BASEBALL COACHES UNPLUGGED
Baseball Coaches Unplugged is a podcast for insights on high school baseball coaching, travel baseball development, and college recruiting from coaches building winning programs.. Each episode features real conversations about high school baseball coaching, travel baseball development, college recruiting, player development, practice planning, pitching and hitting development, and building a winning baseball culture.
If you’re a baseball coach looking for practical ideas on running better practices, developing players, navigating the recruiting process, and leading a successful program, this podcast delivers insights from experienced coaches across high school, travel, and college baseball. Hosted by 27 year veteran high sch;ool baseball coach Ken Carpenter.
New episodes drop every Wednesday!
Episodes
211 episodes
From The Brink Of Extinction To The CWS - WVU Baseball
A winning program can be built on talent, but it’s sustained by something harder to measure: trust, standards, and relationships that outlive the final box score. I’m joined by recently retired West Virginia University head baseball coach Randy...
6 Reasons Why Troy Is In The College World Series
College baseball used to give players time to grow up. That window is closing fast, and Troy University head baseball coach Skylar Meade doesn’t sugarcoat why. With transfer portal mobility, rising investment in facilities, and the pressure to ...
How 2026 National Champion Denison Builds A Dominant Pitching Staff
Preseason rankings feel nice until you realize you start playing the games and now you have to earn everything again. Denison University associate head coach and pitching coach Ryne Romick joins us to explain how a championship-level program ke...
How The 2026 National Champion Was Built
Most teams chase talent. The teams that last build an environment that makes talent behave like a teammate.We sit down with Denison University head baseball coach Mike Deegan to talk about what actually drives winning in college basebal...
How To Take Over A High School Baseball Program And Win Early
A head coaching interview can be won or lost before you ever shake a hand, and Granville Gehris proves why. We talk with the First Flight High School Head Baseball coach about how he earns trust quickly by showing a real plan: a portfolio slide...
One Game to Survive: Coaching When the Season Is on the Line
One game can erase months of work, and that reality changes how coaches think. We’re joined by Chris Stewart, head baseball coach at Eastern High School in Ohio and host of the Coaching Life Podcast, just hours before his team plays for a distr...
Baseball Development Is Broken—Here’s Why
If baseball has more technology than ever, why are so many players training harder and developing slower? I’m Coach Ken Carpenter, and I want to dig into a problem I keep hearing after more than 200 conversations with high school, college, and ...
The One Trait College Coaches Look For First In A Recruit
What do college coaches really look for when they walk up to a field and why do so many talented players are losing out on opportunities? We talk with Ray Birmingham, the winningest coach in University of New Mexico and WAC history and a longti...
What Every Baseball Coach Struggles With During the Season (How Coaches Fix It)
High school baseball seasons rarely fall apart because of talent. More often, it’s the challenges that show up during the season that quietly pull a team off track.So we asked four experienced coaches one question every coach even...
The 5 Biggest Lessons from 200 Baseball Coaching Conversations
Two hundred episodes sounds like a number until you realize what it represents: 200 chances to sit down with real coaches and talk about what actually builds players. I’m Coach Ken Carpenter, and this milestone is my thank-you note to every coa...
Can You Pitch in College Without Throwing 90? Here's How
The radar gun is loud, but it is not the whole story. I sit down with Crown College recruiting coordinator and pitching coach Ryan Vondracek, a former undersized high school lefty who barely touched 80 and still carved out a standout college pi...
Cal Ripken Jr. Wrestling Before Games? MLB Stories You Won’t Believe
The majors look glamorous from the stands, but the real game is the pressure, the travel, and the personalities you share a clubhouse with. I’m joined by former MLB outfielder and longtime minor league manager Brad Komminsk, and he takes me str...
Can You Really Give Baseball Players 'Permission to Fail' and Still Win?
Your smoothest pregame infielder turns into a statue when the game starts, and you can almost see the thoughts rushing in. That flip isn’t random, and it isn’t a mystery flaw in his mechanics. It’s FOMU: the fear of messing up. I walk through w...
5 Competitive Drills Every Baseball Coach Should Steal
You can tell within the first few pitches whether a high school baseball team has been coached with intention. It's not on the scoreboard — it's in how they carry themselves, communicate on the field, and respond when things go sideways....
Why High School Umpires Are Quitting And How Coaches Can Fix It
Last year, one state lost nearly a third of its umpires and not to retirement. They simply stopped showing up. I’m Coach Ken Carpenter, and I’m putting you in the plate shoes for a few minutes so you can feel what your local officials feel on a...
The One Decision That Decides Most Baseball Games
The swing that wins on a showcase doesn’t always win with two strikes and a runner on second. We sat down with Cloverleaf head coach Aaron DeBord to unpack how to build hitters who make better in-game decisions, how to train under pressure, and...
Want More Playing Time? These 3 Habits Separate You From Everyone Else
If you’re banking on raw talent to carry you, this conversation will feel like a wake-up call. We break down the real separator in high school baseball—consistency—and show how it outperforms flash, hype, and one big showcase swing. From runnin...
The Most Important Trait Great Catchers Share—and How to Build Your Program Around It
Looking for the blueprint to develop a catcher who actually wins you games—and a program that players never want to leave? We sit down with Gaetano Gianni, former Reds draft pick and 2025 NHSBCA Region 7 Coach of the Year, to unpack the skill s...
7 Ways to Flip Your Inner Voice From Fear to Confidence
Pressure finds you in baseball—the question is whether your mind helps or hijacks the moment. We pulled back the curtain on the inner voice that shows up with two outs and the game on the line, and shared a simple system to turn stinking thinki...
Cold-Weather Baseball Coaching: Practice Design That Works in the Midwest
Ever wonder how a Hall of Fame coach keeps his team sharp when the forecast says 30 degrees and snow? We sit down with Jeff Mielcarek, head coach at Toledo Central Catholic, to unpack the hard choices, smart practice design, and durable culture...
This Small-Town Program Won 7 State Titles—Here’s Why It Worked
A small-town program doesn’t stumble into seven state titles and five Hall of Famers by chance. We sit down with coaches shaped by Coldwater, Ohio and the late legend Lou Brunswick to unpack how a people-first culture, simple fundamentals, and ...
Baseball Coaching Tips for Practice Plans, Hitting, Pitching & Culture
A Hall of Fame career doesn’t happen by accident—it’s built on clear language, daily habits, and choices that put integrity first. Coach Ken welcomes ABCA Hall of Famer Terry Ayers to trace five decades of high school baseball and why, despite ...
5 High School Baseball Coaching Lessons That Actually Win Games
Five coaches. One convention floor. A flood of practical wisdom you can use at your next practice. We hit record at ABCA in Columbus and asked straight questions about what actually translates to wins when the lights are bright and the lineup i...
8 Analytics Secrets That Winning High School Programs Don't Want You to Know
Want to win more high school games without a big budget or a data team? We break down a practical roadmap for using analytics that fits into a busy coach’s life, from what to track in a notebook to the in-game decisions that swing close contest...