NCAA Div. II World Series Head Coaches

[00:00:04] Speaker A: Welcome to the ABCA's podcast. [00:00:06] Speaker B: I'm your host, Ryan Brownlee. Recruiting is time consuming, but what if you could filter through the noise and find the right players in minutes for free with ProLook athletes, create detailed profiles with verified stats, academics and highlight videos so you can search for exactly what you need and connect with top talent instantly. And it's free for College coaches. Download ProLook today to start searching for your next recruit, among many other coaches features available for both Apple and Android devices. For more info, visit www.prolook.app. 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 onto the Podcast. This week we sit down on location with the eight head coaches at the NCAA Division II World Series in Cary, North Carolina. In this week's ABCA podcast we Northwood University's Brad Baldwin, UT Tyler's Brent Porsche Felician's Chris Langdon, East Stroudsburg's John Kamansky, Lenore Ryan's Adam Skinicki, Northwest Nazarene's Joe Schaefer, Central Missouri's Kyle Crooks and University of Tampa's Joe Erso. Congrats to Tampa's players and staff on winning their second national championship in a row in a hard fought fashion, winning. [00:02:40] Speaker A: Seven games in eight days. [00:02:41] Speaker B: Let's welcome everyone to the podcast. [00:02:46] Speaker A: All right, number seven seed Northwood Brad Baldwin, head coach since summer 2023 but was an assistant for five years before that, correct? [00:02:54] Speaker C: Yes. [00:02:55] Speaker A: Congrats for being here. [00:02:56] Speaker C: Appreciate it. Thank you. [00:02:57] Speaker A: What'd you learn from John Shally? [00:03:01] Speaker C: Well, it was only a year but fortunately we were able to make it to carry in that year. But I think the the most important thing is I learned that the little, little details matter the most, especially in the post season, you have to play clean defense. You got to be able to pitch it pre and have some depth on the mound, but also do whatever it takes to win a baseball game at the end of the day, whether that's bunting, hitting, running, getting creative from an offensive standpoint and also just how he goes about his day to day business is pretty special. It's pretty unique. So no detail is too little. You got to work extremely hard and be extremely organized because it's a lot more that goes into it than just the coaching X's and O's. [00:03:44] Speaker A: So what's the strength of this year's team? Looks like pitching and defense really strong. [00:03:48] Speaker C: Yeah, you know, we've leaned pretty heavily on our pitching and our depth on the mound more than anything really, so. And we've picked it up pretty well on defense too. So we take a lot of pride in making the routine play, being really good from 8 to 12ft to our left and right and trying to execute those plays as often as we can to help our pitchers out, which I think we've done a pretty good job throughout the course of the season. [00:04:12] Speaker A: Being from Michigan, the weather in the spring is not always conducive to offense, so the numbers maybe don't always look as good as they would if you were playing in some normal weather. [00:04:20] Speaker C: Sure, yeah, that's probably part of it. Our home field is certainly very pitcher friendly. So you know, we're going to find our way. We're going to get creative, find ways on base, fun for hit, take our walks when they're given to us, work counts and then we're going to try and run the bases extremely well. Go first to third, be aggressive with ball and dirt, try and steal some bags along the way. That's kind of what keeps our offense going and keeps things moving for us. [00:04:45] Speaker A: How do you work ball and dirt in training? [00:04:47] Speaker C: We use the hack attacks a lot, believe it or not. We'll use kind of a cover and screen and block so they don't know what it's going to be with the catchers. But also a point of emphasis in the fall is if we see bid, we're going to push the envelope. [00:05:01] Speaker A: Go. [00:05:02] Speaker C: We tell them you're not going to get drought, you're not going to yell that we're not going to get on you if you're getting thrown out. And ball and dirt. That's how we get better with reads and how we can be a little bit more aggressive on the basis. [00:05:11] Speaker A: I like the oculation drill where it's covered up. They can't see the flight. I just think it's the best thing to get them to really dial in on the pictures really. [00:05:20] Speaker C: Especially indoors will lean a little bit heavier on the, on the machines, man. [00:05:24] Speaker A: Is that the benefit of being from a colder weather area? The fundamentals, because you are inside a little bit more, the fundamentals are going to be a little bit better. [00:05:31] Speaker C: Sure. I mean we, we certainly take a lot of pride in the little things and being fundamentally sound, you can only do so much inside. We, you know, with, with our facility as great as it is, we can't really do full defense or anything like that. Cuts and relays. So. So we're going to, we're going to take a lot of ground balls, we're going to. And we're going to do bundes first, all that sort of stuff. So yeah, maybe it is a little bit of benefit of being stuck indoors a little bit longer. [00:05:55] Speaker A: Who are some players to watch this week? [00:05:57] Speaker C: I think from an offensive standpoint across the board, our lineup's been really good for the most part. Miles Beal gets it going, Caden Duryea, Drew Charters behind him and then some names kind of towards the bottom of the lineup. Brendan Hammer, Josh Gaetz have been pretty good defensively, but offensively done a really nice job. And then on the mound, obviously Tyler Sager going to get the ball tomorrow night. Grant Lamarche, Trevor Crawford and then some bullpen guys like Don Morrow and Adam Wonzel are going to be some key contributors for sure. [00:06:27] Speaker A: Any unsung heroes, any surprises on the roster or maybe guys during the year? In the beginning of the year you didn't think were going to contribute. They have. [00:06:35] Speaker C: Adam Onzell out of the bullpen's done a really nice job. Rhett's your freshman for us. He's chewed up some good innings and some high leverage situations for sure. But collectively I think this is a group that's done it together. I don't think it's a one guy success type of deal and these guys know it. It's been a collective effort for sure across the board, one through nine. Our dugout, our bench guys coming off the bench and some KIA bats and just really anybody out of the bullpen being ready to go when their name's called. It's been pretty fun to be a. [00:07:04] Speaker A: Part of any adversity. They started the year 05, but you guys been rolling since May. [00:07:10] Speaker C: Coming back from Florida 5 and 10 is not ideal, especially last season. A lot of these guys were around. We started 07, then 05 and then 5 and 10 after Florida at the start of conference play is not exactly where you want to be. So we've been battle tested mentally. I think these guys have overcome a lot and to be honest, I. They might have just got a little bit of tired of getting beat up along the way and decided to do something about it, which has been. It's been great to see. [00:07:38] Speaker A: Yeah. But if you're a northern team going down south, if you can be around 500 coming out of that, your team's going to be really good. [00:07:45] Speaker C: Sure. [00:07:45] Speaker A: I mean, a lot of people don't understand that, but from your part of the world, to go down there and play and be close to.500 is actually really good. [00:07:53] Speaker C: Yeah. And absolutely. And that's the, you know, kind of what we've been preaching all year is we can't. We can never get too high, we can never get too low. We got to just be where our feet are and find a way to win that day and do it at all costs. [00:08:06] Speaker A: You mixing many new guys in this time of year? Pretty set lineup or set rotation on the mound? [00:08:11] Speaker C: I think for the most part it's been pretty solidified the past couple of weeks at least, but some guys have gotten some pinch hit opportunities off the bench, out of the pen opportunities. So it's been a pretty, it's been a group effort, but yeah, lineup probably more than anything has been pretty set. [00:08:31] Speaker A: What are you trying to get done today? [00:08:33] Speaker C: Same as we have the last couple of weeks. We've been a little bit lighter. Just we're going to get our swings in, we're going to get our defensive reps in and we're going to work and we're going to go home. We're not going to try and overdo it. We're going to trust the process and what's gotten us to this point and not try and change anything or do anything special at this time of year. [00:08:51] Speaker A: I feel like coaches have done a better job of the rest and recovery piece with players than they have in the past. [00:08:58] Speaker C: Yeah, I trust these guys a lot. So they give us a lot of feedback with what they need throughout the course of the week, whether that's in the weight room or at practice, which, you know, for us we haven't been here. This is a long 60 games in and we've, you know, so their feedback is duly noted and we try and work with them as best we can while still being productive at the same time. [00:09:18] Speaker A: Any shout outs you want to give before I let you go. [00:09:22] Speaker C: Family. These guys. These guys. These guys, more than anything, I give them a shout out. You know, they've worked their butts off to be here, so they're gonna embrace the opportunity. And, you know, my assistant coaches and then probably my wife back home, so. [00:09:35] Speaker A: Good luck this week. [00:09:36] Speaker C: Thank you. Appreciate it. [00:09:40] Speaker A: All right, number four seed, Ut Tyler, Brent Porsche. Ninth season as head coach, but 48 and 11 record. Congrats on being here. [00:09:47] Speaker D: Thank you, man. Excited to be here. [00:09:50] Speaker A: What does beating Mesa and Angelo to get here do for your guys? Confidence, man. [00:09:55] Speaker D: I don't know that. I don't know that it did anything for our confidence. I think our guys are confident, you know, and, you know, if you don't. If you don't go in with confidence, you're not beating those guys. And so we got a good group. It's been really fun. You know, I've been doing this for a while, 15 years or so, and it's probably, you know, one of the most fun groups I've had to be around. You know, started with a really good fall, just setting the standard of how we're going to do things, obviously, Division 2, so we got a lot of new players, just like everybody in Division II does all the time. Right. And being able to find a way to put all those pieces together pretty quick is a big key to success at this level. And, you know, our guys did a really good job of buying into the standard and just getting after it all year with a ton of confidence. So it's been fun to go on this ride here. At the end, we knew that we. We had a team that could do it. Just glad we were able to. Able to get it done and break through. [00:10:46] Speaker A: What is the strength of your guys? Team looks like pitching and a little bit of offense. [00:10:49] Speaker D: We can kind of do it all, man. I think, you know, to win in our league, you got to be able to score, and you got to be able to score in a lot of different ways in West Texas. We're from East Texas, where it's kind of normal, but in West Texas, the wind's blowing every day, maybe 50 miles an hour, and some days that's out, and you got to be able to play that game, and some days that's in and you got to be able to play that game. And I think we've learned that over the years of being in the Lone Star, you know, and we kind of built a team that we felt like could do a little bit of everything. So we felt like we were really close in 23 ended up losing to Angelo in the regional final and we were missing a few pieces. A little bit of depth on the mound, a little bit more athleticism in the offense. And I think this is a team that we felt like we put together that could have a chance to do those things. [00:11:32] Speaker A: So then for May, 41 sacks, 36 sac flies. I mean, it's an unselfish offensive team, right? [00:11:38] Speaker D: Yeah, for sure. I mean, that's one of our, you know, we talk about pats, you know, pats and the S in that is selflessness. And so that's a big part of success and in life and obviously in this game as well. And so, you know, our guys have done a really great job of buying into that and executing it on the field, for sure. [00:11:56] Speaker A: How do you get guys buying that's in this day and age, in this culture, that's a hard thing to get across to some guys. How do you develop that culture? [00:12:03] Speaker D: The key for us is you gotta love them, man. You know, we do this and we spend so much time together and, you know, I'm a family guy, I've got two young kids and my wife is a, is a principal. And you know, we kind of both dedicated our lives to helping people and, you know, into this baseball program. I mean, my kids out here taking ground balls today and what an unbelievable experience for a 10 year old, right? But yeah, man, just you got to love these guys, man. You got to love them, get to know them, you know, And I think if you do that and you do it the right way and they believe it, because that's the thing about these kids, man, they see through you. Like, if it's, I love you because I want you to play well for me, that's not going to work, you know, and it's not going to work now more than ever. You know, I've been around it for a long time. My dad was a coach and back in the day, right? It was just whatever coach said, that's what you do, right? But that's not how it is anymore. So you got to have that relationship piece. It's got to be strong. And if it is, then, you know, these guys will, they'll run through a wall because they know that you're going to have their back and you're going to love them no matter what happens on the field. [00:13:02] Speaker A: And also for you, having your 10 year old here, that's some dad time too, that you don't normally get as a college coach. [00:13:08] Speaker D: Yeah, for sure, man. I miss a lot of his Games, right? And especially in the springtime. And luckily now they got game changer for youth baseball. So I get to watch him on the live stream, on the bus. Right? But, but yeah, for him to be here and be a part of that experience and this experience, get to take ground balls at this place, I mean, you can't beat that, man. I mean, that's the stuff that you dream of as a kid. And he doesn't even know how lucky he is, but he'll realize it one day when he gets to look back on it. And as a dad, I mean, it just almost brings tears to your eyes. You know, it's just, it's really special to have him here with me. [00:13:39] Speaker A: What are some players to watch this week? [00:13:41] Speaker D: You know, Justin Williams is one on offense and the ball comes off the bat different. It's, you know, it's 110 plus. It's, you know, it is professional level ability. Raleigh Hector, you know who's going to go game one for us has been tremendous for us for the last two years. Kyle Froehlich. And then we got some young guys in there too, man. Drew Schmidt and Tanner Hornbeck up the middle. Both having tremendous seasons as sophomores. So we got a lot of names to watch, but those are a few that you definitely want to put your. Put your eyes on. [00:14:12] Speaker A: What's been the difference for those sophomores from freshman year to now? Is it just another year older? [00:14:18] Speaker D: So Tanner was a juco kid, right? He was at BRCC last year, had a really tremendous season. Came from a high school program in St. Thomas Moore in Lafayette, Louisiana, that knows nothing but winning, Right. And so he's a kid that he's born into winning, you know, and so plays the game that way. I think it probably says 5, 8 or 5, 9, but he's probably about 5, 6. We mess around each other all the time about who's the shorter, but man, he plays the game like he's 6 foot 2 and 195 pounds and he's fun to watch. And then Drew Schmidt came in last year as a freshman for us. Kind of won the job in the back half of the year over a senior and had some struggles offensively, but we kind of were like, this is our guy we got to go with. And so made some changes in his swing this summer. Went and played in Victoria in the tcl. Had a tremendous summer down there. And it's just carried his confidence into this year. We just had to get him in some better positions. But man, he just, he plays hard and gets after it. And that's why we recruited him in the first place. And just to watch him have that success he's had has been really fun. [00:15:19] Speaker A: That better, better hitting position that he's getting into. [00:15:21] Speaker D: Yeah, yeah, for sure. You know, so I'm sure you guys, I mean, you guys have all the stuff, right? But coach Swope, I think at Maryland and the aerial terrestrial mover and we kind of dug into some of that stuff and he was kind of our test dummy pilot, I guess, to start with that. And we had another player by the name of Nate Carrier who actually ended his career last year on like a 30 game hitting streak. And he's a guy that we identified as an aerial type guy. And he always hit with his hands right inside of the back shoulder. And Drew was always up high and just we were trying to get him to sit in his legs and create space for the barrel, but we were doing it wrong, you know, so we figured it out and he bought in and, you know, just getting his hands into a position where they're ready to fire and man, it's made a world of difference. And then the confidence obviously has built as he's had a good season with. With that. [00:16:10] Speaker A: So in training you're diving into the motor preferences stuff. Yeah, I think that's kind of the next shiny thing in player development. It does make sense though. Just take what they got and work with and try to accentuate it. [00:16:22] Speaker D: It's a scientific way and a new toy and tool. But at the end of the day, man, for me, like, I'm smart enough to know that I'm not smart enough. And we're trying to learn all the time. I think that's a cornerstone of what we do and why we've been successful. I mean, every year we're trying to get better, right. And you guys do a great job of putting a lot of information out there. And that's been a huge resource for us. And man, we dig in and dive into that stuff and, you know, everything's not for us and everything's not the best thing, but you can take a piece of everything, right? And so, you know, I think that's what we try to do. And that's been a, you know, a big eye opener for us. I mean, we knew, you know, I've got a Kinese background, right? So I know that everybody's not built the same and I know that everybody doesn't move the same, but that kind of put some context to it that we could work within. And it's Been a big, you know, it's really, really advantageous for, for us and for our guys. [00:17:14] Speaker A: Any adversity during the year, of course. [00:17:16] Speaker D: Man, we had our number two, Kyle Fralich, go down for a little bit. Had to find a way to fight through that. We went through a little tough stretch while we were trying to figure those pieces out. Our number three, Dylan Blomquist, who's a former All American, you know, had some issues, and so he's really. He hasn't pitched in a couple months and we've had to go without him. And so, you know, and we had some tough stretches on the road in the Lone Star. Go out to eastern New Mexico and play in, you know, on a tough track in 80 mile an hour winds. I mean, it just some crazy stuff, right? And just tough place to go, play good program, good team, and have a few losses in a row. And in the middle there, it looks like, you know, we got to turn things around. And credit to our guys, man, they never wavered. They just kept. Kept at it. And here we are. [00:18:01] Speaker A: Won a Division 3 national championship, then transitioned to Division 2. How's that process been? [00:18:06] Speaker D: It was difficult, man. I'm not gonna lie to you. You know, I think we were able to have success through it. And a lot of that is attributed to one, that 18 team winning the national championship in our last opportunity. And that gave us some momentum. You know, that helps in recruiting, but it's tough to recruit a kid and say, man, we want you to come here and help us transition to Division 2, but we don't get to play postseason baseball. And, man, we had some guys that one stayed on and two that came on and really believed in our vision and our mission and what we were trying to do. And we wouldn't be here today if it weren't for those guys, man. And I'll never forget Coach White. You know, he came on the year after my associate head coach and recruiting coordinator. He came on the year after we won that championship. My assistant got a head job and, man, he's been huge asset to our program. Tremendous recruiter, one of the best that there is, has had multiple opportunities to take bigger jobs, and Tyler's a home for him and his wife. And I've been really fortunate to have him with me through this whole process. And, man, we were hugging and high fiving after the first visit where we didn't have to say all these things are great, but we don't get to play in the postseason. So, yeah, it's really rewarding, you know, to be able to see these guys do it. And it's not just for them, man, it's for, it's for the whole group that helped us to get to this point. [00:19:25] Speaker A: Psychedeline, working with the pitchers. Bullpen wise, you still work with the pitchers heavily. [00:19:29] Speaker D: Yeah, so I'm working with pitchers this year. So I've had. So we've had two assistants for the last few years. In that time I've had some young pitching guys that have done a tremendous job. We actually lost our pitching guy in like August last year. Went back to McNeese State where he is an alum and where he pitched. And so, man, just. It's tough in August, right? Especially in those second assistant positions that don't pay a ton and we just couldn't find the right fit. And so we chose to just go one guy down this year and get the right guy, which we've already got somebody hired next year. So we're excited about that. But yeah, part of that was me getting back with the pitchers, which I haven't done in about five years. Man, it's been fun. [00:20:13] Speaker A: That recharges the pattern. [00:20:14] Speaker D: It's been done. It's been fun, man. It's been fun. I tell you what, it keeps me in the game a lot more because I got a call pitches and so I can't run my mouth and get thrown out. But yeah, it's been awesome, man. It's a great group to work with. Really mature group and it's been really fun. [00:20:30] Speaker A: How are you handling their workload this time of year? [00:20:32] Speaker D: Man, I think you got to trust in them and how they feel and how they know themselves. You know, we're not very much. You're going to do this this way because I say it, you know, it's very much a conversation. It's their career, you know, at the end of the day. And so, you know, we're going to work in collaboration with these guys to put them in the best positions we can to be successful. And this group, there's a lot of guys within this group that learn from each other and that put a lot of time and effort into the planning and preparation of what they're going to do on a day to day basis. And so that's, you know, that's why it's been so fun to work with them. [00:21:06] Speaker A: Honestly, I think as a head coach, like if you can do it, it does allow for more collaboration with the players because they do have to take, take a little bit more ownership for what's going on because you can't always be there. [00:21:16] Speaker D: 100%, man. 100%. And credit to the seniors on this staff because there's times where, you know, I've got to do this or I've got to go to a meeting or whatever, but they don't miss a beat. I mean, I could not be there. And, you know, Hector and Fralich could coach this pitching staff. You know, they're both going to have their hands in baseball for a long time and they'll probably be better at it than I ever will be. Right? But we don't skip a beat when I'm not around. And those guys, it's a credit to those guys. Nate Campbell. We've got a group of guys, older guys, that really know what they're doing, they know what they're talking about, and they're a huge asset to me. You know, I've learned so much from those guys and they're a huge asset to the rest of our staff. [00:21:58] Speaker A: Any other shout outs you want to give before I let you go? [00:22:01] Speaker D: I better shout out my wife, man. So, yeah, man. My wife Crystal, you know, and my family, all of our families moved to Tyler. We're not Texas natives, we're Louisiana people. But we love it so much. It's home for us. My parents, her parents have all moved there in the last couple years. And having that support system and trying to raise kids and do what we do out here, you know, we wouldn't be able to do it and wouldn't be nearly as happy doing it if we didn't have that support. So shout out to them and, you know, just UT Tyler, man, our administration is tremendous. It's a great place to be. Tyler's a growing city. UT Tyler is a growing university. It's a giant. It's a sleeping giant. And we hope this won't be the last time you see us here in Cary. [00:22:50] Speaker A: Appreciate it. [00:22:51] Speaker D: All right. Thank you. [00:22:55] Speaker A: All right, eight seed Felician University, Chris Lang and head coach since 2004, but 4320 record. Congrats on getting here. [00:23:02] Speaker E: Appreciate it. Thanks so much. [00:23:04] Speaker A: We said earlier, how have you survived coaching with your brother? [00:23:07] Speaker E: It's actually been great to have a best friend and a mentor stand by you side by side for the last 22 years. I mean, it's been a blessing. He's just. We're so opposite. It really works, you know, where he's more the fiery tough guy and I'm more of the laid back, patient guy. Just, it has worked and it's been working. [00:23:25] Speaker A: Did you think you'd be at Felician this long? [00:23:27] Speaker E: Truthfully, no, I. But, you know, they've treated me great. Really had a chance to see this place grow and, you know, I'm obviously super thankful that they've. They've let me stick around for 22 years. So. Yeah. [00:23:39] Speaker A: What is the strength of this year's team? [00:23:41] Speaker E: This year's team is just very resilient. They never think they're out, they're going to fight till the end. You know, a lot of times over the last three weeks, we had some eight run deficits, six run deficits late in the game and found ways to win the game. Like they're going to battle you to the last out. [00:23:55] Speaker A: Any players to key in on this week? [00:23:57] Speaker E: Max Weber's a sophomore, 6 foot 8. He'll be anywhere from like 92 to 95. He's on a lot of radars. Really good change, pretty good slider. Jackson Wall is a hell of a player. Very versatile. Gonna probably play the outfield more, but has played shortstop. Hayden Walters, really good, special player. I think Luis Delacrez is probably the best catcher, I'm gonna say, in the country. I know it's a bold statement, but after you guys see him this week, you let me know what you think. He's pretty damn good. [00:24:22] Speaker A: Any surprises on the roster of guys maybe you didn't expect to contribute that have contributed this year? [00:24:26] Speaker E: Yeah, a couple guys actually early on didn't get a lot of time. Brian Santana, Andrew DeAngelis and those guys made me look terrible. They've been great. They've delivered big time in a lot of big situations. Brian's done a really good job at second base. Been pretty much hitting sixth in the lineup. Andrew started a lot of games last year as a freshman, didn't really have a position. We kind of stuck him out in right field. He's really done a great job and he battles at the plate, so same thing, a lot of big hits. He's just. He's really, really helped this offense. [00:24:55] Speaker A: How do you cultivate those role players? Because they're obviously the lineup in the beginning of the year is never the lineup at the end of the year. How do you kind of keep those guys sharp and engaged? [00:25:04] Speaker E: I mean, our guys get a lot of reps. The thing that the message we try to send from day one is guys like the lineup that's going to be game one is probably not going to be the lineup in game 60. So you got to keep being patient, wait your turn, keep going to work, doing all the things that we're asking you to do. These guys did it, and again, I commend them all the time. Like, you guys handled this the best you could do it, and now you're getting the reward, and that's turned into us winning a lot of baseball games. [00:25:26] Speaker A: So any adversity. I know early started out playing not the way you wanted, but you guys been rolling since April. [00:25:32] Speaker E: Been playing pretty well, you know, early on, and I'm not an excuse guy. A lot of injuries where we just weren't healthy, you know. Jackson Wall, who was our leadoff hitter, you know, first game of the year, second to Batman, he gets a single. We go first to third on a ground ball slide into third, he gets hurt. He's out for 15 games. Our closer, Gavin Enright, you know, took him a while to come back from a little bit of an arm injury. Rocco Bresniak's been in and out. Another guy who's really, really, really valuable player. So once those guys got healthy, it just like the energy level on the team, it just took off. And obviously that kind of just. We started rolling. We get a lot of wins and we were kind of like looking at each other like, man, this, this, this might happen. We might. [00:26:10] Speaker A: We might be special preseason wise. How much are you able to get on your field? [00:26:15] Speaker E: Not a lot. I mean, we are fortunate we have turf, but obviously the northeast temperatures are just not. Not fun to be outside. I'm not really sure how I've lasted so long in the Northeast. I love the heat and I like the warm weather, but, you know, we did the best we could, but, yeah, it's hard to be really prepared early on. But that's why I like going to Florida. I like playing the good teams, you know, playing a tough schedule because I think, you know, just get you ready for days like today. [00:26:38] Speaker A: Are you able to get them out at all? Long toss, even if it's briefly? [00:26:42] Speaker E: Yeah, no, we can get outside. There's days, I mean, like, I think people get the wrong impression. We don't have snow on the ground for six months. You know, snow comes, it goes. Melts pretty quick. It's just tough with 40 degree days with wind, you know, then it feels like 20. That's not fun to be outside. So that's when we're gonna shut down practice a little early. But we can get outside just like this on turf, take ground balls, you know, get our fly balls in. Although that's hard too. Looking up with the wind blowing in your eyes. Yeah, it's fun. You know, the Hardest part is really getting the hitters ready with the pitchers, you know, being inside and just kind of trying to get as many reps as possible. It's tough, and it's a different background. You know, there's no. There's no Palouse guy. There's no Grace guy. You know, it's usually a wall. It's tough, but these guys fight through it. They endure it. They're used to it, you know, and once you get outside, they're just. They don't want to go back in. [00:27:26] Speaker A: Me too Prep any different for this week or is pretty much the same? [00:27:30] Speaker E: Nah, these guys were prepared. They're loose. They really believe they belong, you know, and they've showed me that over the last, you know, four weeks. Tail end of the season, you know, we're still kind of not sure where we are in this picture as the regional rankings are coming out. I think we were ninth at one point. Guys took that to heart. They were a little PO'd. They said, you know, these guys don't believe in us, and they just. They use that to fuel their fire. And we, you know, we knocked off a couple really good teams, and here we are, you know, and then they. I don't know, I thought it would be a lot bigger of a celebration than it really was, and it wasn't. But I think, again, it's because they expect to be here. [00:28:04] Speaker A: Love it. Love it, like, the format for y' all, because it's got some days mixed in. I think it gives you a chance to line your pitching up. [00:28:11] Speaker E: Yeah. But no, I think when we looked at it early, again, I'm a creature of habit, probably, like many coaches, like, we're going to stick to a goddess here. But there's definitely been some thoughts in my mind about making some different changes. And, hey, maybe two innings here, two innings there, and try to roll into Monday and see if we can't outlast somebody, because I think our pitching is pretty strong. But, yeah, we're going to play it straight. We're going to go at it like we've gone out. Game one, game 65, whatever this is. [00:28:38] Speaker A: What do you think has helped you the most in your career at this point? [00:28:41] Speaker E: Patience. Patience. You know, having a lot of guys. Rudy Garbalo, Silverick, Gennetti, who happened to be here today, those guys were really good mentors. They were super to, like, just lean on, you know, I didn't really have a baseball mentor. I never thought in a day of my life I'd be a coach. Honestly, I thought My brother would be. I never was the. This. I can't. I don't like being in the spotlight. But those guys just, you know, helped just with preparation and like, hey, like, you know, you guys are getting there. You're pretty good. As the years were going on and we finally kind of broke through in like 2014, you know, we got a major leaguer in there, a bunch of draft picks. That's when I started realizing things were. Things were heading in the right direction. And then it's going to take some luck. And then obviously, you know, well, it's going to take a lot of luck, right? And then just the right group and, you know, again, here we are. [00:29:28] Speaker A: Would that be your advice to young coaches getting into this? Just try to find a mentor or two? [00:29:32] Speaker E: I think it's vastly important, and I think you really do got to be patient. You got to understand you're not going to do this by yourself. You know, it's gonna take a lot of time. Don't expect instant success. You know, this is. I mean, for me, it was 22 years. I think my resume looks okay. But, you know, until you get to this point, you're still just some other average coach. You know, it's. It's crazy. But yeah, I think the patience part and having a mentor was. Was vital. Vital. [00:29:56] Speaker A: Any other shout outs you want to give before I let you get to work? [00:29:58] Speaker E: My family, my kids love you guys for being patient. Andrea, my rock, my mom and dad, who been fortunate to have been, you know, been on every step of this along the way with us. And obviously my brother, you know, he's kept that competitiveness from day one, from birth, literally had to fight me on his way out, being the first born to me being second. And, you know, just to this moment where, you know, he keeps giving me all the credit, yet he's probably really more of the baseball mind. I'm just the guy that's a little more patient and able to keep it together. [00:30:26] Speaker A: Thanks for your time. [00:30:27] Speaker E: Thank you. Really appreciate it. Thanks. [00:30:31] Speaker A: Here with number six, East Strasbourg, John Komanski, 18th season as head coach, coming with a 40 and 14 record. Congrats. [00:30:38] Speaker F: Thank you. [00:30:39] Speaker A: What are the strengths of this year's team? Looks like a bunch of stolen bases. And then offensively, you've got more walks and hit by pitches and strikeouts. And pitching looks like it's been a strength, too. [00:30:48] Speaker F: Yeah, it certainly is. You know, we're pretty dynamic on offense. We can score runs in a lot of different ways, but the strength of our club has been that Usually goes unseen is our defense. You know, we fielded it anywhere from 979 to 984 all year long. And at our level, that's, that's, that's pretty high. So our bullpen has been outstanding. Excuse me. So, you know, that's. That's really been the strength of our team. [00:31:19] Speaker A: What are some players to watch this week? [00:31:22] Speaker F: You know, number one on offense, you know, Dennis Pierce, our right fielder, 18 home runs. And then, you know, certainly Shanley Wall and Jack Rothenhauseler on offense, and athletically, Walker Zampella at second base is probably our top athlete. And then from the pitching side of things, you know, we've got three pretty good starters, but again, a guy like Jake Albert and Joe Hansel Brito coming out of the bullpen, and then our closer, Caden Parker, are certainly guys to watch. [00:31:54] Speaker A: Any good surprises on the roster? Maybe guys you didn't expect to contribute this year that have done a good job? [00:31:59] Speaker F: Sure. Again, in that bullpen role, you know, we've got a couple young guys with Ryan Cavanaugh and, you know, and Cole Dimmick that have really emerged and, you know, really given us the depth in a bullpen that we didn't think we were going to have. [00:32:16] Speaker A: You know, when I look at stats, I think a good offensive team that walks and gets hit more than they strike out. How do you develop that mentality with your team? [00:32:25] Speaker F: Well, you know, it starts with the older guys that have a lot of experience. You know, young guys tend to chase and. But, you know, overall, that's something that we really work on. You know, our batting average isn't great. You know, we're just under.300. But what we do is we make pitchers throw a lot of pitches, and often that leads to a lot of success later in games. [00:32:47] Speaker A: How do you train that? Man, I know you said it comes from the older guys, but how do you specifically train that during practice? [00:32:52] Speaker F: In practice, even when we're hitting off the machine or whether we're hitting off arms, if guys are swinging at pitches that aren't strikes, you know, we correct them. So, you know, it starts in the, in the batting cage, and we don't have our guys swinging at pitches that aren't strikes. [00:33:08] Speaker A: Any prep different this week for y' all coming up? [00:33:10] Speaker F: No. You know, I believe in keeping things the same. And do you know what you do in practice? The way, you know, Ryan Dewees is going to start game one and, you know, and then we'll rely on our bullpen. [00:33:23] Speaker A: Any adversity it looks like, lost five in a row in May, but you guys been rolling since that. [00:33:28] Speaker F: You know, we were real consistent all year. And in this. In this sport, it's hard to play really well every weekend. And it just happened that the last weekend of the season, you know, things came about and we didn't play as well as we. As we did. And then in the conference tournament, we played well. We just didn't win. We lost a 2:1 close game. But, you know, we kind of regrouped and got a little bit of rest and going into that regional tournament, and we started playing the same way we did throughout the season. [00:33:58] Speaker A: Do you have any coaching mentors along the way? [00:34:00] Speaker F: I do. You know, Coach Bob Hanna from the University of Delaware, where I played, and I was fortunate enough to learn quite a bit from him. And you see a lot of what he taught me here. And then my first coaching job was at Virginia Tech with coach. Coach Chuck Hartman. Both those guys are in the College Baseball hall of Fame. And, you know, this reeks a little bit of Virginia Tech, Delaware and what I've learned along the way. [00:34:27] Speaker A: Two great ones, too. Yeah, for sure. We miss Chuck. Chuck was a good mentor to me as well when I was a young coach at jmu. [00:34:34] Speaker G: Appreciate it. [00:34:34] Speaker A: Very, very good. Hey, you guys were finishing up with meditation. How long have you guys been doing that as a program? [00:34:39] Speaker F: You know, we have a really great strength and conditioning program. And, you know, Coach Finn has started that with us about midway through the season. And, you know, it lets our guys regroup. They think about success, they think about whatever it is. But, you know, it's something that we've incorporated at the end of our workouts. [00:35:00] Speaker A: It's a good way to get them away from their phone for a little. [00:35:02] Speaker F: Bit, too, for sure. And that's. That's pretty difficult to do. [00:35:07] Speaker A: Any other shout outs before I let you go? [00:35:09] Speaker F: Shout out to all the alums that. That started this thing, you know, 19 years ago that kind of paved the way for us to get here. And, you know, certainly all the fans back in East Stroudsburg and administration, athletic administration. But yeah, to all the alums that took a chance years ago, that paved the way. Thank you. [00:35:32] Speaker A: Good luck this week. [00:35:33] Speaker F: Thanks. Appreciate it. [00:35:37] Speaker A: All right here with Adam Skinicki, again, three seed, but we talked about that. First year head Coach, been here five years, but now 48, 13 records. So congrats on getting here. First time ever. Correct. [00:35:48] Speaker H: Thank you. [00:35:48] Speaker E: Thank you. [00:35:49] Speaker A: Love it. What have you kind of learned about the team in the last two weeks? [00:35:53] Speaker H: Their Resilience, for sure. You know, we had a backs up against the wall against Catawba here last weekend, and, you know, they fought really hard. And I was confident that if we won, obviously one of the first two games, we were going to have a good chance at game three with our ace going and Drew Harlow and the guys just competed. They competed really well. We had really good starting pitching, played really clean defense, and, you know, we got some timely hits. And, you know, I think, you know, Coach Gantt's teams at Catawba, you have to beat them. You know, they're not just going to give you the game. So we did a good job of taking the game and getting us here to carry. [00:36:23] Speaker A: And most people probably don't know this. You made a rotation switch a couple weeks ago. I mean, what was that for you? Because not a lot of coaches could do that. I give you credit for doing that. [00:36:31] Speaker H: Yeah. Thank you. Well, you know, I really think the three starters are interchangeable, you know, and we had a good lead when we were doing some scouting reports on North Georgia in the regional that we thought, you know, Kellen, who does a really good job of sinking it and sliding it a little bit, was going to keep them off balance because North Georgia really does a good job of hunting the fastballs. And, you know, it worked out for us. Game one, and then when we got to Catawba, Kellen was the only guy that they haven't seen yet, you know, so we wanted to throw Kellen out there, Game one. And then, you know, we kind of have our two workhorses, game two and three. So it ended up working out for us. [00:37:02] Speaker A: I like watching Kellen pitch because he's kind of a throwback. He's one of those guys where you kind of look at the metrics probably and throw them away because his secondary stuff allows his fastball to play up. [00:37:12] Speaker H: No question. No question. You know, Kellen is. You know, it's funny now, in 2025, Kellen's the soft righty, you know, and he's 88 to 91 with a. With a good change up in a slider. But, you know, he does a really good job with his off, off speed pitches and keeping guys guessing and keeping them off balance. And at the end of the day, I don't think we need to lose sight of what really, what do you want a pitcher to do? And that's get out, right? And I don't care if it's a strikeout, a ground out, or a fly out. We just need 27 outs before they score more runs than we do. So Kellen does a great job of that. [00:37:38] Speaker A: It looked like last weekend your better guys probably did what you need them to do to get here, correct? [00:37:44] Speaker I: Yep. [00:37:44] Speaker H: No doubt. I told our guys, you know, in the huddle before the game, we need our role players to play their role and then we need our All Stars to go be an All Star. And we did that last week with Mac and Sal and Stani and Coliskowski and and Owen Blackledge. You know, they did a really good job of getting the key hits when we needed it and we, we rely on those guys. Just like every team has their three or four guys that they really like and those guys came out and played this past weekend and we're going to need more of that moving forward. [00:38:07] Speaker A: Yeah. Who are some of those kind of surprises for you on the roster of guys maybe you didn't think were going to do what they're doing? [00:38:12] Speaker H: Well, first on the mound, Caden Laird. He was a guy that, you know, redshirt freshman, didn't get a ton of innings early on, but we've really fell in love with him on the mound. He's done a great job of keeping guys off balance with the slider and on the hitting side of things. You know, Hogan Stallings been awesome. It's a four year guy in our program and we gave him the nod a couple weeks ago and he's really taken it and run with it and you know, I love to see those program guys, those team guys have some success. And, you know, Hogan's the epitome of a great teammate and a great team guy and when he gets the big hit, it fills me with joy, you know, so I've loved watching Hogue play these last few weeks and I hope he keeps it rolling. [00:38:47] Speaker A: With your relationship with Jim Kerner, what's it mean to get here? [00:38:49] Speaker H: Oh, man, that guy got my. He's one of the main reasons why I started coaching. You know, he was my hitting coach. Now it seems like eons ago. Right. But 2007-2008-2009-2010, you know, that guy was by my side honing my swing, getting me to be a good ballplayer, try to be a good ballplayer. Right. And now it's turned into a great friendship and a partnership and I've been fortunate enough to work with Team USA a little bit and do some hitting speeches with them and work on the U18 team and things like that. So it's been a pleasure just to keep our relationship growing and it's strong as ever. And I told Coach Kerner it's, I'm glad to be playing in it and not just being a spectator this time around. [00:39:26] Speaker A: I mean, what does it mean for LR to get here, being in North. [00:39:29] Speaker H: Carolina school from the meeting? Number one, I said it's a home series when we get to carry, right. We're 160 miles away. So the, the Lenoir Ryan faithful is going to be traveling really well this weekend. We're really excited to keep playing in front of our home crowd. And I mean, shoot, we're, like I said, it's two and a half hour drive. So we're gonna have a lot of fans make the trek out this way and you know, make it feel like we're at Durham Field. [00:39:49] Speaker A: Yeah, your fans are a good, lively bunch. They do bring some good energy. So shout out to the LR fans. You guys do a great job. So any other shout outs before I let you go? [00:39:57] Speaker H: Just, you know, it always goes back to the, the real MVP is my wife at home. You know, my wife and my kids and Shane has been texting me all day. I can't wait to get out there and be in Carrie with you guys and just experience the World Series atmosphere, you know, and you know, when she's not at the ball field, she's taking the kids to batting practice, to baseball, to soccer, to dance and you know, I'm so fortunate to have, have her in my corner and, and my parents are going to get down here to see us too. So it means the world to have a great support system as, as all, as all coaches need. You know, it takes a lot off your plate when you have those kind of people in your life. [00:40:30] Speaker A: Plus here true bracket for you all. Get a day off. Like again this I, for me, I feel like this is how a tournament should be set up with the multiple days off. I think it gives big a best team a chance to win this thing. [00:40:42] Speaker H: It does. You know, when you look back in, in previous years, a lot of times in the championship series you're running out, you know, pitcher six or seven, whereas hopefully if you do it right, you're running out one and two when it comes to the, the championship series. So the days off are going to be beneficial for us, especially when, you know, I do think we have some guys that can really throw it and they can benefit from the, from the extra day's rest. [00:41:02] Speaker A: Good luck this week. [00:41:03] Speaker H: Thanks, coach. Appreciate it. [00:41:07] Speaker A: Number five seed, Northwest Nazarene here with Joe Schaefer, seventh year as the head coach, but 44 and 14 record. Congrats for being here. [00:41:15] Speaker G: Thank you. Appreciate it. [00:41:17] Speaker A: What'd you learn from Carol Land about. [00:41:20] Speaker G: Everything, Just about everything. I tell a lot of people. The one thing he taught me that I will never, ever forget was demeanor as a young coach. I mean, I got into coaching right after I got done playing, and I was kind of a fiery guy as a player and wore my emotions on my sleeve. And when I got into coaching, he pulled me into his office one time just to have a little heart to heart about how to just have a calm demeanor. Your players take on the same Persona as your coach. And so it's funny now when people watch me coach, they're like, gosh, you're so calm and relaxed. I credit it 100% to Carol Ann. [00:42:00] Speaker A: How do you balance that, though, with being yourself, having your personality, and then also doing what's best for the team, too? [00:42:06] Speaker G: Well, some of it's maturity, you know, and. And, you know, not just yelling and screaming all the time, picking and choosing your moments because they're a little more effective that way. Whether that's with your team, whether it's with an umpire. I mean, you know, I learned. It took me a while, but I learned that you can't just scream and yell at every call. That doesn't go your way. It doesn't get you anywhere. So. And then the same thing with my players. Like, I'm not just going to vent and yell at them all the time, but, you know, when something needs to be said, it needs to be said, and they respond well to that. [00:42:38] Speaker A: Strengths of this year's team.360 batting average, I think.230 stolen bases with the 361 team ERA. So pretty good numbers on both sides. [00:42:47] Speaker G: We've had a good year. I credit our pitching a lot to our starting arms. Ernie and Cole have just. I mean, they've been phenomenal all year long. I think it's rare to have a guy, have one guy like that on your staff, and to have two of them is a big part of why we're here. Defensively, we've been outstanding all year. And offensively, I mean, I just think we're well rounded. You know, we can run, we can bunt, we can hit for power when we need to. Like it shows up when we need it to. So it's just a well rounded team. [00:43:16] Speaker A: Have you always run that offensive mentality? [00:43:19] Speaker G: Always. Which is funny because I was probably the slowest guy on my team every time, every year I've ever played. But yeah, we're very aggressive. We like to run, we like motion, we, we're, we're just trying to cause chaos. That's our goal. [00:43:30] Speaker A: Love it. It's more of a West coast style baseball for sure, which wins in the tournament time, by the way. Yeah, it's winning baseball, it's different. [00:43:38] Speaker G: I figured I told our guys it's different than what the rest of the country sees throughout the year. So if you can be good at it, it's tough to defend any good. [00:43:44] Speaker A: Surprises on the roster. Maybe guys you didn't expect to have the years they're having that are having good years. [00:43:49] Speaker G: You know, there's a couple guys come to mind. Cole Calnon on the mound for one. I mean, he was our starting shortstop all year last year as a junior, came in as a two way guy to pitch a little bit and didn't end up throwing all that much as a junior. And in all honesty, we weren't relying on him or counting on him to be a starting arm. But you know, early injuries kind of threw him into that role and he kind of took the reins and never left it. And then offensively, Caleb Karpstein at first base, had a solid freshman year in 23 and then had a down year last year as a sophomore, but he just rebounded and ended up hitting over.400 this year for us. Knew it was in there, but wasn't expecting it to make that big of an improvement. [00:44:31] Speaker A: How do you have that conversation with him? Shortstop. But then, hey, we're going to use you a little bit more on the mound now. [00:44:37] Speaker G: He wanted it without question. You know, he was a little banged up last year too, and that kind of added to some things. But yeah, he wanted it. He loves pitching. I mean, he's one of the most confident 5, 9 kids I think I've ever met in my life. Like he just wants the ball and he thinks he can beat anybody. And, and I mean, I was a two way guy in college. Our pitching coach was a two way guy in college. We love those guys. They pound the zone, they, they have confidence and the right swagger and they can get outs. [00:45:03] Speaker A: We get a lot of questions on two way players. How do you handle manage the workload, especially for a guy that maybe plays more defense and pitches. How do you handle that workload? [00:45:12] Speaker G: Yeah, standpoint, we don't have like a set routine for every guy. You know, every guy's a little different and we gotta let their bodies kind of speak to themselves. And you know, one of the funny facts about Cole Calan is. I don't think he's thrown a single bullpen this entire spring. Like, he just practices all week, does what he needs to do, and then game day, put the ball in his hands and he just goes. So not every guy can do that. You know, some guys need to get off the mound two or three times and have some feel, but in practice you just monitor, you know, like, you just limit how much throwing they do in the infield or outfield, whatever position they're playing. [00:45:43] Speaker A: So any adversity this year? Had a little bit of a four game skid early, but you guys have been rolling since then? [00:45:50] Speaker G: Yeah, I think, you know, early in the year, having to go down to Pueblo, Colorado and play in their ballpark was kind of. We got shell shocked, you know, I mean, it's a tough place to play with the elevation and the wind, and they put up some ugly numbers against us first couple games. But, you know, our guys responded well. I think Ernesto and Cole threw the next two games and they did outstanding. And then we kind of started. Started it rolling after that. You know, in the regional game, one of the regional. We got shellacked by Point Loma in the first game, which was, which was, you know, in a lot of ways it was a good thing for us because we play with, with urgency when our backs are against the wall and we sharpen things up and. And we also lost one of our best players in that game and Adrian Arachiga hurt his knee and might be out for the rest of the series. So guys had to respond. You know, it's kind of like they got punched in the mouth and it was like, how are you gonna fight back? And I mean, they've been on a roll ever since. [00:46:44] Speaker A: Love it. Seem hands on. You're out here shagging. So is that kind of your coaching style? Is it being more hands on? [00:46:51] Speaker G: When I have the bodies to help, yeah. I mean, but when I don't have the bodies, then yeah, I mean, you gotta do what you gotta do. But no, I mean, it's. We work so hard throughout the week and throughout the season that when once you get out here, it's kinda like, I don't know how much, how much technical practice you need. It's like, hey, let's just go get comfortable to the humidity and comfortable to the ballpark and have some fun. [00:47:14] Speaker A: Any tips for coaches trying to get into the profession right now? [00:47:19] Speaker G: My tip to all the young guys, and I always have two or three of them on my staff every year, is that if this Is the field that you want to pursue, you got to grind for a long time. I, I feel very blessed. I think Jesus blessed me tremendously by giving me a head coaching job at the age of 27. Like that's just not normal. And even then, I know for five years, I mean I was grinding off of probably six or seven thousand dollars a year just doing lessons and camps and whatever I could get my hands on until you catch a break. But I think networking and I think the ABCA is a huge part of that. Being able to build a network and meet coaches throughout the different regions and, and then understanding you just gotta bide your time, put the work in because it's gonna take a while. [00:48:06] Speaker A: It takes what it takes for sure. And it's a lifestyle. [00:48:09] Speaker G: Yep, for sure. [00:48:10] Speaker A: Any other shout outs you want to give before I let you go? [00:48:13] Speaker G: Thank the Lord and Savior. I mean, we've had an unbelievable year and he's been a part of every step of the way. And my wife is unbelievable. I mean she's such a baseball rat and she just. And my kids, they just love it. They love being around it and it's a really hard thing to do if you don't have that support from your family. And, and my coach is Matt Holland and Grant, Kyle, Eric, Trevor, like those guys have grinded all year and done a good job and helped us get where we're at. [00:48:37] Speaker A: So that'd be another tip too, is make sure you find the right significant other. [00:48:41] Speaker G: Oh, that's probably the number one tip if you're going to be a head coach. Absolutely. Because good luck staying in it. Good luck staying in it if she doesn't like it. [00:48:50] Speaker A: Thanks for your time, Joe. [00:48:51] Speaker I: Absolutely. [00:48:54] Speaker A: Number two, Central Missouri seed here, Kyle Crooks. Twelfth season as head coach, but 4311 record, you guys are rolling right now, so congrats. [00:49:02] Speaker J: Appreciate it. Thank you. [00:49:04] Speaker A: What's the strength of this year's club? I mean, it looks like 144 stolen bases, 973 fielding and then a 458-team-era. So pretty balanced with everything, I think. [00:49:15] Speaker J: So I don't think there's any one thing that jumps out at you as a super tool or super specialty. Just try to do everything as well as we can do it. Probably the strength of the group is more the mental side of it maybe than anything. [00:49:24] Speaker A: Who are some main players to watch this week? [00:49:27] Speaker J: I mean, I, I think you pick your like, pick your battles with the pitching staff. It's been a little bit of everybody, you know, for the last, last three Months. But, you know, positionally, I think we got some returners, you know, Vance Tobel, Jacob Steele, Chase Heath, and, you know, Chase Wilcox has been really good this postseason, too. So, you know, and then we got guys that are new but are seniors, so they're old baseball players, new mules. You know, Davin had a really good, you know, postseason for Steven Johnson, and Isaiah has been super solid as well. You know, it's hard for me to pick any one, but I guess, like all those older kids probably. [00:49:57] Speaker A: How do you get those news guys to acclimate? [00:50:01] Speaker J: If you have the answer to that, I would get. I would take it. But I mean, they've been great. They've been great for us. You know, Davin's a great personality. Just, he's. He's full of the personality, so it's really easy to get to know him. He made. He made that easy. We knew Isaiah because he's been in the league, so that helped. That really helped. He was familiar with us. We were familiar with him. He knew what he was stepping into, I think. Or had a better idea. Davin's from the area, you know, he's from Kansas City, so I think he had an idea, too. And then I think it just takes time. And honestly, the guys that have been here for the longest, the steals and the Heaths of the world, we really lean on them to help bring everybody with them and, you know, speak the verbiage, do the things and get comfortable with what they do and set the standards, set the tone for what the expectation is. [00:50:44] Speaker A: With the transfer portal, you have a lot of options for guys now. How do you vet that out in the recruiting process, like who you're going to pick and who you're not going to pick. [00:50:51] Speaker J: I think a lot of times it's somebody that we're familiar with already. Like I said with Isaiah, with Davin, you know, guys that we know or that know our players and, you know, I think. I don't know that there's any one right or wrong way to do it, but for us, I think what we're comfortable with, the people that we know already, there's a lot of great baseball in the area, and we get a chance to see it go a bunch of different places. And if we felt like they were fit before, hopefully they're going to be a fit, you know, the second time around. [00:51:13] Speaker A: That a tip for recruiters out there to leave it good on the back end. Even. Even if somebody tells you no, to try to leave it good, because you never know what's gonna happen. [00:51:21] Speaker J: Yeah. Far be it from me to give people tips, you know, to do it better than me, but, like, for me, you know, I can't imagine what it'd be like in today's world, you know, making decisions, and that's a hard thing. And eventually, kids, you know, I've been told no by a million of them, and they're all a lot. I'd say 99% of them are all great people that, you know, made a different decision. And it hurts in the moment, but they're still making a decision. We do the same thing on kids that we don't go recruit, so it's hard to take it personal. Try not to. And, yeah, if we get a chance to recruit them on the back end or the second time, you know, maybe that's a help. Maybe it's not. Like I said, I'm. I'm open to anything anybody's got in terms of advice. [00:51:55] Speaker A: You've been here a lot. How do you prepare for this tournament? [00:51:59] Speaker J: You know, that's a great question, because we didn't do such a great job last year, so we didn't play that great. We, you know, certainly. Certainly need to do it better. You know, I don't know. We try to do anything different. Just keep playing the way we're playing, and to me, just, I don't know, keep everything the same. You know, this. This park probably plays a little bit different than what we're used to in the Midwest. I'd say that's the one big thing that maybe I've told our guys. That's no different in terms of our offense than we normally would. So, you know, again, I'm open to any suggestions if you guys want to tell me. [00:52:30] Speaker A: I mean, what did you come out of here last year is like, okay, we got to get better at these things, boy. [00:52:35] Speaker J: I mean, I think in a moment, we just, you know, I think honestly, the moments maybe just were a little bit too big for us. I think we, you know, if there's such a thing as trying too hard, those kids were just an awesome team, a great group of kids, and, you know, I love them all, and you could tell they were carrying maybe a weight or a pressure in the box with them, and I think that's hard. I wish I could alleviate that for them, and I just didn't do a good enough job of doing that or speaking the right words to them last year. So that's. That's what I think. I look back and notice they were. They just cared so much and if that's going to be, you know, a flaw, I'll take it. And, you know, hopefully this year being back, I guess, relatively soon, maybe they have an understanding of what that is and it's a little bit easier for them. [00:53:12] Speaker A: Is it? Oh, it's the old care less, but don't be careless. [00:53:15] Speaker J: Yeah, good. [00:53:16] Speaker A: I heard that's the hard. I think that's the hardest thing, tournament time, is to allow players and get them to relax. They got to do it on their own time. I think that's the hard part, coaching this time of year. [00:53:27] Speaker J: Yeah. [00:53:28] Speaker A: Is they have to find that relaxation on their own. You can't tell. You can tell them all you want, but they got to find it on their own. [00:53:34] Speaker J: Yeah, almost. Sometimes you fear, like, bringing it up and then actually shoving it in their mind and not wanting, like, they weren't there until you said something. You know, my wife's a really good perspective there and she, you know, she. She's really good about that and she kind of reads teams from a different perspective. And, you know, ultimately I think they're going to kind of follow what the coaching staff does, and so how we act, they're probably going to pick up on and, you know, I guess the best thing we can do is set the best example we can and continue to do what we normally do and believe in what we're doing. [00:54:01] Speaker A: Got a lot of compliments on your Barnstormers baserunning video, by the way. You know, how much of that stays pretty aggressive all year, training wise? Or do you taper some of the base running off later in the year? [00:54:14] Speaker J: I mean, we really, like. I'd almost say we really try to do. I'd say at least three times a week where we're doing some sort of base running thing. So maybe that's a little bit tapered. From the fall to the spring. In March, we were like, we were on the road three of the four weeks. That was tough. So maybe it was twice a week then. And then, you know, like. But it's. We're. I don't know that we're great at it, so we really need to keep working on it. And the newer, older players maybe haven't done it before. And so, like, continuing to push what that is for us is a big deal and we'll keep doing it. You know, I keep trying to do it the right way and try not to taper too much, but like you said, enough to keep them off their. [00:54:53] Speaker A: Feet with the amount of travel. [00:54:54] Speaker I: Do you. [00:54:55] Speaker A: Do you switch training up at that point to let the legs recuperate. I think we pay attention to our recovery. [00:55:01] Speaker J: Yeah, I think we pay attention to our guys. Right. There's a. I think early on we try to do a lot of, like, CNS stimulation, and as we get into the season and get on the road, then it becomes do some of that, but maybe shorten it and then have a day of mobility shoved in there where they can starfish on the turf and, you know, and kind of feel like they can relax for a second. So Coach Back's been really good at that. Coach Arnie's been really good at that. For me, at times, I kind of follow the same thing the whole way through, and those guys do a good job of modulating a little bit. [00:55:30] Speaker A: Any adversity during the year? I don't think you've lost back to back games all year, have you? [00:55:34] Speaker J: I don't know. But yes, a million adversity. Chase Heath was hurt for seven weeks. Our entire starting rotation is out. They're hurt. So, like, yeah, you know, Coach McFadden has just been the magician, you know, in terms of what he's done with the pitching staff and, and how he's managed that. And, you know, Cobb with the catchers. And we've had a true freshman and a new junior college player just step right in for Chase, who's kind of been our security blanket for four years. And Steele got hurt, had to play first. You know, it's a bunch of things. So, yeah, adversity is something this year has probably been defined by. And this group's just kept on plugging away. Proud of them for that, man. They've been awesome. [00:56:10] Speaker A: How cool of a father son moment as this when you get to bring your son on the trip. [00:56:14] Speaker J: It's a blessing. I really appreciate it. It is. It means the world to me. You know, my family means the world to me. And as you know, you know, coach's sons, they. They wear a bunch of different type of things. And, you know, there's expectations. There's, you know, coach's dad, there's growing up in it and being away and me not seeing games and doing stuff like this together is maybe the, maybe the best part of being able to do this. [00:56:39] Speaker A: I love the fact that he's getting out there with your guys. [00:56:41] Speaker J: Yeah. [00:56:42] Speaker A: The one thing that's a great reminder for me of being with my dad's teams when I was that age, I. [00:56:46] Speaker J: Think it takes some courage to do that. Right. I know he did it a little bit at a young age, and he Was like, dad, I don't know. And the boys have been really good. They've embraced him and you know, the only hard part now is he's getting, he's going to be a senior this upcoming year. So now there's some other things at play too. So we'll cross that bridge when we get there. But again, it's been a blessing. I love it and you know, I wouldn't trade these days for anything. [00:57:05] Speaker A: Your first BP guy was wearing the bands from bases elbow to his. How many of your guys do that with the bands? [00:57:11] Speaker J: I think for a few I do too. You know, it's nice. Yes. I hate to say this, but I saw it on social media and I started, started flipping through and I'm like, yeah, yeah, this makes too much sense. [00:57:20] Speaker A: To the hands working away. I love it. [00:57:22] Speaker J: But they don't get disconnected. And so like it's a feel you don't have to think about. And so I, I just bring them out and let the guys do it as they feel. Now we kind of implement stuff in the cage and then go from there. [00:57:31] Speaker A: Any other shout outs you want to give before I let you get back to work? [00:57:33] Speaker J: Oh, my family, the administration, you, the abca, the national, you know, training center here, these guys, everybody, so well welcoming and this facility is top notch. And yeah, the way this is set up for everybody I think is just unbelievable. And really appreciate all the support that everyone's given us over the course of time and to make this event so special for our players. [00:57:52] Speaker A: Good luck. [00:57:53] Speaker J: Appreciate it. Thank you so much. [00:57:57] Speaker A: Number one seed, Tampa, here with Joe Erso, 25th season as head coach. Six national championships, shooting for back to back here, 49 8. Congrats for being here again. [00:58:06] Speaker I: Thank you. [00:58:07] Speaker A: I mean, looking at that board out there, it's like going for five since what, 2012? [00:58:12] Speaker I: Yeah. I mean right when I walked in, it's like you pinch yourself. So I took a picture right away, sent it to my wife and son that are on their way. But yeah, real special and just real proud as an alum, as a player of Tampa. To do this as a coach and keep this tradition going means the world to me. [00:58:29] Speaker A: When I talked to you last summer, you felt like this team has a chance to be better than last year. Is that true? [00:58:34] Speaker I: Well, we had a lot of changes. The recruiting that we did this fall was amazing, but with all the different lawsuits that were going on, I lost two really big power bats and Arboleda and Osuna. So, you know you're talking about replacing your potential three and four hole hitter on January 31st, on opening day. So just real proud of the guys. It gave other people opportunities, opportunities and they ran with it. You know, I wouldn't say they're as good as last year's group because that was pretty special. But on paper for a while there, until some of those changes, I did feel that way. [00:59:12] Speaker A: How do you handle that conversation with the guys in January? Obviously you did a good job with it. What was your conversation with the team at that point when those guys leave? [00:59:20] Speaker I: Yeah, I mean they were, they were down, you know, you're talking. One of them was on opening day that he came, you know, right before a stretch and, and it was basically meeting with them, letting them know that I supported the two in their move and chasing, you know, some nil money and the things that are going on today and you know, I, you know, and that it's time for us to just move on and we had enough. We had enough. The depth that we had brought in was amazing and clearly it showed. [00:59:47] Speaker A: What are the strengths for your guys team? [00:59:50] Speaker I: It's, it's a depth, especially on the position player side. There's multiple lineups I can throw out there and I really don't feel like I lose a lot. So that's been the strength. Obviously you get the returning pitcher of the year, Skyler Gonzalez coming back, that never hurts. And then CJ Williams goes out and becomes the pitcher of the year this year for us. So two aces we feel like. And things have been going really good. [01:00:14] Speaker A: When you have that conversation with the offensive guys, like okay, these might be better matchups. How do you have those conversations and when are those happen? [01:00:20] Speaker I: Yeah, I mean it's pretty much weekly. They all know that I'm going to rotate them and even if they get three hits, it doesn't mean they're in the lineup the next day because I'm trying to keep multiple guys happy that have earned at least two of the three starts on the weekend. So it's not easy to manage. But you go on with a plan for the three game set and try to do as good as you can. And it's worked. It's kept the personalities going, guys that bought into the roles and you know, we're, we're coming in hot, but it's a long week of baseball over here, as we know. [01:00:51] Speaker A: I mean, have you faced much adversity? You've only lost back to back games one time all year. [01:00:55] Speaker I: Yeah, I mean, you know, we go the regional tournament, fall into the losers bracket and then you're down in the fifth inning 8 to 1. So you don't have much more adversity than that. Down eight one in the fifth in the losers bracket, you know, they're dominating us. And all of a sudden the offense started clicking. And you talk about depth. I mean, we had three huge pinch hits late in the game. All of them worked out for us. And then next thing you know, we got an opportunity to tie the game. Russo does it in the 9th, and then a chance to win the game and JD ends up winning it in the 10th. [01:01:31] Speaker A: How do you keep guys going at that point? Down eight to one. What are your conversations at dugout? Are you saying anything at all? [01:01:36] Speaker I: So they kind of met on their own. You know, you have 22 guys that won't put on a spartan uniform next year. And they let each other know, like, there is no next year for us. We need to fight now and we need to go, you know, start this comeback now. And they did. And it was just hats off to them. And the personality of the team is exactly what you hope for. And you know, it's a special group. [01:02:00] Speaker A: Again, is your group going to be tailgating? You mentioned how much your families are involved with the programs. They're gonna be quite a bit of tailgating. [01:02:08] Speaker I: Yeah, they'll be tailgating out here. You're gonna see at the hotel, the barbecues. They start Sunday night. And, you know, we already ordered 120 filets today. And, you know, we look forward to hopefully, you know, staying in this tournament as long as you can. You know how tough it can be. Eight teams, everyone's, you know, playing, feeling good about themselves. And it's gonna be a tough battle to the end. But we're excited, you know, for the kids, the parents, the families. You know, we're all in Tampa, as we know. [01:02:39] Speaker A: Hard for you to not take things for granted. I know you don't. And I think that's what's special about you, is that you don't take this for granted. [01:02:46] Speaker D: Yeah. [01:02:46] Speaker I: And I don't because it's normally a new group of guys each year. With my recruiting philosophy bringing in so many junior college guys, and this year happened to be a lot of Division 1 transfers. So you bring that new group in and you want to do something special for them, so you build it all over again. And it starts in the fall. And we started doing the fun, you know, team activities and trying to get that personality going, getting them to all buy into the culture of Tampa baseball. [01:03:10] Speaker A: Any other shout outs before I let you Go. [01:03:12] Speaker I: No, just, you know, this one obviously, would be, you know, real special. You know, we've won a lot, but have not done it with my son. And, you know, he. This would mean the world to both of us if we could pull this off. [01:03:23] Speaker A: How has that experience been the father and son experience? [01:03:26] Speaker D: Experience. [01:03:26] Speaker I: You know, it's. I would do it all over again, 100%. Obviously probably tougher on him at times than me because I, I got thick skin and he's a kid, you know, dealing with being the. The coach's son, but, you know, just what he did coming as a freshman, not as talented as my other group, and he just worked and worked and worked, and, you know, he's hit third for us. So there's not really an argument of playing favorites for your son. [01:03:50] Speaker G: He's. [01:03:51] Speaker I: He's really. Dunn is proud and had a heck of a career at Tampa, and there's only one thing missing for him, and I hope he's able to go get it. [01:03:57] Speaker A: Love it. I mean, that's a great tip because we have a lot of coaches that are on the fence about coaching their kids, especially at the college level, and that's what you try to tell them. They've got to be probably either your best player or maybe never see the field. [01:04:08] Speaker I: That's right. It's tough, but, you know, it's been. I would do it all over again. And anyone wants to call me, I'll tell them the challenges, but as well, the positives much outweigh the negatives. [01:04:20] Speaker A: Thanks for your time, Joe. [01:04:21] Speaker J: Appreciate it. [01:04:21] Speaker I: All right, thank you again. [01:04:23] Speaker B: Shout out to the city of Cary and USA Baseball being great hosts for the Division 2 World Series. It's a great setup with multiple turf fields to work out on, and the brand new indoor facility is a beautiful space to train in case of inclement weather. Thanks again to John Litchfield, Zach Hale, and Matt west in the ABCA office for all their help on the podcast. Feel free to reach out to me via email or brownleeabca.org Twitter, Instagram or TikTok coachbabca or direct message me via the MyABCA app. This is Ryan Brownlee signing off with the American Baseball Coaches Association. Thanks. And leave it better for those behind. [01:04:56] Speaker C: You. [01:05:09] Speaker D: Know that way Yep Wait for. [01:05:13] Speaker A: Another day. [01:05:18] Speaker G: And the world will always. [01:05:20] Speaker D: Return as your love is never for yearning and you know that way Wait. [01:05:33] Speaker E: For another. [01:05:38] Speaker C: Day. [01:05:45] Speaker G: Sam.