This week on the podcast is ABCA Div. III High School Assistant Coach of the Year, Tonganoxie’s Brad Shelton. Shelton has 20+ years of experience as a coach and special education teacher. Tonganoxie High School had their best season in school history with a 20-4 record and losing to McPherson in the Kansas High School State Championship. In this episode we discuss what has kept Coach Shelton going in the special education & coaching field all these years, challenges & positives of being ...
Oct 24, 2022•55 min•Ep. 300
Next up on the ABCA podcast is Div. III Assistant Coach of the Year, Baldwin-Wallace’s Tom DeAngelis. Baldwin-Wallace had a phenomenal season going 32-11 and ended the year at the Div. III College World Series in Cedar Rapids, IA. DeAngelis finished his playing career at Seton Hill in 2011. He got his coaching start at Seton Hill and has been an assistant at Baldwin-Wallace since 2015. Success has followed Coach DeAngelis at every stop along the way. Offense and player development has been a sta...
Oct 17, 2022•53 min•Ep. 299
Keeping with the USA Baseball theme, this week’s ABCA Podcast is with 15U National Team manager and Centre College head coach, Drew Briese. Briese led the 15U National team to a World Cup Championship. Team USA had a great tournament going 8-1 and beating Cuba in back to back games to win the championship. Briese brings a unique perspective coaching the 15u team coming from the college side. He has worked with USA Baseball since 2013 so he has a great understanding of the process of developing h...
Oct 10, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 298
Next up on the ABCA Podcast is 12U National Team Manager, Orange Lutheran associate head coach and Coastal Empire Baseball owner, RJ Farrell. Coach Farrell had an exciting summer leading the USA team to a World Cup Championship. Team USA had a great tournament going 8-0. He has been a part of multiple championship teams with USA Baseball. Coach Farrell is also a part of one of the best high school programs in the country at Orange Lutheran. In this episode we cover the 12U National Team champion...
Oct 03, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 297
Joining us next on the ABCA Podcast is Stow-Munroe head coach and Ohio Longhorns GM, Aaron Debord. Debord is another great example of someone who is positively affecting every level of baseball in their community. He has his footprint on youth, travel and high school baseball in Northeast Ohio. Debord has been the GM of the Ohio Longhorns since 2008 and head baseball coach at Stow-Munroe since 2015. He has worked his way up from every level of high school baseball coaching at Woodridge, Nordonia...
Sep 26, 2022•54 min•Ep. 296
Next up on the ABCA Podcast is Casteel High School head coach, Matt Denny. Casteel High School opened in 2016 and is on the Southeast side of Phoenix, AZ. Denny took over the Casteel program in the Spring of 2020. Denny was named the 2021 5A Co-Coach and Region Coach of the Year in his first full season with the Casteel program. Prior to Casteel, Denny was at Mountain Pointe. We had a chance to watch Coach Denny work with his players at the Chandler-Gilbert Barnstormers last February. He took us...
Sep 19, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 295
Joining us this week for the ABCA Podcast is Div. I Assistant Coach of the Year, Karl Nonemaker. The Auburn recruiting coordinator and the Tigers had a great season finishing up in Omaha at the College World Series. Auburn was consistent all year with a 43-22 overall and 16-13 SEC record. Nonemaker is in charge of the infielders and assists with the hitters. They were strong on both sides with a .446 slugging percentage and .981 fielding percentage. Nonemaker’s has had two stints with the Auburn...
Sep 12, 2022•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 294
Heading back into the training world on this week’s ABCA Podcast with Amplified Movement’s, Tracy Hayes. Tracy now works with 25 MLB teams on her mobility series. Tracy has a diverse background with a number of certifications and studied Neurolinguistics Programming, as well as Cognitive and Neurosciences studies at Northwestern University. She originally got her start in professional baseball teaching yoga to the Kansas City Royals in spring training. The Covid 20’ spring, she started offering ...
Sep 05, 2022•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 293
Rounding out our ABCA/ATEC college coaching award winners, we sit down with Central Arizona head coach, Anthony Gilich. Gilich was honored with the NJCAA Div. I Coach of the Year Award. Gilich is heading into his 8th season as head coach and 15thoverall at Central Arizona. Gilich guided the 2022 Central Arizona squad to the NJCAA Div. I National Championship with a 59-13 record, which is best in school history. This was Central Arizona’s 4th national championship and the second for Coach Gilich....
Aug 29, 2022•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 292
This week on the ABCA Podcast we check in with current Yale head coach and former Eastern Connecticut State head coach, Brian Hamm. Eastern Connecticut took home the 2022 Div. III National Championship. Hamm was honored with the ABCA/ATEC Coach of the Year Award and the College Baseball Foundation’s Skip Bertman Award. Eastern Connecticut has been a Div. III powerhouse but this is their first national championship in 20 years. Eastern Connecticut tied for second most ever wins in a Div. III seas...
Aug 22, 2022•1 hr 34 min•Ep. 291
Next up on the ABCA Podcast is Div. II National Champion North Greenville head coach, Landon Powell. Powell was honored with the ABCA/ATEC Coach of the year award. Powell and the North Greenville program brought home their first national championship this year. The year before Coach Powell took over the program they were 8-35. North Greenville now has 4 regional appearances in a row. North Greenville had a complete squad this year with a .331 batting average and 3.59 era. They were a handful for...
Aug 15, 2022•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 290
Next up on the ABCA Podcast is Division I National Champion Ole Miss head coach, Mike Bianco. This continues our series of ABCA Coaches that were National Champions this year. Bianco was honored with the ABCA/ATEC Coach of the year award. Bianco just finished his 22nd season at Ole Miss and is the longest tenured coach in the SEC. In 22 seasons leading the program, Bianco has led Ole Miss to 18 postseason, 8 Super Regional and 2 College World Series appearances. Bianco is one of the best we have...
Aug 08, 2022•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 289
This week on the ABCA Podcast we check in with ABCA/ATEC Pacific Association Regional Coach of the Year, Riverside CC head coach, Rudy Arguelles. Riverside CC is now in elite company having won their 5th CCCAA championship. Arguelles has been a part of all 5 championships as either a player, assistant or head coach. This year’s state championship moves Riverside into 3rd place and one win away from 2ndplace for California state championships. I had a chance to meet Coach Arguelles in Folsom, CA ...
Aug 01, 2022•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 288
This week on the ABCA Podcast we check in with another ABCA/ATEC National Coach of the Year award recipient with Herkimer’s Jason Rathbun. Herkimer won this year’s NJCAA Div. III National Championship with a 41-7 record. Herkimer made their 7th world series appearance this year. The Generals had three ABCA/Rawlings All-American’s in Greg Farone, Ryan Packard, and Dakota Britt. Rathbun took over the program in 2005 and the impact was immediate, breaking the school record for wins in his first sea...
Jul 25, 2022•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 287
Next up on the ABCA Podcast is NAIA National Champion Southeastern University head coach, Adrian Dinkel. Dinkel was honored with the ABCA/ATEC NAIA Coach of the Year Award. Southeastern broke the school record for wins with a 59-4 record. The Fire had big time numbers on offense and pitching with a .360 team batting average and a 3.25 team era. Gary Lora, Robb Adams, Brian Fuentes and Abdel Guadalupe were named to the ABCA/Rawlings All America team. This was Southeastern’s second national champi...
Jul 18, 2022•41 min•Ep. 286
Next up on the ABCA Podcast is Div. II NJCAA National Champion Pearl River College head coach, Michael Avalon. This kicks off our series of ABCA/ ATEC championship coaches. Avalon was honored with the ABCA/ATEC NJCAA Div. II Coach of the Year Award. Pearl River was 45-11, winning 11 of their last 12 games and advanced to Enid after winning the extremely competitive Region 23 tournament. Pearl River had gaudy offensive numbers this year with a .336 team batting average and 85 home runs. Pearl Riv...
Jul 11, 2022•41 min•Ep. 285
The final on location episode takes us to Cedar Rapids, IA for the Div. III National Championship. We had a chance to sit down with American’s Ross Natoli, Marietta’s Brian Brewer, Trinity’s Tim Scannell, Eastern Connecticut State’s Brian Hamm, Salisbury’s Troy Brohawn, Baldwin Wallaces’ Brian Harrison, and American Rivers Commissioner Dan Hammes. Congrats to Brian Hamm and the Eastern Connecticut State program for bringing home this year’s championship. Once again, thanks to all the coaches who...
Jul 04, 2022•57 min•Ep. 284
Two more weeks of on location episodes. This week we head to Enid, OK for the NJCAA Divi. II Championship. Enid does a phenomenal job of hosting this tournament. It is truly a mini-Omaha. The NJCAA and the town of Enid provide a phenomenal student-athlete experience. In this episode we will hear from Murray State’s Sam Bjorling, Lansing’s Steven Cutter, Heartland’s Chris Razo and Enid Sports Director Bill Mayberry. Pearl River’s Michael Avalon and I also sat down but went so long, he will have h...
Jun 27, 2022•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 283
The next 3 weeks podcasts will be on location episodes. This week we got a chance to sit down with coaches at the California junior college championship in Folsom, CA. In this episode we will hear from Palomar’s Ben Adams, Ohlone’s Mike Curran, Riverside’s Rudy Arguelles, Folsom Lake’s Rich Gregory and CCCBCA President Chris Pedretti. This is a great time of the year with college championships going on. I appreciate coaches being willing to sit down in a hectic time for them getting their teams ...
Jun 20, 2022•46 min•Ep. 282
Our next guest on the ABCA podcast is Gaston College head coach and athletic director, Shohn Doty. Doty has 33 years of coaching experience and 18 at the Division I level. Doty has had stops at Arkansas, Indiana State, Old Dominion, UNC-Wilmington, and UNC-Charlotte. Gaston College had a 41-9 record this season but since they are a new NJCAA team, they were not eligible for the postseason. Doty was recently named the NJCAA Region 10 Coach of the Year. In this episode we discuss starting the prog...
Jun 13, 2022•1 hr 31 min•Ep. 281
With this being our 300th ABCA Podcast episode, we wanted to have on the “Godfather of Baseball Podcasting”, Jack Warren. Warren runs the Top Coach Podcast and is owner of Cornbelt Sports. The Top Coach Podcast is the original baseball podcast. Warren showed everyone what was possible in baseball podcasting. Warren does a great job with his guests, and it is always an enjoyable listen. In this episode we discuss podcasting & interviewing tips, what he has learned from his guests, traits of t...
Jun 06, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 280
Next up on the ABCA podcast is USA Women’s National Team Manager, Veronica Alvarez. Alvarez has been instrumental in putting the USA Women’s team on the map internationally. Alvarez played softball collegiately at Villanova. After college Alvarez had an opportunity to go to Spain and compete. From 2008 to 2015, Alvarez played with the USA Women’s Baseball squad winning gold medal in the Pan American Games in 2015. Her managerial debut was in 2019 and she was honored with the Rod Dedeaux Coach of...
May 30, 2022•58 min•Ep. 279
This is an important time of the year for athletes with Spring season’s ending and Summer ball getting ready to start. In this week’s ABCA Podcast we sit down with PSP3 Owner & Director of Sports Performance, Nathan Hemphill. Hemphill did his undergraduate work at Missouri State and worked with the St. Louis Cardinals rookie ball and double A affiliates. Hemphill did his graduate work at Seattle University. After getting his Master’s he headed to UC-Davis. Hemphill is running 3 training faci...
May 23, 2022•58 min•Ep. 278
In this week’s ABCA Podcast we check in with Homewood Flossmoor head baseball coach & counselor, John McCarthy. Coach McCarthy was a draft out of high school and headed to Mesa Community College out of the Chicagoland area. He finished his undergraduate degree playing for Tony Robichaux and the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajun baseball program. After his playing career Coach McCarthy got his Master’s in school counseling from Lewis University and coached with the Illinois Sparks travel program. His ne...
May 16, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 277
This week we head over to Cary, NC to talk to coaches at the National High School Invitational. This is an annual event that USA Baseball hosts, bringing in some of the best high school teams in the nation. The USA Baseball staff does a phenomenal job with the event. It is amazing the type of talent we have all over the country at the high school level. Congrats to Todd Fitz-Gerald and Stoneman Douglas High School for taking home the title this year. In this episode we talked to Orange Lutheran’...
May 09, 2022•59 min•Ep. 276
Next up on the ABCA Podcast is Owner/CEO of the Ump-App, NCAA umpire and Director of Umpire Culture, Recruitment, Training and Retention at Perfect Game, Tim Cordill. Cordill took time out of his busy schedule in January to come to the ABCA convention in Chicago to talk to our high school, youth, and travel coaches. We are heading into a scary time where we are seeing an umpire shortage. It is something that is going to negatively impact the game if we don’t get it fixed. In this episode we disc...
May 02, 2022•1 hr 31 min•Ep. 275
This week’s ABCA Podcast is with someone who touches every level of amateur baseball, ABCA Youth Committee Chair, Rob Hahne. Hahne is Westfield High School head coach, Executive Director of the Northern Virginia Travel Baseball League, Chair of the Fairfax County Baseball Council and was just elected to the ABCA Board of Directors. Since joining the ABCA Youth and Travel committees, Coach Hahne has jumped right in trying to help the organization help amateur baseball. He has brought a fresh set ...
Apr 25, 2022•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 274
Next up on the ABCA Podcast is another baseball lifer, Todd Blyleven. Blyleven is another example of the many paths you can take in the game. He got a first-hand look at the game at a young age with his dad, Bert. Todd was a great player in his own right and carved out his own path excelling in high school, college and professionally. Once he finished playing, Blyvleven entered the real world in marketing but eventually found his way back to game through professional scouting with the Angels. Cu...
Apr 18, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 273
In this week’s ABCA Podcast we talk about all things youth baseball with ABCA Youth & Dave Keilitz Ethics Award Committee member and former college pitching coach, Daniel Keller. Coach Keller is an 18-year continuous ABCA member and has spent over 22 years coaching pitchers. His last stop collegiately was at Cypress Community College. His path has taken him all over the baseball landscape as a coach, private instructor, and baseball entrepreneur. He started the Dugout Captain app and is now ...
Apr 11, 2022•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 272
Our next guest on the ABCA Podcast is Fresno City Community College head coach, Ron Scott. Scott has spent 34 seasons at Fresno City and just broke the California Community College record for career wins this spring. Scott’s playing career started at the junior college level and ended up playing for coaching legend Ron Fraser at the University of Miami. Scott’s career path started at the high school level for 10 seasons at Chowchilla & Madera High Schools. Scott is another living legend of t...
Apr 04, 2022•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 271
