College Baseball Reality Check - A Player's Perspective

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Today

Cold Open And What To Expect

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on Baseball Coaches Unplugged, I sit down with a college player who just graduated and shares what every college player experiences. Should I gone D1? Finding the right fit, daily mental challenges, and what players expect from their coaches. This and so much more with University of Mary Harden Baylor, Riley Bender. Next on Baseball Coaches Unplugged.

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Baseball is changing, and great coaches are changing with it. Welcome to baseball coaches, posted by 2017-year high school baseball coaches.

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Each episode takes me to have real conversations with high school travel college of professional baseball coaches on building winning programs, developing players, running better practices, navigating recruiting, and creative coaches. New episodes every Wednesday that showcase the best baseball coaches from across the country.

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Today's

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JUCO Versus D1 And Fit

SPEAKER_01 1:56

Riley, I gotta say, thanks for taking time for joining me on here on Baseball Coaches Unplugged.

SPEAKER_00 2:01

Yeah, man, I appreciate you having me out. This is awesome.

SPEAKER_01 2:05

Well, you've just completed your college career. And if you could go back to when you were a senior in high school, what would you have done differently to prepare yourself for college baseball?

SPEAKER_00 2:19

So I actually really like this question because I kind of have two different answers depending on who's really asking me it. So if there's a coach or a parent or someone asking me, I'm gonna say I'm gonna go back and change nothing because I wouldn't be the person I am if I didn't go through the experiences I experienced throughout my college career. But if I'm talking to a high school kid, I'm probably gonna say, I wish I went JUCO because especially now looking at the scope of college baseball and all the eligibility rules, JUCO is definitely the way to go. And most of my teammates that ended up being success, successful are all from JUKOs, just because from a development piece. I mean, you look at all the division ones right now, they're really just getting guys from the transfer portal and JUKOs. They're not really bringing in freshmen anymore to develop them. So that was kind of my main thing that I would say to people that I wish I would I would have done differently.

SPEAKER_01 3:18

Makes sense. I and I'm starting to hear more and more of that. And I, you know, when why do you think it's important to get that right fit when you're deciding where to play?

SPEAKER_00 3:31

Yeah, I mean, like you write your own story, really, and everyone ticks differently, and it's just it's all about going somewhere that really my main thing is go somewhere where you're gonna play because you don't want to go somewhere, you don't want to go to a D1 just so that you can get the cool gear and the status. You want to go somewhere that you can build relationships with teammates and coaches because it's really gonna carry you for the rest of your life. I mean, I'm I have teammates that I met at my recent school that are gonna be in my life for the rest of my life. They'll be in my wedding, like all that stuff.

SPEAKER_01 4:05

Now,

Texas Talent Exposure And Bias

SPEAKER_01 4:06

when you talk about your experience as far as making the decision out of out of high school, you grew up in Texas, correct? Yes. So I guess my question would be my my experiences from coaching baseball. Um, I took Team Ohio down to play in Texas, and there was studs everywhere. And uh, you know, talk about the competition in the state of Texas as a high school player and trying to go out and get that exposure to to find the right place that you want to go play.

SPEAKER_00 4:49

Yeah, so I mean, it's it's kind of general knowledge that Texas, California, Georgia, all these southern states and the bigger states all have a lot of talent regardless of the sport. But it's really about getting in front of the right person. And I mean, there are guys here in Texas that go way overlooked and they'll end up at a way smaller school than they really should have been if they were in a state like Vermont or Pennsylvania or somewhere northeast. And I really learned a lot about like this year the there's a a northeast bias in our division three uh conferences, and it's kind of like we always made the argument that like we went two and out in our conference tournament, but we played a team that ended up being in the World Series, and it's like if we were if we ended up playing schools from up north, we probably would have done better and ultimately should have gotten at-large bid just because we're a way more talented team than some of the teams up north. Yeah, I mean, I'm trying to explain the best I can, but that's okay.

SPEAKER_01 5:58

Well, I believe it or not, just uh down the road from where I live here in uh outside of Columbus, Ohio, we had Denison University won the uh the national championship this year, and uh they are just one of those programs that have just a phenomenal coaching staff and uh they do everything the right way. And you know, when you talk about the competition that you're facing every every week down there in your league, how do you look at it from a standpoint when you go out and play the game and you got guys on your team that are sitting the bench and aren't getting the playing time that they probably hoped they would get, and how you have to compete with your teammates, talk about that experience as far as they're your teammates, but you're also competing to beat them out for a spot.

Teammates Versus Competition D1 To D3

SPEAKER_00 6:58

So, yeah, that was that was one of my points in that Twitter post. I because I kind of experienced that a lot when I was at the Division I level. I was there for two years and ended up transferring. And it's really a night and day difference from kind of the relationships that I had with my teammates. I mean, when I was at the division one level, I was kind of like the guy I was competing with and the guys I was competing with, we weren't nearly as close as we were at the division three level. And I mean, both the schools I went to were faith-based institutions, so that plays a role too. But the school I just played at, my D3, everybody was truly just a stand-up guy. And I'm I like to keep it keep up with all of them and see what all they're doing. And I don't have as many guys like that from my Division I that I'm like, man, I wonder what so-and-so's doing, or let me let me call this guy. Or it's just the relationships that I made at D3 were way easier, it seems like, just because everybody's it's it's not like we're all trying to get drafted like at the Division I level. So there's not going to be nearly as much animosity if there's a guy below me that I'm playing over. He's not gonna be nearly as upset because there's more life than baseball.

SPEAKER_01 8:13

Makes sense. And so you played uh Division I, I believe was it Abilene Christian?

SPEAKER_02 8:19

Abilene Christian, yes.

Size Standards And Weight Room Truth

SPEAKER_01 8:21

Talk about how you went about playing day-to-day because the the impression I'm getting, you know, I I looked at a uh something that was put out where it said the average size of a Division I player and and it was the college world series teams right now. And I don't think they're their the average was anything lower than six foot a hundred and ninety pounds, it seemed like. And talk about how if you're not that big, how how tough it can be to to get on a Division I roster.

SPEAKER_00 9:02

Yeah, so really even at the D3 level, I've seen guys most of the starting nine is all big physical guys. And I mean, when I stepped on campus my freshman year at the Division I, I was 6'3, 170. And I was without a doubt the weakest guy in the weight room on the team, smallest guy on the or less the least weight on the team, I would say. But if you're a smaller guy, you just gotta have something that stands out, whether that be your IQ, most of the guys I know it's speed. Like you look at Travis Chestnut for Texas AM in the College World Series a couple years ago. He's a smaller guy, but he's got super fast twitch, he's got some pop, and he can run. And you're already kind of behind the eight ball, but if you can really show them that you belong and have something that stands out, you're gonna get a chance.

SPEAKER_02 9:57

Makes sense.

SPEAKER_01 9:58

I I think that it's it's becoming a game where if if you don't love the weight room, you're probably going to not get the chance that you hope you would get when you play college baseball. Exactly. Yep. How much time compare the the weight room from D1 to D3? Is what is there any difference there?

SPEAKER_00 10:22

Or really the only difference that I saw was facilities and I guess access to coaching. I mean, at the division one level, you obviously have a lot more resources. So we had probably five to ten strength coaches covering all the teams, but at the division three level, we had one, which he was great. He was awesome, but it it just shows the difference. And I mean, we the strength coach I had my first year at the D3, he went on to do strength coach for the army, so he kind of had a really good idea of how important the weight room is, and this current guy that we had trained under him. So I know we're kind of like, I mean, we're a national foot, uh, our football team's a national championship contender every year. So our way our facilities are really nice, but I can't really speak for every other Division III in the area or across the country because I've seen some horror stories, but but yeah, it wasn't much of a difference for me. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 11:27

And do you looking back on it, do you wish that you would have uh put more time into weight training prior to going off to play Division I?

SPEAKER_00 11:40

Absolutely, yes. Because I would have stepped on the on campus ready to go. And although I did end up gaining like 25 pounds, but everybody does that as a freshman because you start eating four meals a day at the at the cafeteria. But I do wish I stepped on campus ready to go because it would have helped me tremendously.

Mental Game Detaching Process From Results

SPEAKER_01 12:00

Let's talk about the the mental side of baseball here. What were your biggest challenges with the the mental side and what tips would you have for players leaving high school and they're this fall they're going to be walking on a college campus?

SPEAKER_00 12:15

Yeah, so what I struggled with a lot in high school was like living up to expectations, I guess, because I always had a lot of good posts about me, and like people were saying I had high expectations, and I would just feed into their to the negative thoughts and think, man, I'm not enough if I'm not doing all this, if I'm not hitting four and runs a game. And I really struggle until like my junior year, and that's like I said in my Twitter post, I just stopped caring, and like not in a sense where it's like, I don't want to go to the field, I don't care about baseball, but I detach process from results, is what I've been saying. And really, you just have to worry, you just have to control what you can control. I mean, there's so many different factors out there that are gonna impede on your success. But if you have strong self-belief, self-talk, and really just bet on yourself all the time, you're gonna be fine. And it's way easier said than done, I get it. But and I was lucky enough to kind of have an epiphany and realize how blessed I am to still be playing baseball after I hit the transfer portal and didn't really know what was gonna happen. But you just gotta not feed into the negative thoughts and self-talk is a huge thing. Like you gotta say, I'm I'm the best at everything I do, and just just having positive belief in yourself.

SPEAKER_01 13:41

Well,

Transfer Portal And NIL Normalized

SPEAKER_01 13:42

you just touch on something there that you're a player that experienced the transfer portal. How is that um how is that uh accepted when you arrive at the new team? And are players today just like, hey, that's that's the world we live in, and because coaches at the college level, they're they're coaching for their livelihood and they want to bring in the best guys they can possibly bring in.

SPEAKER_00 14:14

Yeah, so when I first transferred was when kind of things were really picking up with NIL, and I showed up to my new school, and I remember the one of the recruiting pitches that my coach gave to me was retention rates and how he has only had like three guys in the last four years leave, and it's never because of baseball, it's because they wanted to change their major or they wanted to go to AM because their parents graduated from there. It was never anything with like playing time or anything. So we I was I was a part of a seven-person transfer class that year, and that was like that was life-changing for them. Like they'd never experienced anything like that. They thought it was a whole new a team overhaul. And meanwhile, there's other teams bringing 35 guys in, and it's just yeah, I mean, it's really accepted now just because everyone does it at some point. Like, I don't know, there's probably a a new percentage out there for guys that actually stay through at one school for all four years. I I bet it's very low. But yeah, I mean, it's definitely become a main part of college baseball, and I don't see it going away anytime soon just because it can help guys career like a lot of guys transfer from a mid-major to an SET school and do what they did at the mid-major, and it catapults their career to get drafted. And it's just been it's got pros and cons, but I really think it's been a good thing for the game, and it should be here for years to come.

What Players Want From Coaches

SPEAKER_01 15:50

Well, let's go back to I want you to compare two things for me: your high school coach and your college coach. What did you want and what do your teammates want? Because I think they're, you know, a lot of coaches tune into the podcast, and you know, I I'm always trying to come up with uh questions for my guests that can help them as a coach. What did you what do you want as a high school and a college player from your coaches more than anything else?

SPEAKER_00 16:23

Uh really just belief in me. I mean, my big thing is I want to play for a guy that believes in me and wants the best for me. Um and just kind of playing on both sides of that, it's it's way better when your coach wants you to succeed than it is when he doesn't want you to succeed. But that and I guess just trust and autonomy, I guess. Now that I'm getting into the real world, I'm learning all these corporate terms, but autonomy is a big thing because if my coach is just gonna say, hey, go out and do what you do, like I'm gonna do, I'm gonna succeed because I don't have to worry about any pressure or anything else. And I guess one thing that uh me and my roommate talked about all the time was practices should be super hard and the game should be super relaxed. So coaches should be going hard in practice and getting mad, so to speak, in practice, and then in the games they should just let you play and not yell at you, not get mad at you, and not anything.

SPEAKER_01 17:30

Yes, I I agree, and a lot of coaches, that is their style, it seems like, at least the ones that I've had on the podcast, that they really almost treat it like practices for the coaches and the games or for the players, you know what I mean? Exactly. I

Travel Ball Priorities And Development

SPEAKER_01 17:47

I guess would I wanted to ask you, did you play travel ball in Texas or how how do they is it travel in Texas, I guess? Yes. Since you're really not that far removed from the the travel baseball experience, what changes would you like to see coming from a player perspective to how travel baseball is being now? Because you just see so much crazy stuff on the on the internet, and I just wondered what you as a player that's not very far removed from it thought about the way travel ball is.

SPEAKER_00 18:25

Yeah, so funny you bring this up. My my uncle is still kind of in the travel ball circuit. He he coaches, he runs tournaments, and um one thing that I that really just kind of I don't like is the fact that they take it way too seriously and like they're worried about the wrong thing. Like all these coaches are worried only about winning these championships so they can get the the pay bonus from their organization or the ring from the the tournament, and they should really only be worried about the development of their players and showcasing their abilities to these coaches that are watching them. That my dad was my travel ball coach for the longest time, and that was really our main goal was to get guys out because, in my opinion, winning a tournament in the middle of July in Atlanta doesn't mean anything, but getting a guy multiple offers from one tournament that means something. And just all these parents and coaches are worried about their 10-year-old winning it, like they're saying we have to win this tournament when they should just be trying to have fun and develop as a player. I wow, you're so spot on.

SPEAKER_01 19:36

It's like and trying to get the the world of the the travel parents out there that are dealing with all this is just it's it's it's crazy. And you know, I just think that you know, as a someone who's coached both travel and high school baseball, I almost feel like if a parent puts all their time and their money into the travel, the coaching lessons, the personal trainers and and everything. And then when they get to the high school level, you know, you're not with your age group. You could be a sophomore and you got an 18-year-old you're competing against, and parents get upset that uh their kids aren't getting playing time. What do

Parents Playing Time And Patience

SPEAKER_01 20:29

you say to the parent that is just that that over-the-top parent that just demands so much from their from the coaches at the high school level?

SPEAKER_00 20:41

Yeah, I mean, it's hard at the high school level because some politics can play into it. I've heard some stories over the years. But at the same time, like if your son is the best option, he's still gonna play. Like, they're gonna find a way for him to play. So I guess if he's a freshman and he's on varsity and he's the backup center fielder, it's not the end of the world because he's still got three years ahead of him. And I mean, when I stepped on campus my freshman year, I was playing with 25-year-olds. So it's just how it is. Like, uh, it's not really a um wait to wait your turn culture, but more of like, hey, once you're polished and ready, you're gonna play. Like, without a doubt.

SPEAKER_01 21:24

Yes.

The Cutthroat Business Of College Baseball

SPEAKER_01 21:26

What's the harsh reality of playing college baseball?

SPEAKER_00 21:30

It's a business. I mean, it's it can be super cutthroat at times. I've I've heard a lot of horror stories, I've seen a lot of things happen. Um, just because coaches have to win, you know. Like it, if they don't win, they're gonna lose their job and they can't put food on the table. So they're not intentionally doing these things to hurt these kids. They're it's just a part of it. I mean, I've seen guys get their offers pulled on signing day in high school. I had a friend. Get cut a couple days before the transfer portal closed, like guys get cut after the fall. That's just how it is because the coaches have to do everything in their power to win. And if they don't, then they're gonna lose their job.

SPEAKER_01 22:12

Now, you know, we we were talking earlier about the relationships and and the competition. Talk about you know, you're what are you like probably 22, 23 years old? 23? Okay. Talk about how you seem like you focused more on what you got out of from the relationships. And yes, you love the game of baseball, but the relationships that you built with your teammates and your coaches and different things. Talk about that a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 22:49

Yeah, so I mean, baseball only lasts for so long, you know. Um, everybody's told at some point they're done playing, but my relationship with my roommate is forever. Like you're ever it's always bigger than baseball. There should never be any anything that gets in the way of you making relationships with your teammates, and you spend so much time with them that and you've been through so much together, whether your team does boot camp before they start the season or anything. It's just you you go through so much together, and the relationships that you build are built to last. And yeah, I mean, I got friends that I'm gonna talk to the rest of my life just because then I've only known them for two years, and I'm gonna talk to them the rest of my life. Like that's just how it is.

SPEAKER_02 23:37

Do you hate losing or love winning?

SPEAKER_00 23:42

I'd say it's shifted throughout my career, but the answer that kids should have is they hate losing because coaches want to see competitors and you should hate losing more than you love winning.

SPEAKER_01 23:59

What about you know, you you've had the Division I experience, you've had the D3 experience. Talk about or do you have a favorite experience like from a game or a road trip that you're like, all right, I'm gonna remember this the rest of my life, and it's even better for me as a podcaster if it's a really good, funny story.

SPEAKER_00 24:23

Yeah,

The Broken Bat Story That Sticks

SPEAKER_00 24:24

so this is a good question, too, because I have I've had so many things that happen on the field that have been so awesome, and we've had so many fun road trips and all that. But my favorite thing that kind of stuck with me was it's a long story, so bear with me. But I played summer ball, I played summer ball all four years. I played in Texas for three, and so I guess it starts off my freshman year. I played for this team in College Station, and we're playing in Segin, which is by San Antonio, Texas, and I snap my bat. I was obviously pissed off, so I come back to the dugout and I'm like mad. And some kid at the end of the dugout is like, hey, can I take your bat? Can I have your bat? And I was like, Well, my host mom from uh college station wants every bat I break because she puts them on the wall because it has my name on it, so she'll like frame it on the wall with all the pictures. And I was like, you know what? I'm gonna go give this kid this bat. So I go, I go up, and it's I was the first out of the inning, so I had time to sit there and talk to him, and I gave him my bat. He's like one of the one of the five kids there because it was the first year that team had or that city had had a team, so no one went to the games. But I was just kind of chopping it up with him and getting to know him and how he loves baseball and he loves coming out here. And fast forward to two years later, I'm playing for a different team in the same league, and the all-star game is at that field. So I'm there playing in the all-star game. Uh game ends, there's everybody on the field taking pictures. I'm there with my fiance taking pictures, and this guy comes up to me and he's like, Hey, Riley, like, how's it going, man? I'm like, oh, hey, I didn't I didn't know the guy. But he brings this kid over, and it was the kid I gave the bat to two years ago. And he's like, I just want you to know that like you kept him playing the game and kept his passion for baseball. Like, we've been following you for the last three years, ever since you gave him the bat, and like anytime he wants to quit, I would tell him, think of how where Riley is at and his career, and that could be you someday. And it kept him going. So, like, just to know that I helped a kid stay in the game that long, it was just awesome to hear. And we took a picture. I wish I got his name and his Facebook and all that. I I wasn't even thinking because so much was going on, but it it was just such a crazy story to me.

SPEAKER_01 26:50

You know, it it's like with with scouts and and coaches that come to watch a game, you never know who's gonna be in the stands.

SPEAKER_00 26:59

Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 27:00

And you know, they can have a huge impact just as much on you as you may have on them. Now, when you when you um finally walk away from the game of baseball, um how are you are I guess let me ask you this.

Life After Baseball And Final Lessons

SPEAKER_01 27:20

Are you still playing like a summer or do you have any uh aspirations to play like uh in like an independent league or something like that?

SPEAKER_00 27:28

So I actually turned down an independent offer about two weeks ago. Oh, okay. And I've been looking for a job back here in Houston. I just just wanted my cards to go play. I mean, I'm working on getting married and getting a job and getting started with my life, but so what what is baseball?

SPEAKER_01 27:43

I guess final question what is baseball? You've given so much to the game of baseball. What has it given to you?

SPEAKER_00 27:50

Oh, it's given me everything, man. Um it's really shaped me into the person I am today. You know, just being with being a part of something bigger than yourself is always always good. And I've learned valuable leadership skills and teamwork skills. And really the main one I'd say is how to handle adversity. And that's that's gonna help me hopefully in my job whenever I get hired. But handling adversity is really the main thing that really guys get out of baseball, just because you you succeed three out of ten times and you're a Hall of Famer. Like it's just it's a game of failure and it's gonna beat you up, and you just gotta kind of roll with the punches. And I really learned how to handle adversity that way, and now all the little problems in my life just seem real minuscule now that I went through everything else I've been through in baseball.

SPEAKER_01 28:49

Well, it's Riley Bender, just recently graduated from the University of Mary Harden, Baylor in Texas. Riley, thanks for being on Baseball Coaches Unplugged.

SPEAKER_00 29:00

Of course, man. I appreciate you having me up.

Thanks Sponsor And Weekly Reminder

SPEAKER_01 29:04

Baseball Coaches Unplugged Podcast is proud to be partnered with the Netting Professionals Improvement Programs, one facility at a time. Call and tact them today at 844-620-2707 or visit them online at www.nettingprose.com. Be sure to tune in every Wednesday for the new episode. As always, I'm your host, Coach Ken Carpenter. Thanks for joining me on Baseball Coaches Unplugged.