ABCA Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

This week on the ABCA Podcast, we bring you a special episode recorded on location at the NJCAA Division III World Series in Auburn, New York.

We sat down with all eight head coaches competing for a national title to talk about their programs, postseason preparation, and what it means to be part of one of the most competitive events in junior college baseball.

Featured in this episode: Mark Tucker – Surry Community College (NC);  Johnny Johnson – Brookdale Community College (NJ);  Bill Fratto – Oakton Community College (IL);  Matt Clingersmith – SUNY Niagara; Jimmy Brenneman – Dallas College Richland (TX);  Jeff Mejia – Northern Essex Community College (MA);  Matt Erzar – Century College (MN); and Rob Valli – RCSJ-Gloucester (NJ). A special congrats to Valli and RCSJ-Gloucester on capturing their third straight NJCAA DIII National Championship!

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The ABCA Podcast is presented by Netting Pros. Netting Professionals are improving programs one facility at a time, specializing in the design, fabrication and installation of custom netting for backstops, batting cages, dugouts, bp screens and ball carts. They also design and install digital graphic wall padding windscreen, turf, turf protectors, dugout benches, dugout cubbies and more.

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This week on the ABCA Podcast, we bring you an episode recorded on location during the NCAA Division II Regional hosted at Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina.

We sat down with the four head coaches who were leading their programs through postseason play and captured their insights right in the heart of the action. Featured in this episode: Adam Skonieczki (Lenoir-Rhyne University),  Chris Anderson (Belmont Abbey College),  Tom Cantrell (University of North Georgia), and  Tom Griffin (Carson-Newman University).

These coaches share their thoughts on playoff preparation, in-season growth, player development, and what it means to compete on the national stage. It's a great inside look at high-level DII baseball from the dugouts of a regional battle.

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Next up on the ABCA Podcast is Kansas City Royals Executive Vice President & General Manager J.J. Picollo, who just wrapped up one of the most remarkable turnarounds in Major League Baseball history. Under his leadership, the Royals posted an 86-76 record in 2024—30 wins better than the previous season—earning a postseason berth and making Picollo the runner-up for MLB Executive of the Year.

In this episode, Picollo dives into the Royals’ recent success, including the offseason investments that helped spark the turnaround, such as the franchise-record extension for Bobby Witt Jr. and a league-leading $110M spent on free agents. We also discuss his 19-year journey with the Royals, his emphasis on player development, and how his early coaching days at George Mason and George Washington shaped his leadership style. Picollo offers a unique look into managing a staff, creating organizational alignment, and building a sustainable, winning culture from the ground up.

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The ABCA Podcast is presented by Netting Pros. Netting Professionals are improving programs one facility at a time, specializing in the design, fabrication and installation of custom netting for backstops, batting cages, dugouts, bp screens and ball carts. They also design and install digital graphic wall padding windscreen, turf, turf protectors, dugout benches, dugout cubbies and more.

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This week on the ABCA Podcast is Mizzou assistant coach, Jabari Brown. Brown is entering his first season with the Tigers program after ABCA 4th Vice President Kerrick Jackson took over this past Summer. Brown spent the last 2 years on Tim Corbin’s staff at Vanderbilt, becoming the first recipient of the Maggie Corbin Minority Baseball Apprenticeship Scholarship. Brown coached at Eastern Kentucky University and received his Master’s degree in Sports Administration, while he was in Richmond, KY. Brown got his coaching start at Claflin University where he was a 4 year starter. In this episode we cover player development, strength training, finding the right mentors, the Chicago White Sox ACE program, and how to handle coaching at a new program. The ABCA Podcast is presented by Netting Pros. Netting Professionals are improving programs one facility at a time, specializing in the design, fabrication and installation of custom netting for backstops, batting cages, dugouts, bp screens and ball carts. They also design and install digital graphic wall padding windscreen, turf, turf protectors, dugout benches, dugout cubbies and more.

Joining us on the ABCA Podcast this week is ABCA/ATEC NJCAA Div. III Coach of the Year Rowan College head coach, Rob Valli. Valli guided Rowan to a 53-5 record and an NJCAA Championship this season. Valli has taken Rowan to 12 out of the last 13 NJCAA World Series. Valli is entering his 24th season of collegiate baseball with 20 years of experience as a head coach. Valli has over 650 wins averaging 35 wins per season. Rowan College and Coach Valli have a great track record of sending players onto the pro and 4 year level with 69 going into professional baseball and 7 big leaguers so this episode is a deep dive into player development. The ABCA Podcast is presented by Netting Pros. Netting Professionals are improving programs one facility at a time, specializing in the design, fabrication and installation of custom netting for backstops, batting cages, dugouts, bp screens and ball carts. They also design and install digital graphic wall padding windscreen, turf, turf protectors, dugout benches, dugout cubbies and more.

This week on the ABCA Podcast is ABCA/ATEC Div. II High School Coach of the Year McPherson head coach, Heath Gerstner. McPherson High School has won back to back Kansas 4A State Championships. The Bullpups finished the season with a 21-4 record and outscored their tournament opponents 23-5. Gerstner is on the ABCA High School All America Committee and is a great example of why all high school coaches should be ABCA members. This episode is a deep dive into running a championship high school program. The ABCA Podcast is presented by Netting Pros. Netting Professionals are improving programs one facility at a time, specializing in the design, fabrication and installation of custom netting for backstops, batting cages, dugouts, bp screens and ball carts. They also design and install digital graphic wall padding windscreen, turf, turf protectors, dugout benches, dugout cubbies and more.

Joining us on the ABCA Podcast this week is ABCA/ATEC Div. II Coach of the Year Angelo State head coach, Kevin Brooks. Brooks has guided the Angelo State baseball program to six NCAA Div. II College World Series appearances and captured the program’s first National Championship this year. Brooks is the only head coach in ASU baseball history and has not had a losing season during his tenure. The Rams are the only Lone Star Conference team to make the College World Series. The Rams finished with a 56-9 record, setting the program and LSC record for wins in a season. Brooks is a graduate of Baylor University and had previous coaching stints at Incarnate Word, Texas A&M, UTSA and Hardin-Simmons University. The ABCA Podcast is presented by Netting Pros. Netting Professionals are improving programs one facility at a time, specializing in the design, fabrication and installation of custom netting for backstops, batting cages, dugouts, bp screens and ball carts. They also design and install digital graphic wall padding windscreen, turf, turf protectors, dugout benches, dugout cubbies and more.

Next up on the ABCA Podcast is Kofa High School head coach, Gabe Ortiz. Ortiz was honored with the 2023 Central Valley Region Coach of the Year Award after Kofa went 11-1 in region play. Ortiz is also a USA Baseball veteran helping with the Socal/SW NTIS and helping with the USA Baseball trials in Cary, NC. Ortiz has been at the forefront of outfield development. Ortiz spoke at the 2022 ABCA Chicago convention. I would highly recommend going back and watching his talk on developing athletic outfielders if you haven’t seen it. Ortiz will also be speaking at our UC-San Diego Barnstormers this Fall on reimagining your warm-up. He has some great ideas on an actionable warm-up to get your players game ready. Ortiz gives us a bunch of great nuggets in this one so get your pad and pen ready. The ABCA Podcast is presented by Netting Pros. Netting Professionals are improving programs one facility at a time, specializing in the design, fabrication and installation of custom netting for backstops, batting cages, dugouts, bp screens and ball carts. They also design and install digital graphic wall padding windscreen, turf, turf protectors, dugout benches, dugout cubbies and more.

This week on the ABCA Podcast is ABCA ATEC NJCAA Div. I Coach of the Year, Marty Smith. Smith has been the head coach at the College of Central Florida for 28 seasons with 865 career wins. The Patriots finished this season with 56 wins and winning their first World Series Championship in Grand Junction. Smith has a long history in the game and has been around some the best coaches we have had playing for Paul Mainieri at St. Thomas and coaching with Demie Mainieri at Miami Dade. Smith has a tremendous track record of producing high level 4 year college and professional baseball players. This is a great episode on being a lifelong learner. Smith has continued to push the College of Central Florida program forward by adjusting with the times. The ABCA Podcast is presented by Netting Pros. Netting Professionals are improving programs one facility at a time, specializing in the design, fabrication and installation of custom netting for backstops, batting cages, dugouts, bp screens and ball carts. They also design and install digital graphic wall padding windscreen, turf, turf protectors, dugout benches, dugout cubbies and more.

ABCA Podcast Part II with Nate Trosky. Trosky is one of the most forward-thinking infield coaches we have in the baseball community. Trosky has always had the ability to think outside the box and implement new ideas into his training. We had to end part I due to technical difficulties, but ended up being a huge positive because it allowed us to reset and go more in depth at a later date. The ABCA Podcast is presented by Netting Pros. Netting Professionals are improving programs one facility at a time, specializing in the design, fabrication and installation of custom netting for backstops, batting cages, dugouts, bp screens and ball carts. They also design and install digital graphic wall padding windscreen, turf, turf protectors, dugout benches, dugout cubbies and more.