ABCA Podcast

ABCA Podcast

The ABCA Podcast runs the gamut of baseball coaching topics, from pitching, to hitting, to the mental game, practice planning, recruiting and more. It's hosted by Ryan Brownlee, longtime coach and current Assistant Executive Director of the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA). The ABCA is the primary professional organization for baseball coaches, with more than 15,000 members representing all 50 U.S. states and 41 countries. Since 1945, Association membership has broadened to include: NCAA Division I, II and III, NAIA, Junior College, Pacific Association Division, High School, Youth and Travel Baseball. Each January, the ABCA hosts the largest baseball convention in the world. Over 8,000 coaches participate in the convention, which is held at various locations around the country. The ABCA's official website is http://www.ABCA.org.

Episodes

September 8, 2025 59 mins

Baltimore Orioles Minor League Hitting Coach, Jake Ratz, joins the ABCA Podcast this week. Ratz joined the Orioles Organization in December of 2022 coaching in the Dominican Summer League. This past season Ratz coached in the Florida Coast League.

Ratz got his coaching start collegiately where he started his collegiate playing career at Ellsworth Community College. Ot...

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This week on the ABCA Podcast, we’re joined by John Vodenlich, head coach at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, member of the 2024 ABCA Hall of Fame Class, and the 2025 ABCA/ATEC NCAA Div. III Coach of the Year.

Vodenlich has turned UW-Whitewater into a perennial powerhouse, leading the Warhawks to three national championships (2005, 2014, 2025). His 2025 squad was one of the most d...

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Next up on the ABCA Podcast, we’re highlighting another of our ABCA/ATEC Coaches of the Year with John Knott, head coach at Mount San Antonio College and the 2025 ABCA/ATEC Pacific Association Division Coach of the Year.

Knott guided Mt. SAC to a historic season in 2025, capturing the 3C2A Championship for the first time in 60 years. The Mounties finished with an incredible 45-6 record, ...

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This week on the ABCA Podcast, we’re joined by Jim Koerner, USA Baseball’s Director of Player Development. In his role, Koerner oversees on-field programming for six national teams and three national development programs.

Since taking over the position in 2021, Koerner has brought a wealth of coaching experience from his time leading and assisting collegiate programs at North Carolina Ce...

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Next up on the ABCA Podcast, we spotlight another ABCA/ATEC Coach of the Year—Joe Giummule, head coach at Jupiter High School (FL) and the 2025 ABCA/ATEC High School Division I Coach of the Year.

In his first season at Jupiter, Giummule led the Warriors all the way to the Florida Class 7A state championship game, falling just short in a tight 3-2 battle against national powerhouse Stonem...

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This week on the ABCA Podcast, we continue highlighting our ABCA/ATEC Coaches of the Year with Josh Raney, head coach at Blanchard High School (OK) and the 2025 ABCA/ATEC High School Division III National Coach of the Year.

Raney has been at the helm for 19 seasons and has built one of the premier programs in Oklahoma high school baseball. His Blanchard Lions have captured four state tit...

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It’s that time of year on the ABCA Podcast when we spotlight our ABCA/ATEC Coaches of the Year, and this week we’re joined by Chris Roof, the 2025 ABCA/ATEC High School Division II Coach of the Year.

Roof has served as head coach at Governor Livingston High School (NJ) for the past 25 years and has built a powerhouse program in the Garden State. After capturing the New Jersey State Champ...

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Joining us this week on the ABCA Podcast is Zach Sorensen, Mental Performance Coach for the Cincinnati Reds.

A former three-time All-American at Wichita State and second-round MLB Draft pick by the Cleveland Guardians, Sorensen brings a unique perspective shaped by his own professional playing career and his deep passion for helping athletes master the mental game.

After 10 years as a pr...

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This week on the ABCA Podcast, we sit down with Clint Hurdle, longtime MLB manager and current hitting and bench coach for the Colorado Rockies.

Hurdle has been part of professional baseball since 1977, serving the game as a player, coach, and manager over the past five decades. Hurdle spent 17 seasons as a Major League manager—leading both the Colorado Rockies and Pittsburgh Pirates, an...

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This week on the ABCA Podcast, we’re joined by Brad Neffendorf, head coach of LSU Shreveport, who just led his program to a historic and unprecedented season. Under Neffendorf’s leadership, the Pilots went a perfect 59-0, capturing the first national title in school history.

It marked the third NAIA World Series appearance for Shreveport during Neffendorf’s tenure and the fourth consecut...

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We’re back to one-on-one interviews this week on the ABCA Podcast with a true coaching veteran—Dave Serrano, head coach at Johnson University and one of the most respected baseball minds in the game.

Serrano’s journey through college baseball spans over three decades and includes stops at some of the game’s premier programs: Tennessee, Cal State Fullerton, UC Irvine, West Virginia, and C...

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This week on the ABCA Podcast, we recorded in Cary, North Carolina at the NCAA Division II World Series. We sat down with all eight head coaches who led their teams to this year’s championship stage to discuss postseason preparation, team culture, and the experience of competing at the highest level in Division II baseball.

Featured in this episode: Brad Baldwin (Northwood University),  ...

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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: M...

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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), ...

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This week on the ABCA Podcast, we’re joined by Dr. Barry Davis, assistant coach at Princeton University and former longtime head coach at Rider University. Davis brings more than three decades of coaching experience to the conversation, with a track record of sustained success at every level of college baseball—NJCAA, NAIA, and NCAA Division I.

Over 20 seasons at Rider, Davis led the Bro...

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This week on the ABCA Podcast, we’re joined by Dr. Luke Wilkins, a lecturer at La Trobe University and former sport scientist and lead skill acquisition specialist with the New York Yankees. Wilkins brings a unique perspective to player development, blending cutting-edge academic research with experience in professional baseball.

In this episode, we take a deep dive into his recent resea...

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This week on the ABCA Podcast, we’re joined by former MLB All-Star, longtime broadcaster, and pitchLogic CBO, Lary Sorensen. A veteran of 11 big-league seasons, Sorensen won 93 games and was selected to the 1978 American League All-Star team as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers.

After his final MLB appearance in 1988, Sorensen transitioned into the broadcast booth, calling games for ESPN...

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This is our final installment of on location interviews from Cary, NC and USA Baseball’s NHSI Tournament coaches. Today we are joined by Venice’s Craig Faulkner, Corona Del Sol’s David Webb, Collierville’s Jeff Munier, Wesleyan Christian’s Mo Blakeney and Stony Brook’s Jon Brewer. Congrats to Coach Faulkner and Venice High School on bringing home this year’s championship.

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The second part of our special National High School Invitational series brings you more on-the-ground conversations recorded in Cary, North Carolina. This premier event once again showcased elite talent and exceptional coaching from across the country.

This week, we continue our series with five more outstanding high school coaches who led their teams at NHSI 2025:

  • Andy Wise – Coron...
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For the next three weeks, we’re bringing you a special series of interviews recorded on location in Cary, North Carolina, during USA Baseball’s National High School Invitational (NHSI). It was another phenomenal event filled with top-tier talent and outstanding coaching.

This week, we kick things off with a round of conversations featuring coaches from five standout programs that compete...

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