Howard Kellman has called more than 6,600 games as a play-by-play broadcaster for the Indianapolis Indians. This week, Kellman stepped away from his longtime duties and travel to St. Petersburg, Fla., to broadcast on the radio for the New York Yankees Friday, Sept. 2 against the Tampa Bay Rays. Kellman, 70, saw Tampa Bay score a combined eight runs in the seventh and eight innings in a 9-0 victory. Christian Bethancourt socked a two-run home run in the seventh. The Panamanian was the Indianapolis team MVP in 2021. “It was a wonderful experience,” said Kellman while waiting for his flight from Tampa back to Indianapolis. “Working with (color commentator) Suzyn Waldman and producer Jack Maldonado were terrific. “I’ve know the Yankee people for a long time,” said Kellman, an Indiana Baseball Hall of Famer. “When there was this word that John Sterling might miss games I reached out to the Yankees and they told me to contact (general manager) Chris Oliviero at WFAN. I sent a CD of my work.” What is the difference between broadcasting Triple-A versus Major League Baseball? “Well, you’ve got the crowd and bigger ballparks,” said Kellman. “It was fun. “Remember, I grew up as a Yankee fan. This was a great thrill.” Kellman, professional speaker, award-winning sportscaster and author, hails from the Sheepshead Bay section of Brooklyn, N.Y., and graduated from Brooklyn College. He wound up in Indianapolis, called his first Indians game in 1974 and has been the team’s voice for all but two seasons since (1975 and 1980). It was not Kellman’s first time on the call for a New York team. He broadcast three Mets games in 2014. He filled in for three Chicago White Sox games in 1984. As he does for every contest, Kellman was meticulous in his preparation for the Yankees vs. Rays. “In this day and age it’s a lot easier with the Internet,” said Kellman. “You have everything available to you. I follow the Yankees close and I’m still a Yankees fan. “I got help from the Tampa Bay people from reading things online and also talking to their broadcasters (including Neil Solondz, Dewayne Staats and Andy Freed).” Stats worked in Oklahoma City and Freed in Pawtucket when those teams shared a league with Indianapolis. Kellman missed two home games with the Indians while in Florida. The team has not sent a broadcaster on the road in 2022. He was expected back behind the mic tonight (Sept. 3) as the Indians play at Louisville. Greg Rakestraw, Cheyne Reiter and Jack McMullen handled the game during Kellman’s absence.
Andrew Dutkanych IV is a dedicated student – academically and athletically. During the current fall semester at Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School in Indianapolis, senior Dukanych is taking nine courses and eight are of the Advanced Placement variety. During the spring semester of 2020-21, he earned a weighted 4.65 grade-point average on a 4.0 scale. As a baseball player – particularly as a pitcher — the 6-foot-3, 205-pounder has investigated ways to make steady progress. Dukanych committed to powerhouse Vanderbilt University at the beginning of his sophomore year at Brebeuf. In two seasons with the Braves (2020 was taken away by the COVID-19 pandemic), he is 12-6 with a 1.29 earned run average, 206 strikeouts and 35 walks in 119 innings. He averages 12.1 K’s and 2.0 walks per seven innings. His WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) is 0.84. He tossed an 18-strikeout no-hitter in the 2021 Marion County tournament championship game against Lawrence North at Victory Field and earned honorable mention on the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Class 3A all-state team. Jeff Scott is Brebeuf’s head coach. Wes Neese is the pitching coach. “He’s really good,” says Dutkanych of Scott. “He puts a lot on us players. He likes us to lead the team. “Coach Neese and I talk about pitching and planning.” The 18-year-old right-hander’s four-seam fastball has been clocked at 97 mph and regularly sits in the mid 90’s. He credits his training to his climb in speed. “I’ve had consistency in the weight room and with my plan and gradually added velo,” says Dukanych, who has been working on strength training and arm care since he was 14. Greg Vogt is the founder and Anthony Gomez the lead floor trainer at PRP Baseball in Noblesville, Ind. “It’s an independent thing, but I have constant communication,” says Dutkanych. “They devised a plan for me.” Pulldowns — aka Running Throws or Run ’n Guns — are max-effort throws with a running start in the off-season. They are often charted on standings boards, giving an extra layer of competition to training. “It’s it’s a tool that helps you condition your arm and gradually throw harder,” says Dutkanych. “If you want to throw harder you’ve got to practice throwing hard at times.” Dutkanych offers a comparison. “Sprinters sometimes run slightly downhill which forces their legs to move faster,” says Dutkanych. “With a pulldown, your arm is going to move faster. Your body can feel what 102 (mph) is like and that can translate to the mound. But I do pulldowns like three times a year. It’s more important to throw bullpens on the mound.” Dutkanych’s mound arsenal — thrown from what he describes as “a relaxed over-the-top” arm angle — also features a slider, curve and change-up and he plans to add a two-seam fastball. “I use a lot of my own ideas,” says Dukanych. “I don’t think I’ve had a coach call my pitches since I was 13.” His slider is characterized by its late movement. “I try to make it look like a fastball,” says Dutkanych. “When its good, it breaks late to the left and falls to the ground. It’s not a sweeper.” The curve spins over the top with downward bite. “I like to throw it for strikes because it freezes the batter,” says Dutkanych. The change-up is new. He did not throw one in the spring or at the beginning of the summer. Major League Baseball and USA Baseball hosted the High School All-American Game at Coors Field in Denver July 9 and Dukanych worked one inning. Dutkanych pitched two innings in the Perfect Game National Showcase July 14-18 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. Dutkanych was invited to the Prospect Development Pipeline League in July. From the Top 96 in the country, he made the trials then the Team USA roster for a Sept. 2-8 seven-game Friendship Series vs. Canada in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area. He started Game 1 and relieved in Game 6. Before that came one inning in the Perfect Game All-American Classic (July 29 in San Diego) and three in the East Coast Pro (Aug. 2-5 in Hoover, Ala.). Between them he began working on the change-up and began using it as another weapon. “This off-season I’m going to try to develop a two-seam fastball to develop at the bottom of the zone,” says Dutkanych, who also found time in the summer to play in Perfect Game tournaments with the Philadelphia Phillies Scout Team in West Palm Beach, Fla., and Atlanta and with the Indiana Bulls in Hoover. His summer number is often 84 since it equates with initials of “AD4.” It was just this week that Dutkanych the academic caught up on the classwork he missed while he was away from Brebeuf. In 2020, Dutkanych the athlete helped Canes National win the Perfect Game National Championship. He was with the team in events in Atlanta and the the USA Baseball complex in Cary, N.C. The righty is on a path to college baseball in Nashville, but there is a possibility that he could be selected high in the 2022 MLB First-Year Player Draft and decide to begin his professional career. Born and raised in Indianapolis, Dutkanych played at Washington Township Little League and then went into travel ball during his 13U summer with the Indiana Bulls. Before entering Brebeuf, he attended Westlane Middle School (an Indianapolis North Central High School feeder). He is the oldest of attorney Andrew Dutkanych III and grants manager Caroline Dutkanych’s four boys. Sam Dutkanych (14), Jack Dutkanych (11) and Luke Dutkanych (8) are all involved in multiple sports, including baseball.
Andrew Dutkanynch IV at 2021 Perfect Game All-American Classic.
Andrew Dutkanych IV with 2021 Indiana Bulls. (The Grind Baseball Video)
Andrew Dutkanych IV with 2021 Indiana Bulls. (Prep Baseball Report Video)
Andrew Dutkanych IV pitches for Team USA vs. Canada in 2021.
Andrew Dutkanych IV (center) works out with Team USA in 2021.
Andrew Dutkanych IV pitches for Team USA vs. Canada in 2021.
Andrew Dutkanych IV in Summer of 2021.
Andrew Dutkanych IV (right) in Summer of 2021.
Andrew Dutkanych IV in Summer of 2021.
Andrew Dutkanych IV in Summer of 2021.
Andrew Dutkanych IV in Summer of 2021.
Andrew Dutkanych IV (Prospect Development Pipeline League Photo)
Andrew Dutkanych IV (Prospect Development Pipeline League Photo)
Andrew Dutkanych IV (Prospect Development Pipeline League Photo)
Andrew Dutkanych IV with 2021 Philadelphia Phillies Scout Team.
Andrew Dutkanych IV with 2021 Philadelphia Phillies Scout Team.
Andrew Dutkanych IV (right) at 2021 Perfect Game All-American Classic.
Andrew Dutkanych IV in 2021 Perfect Game All-American Classic.
Andrew Dutkanych IV in 2021 Perfect Game All-American Classic.
Andrew Dutkanych IV in 2021 Perfect Game All-American Classic.
Andrew Dutkanych IV with 2021 Indiana Bulls.
Andrew Dutkanych IV in 2021 Major League Baseball/USA Baseball High School All-American Game.
Andrew Dutkanych IV in 2021 East Coast Pro.
Andrew Dutkanych IV in 2021 East Coast Pro.
Andrew Dutkanych IV (left) with USA Baseball.
Andrew Dutkanych IV wears 84 (AD4).
Andrew Dutkanych IV throws 18-strikeout no-hitter for Brebeuf in 2021 Marion County tournament championship. (Lindy Scott Photo)
Bobby Seymour strikes an imposing figure on the baseball field. The lefty-swinging first baseman stands 6-foot-4 and weight 250. “I’m pretty big and physical,” says Seymour. “I’m definitely powerful. “I have a smart baseball I.Q. and play the game the right way.” This week the 22-year-old resident of St. John, Ind., and 2017 graduate of Mount Carmel High School in Chicago was selected in the 13th round of the 2021 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Tampa Bay Rays out of Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. He is to travel to St. Petersburg, Fla., next Tuesday for a physical and could begin his professional playing career soon. With one year of eligibility remaining because of COVID-19, Seymour has represented the Wake Forest Demon Deacons on the diamond for four seasons. In 176 games, Seymour hit .320 (223-of-695) with 38 home runs, 45 doubles, 190 runs batted in, 135 runs scored. With 21, Seymour was among the nation’s top NCAA Division homer hitters in 2021. Ahead of him were South Carolina’s Wes Clarke and Florida State’s Matheu Nelson with 23 apiece and Notre Dame’s Niko Kavadas with 22. Tied with Seymour were Northeastern’s Jared Dupere, Dallas Baptist’s Jackson Glenn, Memphis’ Hunter Goodman and Texas Tech’s Jace Jung. Kavadas, a 2018 graduate of Penn High School in Mishawaka, Ind., is an 11th-round 2021 draft pick of the Boston Red Sox. What are Seymour’s best qualities as a hitter? “Being able to drive the ball to all fields,” says Seymour. “When guys are in scoring position, you you just want to drive them in. “You’re trying to do a job. You just want to want a good swing on something and pass the torch.” Playing for Wake Forest head coach Tom Walter, associate head coach/hitting coach Bill Cilento and volunteer coach Joey Hammond (now head coach at High Point University), Seymour shined. “It was an absolute pleasure playing for (Walter),” says Seymour. “He always knew how to get me to perform at my best. He made it a priority to make me better.” Seymour could always count on Cilento and Hammond to throw him extra batting practice or help him with his defense. He went from 10 errors as a freshman to 12 in his next three seasons. The pandemic shortened the 2020 campaign. Seymour turned heads around the college baseball world in 2019, hitting .377 with seven homers, 12 doubles, a nation-leading 92 RBIs (45 with two outs) and 51 runs. He was named Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year and Dick Howser Trophy semifinalist. All-American honors came from Collegiate Baseball (first team), Perfect Game (second team), American Baseball Coaches Association (second team), D1Baseball.com (third team). Seymour continued to produce even after being struck by what turned out to be appendicitis during an ACC series against North Carolina State. Even with stabbing pains in his abdomen, adrenaline and antibiotics allowed him to the stay in the lineup. That summer Seymour played a few weeks with the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod League and was going to join Team USA, but ended up having appendix surgery while on the Cape. “My dad (Bob) happened to be there, which was good,” says Seymour. Seymour did not play summer collegiate ball this year while getting ready for the draft, working out at The Max in McCook, Ill., home to Top Tier Baseball and his hitting instructor since high school, Matt Plante. The power hitter was in the Northwoods League in the summers of 2018 (St. Cloud, Minn., Rox) and 2020 (Rockford, Ill., Rivets). Born in Harvey, Ill., in 1998, Robert John Seymour moved from Homewood, Ill., to St. John with his family when he was about 5. He played in youth leagues from 6 to 8 then travel ball for the Region Redbirds followed by the Illinois Sparks and Top Tier Baseball. Many travel ball teammates and opponents from either side of the Indiana-Illinois State Line wound up playing in the Chicago Catholic League, including Scott Kapers (now in the Texas Rangers system). After a few months at Brother Rice, Seymour followed family tradition by enrolling at Mount Carmel. He father, grandfather and uncles went there. Playing for Caravan head coach Brian Hurry, Seymour was selected as the 2017 Daily Southtown Player of the Year after hitting .561 with 15 homers, 10 doubles and 48 RBIs. In a junior, he hit .374 with four homers, 10 doubles and 51 RBIs. Mount Carmel was an Illinois Class 4A state runner-up in 2015. Seymour made an immediate impact at Wake Forest, earning Collegiate Baseball Freshmen All-American honors. Bob and Zoe Ann Seymour have three children — Adrienne, Lizzie and Bobby. The girls both graduated from Lake Central High School in St. John. Lizzie Seymour played softball and George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.
Getting players ready for the next stage in their baseball careers is what it’s all about for Jim Reboulet and son Travis as they coach the Indiana Nitro 18U Gold travel team.
“These kids who are going to be playing college baseball, we get them acclimated by showing them what they can expect,” says Jim Reboulet, who is based in Hamilton County. “We run our run our program the way a college would.”
As a result, three quarters of Nitro players went right into the lineup as collegiate freshmen.
“We show what it’s going to take to compete, what it’s going to take athletically from a development standpoint,” says the elder Reboulet. “We work on their weaknesses.”
Consulting with their college coaches, the Reboulets may be asked to put players in their future roles. A starting pitcher might be asked to go to the bullpen or vice versa. Infielders are encouraged to play all four positions, making their playing chances that much better.
Catchers and pitchers are taught how to call a game by studying hitters.
The catcher just doesn’t put down signs without a reason.
When future major league catcher Kevin Plawecki was 16, he played for Reboulet in the summer and was tutored on the art of game calling. Based on observation, he figured out when to pitch the hitter up and in, change his eye level and exploit his weaknesses.
That made Plawecki valuable when he went to Purdue University.
“(Then-Boilermakers head coach) Doug Schreiber took pitch calling away from the pitching coach and gave it to Kevin,” says Reboulet. “Kevin is known for calling a good game at the professional level.”
Reboulet wants their to be a rationale for his pitchers to throw a certain pitch and for the catcher to call for it.
“Try not to do a pattern,” says Reboulet. “Create a strategy of throwing to a particular hitter based on what he’s showing you. That’s advanced scouting.
“You’re not get away from throwing it down the middle and overpower people (in college). You’ve got to learn how to pitch.”
On the other side of the coin, Reboulet wants hitters to figure out what pitchers are trying to do to get them out.
“Some kids had no idea of a breaking ball count,” says Reboulet. “You look fastball, but don’t be surprised when a breaking ball comes.
“We teach them the patterns the pitchers use and to pay attention to what the pitcher’s doing in certain situations and certain counts. They are creatures of habit.”
There’s also getting ready mentally to play more games at a higher level of competition and intensity.
“We put them in those types of situations where that’s going to happen,” says Reboulet.
With a roster consisting mostly of central Indiana players, Nitro 18U Gold has begun conducting social distancing practices and games will start the last week in June. Most games will be played in the area run by either Pastime Tournaments or Bullpen Tournaments.
The middle of Jim and Tina Reboulet’s three sons, Travis Reboulet is the Nitro 18U Gold head coach. Travis played at Hamilton Southeastern High School in Fishers, Ind., Vincennes (Ind.) University, Indiana Purdue Fort Wayne and the independent pro Joliet (Ill.) Slammers.
Older brother Tyler Reboulet played college baseball at the University of South Carolina Salkehatchie and Mars Hill (N.C.) University. Younger brother Tanner Reboulet took the field for USC Salkehatchie.
Before college, the Reboulet boys played travel baseball for their father on a squad known as the Indiana Dirtbags.
Travis and Tanner give private lessons. Jim runs six-week infield classes for ages 8 through college — often for friends Jason Taulman or Wes Whisler and recently at Finch Creek Fieldhouse in Noblesville.
As a Nitro 18U Gold assistant, Jim Reboulet brings decades of diamond experience.
Triton, coached by Bob Symonds, went to the National Junior College Athletic Association World Series in Grand Junction, Colo., Jim’s freshmen year. Triton third baseman Mike Rizzo went on to become general manager and president of operations for the 2019 World Series-winning Washington Nationals.
Kirby Puckett was at Triton between the Reboulet brothers — after Jim and before Jeff.
Symonds was a Southern Illinois graduate assistant when he began recruiting Reboulet at a Salukis camp.
When Reboulet made it to SIU, he played for Hall of Fame coach Richard “Itchy” Jones.
“A lot of the stuff I teach the kids today I learned from Itch,” says Reboulet. “He’s a fundamentalist. He would break you down.
As a middle infielder, Reboulet would work on the details of how to turn a double play, footwork, hand position and how to attack the ball on a backhand.
Reboulet was one of many on those teams to play pro ball.
Jim Reboulet, 58, enjoyed a minor league baseball career that saw him steal 290 bases in six years and play at the Triple-A level for both the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates.
The 20th-round selection of the Cardinals in the 1983 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft swiped 71 bags at High Class-A St. Petersburg in 1986, 62 at Low-A Savannah in 1984 and 52 at Double-A Harrisburg in 1987.
The righty-swinger enjoyed a 32-game hit streak for Harrisburg in 1987. In spring training, he turned double plays with Cardinals shortstop Ozzie Smith and batted just behind then-Pirates lead-off man Barry Bonds.
“George Kissell (field coordinator in the Cardinals organization) taught the same things as Itch Jones,” says Reboulet. “My brother and I had reputations of being fundamentally sound when we played.”
Jeff Reboulet, two years younger than Jim, also went to Alter and Triton before LSU and, eventually, a 12-year career as big league middle infielder, playing for the Minnesota Twins, Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates from 1992-2003. The Twins drafted him in the 10th round in 1986.
He is now living in Dayton and is a financial planners for pro baseball players and is in charge of the Major League Baseball Players Association rookie development program.
All three of Jeff Reboulet’s son played college ball — Jason at Vincennes U. and USC Salkahatchie, Zack at the University of New Orleans, USC Salkehatchie and Indiana University Southeast and Lucas at Heartland Community College in Normal, Ill.
Having moved to Fishers, Ind., to take a sales job three decades ago, Jim Reboulet is now a senior account executive for Logicalis, Inc., in Indianapolis.
Jim Reboulet is an assistant coach for the Indiana Nitro 18U Gold travel team with son Travis Reboulet. Jim played at Triton College, Southern Illinois University and six years in pro baseball. Brother Jeff Reboulet played in the majors. Both Reboulet brothers have six boys and all played college baseball.
In 2019, the South Bend (Ind.) St. Joseph High School graduate has contributed to a national championship team, received his college degree and began his professional baseball career.
A 6-foot-1, 190-pound right-handed pitcher, Beck spent the past two seasons at the University of Tampa (Fla.). He made 33 mound appearances, including 24 in 2019 when he was 3-3 with 10 saves and a 2.17 earned run average. In 54 innings, he recorded 71 strikeouts and 19 walks as the Trojans won the NCAA Division II national title.
“There were ups and downs during the season, but I was really enjoying baseball with my teammates,” says Beck, 23. “I had a decent year and that made it all the better.”
Urso insists that his players are intensely devoted to baseball.
“You have to have a fire for the game,” says Beck. “If you don’t have a big burning passion this game, it will eat you alive.
“It’s different than any other sport. It’s game of inches. Every single thing does count.”
Beck credits Militello with helping him break down hitters’ swings and throw the right pitches in the right situations.
“He’s one of the best coaches I’ve ever had when it comes to pitch calling,” says Beck of Militello, who helped him develop his four-seam fastball, “spike” curveball, two-planed slider (there is some vertical break to it) and “circle” change-up (it moves like a split-fingered fastball but drops straight down).
Beck has been working out himself since seventh grade and has done much research into training and gone through plenty of trial and error.
“My best quality as an athlete is my ability to want to get better,” says Beck. “I want to be that person I wish I had as a (strength and conditioning) mentor in high school.
“I want to be someone younger athlete can rely on. I want to guide them.”
While he’s doing that, he will also do his own conditioning in preparation for 2020 spring training. He was selected in the 30th round of the 2019 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Minnesota Twins and pitched in a combined 18 games (all in relief) with the Fort Myers (Fla.) Miracle, Gulf Coast League Twins and Elizabethton (Tenn.) Twins. He went 1-2 with one save, an 3.07 ERA, 43 strikeouts and 10 walks in 29 1/3 innings.
He was part of the St. Joseph team that won the IHSAA Class 3A Plymouth Sectional in 2013 and graduated in 2014.
“It was a great time all the time,” said Beck of his experience playing for head coach John Gumpf and the Indians. “We had really good team chemistry.”
Beck won four baseball letters at St. Joe. He was a three-time all-Northern Indiana Conference honoree, earning first-team selection as a senior while hitting .422 and making the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association North/South All-Star Series as a shortstop. He hit .416 and was second-team all-NIC as a junior.
After a redshirt season at Purdue University in 2015, Beck played two seasons (2016 and 2017) at Pasco-Hernando State College in New Port Richey, Fla. In 27 games (20 starts), he racked up 124 strikeouts 110 innings, including 58 K’s in 44 frames in 2017.
“They taught me you have to do what you have to do — on and off the field,” says Beck. “Do what’s best for your player development (and education).
“You’ve got to take ownership.”
Tyler is the son of Terry Beck and Mike and Susan Battles of South Bend. Has two older siblings — half-brother Jeff Beck in Toledo, Ohio, and stepbrother Trevor Battles in Charleston, S.C.
Tyler Beck, a 2014 South Bend (Ind.) St. Joseph High School graduate, played his last two college baseball seasons at the University of Tampa (Fla.). The Trojans won the 2019 NCAA Division I national championship and right-handed pitcher Beck won three games and saved 10 and was selected by the Minnesota Twins in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. (University of Tampa Photo)
Tyler Beck played at South Bend (Ind.) St. Joseph High School, Pasco-Hernando State College and the University of Tampa and is now a pitcher in the Minnesota Twins organization. (Elizabethton Twins Photo)
But he’ll always have a warm place in his heart for the old one.
#ForeverPumas.
After Saint Joseph’s College in Rensselaer, Ind., closed at the end of the 2017-18 school year and 1999 SJC graduate O’Dette’s tenure as Pumas head coach wrapped after 17 seasons, he and his staff found landing spots for about 30 players from the top-20 NCAA Division II program then found a job of his own in Florida — taking a few familiar faces with him.
While there are former SJC players now at all levels of college baseball, there are four contributing this spring with NCAA Division I programs not far from Gil Hodges Field.
Junior right-handed pitcher Quinn Snarksis wound up as starter at the University of Illinois.
Sophomores Noah Powell and Lukas Jaksich are both at Ball State University — Powell (who went to Mount Vernon High School in Fortville, Ind.) as starting shortstop and lead-off hitter and left-hander Jaksich (who went to Andrean High School in Merrillville) as a starting pitcher.
“We miss those guys,” says O’Dette of his former players. “They were put into a spot. I stay in contact with a lot of them.”
O’Dette is now head baseball coach at Saint Leo University in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area. There are about 2,600 students on campus with many more connected in various ways around the country.
Playing in the powerhouse NCAA Division II Sunshine State Conference (along with Tampa, Nova Southeastern, Florida Southern, Palm Beach Atlantic, Eckerd, Lynn, Barry, Embry-Riddle and Rollins), the Lions were off to a 36-10 start and still fighting for a regional tournament berth in 2018.
“It’s considered the best Division II conference in the country,” says O’Dette, whose team recently took two-of-three in an SSC series against Florida Southern. (Saint Leo is) literally one of the best places in the country. The school looks like a resort.”
Just since O’Dette got there, there has been $35,000 in upgrade to the baseball facilities.
School has been out for two weeks and the team has been practicing multiple times a day in 85-degree weather.
Matt Kennedy, who served with O’Dette at Saint Joe in two different stints, is his top assistant at Saint Leo.
Former SJC player Morgan DePew is a volunteer assistant coach for the Lions.
Sophomore Amir Wright, a Griffith High School product and former Puma, is Saint Leo’s center fielder and lead-off hitter.
Once part of the SJC mound staff, sophomore right-hander Joey Antonopoulos is one of SLU’s top relievers.
Redshirt freshman infielder Danny Torres, a South Bend St. Joseph graduate, was already at Saint Leo when O’Dette and he rest of the newcomers arrived.
O’Dette hit the ground running when he arrived on campus in late June of 2017, signing 13 new players in the first six weeks or so. Six of Saint Leo’s signings for 2019 are from the Midwest, including Center Grove senior Mikey Wyman.
Among the many standouts for the 2018 Lions is junior Peyton Isaacson. The former Coastal Carolina University player is both a power-hitting catcher and closer for Saint Leo. Swinging from the left side, he has 11 home runs and has also used his right arm to notch 14 saves.
Senior second baseman Zach Scott is another head-turner for the Lions.
After 17 seasons as his alma mater — Saint Joseph’s College in Rensselaer, Ind., Rick O’Dette is now head coach at Saint Leo University in Florida. (Saint Leo University Photo)
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