ABCA Podcast

A 16-year continuous ABCA member, Gillum has been a key figure in the ABCA Convention, frequently moderating the Infield Hot Stove. Since taking over as head coach of the Bananas in 2018, Gillum has guided the team to back-to-back CPL Championships in 2021 and 2022, while also seeing over 20 players drafted into MLB. Now fully embracing the excitement of Banana Ball, Gillum leads a team that has s...

With 29 years of experience in professional baseball, Tyrone Brooks began his career with support from Hank Aaron and the Atlanta Braves after graduating from the University of Maryland. Known for his commitment to "paying it forward," Brooks has been instrumental in helping countless individuals begin their careers in professional baseball. His influence extends to the ABCA, where he played a key...

Vitello led the Tennessee Volunteers to a remarkable 60-13 record, capturing NCAA Division I National Championship in 2024. Under his leadership, the Volunteers have made three College World Series appearances in the last four seasons, solidifying Tennessee as one of the premier programs in Division I baseball. Vitello, who took over the program in 2017, has built a legacy of success, with 17 regi...

Joe Urso, a six-time ABCA National Coach of the Year and ten-time ABCA Regional Coach of the Year, has built a legacy as one of the most successful coaches in college baseball. Over 22 seasons as head coach, he has led the University of Tampa to six National Championships, including in 2024, and recently surpassed 1,000 career wins. The Spartans, the winningest NCAA program of the 2000s, owe much...

This week on the ABCA Podcast, we're joined by ABCA/ATEC NJCAA Division I Coach of the Year, Dusty Hart, head coach of Blinn College. Hart led the Buccaneers to a stellar 41-17 record and the National Championship in Grand Junction, Colorado in 2024, marking back-to-back World Series appearances in his first two seasons at Blinn. With two national titles under his belt, including one from his 16-y...

Next up on the ABCA Podcast is ABCA/ATEC High School Division II Coach of the Year, Jim Ozella. After an illustrious 40-year coaching career, including 25 years at Hart High School (CA), Ozella retired on a high note, leading Hart to the 2024 CIF SS Div. 2 Championship with a 26-5 record. Hart High School's storied program has captured 36 League Championships, and Ozella has played a pivotal role...

Joining us this week on the ABCA Podcast is ABCA/ATEC Pacific Association Coach of the Year, Sommer McCartney, head coach of Saddleback College. McCartney led the Bobcats to a stellar 34-17 record and the 3C2A Championship this season, continuing his legacy of excellence since taking over from his mentor, Jack Hodges, in 2011. With back-to-back Orange Empire Conference titles in 2022 and 2023, McC...

This week on the ABCA Podcast, we're joined by ABCA/ATEC High School Division III Coach of the Year, Brian Fowler. Fowler, who led Taylor High School (AR) to their third consecutive State Championship and eighth overall, reflects on a remarkable season where the Tigers finished 23-4. Known for his old-school approach to coaching, Coach Fowler emphasizes the core values of honesty, accountability,...

Next up on the ABCA Podcast is ABCA/ATEC NCAA Div. III National Coach of the Year, Pete Egbert. Heading into his 18th season as head coach at Misericordia University, Egbert led the Cougars to their first National Championship this season, with his 600th career win clinching the title game. This year marked back-to-back appearances for the Cougars in the NCAA Division III College World Series, and...

This week on the ABCA Podcast, we are honored to feature ABCA Hall of Famer, Marc Johnson. Johnson, who retired following the 2024 season, had been the head coach at Cherry Creek High School for an astonishing 52 seasons. He capped off his illustrious career with a Colorado State Championship this Spring, bringing his record to a remarkable 871 wins, 15 State Championship appearances, and nine Sta...

In this week's episode of the ABCA Podcast, we welcome ABCA Board Member and head coach at Chapman University, Scott Laverty. Laverty, entering his 12th season at Chapman, has firmly established the program as one of the best in NCAA Division III, highlighted by a National Championship in 2019. Laverty began his coaching career at his alma mater, UC Riverside, in 1997. He then moved on to his firs...

Join us on the ABCA Podcast as we sit down with Johnny Hernandez, head coach of Bethune-Cookman University. Growing up in South Florida and coaching at Hialeah High School, Hernandez's journey in baseball has been remarkable. He founded the ASA College program in Miami in 2014 and worked with USA Baseball as a scouting task force member. Since taking over the Bethune-Cookman program in 2018, Herna...

This week on the ABCA Podcast, we are thrilled to have two exceptional guests from the world of sports performance and biomechanics: VELO Sports' Michael Napoleon and Dr. Tyler Standifird. Napoleon, renowned for his pioneering work in overspeed training, owned and operated Catalyst Golf Performance in the Chicago area before developing the SuperSpeed Golf Training System. His innovative approach h...

This week’s ABCA Podcast episode is the final episode that was recorded on-location at a championship site –– the NCAA Div. III World Series in Eastlake, Ohio. We had a chance to sit down with coaches of the program's that competed in the tournament, including  Travis Beazley  (Lynchburg),  Eric Cirella  (Salve Regina),  Pete Egbert  (Misericordia),  Ray Hedrick  (Randolph Macon),  Frank Pericolos...

A recurring guest on the ABCA Podcast, Nathan Hemphill, PSP3 Owner & Director of Sports Performance, joins us in this week's episode. Hemphill was previously a guest on the ABCA Podcast in 2022 and has also spoken at multiple events, like the 2021 Kansas City Barnstormers Regional Clinic and the 2024 ABCA Convention. You can listen in to his previous podcast appearance (5/23/22) online at www....

This week joining us on the ABCA Podcast is a pioneer in the peak performance field, Dr. Tom Hanson. Hanson is the former Director of Performance Enhancement for the New York Yankees and also worked with the Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Angels and Minnesota Twins. He wrote one of the seminal baseball peak performance books with Ken Ravizza, Heads Up Baseball. Hanson also is author of the book, Play...

This week’s ABCA Podcast episode was recorded on-location at the JUCO World Series in Grand Junction, Colorado. In this episode, we're joined by some of the coaches of the competing programs, including  Travis Lallemand  (Crowder),  Preston McDonald  (Florence-Darlington Tech),  Eric Horner  (Johnson County),  Dash O’Neil  (Georgia Highland) and national champion  Dusty Hart  (Blinn). The ABCA Pod...

This week’s ABCA Podcast episode was recorded on-location at the NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho. Lewiston has hosted the NAIA World Series for 22 years and the town always rallies around the event. The night prior to the opening game, the ABCA and City of Lewiston host a youth clinic, which had over 400 kids in attendance this year and we thank the coaches and players from the competing team...

Wolf has been a practicing Exercise Physiologist and Biomechanist for 44 years, specializing in injury evaluation and gait & motion analysis. For nearly the last decade, Wolf has been conducting a study on UCL injuries and has found a significant correlation with hip immobility opposite the throwing arm, stride length, and elbow injuries. This episode is a deep dive into how the lower half aff...

Joining us this week on the ABCA Podcast is Baseball Prodigy and Pro Source Athletics founder, Brandon Agamennone. Agamennone was Maryland’s Gatorade Player of the Year in 1994 before pitching for the University of Maryland in the mid 90’s. Agamennone pitched professionally for 8 seasons with the Expos, Orioles and Pirates. Agamennone scouted for the Padres, Braves and was with the Red Sox when th...

Next up on the ABCA Podcast are Minority Prospects’ Alex Wyche and Reggie Hollins. Wyche founded Minority Prospects after a successful stint coaching high school baseball in the State of Georgia. Wyche served as an educator and coach for 13 years. Wyche was the first black head coach at Griffin High School. Wyche’s next opportunity was at Redan High School, which is historically one of the best hi...

This week on the ABCA Podcast is the owner of Elevate Sports Academy, Adam Sarancik. Sarancik mentors student-athletes in physical conditioning, nutrition, career & college counseling and sport skills. Sarancik has spent most of his adult life mentoring youth ages 8-22 in baseball, softball, soccer and basketball. In baseball, Sarancik’s teams have consistently won championships at every youth...

Next up on the ABCA Podcast is Corona High School head coach, Andy Wise. Wise has led Corona to a historic season winning the USA Baseball NHSI and going undefeated in league play for the first time in school history. Corona is ranked #1 in most high school polls. Wise started his playing career for ABCA Hall of Famer Don Sneddon at Santa Ana CC before heading to Long Beach State to play for anoth...

Next up on the ABCA Podcast we welcome members of our Travel Committee for an open forum on travel baseball. This is a look behind the curtain of the conversations we have at the ABCA convention and the Youth Summit in November. Rob Hahne, Blake Hibler, Taylor McCollough, Jeff Petty and Jordan Baltimore give us some great insights on what is going on currently in travel baseball. The ABCA Podcast...

This week on the ABCA Podcast is Missoula Mavericks head coach, Brent Hathaway. Hathaway is one of the winningest coaches at any level with over 1500 wins in 40 years of coaching. Hathaway played collegiately at Gonzaga and UTEP for college coaching legend, Jim Lawler. After college Hathaway went to work as a civil engineer before figuring out coaching and teaching was his passion. Hathaway spent...