's thoughts. And so we do that every year with the seniors. And like I said, some years we do a book per class. It just depends. I like to do chop wood, carry water with our freshmen. Just talks about learning to work and learning to value it and what it means. We do a speaker series with our guys every year. What does it mean to be a man? We bring a different speaker every week in the fall on the same topic. A friend of mine who's a basketball coach challenged me. Hey, when you bring people to speak to the team have them all speak on the same topic and it just connects with people in different ways. And so we've been blessed to get some incredible men and we've had women do it. And that perspective blows the minds of a 19 year old boy of what that looks like. But we've had major league guys to professors at Taylor, to a guy who's a homicide detective in Detroit and the next week we had a guy who taught drama and you just get different perspectives on the same topic as they try to encounter this world and understand what it to means to be a man. [00:55:45] Speaker A: What does the female perspective been on that? [00:55:47] Speaker E: Oh man, the, the perspective is it's really interesting how little all of us as 18 to 22 understand like, like what that looks like. And, and I tell them too is like this isn't just about being married, it's not just about a daughter. You're going to work with women your whole life and you're going to interact with women professionally, personally. And that understanding is like what, what are those expectations when they, when, when they encounter you or when you work with people or talk to people and like just different ways we perceive situations. So it's been interesting. We've, we've done like a panel of women. Yeah, it's been fun. [00:56:21] Speaker A: Love it. Yeah, love it. And that's type of outside the box thinking that I think we, this generation actually craves too. [00:56:27] Speaker E: Yeah, I think that and you know, I think we all number one. And I'm getting way off subject here. We talk about this generation, their phones. I'm not sure the coaches ages are on their phone less than these guys. [00:56:35] Speaker B: I agree. [00:56:37] Speaker E: So I just want to say that I don't want to crush these guys. I do think that everyone, not just this generation, is craving personal connection because we have access to everything. But we're all distracted. And so we have a few simple things that we do with that. Like anytime we stop and eat, like phones stay on the bus and I'm not going to be the phone police. They never come in the dugout. But I just think that, you know, you tell them all the time you're, you're not going to a year from now wish that you'd had more time on that. But, but I also think we could overdo it and crush these kids and act like they're the only ones on the phone. They're not. When we were at the airport coming here, the older the person, the more they were on the phone. So I think we can do that. But I think they are they do love like the opportunities for personal connection and they're all different. Some are very introverted, some are extroverted. But we want to provide like those opportunities for them to connect and think deeply about things that matter. So we challenge them all year especially we do this really unique two week trip to Arizona in January. But we always challenge them there is to have one conversation every day that really matters matters with one of their teammates and and they do a good job of that. [00:57:35] Speaker A: Where's some other shout outs before I let you go [00:57:39] Speaker E: man. Our alumni are the best. They are the absolute best. Like the number of like when we won and I I share them with our guys because I think it matters because that's gonna be them. But our alumni, I mean triple digits easy the first when we won I mean probably 150 to 2 of guys that have played here they it happened last time we were here. I told you but the seniors who graduated last year bought dinner for the team team this year in Lewiston. Our alumni are incredible. Like I said they're the best guys I know are Taylor based ones. You'll see people show out pretty big here Taylor I'd be surprised if anyone [00:58:09] Speaker A: a lot in the airport. Yeah you'll be Taylor stuff in the airport. [00:58:11] Speaker E: People love them and so I would say that and then I would say I talked about Justin Barber our pitching coach but Damaris Barlow, Charlie Jones are their coaches. They work very hard not just coaching our guys but the details of all of it and taking care of everything. And one of our. One of my rules is like hey be good at what you're doing and be fun to be around and they're that and so I really appreciate them and yeah Taylor's a really really special place. The rest of our athletic department, the university, everyone. People are really like they pull for each other and whether that our track teams at nationals right now people are pulling for them people are pulling for baseball here and everyone's excited about graduation Saturday. We're going to do a graduation ceremony here on the field at LC State on Sunday. The people here at Jim's been great about setting us up with that. So yeah I'm. I'm. Taylor's a special place and and we want our baseball team to try to live up to who the university is. [00:58:57] Speaker A: What have you enjoyed about the lefty [00:58:59] Speaker E: Go Master committee number one meeting people from different areas that I never would have met from all the different divisions. So it was really great. I enjoy I coach for when I started coaching I spent the first 16 years of my career with a guy named Rick Atkinson, who, coach, is an Indiana high school coach, hall of Fame, older guy, was one of my coaches. I was 24 when I started. He was older than that. He passed away six years ago, so he didn't get to come up to Lewis with me. But his respect for the game of baseball he played professionally, coached forever, left a big impact on me. And so I think when you hear what all of these great men have done in the game, I think what's one of the cool things about baseball is we still care about the history of it. So I've enjoyed hearing the stories of those men and what they did and not just the people who won. The nominees are incredible. And then when you sit around the table and you listen to the. The other people in that room and what they've given to baseball, it's inspiring. But it is always, it is the same as coaching. It's always about the people. The other stuff washes away. But I've met great people like you through this game and through the ABCA and through our Indiana stuff. And you coach college baseball enough, you meet a lot of great people and make a lot of good friends. And again, people who are older than me, wiser than me have just said, you're not fighting the coach and the other dog out. And I've tried to take that to heart as much like you. [01:00:18] Speaker A: Good luck this week. [01:00:19] Speaker E: Thanks. I really appreciate it. [01:00:20] Speaker A: All right here with Billy berry, Tennessee Wesleyan, 19th season, two time NI champion, coming in at 44. 7 overall. So thanks for being here, Billy. [01:00:31] Speaker C: You bet. [01:00:31] Speaker D: Always. [01:00:32] Speaker A: Congrats again. [01:00:32] Speaker C: Thank you. [01:00:35] Speaker A: Did you change your message at all with the team this fall, or is it pretty standard for you in the fall every year? [01:00:40] Speaker C: I think it's been pretty standard. I mean, I think the one thing, you know, I've always said, the thing that we are thankful for inside the program, and this goes long before I got there, was just the consistency that went with it. And so, you know, I hear sometimes the worst words in the English language are, if it ain't broke, don't fix it, or this is the way we've always done it. But I think that holds true when you talk about some standards and you talk about just some absolutes that have been passed down. So I think over the years we may have changed some things as far as maybe how we practice, you know, you know, maybe how we travel or things like that, but just those core values that were passed down, you know, from guys like Wayne Norfleet and Ashley Lawson. We've tried to hold on to those as hard as we could, and. And I think it just speaks to the consistency that they had and that we've been able to maintain. [01:01:26] Speaker A: You think it's good for your returning guys to kind of refresh on those two? [01:01:30] Speaker C: Absolutely. I think it's one of those things where, you know, complacency is a real thing, and I think sometimes, especially when you are having success, you can kind of stray away from, you know, what made you successful, and sometimes you have to get. Maybe get punched in the mouth a little bit to kind of revert back to those things. So I definitely think that that message. I think the one thing that I would say is that standard and culture used to be, hey, this is who we are. Somebody explained it to you, and then you went out and you just did it. And I think now if you really want your standard and your culture to stand out, you know, and you want it to be something that's lived out on a daily, you have to teach a daily. On a daily basis how to be that person, how to be that player inside the program you're in Seems like [01:02:11] Speaker A: another great team, just balanced all the way around offense, pitching and defense. [01:02:14] Speaker C: Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, one of the things that, you know, healthy now, which is good. I think everybody kind of goes through that at some stretch, and we went through that and. But I think that we've kind of hit our stride. I think guys have been able to come back and, you know, they have at bats on underneath them. They've got games underneath them and. And I think we're starting to see, you know, conference tournament opening around the lineup and the. And the team that we saw early on in the year when we got off to a really good start and. But I also think that the adversity was good for us because I think that helped us to be able to understand that when we did get whole what we could be. And. And I think the confidence that. Once we got whole, the confidence really, you know, really took off in those two tournaments and. But, yeah, it's been a good group, man. They're fun, they work, and they've really earned their way to get here. [01:03:00] Speaker A: How do you handle that? Not using that as an excuse? Because I think you see it all the time or where we're injured, we're injured, but that happens to everybody. [01:03:08] Speaker C: Yeah, I just think it's like, you know, we have a saying in our program. It's called ignore the circumstance and just play. And, you know, it doesn't mean that it's all going to go well. But I tell you what it did was it gave some guys an opportunity, you know, to kind of step in and kind of fill some roles. It created some depth for us as we got later on in the season once we started getting guys back. So, you know, I think injuries nowadays are. It's never a matter of if. It's just a matter of when and in who and then how you adjust to it. And I think that we went through a phase where we didn't adjust to it extremely well, and then we went to a phase where we just understood, hey, man, if we want to get to where we want to get to, then it's these nine guys. And, you know, we have to. We just have to understand that hopefully we're going to get some of these guys back. But if we don't, then this is, you know, if we still want to do what we need, what we, what we set out to accomplish, then what we got is going to be plenty [01:03:57] Speaker A: good enough individual players to watch. I mean, there's some gaudy offensive. [01:04:00] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah. You know, on the mound, Justin Jackson, Cameron, Gopher, Maguire, Taylor have all been extremely, extremely good for us, have given us a chance. I mean, Colton Brumley coming off a year last year where he didn't have a lot of success, I mean, to, to go through an opening round and to throw four arms, get two complete game shutouts on day one and two and then have your number three go into the, give you to the seventh and then use your, you know, four starter for two innings. I mean, it's, I mean, again, that's an anomaly. It doesn't happen like that very often, but it lined up perfect. Brad Johnson's been huge for us out of the bullpen from the offensive side. Missed a month to a back injury and before that was putting up numbers that were insane. You know, I think at one point in time, if you looked, Carlos Sanchez from lsu Shreveport and Josh Shelley were at the top of every leaderboard. And Colton Reynolds really has come on late, had a kind of a really good start, kind of a rough middle, but has really, the back half has come on really well. Two new guys, Alan, Gil Fernandez and David Balania have been fantastic for us. You know, David's making a position change. He was shortstop coming out of junior college, has moved to center field. You know, Al was kind of. Al said anywhere from, you know, three to four, and then we moved him into the leadoff spot kind of the last month. And it's Made a big difference. And it's kind of, you know, turning the lineup over and doing those things. But really, man, those four guys have really kind of the consistency throughout the year. But, you know, you got guys like Rob Gordon, who was MVP of the, of the conference tournament, I think went 12 for 18 in the conference tournament after again after suffering an injury, a shoulder injury that kept him out of months. So, man, just really top to bottom the lineup, the depth, the pitching. I would say that, you know, even though you said, like you say the numbers are kind of gaudy in certain aspects, this was a team that had to get us here. This was a team that had to carry us through the conference tournament. This was a team that had to carry us through the opening round to get us here. And I think, yes, you've got some individual guys that stand out, but really what makes this thing go is the 28 guys that are on the roster. And so at any point in time, you may see somebody tonight that, you know, we don't mention that you go, hey, what about that guy? So it's really been a team thing, which is. I'm. We're really proud of that. [01:06:09] Speaker A: You and I talked earlier. I love how you prep for this. Like, not everybody's got their own style, but I really do like how live you guys go. Like, it's. I think it's still the best way to do it. [01:06:19] Speaker C: Yeah, I think, you know, it's trial and error. You know, the one thing with the blessing, with being out here, you know, quite a few times is that, you know, the first two years we failed, you know, and kind of weren't sure what to do. And then you kind of go back and again it goes back to that, you know, that consistency part, but being willing to change some things to do. And so that's the thing, man. We went live last week, we flew in here on Monday, stayed in Spokane, drove in on Tuesday, we went live on Tuesday. Obviously you get your practice out here, which is pretty, just standard and. And then we went live again yesterday. So it's just trying to stay with their eyes locked in on an arm in a, in a, in a, in a simulated situation that you can get as close to game ready as you can. [01:07:05] Speaker A: I think it's almost like, you know, shoot around for hoops teams. I'm good friends with Brad Brownell, Clemson. He's had a lot of success. But you go watch their shoot around pregame. Yeah, they get after those guys pregame. [01:07:17] Speaker C: I think it's the biggest thing is you want To I think the mistake that, that we've made or this mistake that maybe other people make is you come here and it's just kind of like you get away from how, like the preparation of how you got here. As I told you, you know, Tuesday, we pressed the pedal pretty hard and we practiced like we were at home. And so I think it's just trying again. It's that consistency and I think it's normal, the normal, the normal nessy for them, you know, I mean, just keeping a normal routine for them and what they're used to. And I think that, you know, again, that's just been a lot of trial and error over the years. [01:07:48] Speaker A: And you talked about changing your lineup around. I appreciate, appreciate that about you because I think you're willing to make changes. Told a good story in Ohio about the year you had to use an opener. [01:07:58] Speaker C: Yeah. [01:07:58] Speaker A: To get through the year. Just talk about that a little because I don't think a lot of people know that story. [01:08:02] Speaker C: I think, you know, like in 24, I mean, I said this, we talked about it in 24, we were nine and nine after the first weekend of March and we were starting to look around and be like, you know, this is going to be a disaster. And so we were really, we had, we struggled in the back end. We had really good starters. And so we had no idea. I talked to a couple guys and I was like, guy was like, hey man, maybe you should throw an opener. And I was like, what in the world's an opener? And then we started talking and, and then next thing you know, we run out there and we started the same guy three games in a row on a weekend. And so the guy asked me, he's like, hey, coach, you know, we're going right, left, left. I said, yeah, we're going all right handed and we're going the same guy. And he kind of looked at me. But you know, again, it's. I think it's just that willingness to be able to look at the environment that you're in, understand that it's not working and see if there's something you can spark your team with. And for us, man, in 24, you know, like I said, we rolled off 18 straight and a team that was nine and nine ended up playing for national championship, lost to a great hope team, you know, Larry Mahoney and his crew that year. But I don't know if we even have a chance to even get here if we don't make some changes and, and you know, kind of not be stubborn about what we're doing. [01:09:10] Speaker A: Looking forward to tonight? [01:09:11] Speaker C: I am, man. You know, the thing about it is I've said this before, I've said it earlier today. This series is better when LC's in it. It's a better experience for everybody and I think our kids are excited. I know their kids are excited. It's two brands and I think that's the thing that I'm the most proud of, is that, you know, it's two brands at this level that have, that have won and have been successful. I think two clubs that do it the right way, that play the game the right way, that prepare the right way. I think I have the utmost respect for Jeremiah and the job that he does. I think, you know, when you look at certain coaches and certain people, Jeremiah Robbins pushes me on a daily basis because I know what they're doing out here and I know a lot of times that if you want to be successful, you know, you're going to have to line up with them at some point in time. So, man, you know, like I said, I think it's more of a maybe a Tuesday or Wednesday night feel, but I think it's going to be a great, I think it'd be a great opportunity for two teams to showcase themselves and it'll be a great, it'll be a great, great way to close out the night tonight on day one. [01:10:17] Speaker A: Any other shout outs? [01:10:18] Speaker C: Nah, man, just love my wife and love my kids. My son's graduating tomorrow, so Brooks is graduating tomorrow. I won't be able to make that but, but man, I'm so proud of him. My oldest son just graduated a couple weeks ago and he's rolling, man, Brady and my daughter is rolling. But man, what a sacrifice they make for us to be able to be here. But man, I'm missing a monumental moment, but just really proud of my family and the support that they give me [01:10:44] Speaker A: and you and I have talked about this multiple times. Can you give just some tips to coaches that maybe think about bouncing around and you've carved out a really good life, quality of life for your yourself as I have in the game. Just because I think you hear that all the time with that next job, that next job. But you've carved out a great life for yourself. [01:11:01] Speaker C: I've said this before. I've been fortunate and blessed to be able to do what I've done at a place for 20 some odd years and that place has given me the ability to do a job that I very much love and very much appreciate. But it has Also allowed me to do the other part of my life, which is be able to see as much of my kids as I possibly can, be able to spend as much time with my family as I possibly can. I'm not saying that that makes me a better coach than somebody else, but it's the life that, that we chose together. I think that's the one thing that when my wife and I sat down and we look at these other jobs and we look at these other situations, it's not so much what's best for me, it's what's best for us. And we've made a decision to have jobs, but we made a decision, I think, to put our family first before we, you know, before we accept or decline any job. And so if I had to do it all over again, man, I'd probably do it the same exact way. There's been some that we've turned down that I've maybe regretted a little bit, you know, at some point in time. But ultimately, when I'm standing there on a Tuesday night and I didn't have, you know, I left practice an hour early to be standing there on a Tuesday night and watching my son's first adventure bat, or watching my daughter's recital or watching, you know, my oldest son do something, he's doing it. It makes it. It's all worth it. [01:12:18] Speaker A: Good luck this week. [01:12:19] Speaker C: Thanks, man. Appreciate it. [01:12:21] Speaker A: I say it every year. Lewiston is a bucket list item for a baseball fan. The town really embraces the teams and players during the event. It's also a beautiful part of the country in the Pacific Northwest. Thanks again to John Litchfield, Zach Hale, and Matt Weston, ABCI offers for all up on the podcast. Feel free to reach out to me via email, rbrownleapeca.org Twitter, Instagram and TikTok coachbapca or direct message me via the MyBCA app. This is Ryan Brownlee signing off for the American Baseball Coaches Association. [01:12:51] Speaker E: Thanks. [01:12:51] Speaker A: And leave it better for those behind you. [01:13:05] Speaker E: And you know that way Yep Wait [01:13:09] Speaker A: for another day [01:13:13] Speaker D: and the world will [01:13:16] Speaker E: always return as your lives never for [01:13:21] Speaker D: yearning and you know that way [01:13:28] Speaker A: Wait for another day.