BASEBALL COACHES UNPLUGGED

The Transfer Portal Killed Freshman Playing Time: Here's Your Plan B

• Ken Carpenter • Season 4 • Episode 7

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Ready for an honest look at the smartest path from high school baseball to D1 and beyond? We sit down with Coach Austin Nelson of Cochise College to unpack why junior college baseball often beats jumping straight into a crowded Division I roster. With the transfer portal stacking lineups with 22 to 24-year-olds, an 18-year-old freshman can get buried. JUCO flips that script: you face peers your age, see the field early, and stack real-game reps that drive development and recruiting momentum.

We dive into the biggest myths about JUCO and break down why Arizona’s conference is among the most competitive in the country. Coach Nelson shares concrete success stories, from players moving to Kansas, Mizzou, New Mexico State, Dallas Baptist, and Arizona to arms getting drafted or signing pro deals. The conversation drills into what actually moves a player up: mental makeup, short memory after failure, and a structured environment that rewards consistent work.

You’ll also get a clear look at costs, housing, meal plans, and why JUCO can deliver a full year for a fraction of many four-year programs. For pitchers, the details matter: daily throwing, targeted arm care, prehab and rehab, and conditioning that builds durable velocity gains without overuse. Parents will appreciate the practical guidance on what to ask before committing—playing time reality, communication with coaches, development plans, and financial fit. We even get into hot-seat takes on the transfer portal, a candid play-bench-trade segment, postseason picks, and a memorable story from the JUCO World Series.

If you want playing time now, measurable development, and a proven route to the next level, this conversation shows how JUCO can be the most direct path forward. Enjoy the insights, share it with a teammate or parent who needs it, and follow the show—then leave a quick review to help more baseball families find us.

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SPEAKER_02:

In this episode of Baseball Coaches Unplugged, you'll discover why junior college baseball should be given stronger consideration by high school players dreaming of playing Division I baseball. We'll discuss the biggest misconceptions about Juco Ball, the benefits of developing skills against players that are your age, and why your mental makeup will determine your success or failure in college baseball.

SPEAKER_01:

This is the Ultimate High School Baseball Coaching Podcast, Baseball Coaches Unplugged, your go-to podcast for baseball coaching tips, drills, and player development strategies. From travel to high school in college. Unlock expert coaching advice grounded in real success stories, data-backed training methods, and mental performance tools to elevate your team. Tune in for bite-sized coaching wisdom, situational drills, team culture building, great stories and proven strategies that turn good players into great athletes. The only podcast that showcases the best coaches from across the country. With your host, Coach Ken Carpenter.

SPEAKER_02:

Today's episode of Baseball Coaches Unplugged is powered by the Netting Professionals, improving programs one facility at a time. Coaches, are you hoping to get one more season out of your batting cages or all screens? Tired of broken ball buckets or windscreens flapping on that outfield fence? Well, it's time to take your facilli to the next level. Will Minor and his team at the Netting Professionals specialize in the design, fabrication, and installation of custom netting for baseball and softball. This includes backstops, batting cages, BP turtles, BP screens, ball carts, and more. They also design and install digital graphic wall padding, windscreen turf, turf protectors, dugout benches, and cubbies. They also work with football, soccer, lacrosse, golf courses, and now pickleball. The Netting Pros continue to provide quality products and services to recreational, high school, college, and professional fields and facilities throughout the country. Contact them today at 844-620-2707. That's 844-620-2707. Or visit them online at www.nettingpros.com. Check out Netting Pros on X, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn for all their latest products and projects. Hello and welcome to BCU. I'm your host, Coach Ken Carpenter. Today we go to Southern Arizona to discuss why more players benefit from choosing going the JUCO route. Coaches and parents, do you really want your son to compete with seasons 22, 23, or even 24-year-olds? And does the mental makeup really determine your outcome as a college baseball player? Austin Nelson, assistant coach at Coach He's College in Arizona, next on baseball coaches unplugged. Well, let's let's just get it out there. Let's start with the biggest misconception about Jukeo baseball and why does it drive you crazy?

SPEAKER_00:

Biggest misconception. That's it's it's leaning the other way nowadays, I would say, just with uh how crazy things are getting uh in the portal and and at the D1 level. But misconception would be that it's not as good as baseball. Uh I mean it's I think Arizona, the league that we're in, the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference, um, I think it's top three in the country. Uh you can argue, you know, Texas, Florida, and stuff like that, and all that, but uh top to bottom here, man, just from a competitive uh scale. I've seen it as a player. I did two years as a player down here at Coach Ease, and I've done it eight years as a coach the last uh the last eight going into my ninth year. So I've seen it a lot. Um, seen other other conferences, other schools, and from a top-to-bottom competitiveness, I think this this conference uh is one of the best ones.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, like you said, it it's starting to change now because the transfer is playing a huge role in everything. But let me ask you this how do you sell jupe baseball to a kid who he has that that dream of, you know, I gotta be playing for a power five school.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, I think for us, it's I think it's easy to kind of look at the the history or kind of where we've sent guys and and what we've had guys do lately, but but also over our our head coach's 28-year tenure. Um, you know, he's sent guys to some pretty awesome places, and you know, we've done that the last couple of years as well. So I think just having that history and having the ability to to have that fallback of where guys have moved on in our conference, but you know, our school itself, um, I think that's made it easy to easier to get guys down here. I think other other than that, the rules of eligibility and guys having more than, you know, they're they're four years that they're usually allotted. Uh, you know, sometimes, you know, I've I've got kids that I've coached that have played six and seven years now. So um it's changed a lot on that scale, but I think it's easier to push JUCO when you're gonna go and you're gonna play right away. You're only, you know, you're competing against freshmen and and sophomores, you're not competing against 24-year-olds and 25-year-olds, which is a real thing. I mean, that's a that's a legitimate thing at at the next level right now, and and you could run into that. So if you're a you know, 18-year-old high school kid who maybe hasn't, you know, physically grown into what they could be, and you know, you're still projected to go and do something at a division one, but you walk in there and you've got a 23-year-old, 24-year-old grad transfer who's got 700 at bats at the NCAA level, it's gonna be hard for you to get on the field over that guy. And so I think this level has uh you know has definitely become a better option for for guys like that, um, where maybe they have the ability to walk into a place and and start younger and and stuff, even though it's it's hard to do that before the transfer portal and before there were older guys. It's it's hard to go into a university like that as a freshman and right away, man, you're 18 years old, um, sometimes 17 years old when you graduate high school, step foot on campus. So I think all of that uh and the development side of of junior college is where it's definitely more highlighted now, and and I think it's become more of an option for for some guys who might not have, you know, thought it was going to be one for them.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, give me an example of some of the places that since you start coaching there, that players have left Coaches and they went on to play our five years.

SPEAKER_00:

So uh last year we sent uh two of our guys are at Kansas right now. Um, one right-handed pitcher, one left-handed hitter. Um that was actually a freshman for us, left after his freshman year. The other one was a sophomore. Um we had two other pitchers go down to a Division I school down in uh in San Antonio, Texas at Incarnate Word. And then New Mexico State's been a big school. We've sent we've sent a lot of guys in New Mexico State. We've sent a lot of guys since I've been here. Um Purdue is another place we sent a guy. We've had another guy at Mizzou, um Kansas, another left-handed pitcher. Those three guys all actually ended up getting drafted. Um, one catcher from Purdue, a left-handed pitcher from Mizzou, and then a left-handed pitcher from Kansas. And that year we had a right-handed pitcher who came uh actually out of our college, straight out of Coachese, uh, signed with the White Sox. And he's been up to single A this year, uh, went went through some some small like injury stuff, I think like some lat stuff and just minor things that kind of kept him off the field. But last year was his first full year, he kind of crushed it in Arizona in the in the uh the league down here. So he's doing really well. And then we've got a couple other guys that are kind of just floating out there um for uh Pro Ball stuff. But in terms of schools that we've sent guys, I mean Dallas Baptist, uh Arizona, our shortstops at Arizona right now uh from about a couple years ago. And one of the guys that we have right now, Colin Smith, a right-handed pitcher for us, he's been you know crazy recruited. He's at Oregon State right now on a visit. Uh he's been with, you know, he went and visited Oregon, went and visited Arizona. Uh LSU called our head coach about him last week. So I mean he's talked his recruiting has been you know crazy and stuff like that, which is awesome for our um all of our guys. There's all of our sophomores are uncommitted right now. Um Mo's just kind of walking through it and a lot of position players, which happen a little bit later. Uh pitchers are, you know, as you know, the first ones to kind of go. They're the they're the hot commodity and and the thing that guys want right away. So that's kind of where we're at. But it's it's been great for our uncommitted guys and our other guys who, hey man, just because they're coming to watch our right-handed pitcher doesn't mean they don't get to see, you know, all the other guys we have because we have a really talented um upper class right now.

SPEAKER_02:

For someone who's comparing a four-year school versus Hugo, what what are you looking to pay to go to a Juco school?

SPEAKER_00:

Well, I mean, for us down here, we've got a really good uh we've got a really good housing combo down here. So guys get in, you know, a certain amount of credits, um, they get in their dorm room, you know, for it's it's covered once they pay the you know a certain amount of tuition credits and and then our meal plan is something that guys have to get, which is it's usually about you know$3200,$3,300 a semester. Um obviously we have athletic scholarships and stuff like that. Uh but I think if you're coming down here like no aid for an entire year, um, you know, not a not like internationally, I mean, which that's that's part of our housing combo too, and that's why we do so well internationally. You'll pay uh I think no more than I write around 12 for an entire year. So um our in-state guys, you'd be looking at, you know, under eight. So uh it's it's a really good, really good deal down here internationally, um, locally, and just in country. Uh we've got a really good situation, dorm rooms on campus. Everybody lives, all of our guys live here on campus as well. So I think from the four-year side of things, I mean, obviously the cost is a lot different, but our guys, uh it's it's really simple down here. You know, I mean, there's there's not a lot that they're getting mixed up into, and um, it's really easy. It's a it's a really easy place down here for guys to develop. Not a lot of distractions. You go to class, you go to the baseball field, you go to study hall, you go to work out, and then next day you do it again. So, I mean, it's it's a really easy thing to to just get better and and develop, man. You're not uh you're not limited at junior college like you might be at NCAA's in terms of how much you can work, how much you can practice, and how much you can do. All of our guys, like I said, live on campus, our our fields on campus, our weight rooms are on campus, training room, locker room, and I live on campus too. So I mean these I'm I'm around these guys all the time, and and whatever they need, they they get done.

SPEAKER_02:

So well, you've played at coaches, and of course now you're a coach. What was the biggest adjustment going from a player to a coach?

SPEAKER_00:

Probably as a coach, expecting I would say almost sometimes expecting your players to want it as much as you do. Um, and that might sound weird or different, but um, I'm a high energy dude and and I don't, you know, I there's it's foot on the gas for me. So sometimes I gotta pull the reins back and um you know, and and get into coach mode and and and stuff like that. But uh I would say the the biggest maybe a change for for us, I don't know about adjustment. Um it was a pretty easy process getting into this place down here because I had such an awesome two years. So I wasn't exactly sure when I was gonna do this, but once I the idea of wanting to get into coaching, um I never really had any other thoughts about that, especially at this place. Uh, but the biggest thing that's changed is just this place itself, our facilities. Um, that's been the craziest thing for me to see. It's how much this place has transformed really over the last 10, 15 years, but just in the last four or five with the turf infield, you know, redoing all of athletics and stuff like that. And it's it's been it's been awesome.

SPEAKER_02:

If a parent were to be listening right now, what would you tell that parent that they should be asking before going off to play JUCO baseball?

SPEAKER_00:

Well, the most important thing, I mean, not even just like you know, JUCO, before you set out to go play anywhere, I think the most important thing should be, you know, am I going to a place where I can where I can play? You know, am I going to a place where I'm I'm going there for a purpose? I'm going there for a reason. These these guys have showed me that they wanted me and um and stuff like that. I I think some people get a little mixed up in wanting to go to a certain school because they wear certain gear and they got all this nice stuff, and and then that's cool. That stuff's really cool. But if you're not playing, what's the you know, what's the point? You know, and obviously financials should be a huge concern as well. You know, some some younger, I know guys that are going to, you know, on some decent scholarships, you know, 50%, 60% scholarships, and they're still gonna pay$40,000 for an entire year at a school like that. So um I I would highlight JUCO as an option because you're gonna be cost effective. You're gonna have uh, like I already said earlier in the, you know, in this in this podcast, you're not competing with juniors, seniors, 24-year-old grad transfers. You're dealing with 18, 19-year-olds, 18, 19, 20-year-olds. And um one thing that our head coach kind of always talks about is the relationships that you have with your coaches here at junior college are kind of entirely different than you might have maybe at some other schools or some Division I schools. You might not talk to your head coach in a one-on-one setting uh hardly ever, you know. And here it's it's uh it's kind of like our door is right now, man. It's an open door policy in here, and uh our guys can come in here whenever if they want to know where they stand, what's you know, what where we feel about them, what they can work on, what they can improve. Uh guys can get in here whenever they want, man. So I mean you I think the relationships with your coaches, with your teammates. I've got more, you know, best friends from the two years I've played at Coach E's than anywhere else I've ever been. So um the relationships, the culture, you know, just the ability to always work and not, like I said, not be limited. Um I think all of those are you know huge highlights for the junior college route. And places like ours, man, it's like I said, there's not a ton of you know distractions. Everybody down here is kind of moving in the same direction. We've got you know, 60 to 70 percent of our people who live on this campus are athletes, and um, everyone's pretty good down here, and and like I said, everyone's got some expectations. So I think it's for us, uh, it's a really good place for people to get moved on uh because we've had a you know history and record of that. But like I said, everybody's kind of moving in the same direction down here, which I think helps.

SPEAKER_02:

What's a typical day like for a player that you know he wakes up in the morning and there's a game later in the evening or whatever it may be? Tell me how that works for that player.

SPEAKER_00:

If we have a home game, um, you know, they'll they'll still go to class. Uh, you know, they'll if they have an early an early class, if if not, um if we're playing on a mid midweek, you know, they'll still have classes and stuff like that. But our schedule has changed to, you know, Fridays, Saturdays in terms of conference. Um, so it's become really nice down here. Uh on a typical day, on a Friday, we'd probably play at about 2 p.m. at our place. Guys would show up at the field probably about 11.15, um, get it set up for BP, go stretch, throw, take BP, get uh get our stuff off, have the other team take BP. We'll do pregame for you know, probably 10, 15 minutes. Other team will get on there, take it, and then we'll go. But uh a really easy day on home games for sure. But even our travel schedule, you know, now that we've converted to this three-game series stuff, and we're not getting up early in the morning and traveling up to Phoenix and then traveling back. We go the day before. It's a lot nicer travel for our guys. Um, we take really nice charter buses as well. So we don't we travel nice, we stay in nice hotels. That's one thing that our head coach has always, you know, he's been big on. Uh, you know, but the more comfortable our guys are in that, uh, and they they get uncomfortable during the fall. That's when we kind of test their mental toughness and and everything like that. But the spring is a reward. Um, that's one thing I would definitely say. We we push our guys in the fall. Um, we get after it five, six days a week. And once the spring rolls around, these guys are usually, you know, comfortable being uncomfortable. They've they've dealt with some crisis, some adversity, and um, I think that's why we've been a top team and a competitive team the entire time I've been around the program. And and I think that's huge credit to our head coach. Like I said, who's been down here for 28 years.

SPEAKER_02:

So well, this is a heart question. What's the one thing the one trait that accelerates the development in a player that gives him that opportunity to go on and play D1 baseball? And what type of player typically struggles at JUCO baseball? Mental makeup.

SPEAKER_00:

The mental side, like right between the ears. I mean, that's uh that is the all the difference between a guy who comes down here and takes full advantage of uh being at the JUCO level where, like I said, he can work as much as he wants. Um and then the two-part question is the same answer. I mean, it's the guy that the guy that moves on is uh you know, can deal with adversity, can probably has a shorter memory than than some guys, and doesn't hang on to things as long. And um, those dudes with mental makeup kind of just push through and and always see the other side. And the guys who struggle at the junior college level and don't get better, the only guys that I've ever seen at our school that didn't get better is purely off of mental makeup. Not not talent. Talent. I mean, you're if you're coming down here and you're going to junior college or you're going and you're getting recruited, especially down to our place, we bring in 32 to 34 guys a fall. And we have 24 to 25 on our spring roster. We don't bring bodies in. Every single guy that we bring down here is is thought to compete in the spring for us and be a guy for us. So um that's definitely something, you know, down here at our place, I think the development is is huge because our guys don't there's not a lot of guys. Reps are reps are high and and stuff like that. So the mental side, though, is both both answers to your two-part question. Uh the guys that move on and the guys that persevere have that mental makeup. The guys that don't get better, and like I said, the only ones that I've ever seen not get better at this level, strictly off mental makeup and not being able to push through um whatever it is, whether it's just grinding through something or dealing with failure, uh, whatever it is. The mental side is the only thing that will push a guy or keep a guy from excelling at this level and purely developing um at a high rate. Uh, I mean, the development side is probably the easiest to scale from pitchers just because you know, offensive numbers are fleeting at times, but a velocity standpoint, our guys gain two to four every year. I mean, I think that's because of how much we throw. Uh, our guys are extremely prepared on the mound. Uh, I don't think our head coach has had an arm injury in 28 years, and that's probably credit to how much arm care and and stuff we do down here. So um, yeah, that's the biggest side development side you could see from our our side is pitcher's V lobs going up and and stuff like that.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, give me an example of some things you do with uh because you talked about how much you guys throw and wear. Give me an example then why that you're so successful with not having a whole lot of arm injuries.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, we do arm care. I mean, I'm I'm in charge of our strength and conditioning, which I'm not a strength and conditioning coach. I'm not gonna say, I'm not gonna put that title on myself. I'm not gonna say that. I'm not by any means, but I've been in charge of it for the last seven years. Had a really good program handed over to me by two really awesome coaches that we had down here before I got down here. When I first got here, I I volunteered for about two years and just tried to learn as much as I could from those guys and and from Coach Inglehart. But I think it's just the amount that we throw. Um, I mean, our guys they throw every day. I mean, whether you threw the day before or what, I mean, and I'm not saying you're going out and throwing long toss and we're asking these guys to, you know, max stress their arm, but these guys are so conditioned to throw that I don't think it their their body becomes just used to it and it's not demanding. And I think that's why a lot of two-way players that convert to being a pitcher don't get hurt because those guys are constantly throwing. Um, but with that, we just do a lot of arm care. Uh whether it's you know, prehab or rehab in the training room or just bands or ISTs-wise shoulder complex, whatever we're doing in the weight room, um, every day we're in there, we do an arm care. And that's not even just our pitchers, that's our position players, too. They're all asked to do the same, the same stuff from an arm care standpoint. But I would say those those two reasons, um, I mean, we run a lot too, and I think that also is a huge reason of why we don't have some injuries. Our our guys are in shape, their bodies are in shape. Um they're on a really structured throwing program throughout our fall. Uh, you know, they get down here and they're they're asked, you know, and and we demand a lot out of them, but it's everything's set up for them. When they commit, they they're on a their a program is given to them for when they step foot first day and when they leave in the at the end of the fall of what we're doing as a as a as a pitching staff and you know also as hitters as well. But pitchers are easier to kind of see that uh that development. I mean, you can see like from year to year, position players have you know more offensive numbers or uh a better average, more home runs, more RBIs, all that kind of stuff. But you can watch and then you know, and their weight and how much better their body looks and how fast they get. But pitchers you can just see from you know velocity from year to year, and it jumps and jumps and jumps. And uh, we've had some pretty good ones. I mean, we had a kid last year who's 81, 83, and he's he's 86, 87 this fall. So, I mean, that's just that's a typical jump. That's not something that we've you know been unfamiliar to see. And um, yeah, if you're a pitcher, it's a really good place to be because our head guy he completely mans that, and it's something he's been in charge of for a long time. And it's the position I would say that we've moved on more so to the you know to high levels, but that's not you know saying position players haven't moved on to some good places, too.

SPEAKER_02:

What is your take on the transfer portal? Is it a blessing curse or both?

SPEAKER_00:

I don't know, man. It could probably, I guess it could be both. Uh for a junior college coach like myself, uh, I don't have access to it, but I can, you know, I can call people and ask people who's in it or and stuff like that. I wouldn't say it's necessarily helped us um a ton. You know, I mean I think it's more of a curse than a blessing. Uh it's I don't think it was regulated properly before it went into existence, so I think that had a big a big reason of it's a free-for-all, man. It's like wild, wild west in there. So um I don't know. I think it I think it can teach young athletes some negative things by just jumping ship. And I'm not saying that all guys are jumping ship, they get in the portal, and I'm not saying that it's not a great thing for some, you know, for some guys out there. Me personally, I think as like a the grad transfer deal, I think that's which has always kind of been a thing. I I I think that's more you know appropriate. I think going to a place and then transferring and then transferring and then transfer. It's uh it's interesting. So I don't know. I think it's more of a curse than a blessing, but well, until we get some regulations and some like rules and people are educated. And when I say people, I mean in a whole, the coaches, players, and institution, I don't think anybody's educated enough on it to really do that right now. So I I think that's one of the biggest problems is um like I said, it's kind of a free-for-all in there.

SPEAKER_02:

So well you you've coached a lot of games, you've played a lot of games. Do you hate losing or love winning?

SPEAKER_00:

I hate losing. I mean, I I I I truly winning winning is I don't think there's anything better than competing. And I I think I'm gonna use the word competing because that's that is truly what I love to do is competing. They both suck though. I mean winning I mean winning is winning is awesome, but it creates expectations and makes losing that much worse at the end, right? But I don't know. I don't know if I can tell you what one I I probably hate losing more though. Um I love competing and I love winning. I losing bothers me. So um it always had. I I was you know, I'd say I was labeled a sore loser growing up because whether me and my sister were playing tic-tac-toe or checkers, I was I was gonna be pissed if I lost. So so I'd probably say I hate losing more than than anything.

SPEAKER_02:

So all right, let's do play, bench, or trade. Jose Ramirez, Manny Machado, and Alex Breckman.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, that's easy. I would uh what were they there? Bench, play, and and what? Uh play, bench, and trade. Play, bench, trade. I would play Jose Ramirez every day of the week. I would trade Manny Machado because he's a cancer, and I would bench Bregman because he's older. That would be and that's a I mean that's easy. I think Jose Ramirez is one of the more one of the most underrated players in the MLB.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes.

SPEAKER_00:

He's a fate, he's a favorite of mine, and I can't stand Manny Machado.

SPEAKER_02:

No chance. I had no idea that that could have possibly happened when I wrote that question out. Who do you think's gonna do well I obviously you got the Dodgers in the World Series, but uh who wins it all, you think?

SPEAKER_00:

It's gonna be hard not to just say the Dodgers, but that would be that would be just pick and chalk, you know, and I would I want to say I would love to see Seattle win it. I don't know if I mean they still have to win that series, right? But um I would love to see that. I mean, they've never won, so that would all for for one, right? But uh I like a lot of their players. I like I like Rao. I think I mean I think Raleigh should be the MVP personally. I mean, just hey man, I think Aaron Judge is awesome. I really do. I like Aaron Judge a lot. I think for someone to catch as much as that dude did, hit as many home runs as he did as a switch hitter, break some of those records, records that stood, you know, Mannel's records stood for a long time for a reason, you know. And I think when guys break things like that, I don't care if he hit 240. I I don't I could care less about that. He caught the amount of innings and games that he played in, you know, I Judge got the DH a lot and stuff like that. I I have so much respect for that part of it. So for me, I mean that would be my my MVP. So I would love to see Seattle win it. I don't think they will. Um, I don't think Toronto will win it if they get out of it. I think the Dodgers will will win. Um, and I hate to say that. I don't want them to win, but if you're asking me, if I was taking, you know, putting money down, it would it would be on the it would be on the Dodgers, so it wouldn't be on anybody else. And that's just that's just how that's that would be.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, from all your years of playing and coaching, what is a wild story from from those years that you you talk about, you don't have to give names or anything like that, but yeah, I'm sure there's probably some good ones.

SPEAKER_00:

Stories I mean, there's a lot of really good stories. I would say the best the best times or best stories I would say I had were from the World Series. The two years that I played down here. Um we went to the World Series those two years, those for sure were, you know, unbelievable experiences. I've never I've never had, you know, being a play in front of 14,000 people was something that was surreal. And having kids come up to you with their odd, like with your player card and asking for autographs. That's probably the most surreal, you know, thing that I ever got to do and was the best moments of mine down here. But some funny stories I would say would be, and this one's just funny because Derek Hall is an ex-player that played down here at Coachies. And he did a good amount of time with the Phillies, made it up into the big leagues for a little bit, was the opening day first baseman, uh, opening day starter there in I want to say 2021 or 2022, and then got hurt with a thumb injury. But me, him, and another friend uh down here got suspended for our first two games of the season back in 2014 because we were doing donuts in the parking lot. And after we got done, I mean, the funniest part was I figured that we were gonna be like nothing was gonna be wrong because Derek's grandpa, who our baseball field's named after, and I mean he's he's big, you know, he was our athletic director and the dean of students and everything down here at the time. I'm thinking, like, hey man, we're gonna be good. Like, I've known your grandpa for a while. I don't think anything's, you know, and he ended up suspending us for two games. And I I mean it was uh it was eye-opening because I was I was under the impression that we were gonna be fine just because of who, you know, we were on the baseball team. Bo had played baseball here, coached baseball here, and yeah, I was sadly mistaken. So we uh Derek was freaking out about it, and we ended up getting in a little bit of trouble. But um, but yeah, those are some of the one good moment and one one hilarious story that actually when he made his debut, um the announcers talked about it and and discussed that story. So it was it was kind of funny. I got a little shout out on ESPN, so that was cool.

SPEAKER_02:

I love it. Well, it's it's Austin Nelson, assistant coach at Coach East College in Arizona. Thank you so much for taking the time to be on baseball coaches in the club.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you so much, Ken. I really appreciate it. If you ever need a guest, uh love to do it again sometime.

SPEAKER_02:

Special thanks to Austin Nelson, assistant coach at Coach Heath College in Arizona. Today's episode of Baseball Coaches Unplugged is powered by the Netting Professionals, improving programs, one facility at a time. Contact them today at 844-6202707 or visit them online at www.nettingprose.com. As always, I'm your host, Coach Ken Carpenter. Thanks for listening to Baseball Coaches Unplugged.

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Ken Carpenter

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