BLOG - Experiences from Coaching, Scouting & Life!

Thursday March 7th - Morgantown WV 

Wow. This was a great day surrounded by Great People. Kind of Cool my Dad got to be with me for my first Big Scouting Assignment. Hope these kids have an idea of the opportunities & blessings that can come from playing a major sport at a university like WVU. - With that being said, neither did I when I was that age. Hoping to influence/ help guide kids along the way for instances like that in their future athletic careers. 

2024 Draft-Eligible Prospect, RHP Aidan Major of West Virginia Univ. showed off the elite combination of arm talent & feel for pitches in the Big 12 opener. The 5”11, 200 lb Jr. Righty flashed the entire arsenal to a steady BYU Lineup that included a FB in the mid 90s (92-95, T96) with some life at the top of the zone. +CH that showed to hitters on both sides of the plate, consistently missing barrels w/ plenty of depth. Major dealt a Sharp SL at 87-89mph (2400+ RPM) that broke through multiple planes while inducing several off timing swings. After allowing 2 HR’s to the middle of BYU’s lineup, Major rallied to strike out 8 batters in 8 IP, while walking just 1 batter on the day. 

Toured the equipment room at WVU & JK hooked us up w/ some gear. WVU baseball's budget was impressive for the B12 / Midwest program. Organized, clean & well stocked. 

Said peace to the long time friend & headed south on I79. 

Friday March 8th - Mt. Airy to Gainesville 

Woke up in Mt. Airy NC (Home of Andy Griffith lol) before hopping in the car & heading south to Gainesville. Got to the hotel & was pooped. Missed the Florida Game, which proved to be a dandy! UF wins on a walk off HR in the 10th. Thankful for another long day of driving, travel to arrive safely. 

Sunday March 10th - Cag’s Day on the mound 

One of the coolest parts of the entire trip so far & maybe overall…worked out at “The Swamp” Such a cool vibe! Sun was amazing for the soul. Took some time before the baseball game to write/type out some feelings that included How BLESSED I am for so many opportunities I’ve had in life. Getting to work out at the swamp while getting paid to put a video together for Jac Caglianone in Sunny Florida in early March - Can’t beat that. Love all the relationships & opps. The game of baseball has given me 

Still not content…

Wifi & Cable at the BW in Starke went out. We had to entertain ourselves at night! Nothing a milkshake from Powell’s Dairy Freeze can’t fix! 

Saw Jac Cagalione pitch a 6 inning No hitter before getting pulled at 94 pitches. Went 1-3 at the Dish w/ an infield single. 80 Raw power on full display on the LD to LCF that was caught on the dive on the warning track via St Mary’s LF (See Video). Cags changeup has shown a ton of development w/ depth & control. Legit 3 pitch+ mix. Threw it to LHH & RHH w/ ease. 

To me Cags is different from so many other Draft Prospects w/ the Raw Power & twitch combo. It's not a long, slow, powerful swing. Its short, explosive, quick rotations & still uses raw power to lift & carry the ball out to all fields. 

UF- 10

St. Mary’s - 0

Stadium: B

Uniform: A

Monday March 11th - Battle At the Beach

Packed up in Starke & headed to Biloxi, MS for the “Battle at the Beach” HS Baseball Event in Biloxi/ Ocean Springs MS! Wow! They love baseball in the “Mississippi Delta” & its cool af to experience! The entire town makes it “cool” to go to baseball games. 

The drive from Starke, FL to Biloxi, MS was a new experience for the both of us for sure! Mobile Alabama is a big ass Port town. Lots of importing going on was cool to see. Big, long bridges to get over the gulf. Had no idea how Mobile was on the water but a true, southern town at the same point. About 6 hours in total for the drive. Wish we had time to stop & eat some local caught shrimp LOL 

Saw Konnor Griffin (#1 ‘25 Class to #3 in ‘24 Class - proj. 11 Overall pick) play for jackson prep vs Ocean Springs MS

Big, physical, +ATH, eye opening how wide open he is in 2 steps. Advanced swing path/ patterns. Only swung & missed once. 0 Hits, Walked twice. Impressive how easy it is to see how much he loves the game of baseball. Was always on the hop. Played with good, positive energy alongside his teammates. Raw power w/ a clean/ functioning swing from the Right Side. The ability to show no signs of the moment being too big or unexpected. Baseball family. Multiple brothers who all play in college, HS. Dad is a College Softball Coach. 

2026 RHP Kevin Roberts Jr - Jackson Prep SP - LOVE this arm/ UPSIDE 

FB up to 92. Tall/long, twitchy athlete. EZ juice on the heater. Arm is incredibly gifted. Shorter, Very quick/ explosive AA. CB needs some attention. Decent shape, didn’t land in the zone w/ consistency much. CH can be a real option. Really impressed with the athleticism, arm talent & natural fluidity/ movements on the mound. Can swing it too! Not his best night in the box on this night but can easily see the movements/ patterns would lead to believe the stick is a tool as well. 

Jackson Prep - 0

Ocean Springs - 3

Final.

Tuesday March 12th - Rocket City What??? (Trash Pandas - Madison, AL) 

Drove from Biloxi, MS to Madison, AL. 6 Hours Total on the road. Saw The entire state of Alabama from the south to the North as we made our way to Huntsville to see Auburn vs Troy @ Toyota Field, Home of the Rocket City Trash Pandas (AA LA Angels). 

We said we were going to manifest a Dylan King outing in tonight's game for Troy U. After a shitshow of an entrance to the stadium via brand new developers that clearly don’t know the significance of baseball in the south, we made it to the Junkyard! (What they called the trash pandas store - LOL too cool) Brand new & Bad-Ass, Toyota Field was Packed with Electricity & War Damn Eagle Fans! 6,500+ Fans on a Tuesday night, midweek game. Great Night for a ball game at a comfortable 69 degrees. After several HR’s & even more Miller Lite’s drank by yours truly, we finally got what we came to see! All night we chanted for #29 (Dylan King) & #23 ( Michael Osmond - O Liberty via Witternberg - LHP). King came in to close the door for the Trojans in the 8th!! 

Dylan King - 6’3, 210 lbs - Very fast, strong arm. Was 95/96 in warm ups on live mound. Sat 91-93 in game. Reports of him up to 97 in the Fall - Cubs guy via Metzger confirmed. Troy played the week prior in Bloomington & that same guy Told Metzger that King is the best pro prospect Arm on the team according to Sylar (Meade) HC @ Troy. Explosive FB & arm action. Was REALLY IMPRESSED. CH is a legit Pitch. SHowed ability to throw to both sides of the plate. Didn’t see enough of BB due to low pitch total. 

Wednesday March 13th - Muscle Shoals to Tuscaloosa, thru Birmingham. 

Can Confirm: Muscle Shoals does indeed have the Swampers! Went to the famous recording studios where all the brothas from Memphis & surrounding areas came to record with these guys & their specific sound. It's where the song sweet home alabama was recorded. 

After enough fried food to kill a baby we headed to Tuscaloosa through Birmingham. 

Could absolutely live in Birmingham. Little smaller than Cbus with some of the same vibes. AA Ballpark was dope. Shocked it wasnt Triple A. Minor league fields all over the State(s) of Alabama & Mississippi. 

Went the back way from Muscle Shoals to Birmingham - cool to see how another part of the country really lives away from the Highway. 

Didn’t realize Birmingham was only an hour from Tuscaloosa. Roll Tide! 

Thursday March 14th - Day 1 In Tuscaloosa 

Like Rihanna Said, “Work, work, work, work, work”  Got a bunch of work done for PBR. 

Ordered Chick-Fil-A via DoorDash FTW! Weather was INCREDIBLE! Went to a local bar to watch an OSU game in the B10 tourney! Got the dub vs Iowa. Took the brotha forever to get the game on the big screen but once he did it was cool to see everyone in SEC Country have to watch the Buckeyes! Lol 

Friday March 15th - GameDay vs RockyTop in Tuscaloosa, AL! 

Rain all night. Drizzly & cloudy with some rain off & on throughout the day (Friday)  had me super worried they were going to postpone Friday's game & play a DH Saturday… 

BUT the Baseball Gods were on our side!! Weather cleared & turned out to be a fantastic evening for baseball! A lite 68/70 degrees. Cloud coverage that kept the warm air down. 

Pre Game for the baseball game we did our usual “Campus Walk” or “Stadium Tours” featuring the Whitmer Boys lol. We had ourselves a Treat! 

Bryant Denny Stadium treated us extremely well! After a breathtaking approach in the Palisade that left me & JW speechless at the history & beauty of BD..we made our way through the 1 open gate that we always seem to find on every campus or stadium we encounter while on Tour. 

***I’m starting to think Dad has this superpower that he communicates to someone in the facility through telepathy & lets them know we're coming so leave the gate open. We’ll look but no touch & appreciate all the history of the stadium/ program LOL***

The Stadium was big, but not an overwhelming type. Definitely got the sense that “there wasn’t a bad seat in the house”. Cool Shrubbery. All natural grass fields that I wanted to walk barefoot on in the WORST way! Beautiful fencing & padding lined the end lines that ESPN made famous with the countless Bama TDs I’ve seen on GamedayTV! The Alabama “A” really is a powerful/ iconic logo that I couldn’t get enough of. - I know my friends don’t like to hear it but I have so much respect for a place like that & after being there in person I can absolutely root for the Tide. 

After exploring the house that Paul “Bear” Bryant Built & restored the GOAT (Nick Saban) we found ourselves in the  $107 million Locker Rooms - WOW

Some of the dues that have been in that same Bama Locker room? The Heisman Winners? National Champs? Etc Etc Etc 

Cool ass place with the most incredible graphics, lettering / branding you could ever imagine!

If you go on an official Game Day visit there how do you turn it down? LOL 

So thankful I got to experience that with my Dad! Ever since I was little & as long as I can remember while on road trips even with the entire family we would stop at the local college facilities, pro stadiums etc - THIS, however may have been the holy grail of campus tours / visits. So. Damn. Cool! 

In fact, it was so fun & we were so giddy that we got lost multiple times while trying to find our way out of the only gate that was left open in the 100k+ seat stadium 🤣

Indoor / practice facility was a little underwhelming (From the outside) 

Next up, Tide vs Vols in a Top 15 Baseball Matchup in one of the Nation’s Oldest College Rivalries! 

Stadium: A - Tight, felt like on top of the field. 

Uniforms: C - All Whites. Boring 

Game Summary: 

-Tennessee Hits the Shit out of the Baseball - Great Loads lead to Great Starts in the Box. All hitters are controlled but violent. They don’t S/M on FB in the Zone when they go. Accurate barrels showered after multiple loud barrels to All Fields. Really impressive 1-9 in the order. 

-True Freshman SS Dean Curley is a Can’t miss Pro IF. 6’3 215 lbs. Loves baseball & can see it in everything he does on the field. Plays with a passion that is easy to see. Communicates extremely well for a freshman. Vocal / leadership tendencies / qualities to him. 

-Bama is definitely getting there. Coach Vaughn coming down from Maryland will have them as an Omaha contender in years to come. Really good Coach. 1st SEC Series for Him as the HC @ Bama. Twitchy, high end athlete 

-True Freshman @ SS (Justin Lebron - LHH. Smaller but crazy athlete) 

#15 Bama SP - Ben Hess - RHP See Florida Trip Sheet for more

Big, physical Cat. Little Sloppy body. Powerful stuff. FB up to 96, lived 92-94 

Didn’t have his best stuff. Good lineup @ Tenn. barreled balls & was very patient. Several walks in 3-⅔ Inn. USA Collegiate Team. High End Starter stuff w/ +CB (12-6) 

#5 Tenn. SP - AJ Causey RHP 

6’3, wiry frame. From Alabama. Funky/ low  Arm Slot that generates an absurd amount of ASR. Quick actions on the mound with short, fast arm action to match. FB touched 92 a couple times but more of a side to side, creating S/M type of pitcher. Hard for Bama Hitters to get on plane with the amount of movement from an awkward angle. Great College pitcher. Was hoping to See Drew Beam throw but was pleasantly surprised & satisfied while watching Causey. 

Tennessee - 11

Bama - 3 

Final from Sewell-Thomas Stadium. 

Saturday March 16th - GameDay in StarkVegas!! 

Like Thomas Rhett says “I could die a Happy man”. After Saturday in Starkville no truer words have been spoken. Baseball @ “The Dude” (Dudy Noble Field) BBQ, Booze & Babes! 

Where do I Begin? Maybe talking about the drive from Tuscaloosa, AL to Stark-”Voll” MS.

Back Roads in the South never seem to disappoint. Country roads through Plumwood like towns the entire way. Only about an hour 15 mins apart makes it easy to understand why it's so damn easy to recruit in the SEC. All the schools are super close & play in the same state multiple times making it easy for family to come see you play, visit etc. 

Campus is definitely showing some new money. Nice, smaller & quiet (Student’s on SB) campus feel. 

2 Meals - 1 Bar in Starkville. Mugshots was the move before & after the game! Egg Rolls & $7 Pitchers of Miller Lite! 

Another successful “Tour” of Davis Wade Stadium (& Locker Room). Cool little spot. Trees inside the stadium always adds character. MASSIVE Scoreboards (See pics). Updated locker room with all the new amenities. Cool lettering/ logos & signage. Can see why a kid would want to go there. Very Regional feel, more like WVU or smaller. 

Dudy Noble exceeded my expectations by a ton! As someone who knows more than the average baseball fan & then some..I was completely caught off guard. I had no idea there would be 20k+ fans before the game even started, due in large part to the source of the incredible bbq smell, the grilling/ cook outs that were taking place. 

It looked like Bill Davis Stadium (For Football Games LOL) directly in the outfield. There were no front row bleachers or seats in the outfield, it was decking, grills, smokers,  Large industrial coolers, foil wraps, tupperware, charcoal etc etc. WE even Saw a guy Toss some smoked meat to LSU’s LF during a pitching change!!! Lol it was incredible! Awesome experience for the greatest game on Earth. Thought I was in Iowa aka Heaven via Field of Dreams lol 

As Jay Ferguson Would say “This is better than Disneyland” hahah

Still pinching myself that we saw the defending National Champs (LSU) play at The Dude in Starkville on Saturday Night. 

After a 9-1 Start for the Tiguhs, Miss St put several good innings together to crawl back into it. After a play at the plate in the B8, the Home team ultimately lost 9-8. 

Stadium: 10

Atmosphere: 11

Sunday March 17th - GET US OUT OF HERE!           

Because of a disastrous Hotel choice by yours truly, we RAN to the Palisade without looking behind us as we left town in a hurry!! 😂                 

To my defense, we decided to wait until round 2 at the infamous “Mughsots” Bar to book a hotel for our Night in StarkVegas. After several Pitchers of Miller Lite & even more pitching changes at Dudy Noble in a 9-8 Ballgame; I was swindled via “photo reviews” from the hotel LOL

Following the arrival into a drug infested shithole that not even Hunter Biden would be interested in staying at, we were followed by “Patel”, who ‘worked’ at the front desk; all the way to our room, for some re assurance on what a fucking Horrible decision I had made, succeeding a day of phenomenal planning was executed LMAO 

After shaking off the rusty needles & withdrawing from the incredible aroma of Burger King in the “Hotel” parking lot, we were bound for Oxford, MS Home of the Rebels! Hotty Toddy! 

Our tour of Vaught Hemingway Stadium was shorter than the prior stops. Although we made our way through the “Manning Family” indoor & Practice Facility the Vaught was locked at all gates. Stadium wasn’t overwhelming by any stretch from the outside appearance. Lane Kiffin!! 

Field / Stadium is Definitely on campus. Right next to the basketball arena in the heart of campus with no real roads right next to it. Parking / Walking from all over to get there. 

Impressive Indoor w/ a few grass & turf outdoor fields as well. 

OLE MISS Logo was eye popping. Looks soo good on facilities, uniforms, etc 

Big Time Brand / Logo - Love the colors 

SWAYZE FIELD - Definitely a more Preppy / Northern School vibes from the stadium / campus as a whole. More commercialized, less friendly. 

As the kids these days are saying “NO CAP”...but I was a little underwhelmed by the overall GameDay Experience at Ole Miss. I’ve seen several games on TV & after seeing several other SEC games now, this venue wasn’t what I had hoped for. 

Maybe it was because of the lack of “Swayze Showers”, in the event that the Home team hits a HR - the RF bleachers shower each other in brew, or the fact that the fragrance of smoked meat didn’t interrogate my nose for the entire afternoon like the previous school that shall remain nameless (Hint: it rhymes with Tate), however; the level of baseball being played on a field even finer than Sydndey Sweeny(!), it was yet another bucket list item to check off ✅

We managed to pull off history with this one yet too! For the first time in 5 years the SEC Conference saw Home Teams put up a stifling 17-4 Record (On opening Weekend)  while defending their Home Turf & we managed to see 3 of those L’s by the Home team @ 3 Different Schools & 3 Different Opponents! Crazy! The league is so deep with draft prospects / future pro ball players it's silly. No one can compete with that. 

Stadium: 7.5/ 8

Atmosphere: 8

Uniforms: 10000000000000000000 (Baby Blues)🔥

Dinner at “Moe’s BBQ” was pretty damn good. The Ribs were fantastic. Ran out of Smoked chicken..GAY. Pork was good though. Mac & Cheese & the Baked Beans were to die for. 

Monday March 18th - REDEMPTION GAME! 

Got my redemption with the best hotel of the entire Trip! LOL 

Although I think a Motel 6 on Livingston Ave would be an improvement from the previous night, this hotel had a real name that you might even recognize, “Marriott”, so we were living large that day! 

Farmer Walks for days! 

Of Course we had Chick-Fil-A on our way to Nashville, Via Memphis. Like the hotel in Starkville, University of Memphis was an eye soar to even the Whitmer boys on a college campus tour. 

A cute, turf baseball field with some promise was all I needed to see. (Graceland too) 

On the road again! Making it successfully to Nashville for Night! 

At this point I felt like Michael Jordan in game 7… Can’t Miss! Knocking it out of the park with this Hotel choice yet again! (Would gladly move to a lesser hotel for warmer weather back 😢) 

Got Dinner at some sketchy ass Italian restaurant but it was some of the best Carbs I’ve ever overdosed on in my entire life. 

Tuesday March 19th - Last Gameday of the Trip.

VandyBoys Gameday in Nashvegas! 

Battle of Nashville vs Belmont

Watched NKU & OU Score 30+ Combined runs lol 

Gametime was @ 6pm CST @ Nashville Sounds Stadium. AAA Park for the Brew Crew!

Cool, Big Guitar Scoreboard in RCF! I bet Sound games in the summer in downtown Nashville are pretty sweet. Need a girl with me next time I’m at that park lol 

Game was less than thrilling for a midweek matchup. 4-2 Final W for the VandyBoys. 

Vandy was rolling & had won 7 in a row coming into the game. Really appreciate how coach Corbin watches the game with intent from the top step of the dugout. Interacts with guys on deck, in the box & still gives signs. Gives guys High Fives after a good AB even though it didn't get a positive result. Also, the team aspect of Vandy was impressive. Every on deck batter gave the guy before them a touch & said “you got this” before every AB. Guys on deck picked up the bat on foul balls for the current hitters. Every inning when the pitcher came off the field there was a mini tunnel / 2 lines of high fives as he walked off the field. Guys still go out every half inning who are on the bench & stretch or do their little activity to keep them engaged, loose etc

The team / small details that matter to that program are certainly admirable. 

Stadium: 6.5

Atmosphere: 5.5

Uniforms: 8 

Wednesday March 20th - The Most Dreaded day of the Trip..The End. 

I guess the trip, like life, went full circle as I cued up “Country Roads, take me home” one last time - this time, I meant it! 

Thank you Jesus for being our real GPS & guiding us through several thousand miles of driving in unfamiliar territory. I am thankful for the ability & gift of awareness in myself & my dad that helps with driving safely during these long trips. So grateful that we can chat & focus on the task of driving while keeping it relaxed & casual conversation throughout. Thank you Lord for keeping our stuff safe & sound as well. 

My prayer is for Joe? (pissed I forgot his name) the Navy Veteran we met in Muscle Shoals at the recording studio. I appreciate the knowledge / wisdom you showed me through him, Lord. He was a real, genuine human being that appreciated good fellowship & conversation with “strangers” that ended up having a ton of mutual interests. I am so thankful for guys like him who protect our country & keep us free & safe! 

Beyond blessed with a couple jobs that makes this entire trip possible.