Jaylon Cushenberry is now in charge of the baseball program at Lawrence Central High School in Indianapolis. His hiring was finalized in November and he went about establishing the culture for the Bears. “At LC we’ve padded our schedule. It’s a lot tougher than it’s ever been,” says Cushenberry, who won IHSAA Class 1A sectionals in both his seasons as head coach at Traders Point Christian in Whitestown, Ind. “We play teams like Zionsville, Western, Westfield, University and a couple of other teams. “Our goal with our regular season is to play as many championship caliber teams as we can and see how we stack up. “When you think of LC Baseball from here on out you’re going to see blue collar workers who won’t quit. We have a lot of grit and determination. “They’ve all bought into the plan — play very, very hard for seven-plus innings.” Lawrence Central (enrollment around 2,365) is a member of the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference (with Ben Davis, Indianapolis North Central, Lawrence North, Pike and Warren Central). MIC teams play home-and-home series on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The Bears are part of an IHSAA Class 4A sectional grouping in 2023 with Ben Davis, Indianapolis Cathedral, Indianapolis Crispus Attucks, Indianapolis North Central, Lawrence North and Pike. Lawrence Central has won eight sectional titles — the last in 2004. Cushenberry, a graduate of Avon (Ind.) High School and Marian University in Indianapolis, is a Special Education Paraprofessional at Zionsville (Ind.) Community High School, where he is also defensive line coach for the football team. Because of the timing of his hiring he was not there to guide IHSAA Limited Contact Period sessions in the fall, but Cushenberry has regularly had 35 to 40 as winter activities and expects 10 to 15 more when winter sports are complete. The focus so far has been on getting to know one another while also teaching the game. “We want to build a great relationship with our players,” says Cushenberry. “We’re trying to get our guys to buy into who we are. “We want to build that mindset to be aggressive and not be passive and look for the easy way out.” A year ago, the Bears fielded varsity and junior varsity teams. Cushenberry says if there are enough quality players LC may have three teams this spring. Three of Cushenberry’s 2023 assistants — Conner Madding, Nolan Nihiser and Ernie Mudis — were on his Traders Point staff. At Lawrence Central, Madding is the pitching coach, Nihiser the outfield coordinator and Mudis a varsity assistant. In addition, there varsity assistant Jack Johnson, varsity assistant/junior varsity head coach Davon Hardy, JV assistant C.J. Wilson and infield coordinator Uriak Marquez. The Venezuelan played several years in professional baseball, including two in the Chicago Cubs system. Cushenberry is hitting and baserunning coordinator. He will be helped on the hitting side by Nihiser and Marquez. “Traders Point taught me how to coach,” says Cushenberry. “It taught me patience and understanding how to work with kids of lesser talent and also how to develop players at a high level. “It also taught me how to be humbled. With every high there’s a low. Our kids found that out very quickly. You win back-to-back sectionals and are a couple or runs or mistakes from being in the regional championship. “Baseball is a humbling game and teaches you so many life lessons.” The Bears play on-campus on Community Health Field. Plans call for a new all-turf field with lights next to the current one in 2024. Like Lawrence Central, Metropolitan School District of Lawrence Township partner Lawrence Central is also due to get turf fields for baseball and softball, according to Cushenberry. Rainouts — which take away game and practice time — are significantly lessened with turf and a major reason so many schools are going to it. “Turf is a necessity item for us,” says Cushenberry. The Lawrence Central program is fed by Belzer and Fall Creek Valley middle schools and Fall Creek Softball & Baseball. Among Lawrence Central graduates in college baseball there’s Class of 2019’s Zach Lane (Ball State University) and Class of 2022’s Charlie Hawk (Purdue Fort Wayne). Class of 2024’s Ahmaad Duff is committed to the University of Alabama. Two others from that class — Nick Johnson and Bryson Luter — have been getting looks from collegiate baseball programs. Cushenberry, who has coach with the Indiana Mustangs travel organization in the summer, was among the many Indiana high school coaches attending the 2023 American Baseball Coaches Convention in Nashville. “It was so much fun and we learned so much,” says Cushenberry.
Jaylen Cushenberry. (Lawrence Central High School Photo)
Andy McClain has gotten a look at his prospects as the new head baseball coach at North Central High School in Indianapolis and he likes the Panthers chances to make noise on the diamond in 2023. “It’s a big school and a good program,” says McClain, who comes to Washington Township after four years at Lawrence Central. “We’ve got hungry kids. We’re setting high standards. I’m excited about it. “It’s a good opportunity.” North Central (enrollment around 3,875) is a member of the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference (with Ben Davis, Lawrence Central, Lawrence North, Pike and Warren Central). MIC teams play home-and-home series on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The Panthers are part of an IHSAA Class 4A sectional grouping in 2023 with Ben Davis, Indianapolis Cathedral, Indianapolis Crispus Attucks, Lawrence Central, Lawrence North and Pike. North Central has won 11 sectional titles — the last in 2006. “We play a competitive schedule,” says McClain. “The MIC and (Marion) County will help us make a run in the state tournament.” The fall IHSAA Limited Contact Period saw 40 to 50 North Central players participate in each session, allowing for scrimmaging. “It was different,” says McClain. “I’ve never had that. We were able to get a lot of things done. We feel like we’re in a good place from some of the things we were able to install in the fall. “There will be a lot of competition for positions. If the goal is to get them to compete you’re going to have that in your practice environment. That’s only going to make them better.” About the same number of athletes have begun weight room workouts and the next Limited Contact Period comes Dec. 5-Feb. 4. That’s where McClain will continue to emphasize energy, effort and execution. McClain plans to field three teams — varsity, junior varsity and C-team. He said he could have as many as 15 seniors — 10 with varsity experience. The Panthers went 14-9-1 in 2022. Jack Ferguson (Class of 2023) hit .412 and Micah Rienstra-Kiracofe (Class of 2024) .405. On the mound, Tristan Wilson (Class of 2025) won four games and Will Kaiser (Class of 2023) three. Besides McClain, the Panthers varsity coaching staff features Andrew Dutkanych III, Scott King and Gabe Hoffman. Dutkanych is the pitching coach. King returns to the staff. Hoffman pitched at Pike. Panther Park — North Central’s home field — recently was leveled and is scheduled to host sectional in the spring. Feeding the Panthers are baseball programs as three at three middle schools — Eastwood, Northview and Westlane. McClain, a 1987 graduate of Martinsville (Ind.) High School, where he played for and coached with Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer Bill Tutterow, has been a head coach at five other Indiana high schools — LaVille, Indianapolis Arlington, Brebeuf Jesuit, Norwell and Lawrence Central. Brebeuf was the 2012 Class 3A state runner-up and Norwell the 2013 3A state champion. McClain is a longtime emcee at the IHSBCA State Clinic in January. Since moving back to Indianapolis, McClain has coached travel ball in the summer for the Indiana Bulls. The 2023 season will be his fifth. He will lead the 15U Grey. John Zangrilli is an assistant and his son John Zangrilli (Carmel Class of 2026) his on the team. McClain has coached Nevan Tutterow (Franklin Central Class of 2025, grandson of Bill and son of Bryant) on the Bulls. The 2023-23 year marks McClain’s 33rd in education and a Science teacher at North Central. “The Biology department along has 10 people in it,” says McClain of the enormity of North Central. Daughter MacKenzie McClain lives in Victor, N.Y., and is scheduled to be married next summer.
Baseball took Allbry Major all over America. The Indianapolis native played in many places as a travel baller and then had college baseball adventures at three schools and with numerous summer collegiate teams. His playing career over, the 23-year-old reflects on his experiences as he finishes Week 1 on his first full-time job. What did he get out of baseball? “It taught me how to compete,” says Major. “That was something very important to me. Anything can be competition. “There’s also the relationships I made with people. It’s really a small world once you get to summer ball.” Major is now a manager trainee at a Enterprise Rent-A-Car store near San Francisco. He settled there with girlfriend and former Arizona State University softball player Mailey McLemore. Both finished their degrees this spring — Major in General Studies with a focus in Applied Sciences at Louisiana State University Shreveport and McLemore in Sports Business at ASU. Born in Indianapolis as the only child of Kendrick and Marcy Major (a trackster who competed for Indiana State University and a multi-sport prep athlete), Allbry was in Pike Township until attending North Central High School, where he graduated in 2017. In 2016, he named all-Marion County and helped the Phil McIntyre-coached Panthers to the county championship. He was academic all-Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference his last three years. Major made the basketball squad as a senior. He had classes with members of the team and would participate in pick-up games so he decided to go out for head coach Doug Mitchell’s squad. Mitchell went into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2022. People always assumed that at 6-foot-6 he was a basketball player. “That’s everybody’s first guess,” says Major. But his first love was for the diamond. His baseball journey got rolling around age 7 at Westlane-Delaware Little League. There were travel ball stops with the Pony Express, Smithville Gators, Indiana Bandits, Indiana Outlaws, New Level Baseball Tornadoes (Illinois) and then — during his junior high and high school years — the Cincinnati Spikes, including his 17U summer. “I didn’t like (being an only child),” says Major. “I always wanted siblings. I wasn’t a big fan of the spotlight.” Major enjoyed getting to know so many coaches and teammates. He also learned from travel ball trips that sometimes had four players to a room that there were stages to the summer in the early years. “I started out the season super excited to play again with my travel team,” says Major. “In the middle of the year, they got on my nerves. The last week or two I was irritated and mad at them. I grew out out that once I got to college. Everybody was more independent. You handle your business and get out.” The summer before going to Xavier University in Cincinnati, the 6-6, 215-pound switch-hitting outfielder was with the Elmira (N.Y.) Pioneers of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League. Major played at Xavier in 2018 and 2019, but not during the COVID-19 pandemic-shortened 2020 season. He was named Big East Conference Freshman of the Year in 2018 after hitting .291 (46-of-158) with two home runs, nine doubles, 21 runs batted in and 16 runs scored in 47 games (46 starts). As 16 games as a pitcher (eight starts), the right-hander went 3-5 with one save, a 4.96 earned run average, 54 strikeouts and 24 walks in 61 2/3 innings. He had just a handful of pitching outings after that. In 2019, Major played in 51 games (all starts) and hit .281 (57-of-203) with seven homers, 15 doubles, 34 RBIs and 32 runs. The Musketeers head coach was Billy O’Conner. Major was at Arizona State University in the fall of 2020 and spring of 2021. With the Tracy Smith-coached Sun Devils, he was in 27 games and hit .196 with two homers and 10 RBIs. “I trying to go D-I again (after Arizona State), but there was the road block of being academically eligible,” says Major, noting how credits transferred from one school to the next. A Finance major when he started at Xavier, he switched to Communications because it was easier with his full load of baseball activities. He was going to continue down that path at ASU, but not all credits transferred and he went with General Studies/Applied Sciences (including Business, Communications and Sociology). Along the way, Major discovered his learning style to be hands-on (aka Kinesthetic). On the VARK scale there is Visual, Auditory, Reading and writing and Kinesthetic. “I identify more with that,” says Major. “The better coaches made me understand why I was doing what I was doing. Once I understood I just kind of bought in more. “Not everybody’s the same.” Joining close friend Zyon Avery (Ben Davis Class of 2018) at LSUS gave Major the opportunity to play in the NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho, in 2022. The Brad Neffendorf-coached Pilots went 53-8 in their second straight World Series season with two losses coming in Idaho. In 51 games with LSUS, Major hit .333 (49-of-147) with 11 homers, 56 RBIs and 38 runs. Major encountered many wood bat summer league situations in college. He played briefly for both the Cape Cod Baseball League’s Brewster Whitecaps and New England Collegiate Baseball League’s Valley Blue Sox (Holyoke, Mass.) in the summer of 2018. He went back to the Cape in 2019 with the Cotuit Kettleers (his head coach was American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer Mike Roberts). He had no summer team in 2020. In 2021, Major suited up for the Prospect League’s Chris Willsey-managed Lafayette (Ind.) Aviators. In 99 collegiate summer league games, he hit .302 with six homers and 49 RBIs. Major was hoping to be selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, but knew time was not on his side. “After Arizona State, that was my last real chance because of my age,” says Major. “I know how big of a factor that plays in the draft.” He had a chance to play independent pro ball, but decided to go with Mailey (daughter of former all-pro defensive back and San Francisco 49ers Super Bowl XIX-champion Dana McLemore and a former softball standout at Carlmont High School in Belmont, Calif.) and begin working. “It’s the first time I’ve had a job because I’ve been playing summer ball,” says Major. “I’m trying to adjust to that. “It’s the most expensive part of the country.” Major doesn’t see himself leaving baseball behind entirely. Coaching might be his next avenue. “I’m still going to be involved as much as a I can,” says Major. “I’ll have to see what my schedule is like now that I’m working.”
Chris Ulrey enjoys a challenge and he and a staff of experienced assistant coaches are taking one head-on at Warren Central High School in Indianapolis. Ulrey, a 2006 New Palestine High School graduate who was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in 2006 and has been running the Midwest Astros Baseball and Softball Academy in Greenfield, Ind., and instructing hitters from youth through pro for the last 11 years, was hired to head up the Warriors program at the beginning of the 2021-22 school year. “I love a challenge,” says Ulrey. “You get to see how good your coaching staff is at developing guys. “(Athletic Director Isang Jacob) allowed me to bring in guys I thought would be essential.” Ulrey’s staff features pitching coach Morgan Coombs, infielders coach Jeff Cardenas and operations/outfielders coach T.J. Schooley at the varsity level with Zac Capps and Josh Ott with the junior varsity squad. Coombs is a West Vigo High School graduate who pitched for Ball State University and in independent and Australian pro ball. Fort Wayne native Cardenas played at Kankakee (Ill.) Community College (when Ulrey was hitting coach and recruiting coordinator there) and the University of Northwestern Ohio and in independent pro ball. Schooley is a longtime Ulrey assistant and brings many years of knowledge and coaching to the Warren Central staff at the varsity level. Ulrey plans to field two competitive teams — varsity and JV — in 2022. Fall and winter practices plus weight workouts have allowed Ulrey to get to know the talent level of his players. “Our expectations are high,” says Ulrey. “It comes down to how much these guys want to work, buy in and commit to changing the culture of Warren Central baseball.” Warren Central had 21 players in the program in 2021 and it’s been more than a decade since the Warriors won 10 games. There was a Black and Gold World Series in front of parents and fans that allowed players to have fun and compete. “It was very good for us,” says Ulrey. “We got to see from a live pitching standpoint what we have going into (2022).” To make it work, there must be buy-in and commitment from the athletes. Some workouts have been at 6 a.m. Fall sessions averaged 30 to 40 players with many returning starters missing because of football and soccer commitments. There were 35 to 50 at the beginning of off-season weights and conditioning. Ulrey is also an assistant strength and conditioning coach to Keith Swift at Warren Central and teaches Athletic Weights, which gives him the chance to work with all of the school’s athletes including baseball players. Warren Central (enrollment around 3,800) is part of the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference (with Ben Davis, Carmel, Center Grove, Indianapolis North Central, Lawrence Central, Lawrence North and Pike). In 2021, the Warriors were in IHSAA Class 4A sectional grouping with Franklin Central, New Palestine, Perry Meridian, Roncalli and Southport. Warren Central has won nine sectionals — the last in 1991. Seven varsity players and a talented junior and senior class return from 2021. Among the returnees are junior right-handed pitcher Eli Shaw, junior right-hander/infielder John “JayJay” Calmes and sophomore center fielder/right-hander Joshua James. All have attracted college interest. “We are young with a lot of arms,” says Ulrey. “We have a good freshman class as well with some good pitching and big bats that may have opportunities to get some varsity time.” Warriors Baseball Club has been established to help run camps for elementary and middle school players (nine elementary schools and four middle schools feed into Warren Central) throughout the year and support the high school program. Gavin Deberry (Warren Central Class of 2021) moved on to play at Purdue Northwest. He was coached by Ulrey with the Midwest Astros and trained with him since age 12. Ulrey and company are running the Warriors like a college program — from the way the players act to the way they handle themeslves. “Academics are first and sports are second,” says Ulrey. “We are preparing ourselves for after sports. “As coaches, we plan to do our part and develop and guide these young men in the right direction. These guys have worked hard up to this point and made the commitment and bought in to this team and program to show what they can do this spring. “Our motto this year is ‘Prove Your Worth.’ It’s been a long time since Warren Central baseball has done anything and these boys are preparing themselves this off-season and working hard to prove to our school, the community and our opponents they can play and compete with anyone if they work for it.”
Chris Ulrey.
Warren Central High School’s varsity baseball coaching staff (from left): assistants Jeff Cardenas, T.J. Schooley, Morgan Coombs and head coach Chris Ulrey.
Warren Central High School’s varsity baseball coaching staff (from left): assistants Jeff Cardenas, T.J. Schooley, Morgan Coombs and head coach Chris Ulrey.
Warren Central players learn from the coaching staff.
Weight room part of process for Warren Central baseball.
Warren Central players at practice.
Medicine balls are used by Warren Central in baseball workout.
Warren Central players train to get better.
Warren Central head coach Chris Ulrey addresses his players.
Warren Central players do work.
Warren Central players in training.
Warren Central coach Chris Ulrey (right) at practice.
IHSBCA members may vote for up to four coaches and two players/contributors. Deadline for returning the ballot is Oct. 31. Inductees will be honored at the State Clinic Jan. 14-16 at Sheraton at the Crossing in Indianapolis.
IHSBCA HALL OF FAME 2022 BALLOT Coaches Steve Strayer (Active) A graduate of Prairie Heights High School, Manchester College (bachelor’s degree) and Indiana University Northwest (masters degree), Strayer has been a head coach at Boone Grove and Crown Point (current) and has a record of 641-238 with 15 conference, 14 sectional and nine regional titles. He has coached 13 IHSBCA All-Stars, 64 future college players (23 NCAA Division I). He is a six-time District Coach of the Year (1996, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2007 and 2019). In 10 seasons at Boone Grove, Strayer won 223 games with seven Porter County championships. His Crown Point teams have won 418 in 19 seasons with numerous sectional regional crowns and eight Duneland Athletic Conference titles. He has been IHSBCA president and was a North All-Star coach in 2005 and 2021. Strayer teaches math at Crown Point High School. Steve and wife Jennifer live in Crown Point with daughter Charlotte.
Lea Selvey (Active) A graduate of Redkey High School, University of Evansville (bachelor’s) and Ball State University (master’s), Selvey has spent his entire career at Jay County — five years as an assistant and 32 as head coach — and is 515-343 with seven sectionals and three regionals. His teams have won five Olympic Conference titles and he was named OC Coach of the Year three time. He also has an Allen County Athletic Conference crown to his credit. Selvey was a District Coach of the Year in 2019. He has served the IHSBCA as president, a regional representative and been on numerous committees and been an All-Star assistant twice. He’s also been a Regional Coach of the Year. Selvey has coached 14 All-Stars and had numerous players go on to college baseball with two being selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft and two others playing independent pro ball and overseas pro baseball. He coached the 1992 NABF Topps Player of the Year. Selvey started the junior high program at Jay County and has been active with the Summit City Sluggers travel organization for nine years. He has also been involved with cross country, boys basketball and girls basketball over the years. Lea and wife Denise have three children (Josh, Kristen and Kyle (wife Leah) and currently teaches Science at Jay County High School.
Dean Lehrman (Active) A graduate of Heritage High School and Indiana Purdue Fort Wayne, Lehrman was a four-year baseball letterman in high school and pitched four years in college. He has been a head baseball coach of 42 years — nine at Woodlan and 33 at Heritage (current). His teams have won 615 with 12 Allen County Athletic Conference titles along with eight sectionals, three regionals and one semistate. There’s been three Final Four appearances and a state runner-up finish (2007). He’s an eight-time ACAC Coach of the Year. He’s also been a District Coach of the Year and twice been on the All-Star coaching staff. He also coached football for 39 years, including six as head coach (40-26). Dean and wife Janice have three children (Camryn, Derek and Ryne) and four grandchildren. Dean retired from teaching math at Heritage High School in 2020.
Gary Rogers (Active) A graduate of Merrillville High School and Huntington College, Rogers has been a head coach of 34 years — 32 at Fort Wayne Bishop Luers and two at Leo (current) with 513 wins. His Luers teams won four sectionals, one regional, one semistate and one state championship (2008). He was the State Coach of the Year in 2008 and has twice been a District Coach of the Year. He has been on numerous IHSBCA committees and is very active in the Fort Wayne baseball community. He was a volunteer assistant at Indiana Tech for many seasons, worked the Wildcat League for 33 ears and is on the board of the Northeast Indiana Baseball Association (he is an NEIBA Hall of Famer).
Mark Grove (Retired) A graduate of Bluffton High School and Ball State University, Grove won 513 games, nine sectionals, four regionals and was a semistate runner-up in 1995 at Churubusco High School. His teams won nine Northeast Corner Conference championships (four tourney titles) and two Allen County Athletic Conference crowns. Grove coached 40 players who went on to college baseball and one MLB Draft selection. He has coached 25 All-Staters, six North All-Stars and twice coached the All-Stars. He was a District Coach of the Year several times. A longtime IHSBCA member, he has served on several committees (co-chaired “Baseball Strikes Out Kancer”) and is currently helping at the state clinic registration table. He is a Northeast Indiana Baseball Association Hall of Famer and has mentored many coaches. He is a willing participant/organizer of clinics and youth baseball events.
Tim Terry (Active) A graduate of Clinton High School and Indiana State University (bachelor’s and masters), Terry has been a baseball coach for 43 years — 41 as head coach — with 620 wins and eight sectionals. His teams have won 20 or more games 10 times and he has been a conference Coach of the Year on nine occasions. He has twice been a District Coach of the Year, served as an IHSBCA All-Star coach twice and coaches several All-Staters and All-Stars. He’s been on many IHSBCA committees. Terry played football, basketball and baseball at Clinton and baseball and Indiana State before an injury sidelined him. He was a South Vermillion High School assistant in 1979 and 1981 and Turkey Run High School head coach in 1980. He became SVHS head coach in 1982. He has also coached many Little League, Pony League, Babe Ruth and travel ball teams. He’s been a varsity football coach for three years and girls basketball coach of 34. In three sports, he has 922 victories. Terry was an Industrial Arts and Physical Education teacher and has been South Vermillion athletic director for the past six years. Tim and wife Kim (an SVHS Science teacher) have four boys (T.J., 26, Carlton, 22, Cooper, 21, and Easton, 16).
Doug Greenlee (Retired) A graduate of South Putnam High School, Indiana State University (bachelor’s) and Ball State University (masters), Greenlee won 503 games in a 28-year span, including 25 at Kankakee Valley High School with three sectionals, two regionals and seven conference championships. He was the 2013 IHSBCA North All-Star head coach and coached nine All-Stars and numerous future collegiate players. His Kankakee Valley teams were ranked No. 1 on three occasions. Greenlee has served on several IHSBCA committees and been an athletic director of 16 years at four different schools. He officiated baseball for more than 25 years and worked four State Finals.
Dave Ginder (Active) A graduate of Carroll High School and Anderson University, Ginder is 400-142 in 19 seasons as Carroll head coach with seven Northeast Hoosier Conference, 10 sectional, four regional, two semistate and two state crowns (2010 and 2011). He was the State Coach of the Year in 2010 and 2011, NHC Coach of the Year in 2003, 2011 and 2013 and a District Coach of the Year in 2007, 2010 and 2001. Ginder is an active IHSBCA member, having served as an All-Star coach in 2011 and many years as a member of the 4A poll panel. He has also been involved in many local baseball camps and clinics and is member of the American Baseball Coaches Association and Northeast Indiana Baseball Association. Dave and wife Kristen reside in Fort Wayne and have three children (Langston, 22, Dresden, 20, and Jantzen, 17). Dave teaches mat at Carroll High School and Kristen is a Registered Nurse at Parkview.
Players Wallace Johnson (Retired) A graduate of Gary Roosevelt High School (1975) and Indiana State University (1979), Wallace played for legendary coach Bob Warn at ISU and was co-captain on the Sycamores’ first Missouri Valley Conference championship team and first NCAA Tournament team. Johnson led the nation in hitting (.502) that season and hit .422 for his college career. He was inducted into the ISU Hall of Fame in 1985. Drafted in 1979 by the Montreal Expos, Johnson was a Florida State League MVP and helped Denver (1981) and Indianapolis (1986) and Triple-A championships. He made his MLB debut with the Expos in 1981 and became the team’s all-time leader in pinch hits (86). For his big league career, Johnson hit .255 with five home runs and 59 runs batted in over 428 games. After his playing career, he was third base coach for the Chicago White Sox for five seasons.
Jamey Carroll (Retired) A graduate of Castle High School (1992) and the University of Evansville (1996), Carroll played for Dave Sensenbrenner in high school and Jim Brownlee in college. He was an All-American in 1996 and Caroll’s name is in the UE record book 27 times. Drafted by the Montreal Expos in the 14th round, he went on to a 12-year big league career with the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals, Colorado Rockies, Cleveland Indians, Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota Twins and Kansas City Royals. Carroll posted a 16.6 WAR WITH 1,000 hits, 13 homers, a .272 average, 580 runs, 265 RBIs, 74 stolen bases, .349 on-base percentage and .687 OPS (on-base plus slugging). He led National League second basemen in fielding percentage in 2006 and plated Matt Hollday with a sacrifice fly in a 2007 NL Wild Card Game. Jamey and wife Kim have 11-year-old twins (Cole and Mackenzie). He works in the Pittsburgh Pirates front office.
Players/Contributors Dave Taylor (Active) A standout player at Southmont High School and Wabash College (where he was team captain), Taylor coached Little League, Babe Ruth, high school, AAU and American Legion ball. During an AAU coaching stint in Florida he realized the level of travel baseball and how Indiana was underrepresented in this arena. He formed the Indiana Bulls with the vision of providing Indiana high school players with the opportunity to pursue their college and MLB dreams. In 1992, the Bulls sponsored two games and Taylor coached the 18U squad with future big leaguers Scott Rolen and Todd Dunwoody. He coached the Bulls four more seasons, served as president for 10 and officer for 20 and has been director since 1992. More than 170 Bulls players have been drafted (12 in the first round) and over 300 have received NCAA Division I scholarships. The organization has 22 national titles and a professional staff that works 12 months a year. There are currently 25 teams ages 8U to 17U. Several are coached by former professionals who played for the Bulls. Taylor resides in Brownsburg and is a leading insurance defense trail attorney, He has served 20 years as a certified Major League Baseball Players Association agent and represented more than 100 pro players. He continues to represent former players in various legal matters.
Bryan Bullington (Retired) A graduate of Madison Consolidated High School, Bullington was a two-sport athlete (basketball and baseball). As a pitcher, he was 6-3 with 74 strikeouts as a sophomore in 1997, 10-1 with 1.69 earned run average and 65 strikeouts as a junior in 1998 and 15-0 with 1.49 ERA and 127 strikeouts as a senior in 1999. He threw a one-hitter in helping Madison win a state championship in 1999 and was named Indiana Mr. Baseball by Hoosier Diamond. He was MVP of the IHSBCA North/South All-Star Series and selected in the 37th round of the MLB Draft by the Kansas City Royals. Bullington opted to attend Ball State University. In three seasons he was 29-11. He was Mid-American Conference Pitcher of the Year in 2001 and 2002. When he left BSU, he held school records for single-season wins (11), career wins (29), single-season strikeouts (139) and career strikeout (357) and still holds MAC single-season and career strikeout marks. He was named to the BSU Hall of Fame in 2014. Bullington, a 2001 U.S. National Team pitcher in 2001, was the No. 1 overall draft selection by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2002. He’s just one of two Indiana players taken with the top pick. He logged 12 pro seasons (missing 2006 because of a torn labrum) with a 61-38 record, 3.68 ERA and 602 strikeouts in seven minor league campaigns. In five seasons with the Hiroshima Carp in Japan, he was 46-48 with a 3.25 ERA and 550 strikeouts. He pitched in 49 MLB games with the Pirates, Cleveland Indians, Toronto Blue Jays and Royals. Bullington lives south of Chicago with his wife and three children and is a scout for the Milwaukee Brewers.
A.J. Reed (Retired) A 2011 graduate of Terre Haute South Vigo High School, where he played for Kyle Kraemer, Reed was a three-time all-Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference honoree, first-team All-State (2010 and 2011) and Indiana High School Player of the Year (2011). He was also an IHSBCA South All-Star and the series MVP. He is listed in the IHSBCA record for walks in a season (first) and home runs in a season (sixth). Reed played three seasons at the University of Kentucky (2012-14). After his junior year, he earned the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year, Golden Spikes Award (for the nation’s top amateur player), Dick Howser Trophy and Player of the Year honors from ABCA and Baseball America as well as the John Olerud Trophy and several first-team All-America mentions and Collegiate Baseball/Louisville Slugger National Player of the Year. In 2012, he was on several first-team Freshman All-America lists. The Houston Astros selected Reed in the second round of the 2014 MLB Draft and he was an All-Star in Minor League Baseball in 2015, 2017 and 2018. He was a two-time recipient of the Joe Bauman Award for leading MiLB in homers and was Rookie of the Year and MVP at Lancaster of the California League in 2015. Reed retired from baseball in May 2020 and resides in Riley with Shelby and their two dogs. He plans to return to college in January to finish his bachelor’s degree.
With lasting influences from two coaches, John Zangrilli decided that education and coaching were for him when he was still a teenager.
It was while learning and playing for Jeff Massey (baseball) and Ken Randle (basketball) that Zangrilli saw his career path. Massey was the head baseball coach for Zangrilli’s last three years at Lawrence Central High School in Indianapolis, following Steve Goeglein. Randle was a freshmen/assistant coach, teacher and mentor.
Since graduating from Lawrence Central in 1994, Zangrilli has enjoyed many baseball experiences and encounters with successful diamond minds.
Zangrilli — aka Z or Coach Z since his father (Papa Z) and son (Little Z) are also named John — has coached in three central Indiana high school programs (two assistant stints at Carmel and head coaching tenures at Brebeuf Jesuit and Zionsville).
As a head coach, Coach Z-led teams went 247-81 with six sectional championships (2004, 2005, 2008, 2009 and 2010 at Brebeuf and 2012 at Zionsville), three regional crowns (2005 and 2009 at Brebeuf and 2012 at Zionsville), one Final Four appearance (2012 at Zionsville), two Hoosier Crossroads Conference titles (2011 and 2012 at Zionsville) and one Marion County crown (2010 at Brebeuf in a an extra-inning game against Lawrence Central at Victory Field that Zangrilli calls the best game he’s ever seen).
He has coached 28 players who went on to college careers and 18 academic all-state honorees
Among Zangrilli’s coach of the year honors include IHSBCA all-district (2009, 2012), all-North (2011) and Marion County (2005, 2009, 2010).
There has been involvement with three travel organizations (Zionsville Baseball Club, Carmel Pups and Indiana Bulls) for Coach Z. He helped start the ZBC and re-tooled the Carmel Pups. He coached with the Pups while his son, John, moved from 8U to 12U. Both will be with the Indiana Bulls 13U Silver team — dad as head coach and son as a player — in 2021.
“Coach Farley and Coach Morgan couldn’t be any more different in terms of their personalities
Intense,” says Zangrilli, describing Morgan as intense and Farley possessing an even-keel temperament. “Coach Morgan was extremely detail-oriented. Every moment of every day was organized. It’s the first time I was introduced to something like that. It was about understanding your role on the team. As a coach, I drew on that a little bit.
“I really enjoyed the way Coach Farley created a calm atmosphere for his athletes to relax and take what they had been taught and then go out and play the game.”
Zangrilli earned an Elementary Education degree with an endorsement in Physical Education and Health from Butler in 1998. He has worked in Carmel schools for 22 years and is now a Wellness Education teacher at Woodbrook Elementary School.
His first high school coaching gig was a three-year stint on the coaching staff of Carmel Greyhounds head coach Tom Linkmeyer in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. Carmel lost 1-0 in 11 innings to eventual state runner-up Evansville Harrison in the 2000 State semifinals.
Born in central Pennsylvania, Zangrilli roots for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Pittsburgh Pirates and Penn State University. He came to Indiana early in his elementary school years.
At 14, Zangrilli worked for Jeff Mercer Sr., at Mercer’s Sports Center on the Indiana State Fairgrounds.
One of the first players to log more than one summer with the Indiana Bulls, Z was with the elite organization 1992-94. Mike Stein was head coach that first year. The next two years, Dennis Kas was head coach and was helped by Kevin Stephenson, Brent Mewhinney and Linkmeyer, who was also the Wellness Education teacher at Woodbrook prior to Zangrilli.
“They were imparting all this baseball knowledge on us,” says Zangrilli. “It was eye-opening. It was the intersection of talent and instruction and we took off. We had a great deal of success.
“Dennie Kas was the first guy I played for who instilled an appreciation for preparation,” says Zangrilli. “He had a real knack for reading the pulse of his team.
“He could walk in the dugout and know if they needed to be calm or pick up the energy.”
Zangrilli was head coach at Brebeuf for seven campaigns (2004-10) and Zionsville for three (2011-13).
“Between my years at Brebeuf and Zionsville it was an embarrassment of riches,” says Coach Z.
Among his assistants at Brebeuf were Andy McClain (former player and assistant under IHSBCA of Famer Bill Tutterow at Martinsville and head coach at LaVille and Arlington who went on to be head coach at Brebeuf, Norwell and Lawrence Central) and Tim Phares (son of IHSBCA Hall of Famer George Phares).
Standout Braves players included catcher Radley Haddad (Western Carolina University, Butler University, player and coach in New York Yankees system), outfielder Jack Dillon (Butler University), Tres Eberhardt (Xavier University), outfielder Nathan Koontz (Ball State University), catcher Mitch Overley (Ball State University, Wabash College), infielder/outfielder Ty Adams (University of Notre Dame), outfielder Kevin Simms (University of Dayton, Wright State University), outfielder Stevie Eberhardt-Gipson (Northern Kentucky University) and right-handed pitcher/catcher John Krasich (Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology).
Right-hander Parker Dunshee (Wake Forest University, Oakland Athletics organization), infielder/outfielder Max Kuhn (University of Kentucky, Oakland Athletics organization), infielder Troy Kuhn (Ohio State University), third baseman Ben Kocher (Belmont University), outfielder Drew Small (Butler University), left-hander Alex Westrick (Xavier University) and outfielder Nick Barrientos (Wabash Valley College, Northwood University) are part of a long line of Eagles players who went on to college and/or professional baseball.
John and wife Jackie have two children. After the 2013 season, Z turned his focus to teaching as well as coaching Little Z and daughter Olivia (a travel volleyball player).
When former Butler teammate Matt Buczkowski (son of IHBCA Hall of Famer Len Buczkowski) became head coach at he — and all the returning Carmel talent — lured Zangrilli back into high school coaching.
Coach Z remembers Buczkowski’s request going something like this: “I’ve got a Ferrari of pitching staff. I need to have somebody help me drive it.”
Buczkowski inherited a stable of arms developed by former Carmel pitching coach Jay Lehr.
The 2017 senior class featured left-handers Tommy Sommer (Indiana University), Max Habegger (Lipscomb University), Shawn Roop (Manhattan College) and right-handers Cameron Pferrer (University of Missouri) and Aaron Ernst (University of Dayton, Wright State University) plus outfielders Parker Massman (Miami University of Ohio) and infielder Rhett Wintner (Ball State University). There was also junior infielder Jack Van Remortel (University of Michigan).
“I didn’t plan on coming back to high school coaching,” says Zangrilli. “But I was intrigued. I had a pretty good history with Butch.
The spring of 2021 will be Coach Z’s fifth since returning to the Carmel dugout.
Zangrilli, Buczkowski and former Westfield and Carmel field boss and current hitting coach Eric Lentz represent more than 500 head coaching victories on a Hounds staff. Pitching coach Fred Moses came to Carmel from Lawrence Central with Buczkowski.
“My role is whatever they need as any given day,” says Zangrilli, who has been a pitching coach, first base coach and a camp coordinator. The past five years, he helped oversee the Carmel Pups.
COVID-19 shut down the 2020 high school season days before tryouts (Carmel went 21-8 and finished second in the MIC in 2019) and prevented the 12U Pups from making a trip to play in Cooperstown, N.Y.
“It’s extremely unfortunate,” says Zangrilli. “It proves it can be taken away from you at any point.”
Following health precautions, Zangrilli says the Hounds were able to accomplish as much as they did during last year’s Limited Contact Period fall workouts.
Says Coach Z, “All systems are go.”
John Zangrilli is a teacher and baseball coach in Carmel (Ind.) Clay Schools. (Carmel Clay Schools Photo)Carmel (Ind.) High School assistant baseball coach John Zangrilli hits fungos to the Greyhounds. John Zangrilli is a Wellness teacher and baseball coach in Carmel (Ind.) Clay Schools. The 2021 season will be the firth in his second stint with the Greyhounds. The former Lawrence Central High School in Indianapolis, Indiana University and Butler University pitcher has also served as head coach at Brebeuf Jesuit High School in Indianapolis and Zionsville (Ind.) Community High School and has coached with the Carmel Pups and Indiana Bulls.
“If we’re ever going to be competitive on a regular basis, we’ve got to get away from just because you showed up, you get to be on the baseball team,” says Weems, who was junior varsity coach at Pike for three seasons then was a volunteer assistant on the staff of Dave Scott at Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter before returning to the Red Devils in 2019 as assistant head coach to Todd Webster. “That’s not the way any of those (MIC) schools are and that’s the reason they are successful. There’s competition within the program. If there’s no competition within your own program, then how do you expect to get them to compete with them other teams?”
Pike won the MIC in 2018 then lost many players to graduation and struggled to win many games in 2019. The positive is that many sophomores got varsity playing time.
“They were the ones that earned it whether they were ready for it or not,” says Weems. “That’s what we had so we rolled with it. We’ll be better off for it because a lot of those guys — by the time they’re seniors — will be three-year starters.
“I’ve had my 1-on-1’s with guys I think will be competing for varsity spots and told them where they stand and what they need to work on. I also gave every one of them an idea of who’s coming up behind them and it’s their job to keep that spot.”
That’s the between the lines. There’s also preparing the young men for their next phase be it college, military or work.
“We want to make sure they’re prepared for what life’s going to throw at them,” says Weems, who served in the Indiana Air National Guard as a weather forecaster and observer for nearly seven years and attended Indiana University Purdue University-Indianapolis and now is an accountant for Indianapolis Public Schools in his day job.
His father — the late Tommy Weems — was a disabled veteran who began coaching youth football while still serving in the U.S. Air Force and coached the Weems brothers — Brandon and Brian — in football and basketball when they were growing up.
“He was not able to work,” says Weems. “I don’t come from a affluent background. I come from the same background as a lot of our kids (at Pike).
“The main difference is that I had my dad. A lot of these kids don’t have their dads.
“They’re going to spend a lot more time with me and my staff. We’re going to make sure we’re leading them not only in baseball but we’re reminding them to make good choices like doing their homework, taking time to go to study tables, getting tutoring when they need it, making sure they’re treating the young ladies the way they’re supposed to. We go into all that stuff.”
The coaching staff features Caleb Wakefield (a Pike teacher and U.S. Army veteran who will work with outfielders), Cameron Gardner (a volunteer who coached with Weems and the Indiana Nitro travel organization and will help with infielders), Davon Hardy (the former Irvington Preparatory Academy head coach who will also help with infielders), Xavier Wilder (head junior varsity coach), Nick Lucich (catching coordinator) and Isiah Hatcher (JV assistant).
Even though Pike — which is part of the seventh-largest school district in Indiana — has three gyms, there are still so many athletes and other students vying for practice space. Many off-season baseball workouts are early in the morning or late at night.
Weems says funding has been approved for a new fieldhouse, which will come in handy in the cold months when the Red Devils can’t practice outside on Hildebrand Field.
Last year, beginning in August through the time of high school tryouts, Weems had players in grades 6-8 come in for Sunday workouts.
“We got a really good turnout,” says Weems. “I got almost a full off-season with our incoming freshmen. I knew who they were. They knew who I was. They understood what the expectations were at the high school level.”
This fall and winter, more free workouts have been twice a month on Saturdays for grades 3-8.
High school players are required to do community service hours and one way they fulfill them is to volunteer to help with the youth players.
Pike fielded a summer team last year that was organized by Weems and ran by assistants to provide a competitive opportunity and to make playing in the high school off-season more affordable. Others played for Little League and other organizations.
“We make it voluntarily,” says Weems. “It’s not that if you don’t play with us (during the summer), you can’t play for us (in the spring).
“That is totally fine. I make that clear with the kids. I make that extremely clear with the parents. I make my athletic director aware of what we do.
“It’s what we have to do to compete right now.”
Seems points to Ohio and the ACME Baseball Congress system in place there that provides high school players, coaches and teams an opportunity to continue to play after the high school season ends and is compliant with Ohio High School Athletic Association guidelines.
Weems, 33, hails from Springfield, Ohio, and played at the old Springfield North High School. His class (2004) was the first in school history to win at least 100 games in four years. The Mark Stoll-coached Panthers made it to the district finals (equivalent to the regional in Indiana) three of the four seasons.
He also played in the Babe Ruth League state championship at 13, 14 and 15.
Weems began his coaching career with Springfield North’s freshmen team in the spring of 2005.
“I knew I wasn’t going to be a college baseball player, but I knew I loved the game and didn’t want to be away from it,” says Weems. “I’m an analytical guy. My degree’s in accounting and finance. Baseball kind of lends well to what my strengths are.
“Baseball is one of the last few pure sports that are left because you can’t fake it. When the ball comes your way, you cannot hide. If you’re not trying, everybody’s going to see it.”
Brandon and Dionne Weems celebrated five years of marriage last week. The couple has two sons — Carter (5) and Andrew (3).
Brandon Weems is the head baseball coach at Pike High School in Indianapolis.
Jacob Cantleberry was well into his teens before he became serious about baseball.
Now it’s his profession.
Cantleberry was born in Indianapolis and grew up in Greenwood, Ind., and was more into golf and basketball.
Baseball?
“I was a late bloomer,” says Cantleberry, who is now a 6-foot-1, 180-pound left-handed pitcher in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization. “I was pretty athletic and thought, ‘maybe I can do this?’ I started out as an outfielder. I got into pitching when I couldn’t hit anything above 86 (mph).”
Cantleberry was a Perfect Game Preseason Underclass All-American in 2015, a two-time Daily Journal Player of the Year under the guidance of head coach Keith Hatfield at Center Grove High School, graduating in 2016.
As a senior, Cantleberry was ranked as Perfect Game’s No. 3 left-handed pitcher and No. 11 recruit as well as a PG Central Regional Preseason All-American. He became an all-Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference honoree and the Johnson County Player of the Year. He traveled two summers as a high schooler for the Indiana Bulls.
Cantleberry was surrounded by many future pros at San Jacinto.
“(Arrington and Weaver) taught me how to compete,” says Cantleberry. “They were very good with basic stuff, like how to work hitters.”
As a San Jacinto freshman in 2017, National Junior College Athletic Association All-American Cantleberry made 16 starts and was 11-1 with a 1.73 earned run average, 89 strikeouts in 78 innings. The Gators, which have made 25 NJCAA World Series appearances, were national runners-up.
In 2018, Cantleberry made 16 starts and was 12-3 with a 3.32 ERA and 91 strikeouts in 76 innings.
At Missouri, Cantleberry became a Friday night starter and went against Southeastern Conference batsmen.
“I had a really good time and I learned a ton,” says Cantleberry of his experience at Mizzou. “The SEC is the best amateur baseball conference in the country.
“There was a big learning curve, but (Bieser and Corral) were accommodating.”
Cantleberry says his coaches insisted that their players did the little things right.
“They were very detail-oriented,” says Cantleberry. “That’s going to help me a lot to further my career.”
Every bullpen session at Mizzou, a chart was kept with a point system to track what pitches landed and in what counts.
“It would give you that performance grade afterward,” says Cantleberry. “There was focus and intent on every single pitch I threw — even in practice.”
The southpaw made 16 appearances (12 starts) for the Tigers and was 4-5 with a 4.73 ERA. In 72 1/3 innings, he racked up 97 strikeouts and 31 walks.
After a two-inning stint Aug. 26 in which he got the win for the Pioneer League’s Ogden (Utah) Raptors, Cantleberry has made 15 mound appearances (all in relief) and is 2-1 with a 1.25 ERA between Ogden and the Arizona League Mota Dodgers. In 21 2/3 innings, he has 28 K’s and eight walks.
The regular season ends Sept. 2. Ogden has made the playoffs. At the end of that run, Cantleberry will head to Glendale, Ariz., for fall instructional league. Since has already logged plenty of innings between college and pro in 2019, he will go there to work out.
After spending sometime back in Greenwood, Cantleberry says he will decide where he will spent the off-season getting ready for 2020.
The middle child of Rick and Connie Cantleberry, Jacob has two sisters. Devin is older and Riquel is younger.
Jacob is one year away from finishing a degree in rehabilitative health science. He is focusing on baseball for now.
Jacob Cantleberry is a left-handed pitcher for the Ogden (Utah) Raptors in the Los Angeles Dodgers system. He is a graduate of Center Grove High School in Greenwood, Ind., and San Jacinto College in Houston, Texas, and pitched one season at the University of Missouri. (Ogden Raptors Photo)
Jacob Cantleberry shows the left-handed pitching form that got him selected in the 2019 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers. A former Center Grove High School, San Jacinto College and University of Missouri pitcher, he is now with the Ogden (Utah) Raptors. (Ogden Raptors Photo)
In the midst of Herrin’s prep career, there was a change from the MIC to Conference Indiana. He was an all-CI and all-Wabash Valley selection as a senior as he went 6-2 with one save and a 2.33 ERA. He fanned 50 batters in 42 innings while playing for head coach Kyle Kraemer.
A first-team all-stater and Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association All-Star for South Vigo in 1986, Kraemer went on to play at Purdue. He was the Boilermakers team captain and home run leader (10) as a senior.
After graduation, he began passing along his knowledge as a coach.
“It was good to have a high school coach who had an idea of what it took to make it to the next level,” says Herrin of Kraemer. “He prepared us for that.”
The southpaw appreciated that Lemonis was a straight shooter during the recruiting process.
“He was straight up,” says Herrin of Lemonis. “Other coaches tell you what you want to hear.
“He did a good job of telling it how it is. You saw how genuine of a guy he is. I wanted to come play for him. I knew I could trust him.”
Herrin credits Bunn for molding him as a moundsman.
(Bunn) helped me focus on what makes somebody a pitcher,” says Herrin. “I was really raw coming into school. I had never focused on one specific sport. Until the end of my junior year, I did not think about playing college baseball. I was not recruited.
“I became a more mature pitcher faster (with Bunn). It was how he would explain things.”
In three seasons in Cream and Crimson (2016-18), Herrin made 41 mound appearances (23 as a starter) with a combined 3.44 earned run average. In 120 innings, he struck out 80 and walked 46.
Assigned to the Arizona League Indians 1 team (college signees), the lefty got into 13 games (all in relief) with the rookie-level Arizona League Indians 1 squad and went 0-1 with a 6.16 ERA. In 19 innings, he struck out 22 and walked eight. His manager was Larry Day. His pitching coach was Joel Mangrum.
Herrin throws a fastball (mostly two-seamers with a few four-seamers mixed in), slider and “circle” change-up. During the summer, he touched 95 mph a few times and sat at 90 to 92 with his heater.
During the college season, he lowered his three-quarter overhand arm angle.
“The ball comes out easier,” says Herrin of the adjustment.
He might have gone to fall instructional camp or a developmental camp in November, but Herrin is back at IU taking classes toward his sports management and marketing degree. After this term, he will be just six major credits and an internship from completion.
Herrin does plan to attend a month of camp in Goodyear, Ariz., in January. He will come back to Terre Haute for a few weeks then return for spring training.
Born in Munster, Ind., Herrin moved to Terre Haute as a toddler. His parents — Tim and Cathy — met as students at Indiana State University.His mother is a family consumer science teacher at West Vigo High School in West Terre Haute.
Timmy has three younger brothers. Carter Herrin is a freshman football player at Indiana State. Trey Herrin is a freshman footballer at South Vigo. Christopher Herrin is a sixth grader who plays football, basketball and baseball.
Travis Herrin, a Lebanon (Ind.) High School graduate who is now a pitcher in the Los Angeles Angels organization, is no relation.
The Cal Ripken Baseball-aligned Riley Recreation League in Terre Haute is where Timmy played his first organized baseball. He began playing for travel teams around 11. In high school, he was part of the Wayne Newton American Legion Post 346 program.
Timmy Herrin, a Terre Haute (Ind.) South Vigo High School graduate, played for three seasons with Indiana University before going into pro baseball. (Indiana University Photo)
Timmy Herrin, a 2015 Terre Haute (Ind.) South Vigo High School graduate who pitched three seasons at Indiana University, gets set to throw a pitch during the 2018 season for the Arizona League Indians. Herrin was selected in the 2018 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Cleveland Indians. (Arizona League Indians Photo)
David Bear was on the mound when Ben Davis High School won its state baseball championship and he’s now leading the Giants program as head coach.
Bear, a 1981 Ben Davis graduate, pitched seven innings in a semifinal victory against Richmond and three innings of relief in a championship game triumph against Fort Wayne Northrop to wrap up a stellar prep career with a state crown.
Ralph David Bear Jr. left high school with a career 0.61 earned run average with five no-hitters and two perfect games, including three no-no’s and one perfecto as a senior.
“Coach Cox would let me throw 10 innings every three days no matter what,” says Bear, referring to Giants coach Ken Cox, who would be inducted into the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1988 and finished his career with 440 victories. Besides the state title, his team earned seven sectionals, four regionals, two semistates and a state runner-up finish (1980). “I loved doing it.”
Bear cherishes his time with Cox.
“He was a man I dearly loved and one of the most respected coaches I know in the state of Indiana,” says Bear.
A couple weeks after regularly taking the ball for Cox’s Giants, the right-hander was on his way to Johnson City, Tenn., to begin his professional baseball career.
He appeared in 168 games (20 as a starter) and went 25-21 with a 3.68 earned run average, 193 strikeouts and 145 walks in 363 innings.
His manager at Johnson City was Johnny Lewis, who later became the hitting coach in St. Louis.
“He was a very revered man,” says Bear of Lewis, a former outfielder with Cardinals and New York Mets. “I like the way he ran his team.”
Bear was also appreciative of the way Cardinals minor league pitching instructor Bob Milliken explained the craft. Milliken, who had played for the Brooklyn Dodgers, was a bullpen coach and pitching coach in St. Louis.
The 2018 prep season marked Bear’s 12th on the Ben Davis coaching staff and his third as head coach.
“That is a very tough conference for baseball,” says Bear. “It’s a grinder.
“You better come to play every night. If not, you’ll get your socked knocked off.”
Bear bases his program on concepts like honesty, work, respect and hustle.
“If you’re honest with the kids, you get more out of them,” says Bear, 56. “You also have to believe in them.
“I tell the boys, if you work hard and play the game the right way, good things happen for you. You have to respect it and hustle.”
Reinforcing that message is Bear’s assistant coaches — Kyle Cox and Terrence Davis with the varsity, Kent Spillman with the junior varsity and Robert Jackson with the freshmen. Cox (no relation to Ken Cox) was an IHSBCA North/South All-Star for Ben Davis in 2005.
With nearly 4,400 students, Ben Davis is one of the biggest high schools in Indiana. The graduating class of 2018 alone was over 1,000.
Bear notes that 55 to 60 players come out for baseball and he keeps 14 for the varsity, 14 or 15 for the JV and 15 to 17 for the freshmen. The latter squad tends to be bigger to “give kids a chance to develop.”
At the varsity level, Bear talks to his players about always being ready even if they’re not in the starting lineup.
“You never know when you’re going to get that call,” says Bear. “When you get it, make the best of it.”
Four seniors from 2018 have made commitments to play college baseball. Catcher Zyon Avery is headed to Ohio University. He participated in the IHSBCA North/South Series July 20-22 in South Bend. He is the first Giants all-star since Deaun Williams in 2006.
Going to Ivy Tech Northeast in Fort Wayne are shortstop/pitcher Tyler Duncan, outfielder/pitcher Garison Poteet and pitcher/second baseman Ian Schilling.
Former Ben Davis players going into their sophomore years as collegians are Logan Butrum at Wabash College and Isaiah Davis at Vincennes University.
Besides Ben Davis, Bear also coaches summer travel ball. This year, he is with the Evoshield Canes Midwest 15U team (The Indiana Outlaws merged with the Canes a few years ago). The current 15U squad has played in tournaments at Grand Park in Westfield and also in Ohio, North Carolina and, last week, the World Wood Bat Association 2012 Grads or 15U National Championship at Perfect Game Park at LakePoint in Cartersville, Ga.
Bear notes that Perfect Game USA has imposed a pitch count rule with a limit of 95 in a day. Since 2017, the IHSAA has also had a pitch count rule (1 to 35 pitches requires 0 days rest; 36 to 60 requires 1 day; 61 to 80 requires 2 days; 81 to 100 requires 3 days; and 101 to 120 requires 4 days).
“I like the way they do it now,” says Bear. “Kids do a lot of throwing these days.”
David is the son of the late Ralph David Bear Sr. and Beverly Kay Bear and has three younger siblings — Richard, Rock and Stacey.
Bear’s girlfriend is Gretchen Atkins. He has a son (Coy), daughter (Cassie) and grandson (Bane, 3). Gretchen’s daughter is Stephanie Atkins. The Bear house also has a dog named Bear. The petite pooch is a Yorkshire/Australian Terrier mix.
David Bear, a 1981 Ben Davis High School graduate, is now the head baseball coach of the Indianapolis-based Giants. (Ben Davis Photo)
Former Ben Davis High School baseball player C.J. Vaughn (left) meets with Giants head baseball coach David Bear. A 1981 BDHS graduate, Bear came back to his alma mater as an assistant coach and has led the program the past three seasons.
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