Former MiLB Player of the Year | Current Head College Coach | Trey Harris

In this episode, host Matthew de la Rosa interviews Trey Harris, a former professional baseball player and current college coach. They discuss Trey's journey from high school to college baseball at Mizzou, his experiences in the minor leagues, and his transition into coaching. Trey shares insights on the importance of JUCO baseball, strength training, and the challenges of life in the minor leagues, including the dynamics of living with host families. The conversation highlights the mental toughness required in sports and the significance of building relationships in the baseball community. In this conversation, Trey Harris shares his experiences in minor league baseball, the significance of JUCO programs, and insights into coaching and recruiting. He emphasizes the importance of personal connections, player development, and maintaining a positive mindset throughout the journey in sports. Harris also discusses the evolving landscape of baseball recruiting and the qualities he looks for in players, highlighting the need for presence and aura on the field.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

What's going on, y'all? Welcome to another episode of NJ Healthy Heat the Podcast with your host, as always, Matthew Delarosa. And today I've got a current college coach, a former professional baseball player, Trey Harris. He's played in the uh professional rankings for seven plus years and is now moving on into his second year of coaching over at Allen Community College. So super excited. We're gonna dive into all things pro baseball, his journey. Uh, but more importantly, for the people out there listening, we're gonna jump into what he does on the coaching side, how he goes about his business recruiting, and how the landscape of JUCO baseball is right now. Um, for anybody out there who's interested, um, I'm a product of JUCO. I always recommend people go in JUCO. It's a great atmosphere, it's really eye-opening to see the talent at that level. And then uh, you know, you're able to go into a great four-year school, if not get popped uh by the by the draft after that. So without further ado, man, I appreciate you taking your time. Uh for anybody out there listening, this is our first time meeting right here. Uh, so you know, I'm interested to learn just as much as you guys are. So if you wouldn't mind, just give us a quick intro on who you are and uh, you know, maybe a little bit about your journey to get to this point.

SPEAKER_00 1:08

Uh yeah. I feel like it's always hard to talk about yourself. So bear with me. So I'm originally from Atlanta, Georgia, uh, really Powder Springs, Georgia, right outside, so about 30 minutes outside of Atlanta. Uh grew up in the travel ball circuit. I was an East Cobb kid, uh, played for there, and then I went and uh played at Mizzou for four years. Uh had a great time at Mizzou. Freshman year had a really good time. Sophomore year had a sophomore slump, uh met a new hitting coach, and then my career kind of took off a little bit. Uh Dylan Lawson, he was a great help to me. Kind of changed my idea of what I thought of hitting and how I moved my body. And I went from four home runs to one home run to 12, 11, and then my first year of Pro Bowl I hit 14. So I always feel like I fell in love with baseball as a junior. I think a lot of people play baseball for what the game gives you. Uh, the the love, the energy, people know your name. But when you really fall in love with it is when you kind of take that next step. So, meaning like I was in the cage Monday, Wednesday, and Friday every week, working on certain things, doing it, not caring if it was tied to results, but really just loving the opportunity to be in the cage. That kind of carried on to what I did in Pro Ball as a senior sign, 32nd round pick. They don't even have that round anymore. Um, sign, yeah, exactly. Signed for 10K. Um, was pretty much given a year to go figure it out, and I try to take advantage of it. So my first year Pro Bowl, I started, I think I went like two for my first 40. Uh, my dad came in town and I was like, yo, what is it? What's wrong with my swing? He was like, to be completely honest, you're just being soft. Like it's time to man up. Yeah, time to man up. He said in a lot of other words, you know, a little different, but pretty much said, man up, go do what you gotta do. And then after that, I hit close to 340 for the rest of my first uh short season, and then I bounced into year one, full year one, and uh got minor league player of the year uh in 2019. That's awesome, dude. Yeah, it was nice, especially when the Braves, the Braves were rated like I want to say the 10th Oregon all of minor leagues. So, you know, William Contreras was there when I was there, you know, like different things like that where we were playing against big time guys, and I was able to be the best position player uh of that of that year. So that kind of pushed me into the fall league, got to become a fall league all-star that year, played with Joe Adele, Brandon Marsh, Andres Jimenez, Alec Bohm. Uh, those guys were on my team. Uh, so I was able to be an all-star there. Then we all got bit by the COVID bug and kind of messed with my momentum a little bit. Uh went back in 21, played for the Braves, had the most fun I've ever had playing baseball. Um yeah, the group that we had that year, uh, which is the Jersey on the wall, um, it was a like we were accountable, but we had fun, but we played the game the right way, but we never took ourselves too serious. Um, it was a lot of fun. Uh played with a good amount of big leaguers on that team. That team had a lot, I mean it was we won a lot of games. We broke the home run record, we won the most wins in Mississippi Braves history. Uh, we beat a really good, talented Montgomery team. Like there was a lot of things we did well, and I think uh we were able to really take advantage of what we could and couldn't do because we just had open dialogue all the time. If guys weren't hitting the cut, somebody let you know. If you weren't playing hard, somebody let you know. Um, so it really made for an environment where everybody really enjoyed themselves, which led to us winning the championship. That year, I led the team in hits, uh, which was really cool because, like I said, it was a lot of really, really good baseball players on that team. Um, and then 2022, the Braves got new uh minor league. People started running the a little bit different. We got a new farm director, and he didn't like how I kind of played baseball. He wanted me to hit the ball in the more air. He did a little bit more of that expected batting average instead of what you do. So then I became a platoon player, uh, probably for the rest of my career after that. So, you know, things can happen fast, things change quickly, but you just kind of got to ride with the punches. So after, you know, being mad for like three weeks, I tried to embrace it, uh, ended up going on a good run. You know, some of my coaches looked out, like finding creative ways to get me in the lineup, and then I was traded to the Nationals. Uh, traded to the Nationals, went uh had a good time, hit five homers in six weeks, uh, played well, and then guys like James Wood and Robert Hassel and Dylan Cruz get drafted, and then that's when you get back to that platoon role. Which I say all that to say is that's when I realized I wanted to be a coach. Um because those last two to three years, I remember like guys, I mean, I I'm only name-dropping because it's like to understand who you play with, you kind of gotta get outside of yourself. Like, how can I make these guys better and help them be whatever they want to be when they grow up? So uh I remember talking to D Lyle, Dalen Lyle about what kind of player he was, and it it gave me that love because if I'm coaching guys or helping guys and be in that locker room presence and their reps, them doing a good job, take away from my reps in game, I think it'll be a lot easier to coach guys when their reps are what we want, right? Like it's a lot easier to help guys see the game when it's benefiting both of us. It was really hard to be that kind of OG in the locker room when you know, like if he does apply what you kind of say on handling his business right and doing the little things and understanding what player there, that means you're gonna get less at bats. And uh that's when I realized like I had a knack for connecting with people from all shapes and sizes and places. I mean, you know, my uh minor league locker rooms are all over the place. There's ebbs and flows, and uh, for me to be that constant in the locker room, I was the bridge between the coaches and the players. Um, and it just kind of ignited that love for baseball. And then jumped in. Uh, my last year of Pro Ball was done, and I uh got an opportunity to go back to Mizzou to finish my degree. Took me 11 years to finish my degree, I like to joke and say, Yeah. So I uh took a long break for Pro Bowl, but then wanted to really do that. I feel like that's something that no one can take away from you. And now that I've finished uh last May, uh I definitely could feel that. But while I was back in Mizzou, I was kind of doing a soft internship for Mizzou baseball and just kind of getting engrossed in that in that mindset and that environment and see if I really enjoy doing it every single day, right? You know, dealing with people that some want to be astronauts, some want to be uh, you know, the best player in the world. How do you deal with that? How do you make everyone go into the same direction? And then I found out I really loved it and I enjoyed it. Um and then I got a call. I was deciding I was going back to Indy ball, you know, gonna try to play one more year, see if I can get back into affiliate. Uh guy called me and said, hey Trey, you can be the hitting coach up until you leave for Indy ball, and then you can kind of go from there. Hitting is my background. Every offseason I did hitting lessons, so I did that for seven years straight. Uh, Monday to Thursday, four to five hours, because that's how I made my money in the offseason. So um I was a hitter. Um, so just being able to like teach guys the hardest part in sports is hitting to teach people how to do it was a was a joy for me. So when I got that opportunity, I was like, oh yeah, I need that. Uh big fan. So then I came over to Allen uh in February, and then some things happened. I ended up being the interim head coach and then decided to retire. So it all kind of happened pretty quick, and now we're rolling to uh my getting done with my first full year because you know I think a fall is very important for a college program. And uh oh my, you need that fall. There's so much riff raft that you got to cut through because everybody's coming from everywhere. I mean, you talk about I want to just go work on the farm versus I want to go D1, there's two parallel different, like there's there's it's crazy. So um just getting done with my first full year, learned a lot, you know, only being 30 years old. There's a lot of uh in the Jayhawk League, it's the they they say on the World Series that I'm watching that we're the best conference in the country, which I agree it would be hard to say someone's better than us top to bottom.

SPEAKER_02 9:00

That that that uh I forget what conference it is called, but the one I went to was pretty heavy stacked to uh Cisco with uh McClennon and Grayson and I mean dude McLean.

SPEAKER_00 9:11

I was saying it's us and them. That's it just depends on who having a better year.

SPEAKER_02 9:15

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:16

No, 100%. I know that Johnson this year, they went down and played an Amarillo, and that's that's who beat them, right? So like everybody's got it. I think Texas and Midwest right now are just knocking heads on who's gonna get it. And I'm I'm excited for the blend Johnson County matchup. Hopefully, that's gonna be lining up nice because you know how it is, just good baseball the time. And yeah, just trying to really, really develop the guys as men and and develop them as players as well.

SPEAKER_02 9:41

Man, that's awesome, dude. What an incredible career, man. I started following you. You started popping up on the scene when um I followed Justin Dean and you guys were hanging out a lot, and uh I just kept seeing like dude, my uh uh Trey Harris and Michael Harris, and I was like, man, these dudes, is this gonna be the future of the Braves outfield? Like all three of y'all play on the same team. It was lining up for it. Unfortunately, the Braves at that time were just absolutely stacked in the outfield. You couldn't break in. Um, but yeah, it was great to see you know your progression just from afar, just being a fan, winning minor league player of the year. I don't care at what level. I mean, what a huge accomplishment, man. That's something that you can take with you for the rest of your life. And I'm sure your parents are proud. I'm sure you're proud of all the accomplishments. Um, you know, talk to me. I think a lot of people who listen to this are parents of high school players and um you know, high school players themselves. Talk to me about you know that journey into uh college baseball for you. Like, how did high school shape up for you? Obviously, you're a 32nd round draft pick after college, so it's not like you were this you know highly touted dude coming out of high school. Um so what does that look like for you and and you know how how did you get to to college?

SPEAKER_00 10:51

So um it was really tough sledding. I don't know, I'm only like 5'8, so like for me it was a lot of in-between. So the big power five at the time it was powerful, now it was power four. Excuse me. They were saying I was too small and wasn't good enough, where the mid-majors thought I was going power four, so I kind of got sandwiched in between uh trying to find a place to play. Um got really lucky. One of my travel ball coaches reached out to Mizzou and they were like they didn't know I would have any interest. I didn't know anything about Mizzou going into the process.

SPEAKER_02 11:22

What year were you at Mizzou by a chance?

SPEAKER_00 11:24

Uh 2015 and 2018.

SPEAKER_02 11:26

So did you did you play with uh my boy Kirby Maguire? Did you play with Kirby Maguire? Yes, I did.

SPEAKER_00 11:31

Yep. The hope. Kirby, we played together my junior year.

SPEAKER_02 11:34

Uh Juco Juco guy's a longtime childhood friend, bro. That was like my dude from all the way of eight years old, all the way until like 15. We just tore it up together.

SPEAKER_00 11:44

Yep. So Kirby played right, I played left, we bounced around. He had a hose. Nobody can throw the ball like Kirby could. Um, really good player. He came from JUCO. He was nice. So we had like Tanner Houck on that team, um, and we had a lot of fun. Um and when I was going to Mizzou, I didn't know what to expect, and then I got on campus and absolutely fell in love. Uh, funny story is though, they did not offer me the first time. They were like, we don't know if you're good enough to play at this level. We don't know if you can handle it. You got to come back for a camp. Uh, they told me that in August. So I remember from August to December, which is when the camp was. I woke up at 6 a.m. twice a week to work on my defense to make sure that was up to par. I knew I could hit. I never really doubted that. Uh, but you know, you got to show that other side too. So then I went up to the camp, had a great showing. They offered me a nice little, nice little uh scholarship at the time. You could not get full rides or nothing like that. So took my took what it was and then went on up there and had a had a blast. It definitely was a shell shock, though. The speed of the game just gets absurd and it happens fast. Um, the falls a little faster, and then the springs a little faster, and then conference is way faster. Everything kind of speeds up, the crowds get bigger. Um, so it all happened pretty fast. And I think the biggest thing for me is I was blessed enough to already be strong enough. Um, I was already strong, I just had to kind of adapt to what the game needed from me. I got moved to the outfield, so I had to learn that in a whole new position. And then kind of hold on, real quick.

SPEAKER_02 13:12

When you say strong, you mean like physically strong or strong enough in your game?

SPEAKER_00 13:16

Physically strong.

SPEAKER_02 13:18

How'd you do that? Because most kids right now, like they're you know, I think it's the same thing that everybody's preaching always is like the earlier you can get strong, like the better your chances. Too many get kids come to me, and I'm sure they come to you, like, hey, how can I get better? And it's like, bro, you it's it's years of being in the weight room developing, like one offseason, one summer, like, yeah, we can push the needle forward pretty pretty fast. But you know, if you really want to commit to being strong, it's it's years in the weight room. So, how how did that process start for you? When did you get into all of that? How'd you start to prepare yourself? How'd you know to prepare yourself for that?

SPEAKER_00 13:50

Um, luckily for me, my dad was a football guy, right? So middle linebacker played D1AA, so like you know, being strong is kind of like what it was. But I found a guy, Mike Butler, who he's had a lot of guys come through his gym. Like, if you're from Georgia, you know about him. I got lucky to be on the front end of it. And to be completely honest, I was tired all the time. Um we would work out at 5 45 in the morning before school, and then I would work out with the baseball team after school, and then I would go see Coach Mike for my speed stuff, right? So you're doing strength twice, speed in the afternoon. I was doing that three to four days a week and then playing on the weekend. Like I had made it in my mind that I was not gonna not be able to find out what I could do because there's nothing worse than having a good swing and you can only get singles because you don't have enough strength behind it. So to be completely honest, I got around the right people who told me how important strength was, and then I was able to kind of like pretty much tap into it and just have to accept the fact that I was gonna be tired all the time.

SPEAKER_02 14:47

Like, I remember go ahead. Sorry.

SPEAKER_00 14:50

No, no, no, you got it. Go ahead.

SPEAKER_02 14:51

I think that's the biggest thing, man. I'm I tell kids right now, man, like you just have to accept the fact for a few years that like unfortunately, strength and conditioning has to take priority. Number one, being good at baseball comes down to number two, and then like they'll they'll switch, but at some point, like we got just gotta build you into like a man. No, that takes time.

SPEAKER_00 15:12

100%, like literally taking it upon yourself. Like those days where you don't want to go, you have to go find out what you're made of. You have to. Um, our coach was like, you gotta find whatever reason it is that makes you want to go do it, right? So some guys want to look good for the girl, some guys want to hit homer, some guys just want to be able to take their shirt off and be comfortable doing it when they're working out. Like, whatever it is to motivate you on those days where you don't really want to do it, those are the days where like that's what comes in handy. That's when it's gonna make the biggest difference. So, yeah, now accepting the fact that you're gonna be absolutely worn out for the bigger, bigger goal is what it what it really took.

SPEAKER_02 15:48

Yeah, for sure, man. And so you go to you go to Mizzou, you you start freshman year or no? Yeah, so I started freshman year.

SPEAKER_00 15:56

Yep, day one had the job, um, was a DH at first, and then I actually started off 0 for 24. Um, I don't know what it was. No, and and I think that was the biggest difference. And when I got player of the year, it was coldest there, huh? Oh my god, bro.

SPEAKER_02 16:12

I'm not a cold weather player. I played North Carolina too. No chance coming up from Texas.

SPEAKER_00 16:17

Yeah, you're you you swing the bat bat off the you foul one off the whole top of your hand is numb. Like you're trying to find every time in there to to to ring it on out. No, it's that was the hardest adjustment. It's cold, the ball don't travel for half the year. Um, so just kind of rolling with the punches, and then I was able to finally break through, had a good weekend. I think it took up until conference, like SEC conference play, for me to really figure out what was going on, and then after that, I had a really good year. I was an all-sc freshman and then kind of went into it from there and just kind of rode that wave.

SPEAKER_02 16:51

Yeah, no, that's nice, man. I think so I finally figured it out my senior year. So a little bit about me. I don't know if you know anything about me, but I was a pitcher and then and then uh in college I was our shortstop uh and I hit. And I think finally, uh senior year, I just told myself, like, you're not gonna complain about the weather this year. This is the one, this is your last ride right here. Like, we have to get drafted this year, it's not gonna happen. You need to get off to a hot start, and you're always complaining about like, oh, I get off to a slow start because I'm from Texas and it's so warm and I can't hit in the cold weather. It's like that can't be an option. Like, if you if you piss away the first, you know, 15 games, that's a third of the season because it was cold. So like we gotta figure out a way to do something, and I think just that mentality. I think I always was so like, oh, it's cold, my performance only gets better when it's hot. That was a bad way to to think about baseball, especially because again, like I said, it's third it's the third of the season, basically.

SPEAKER_00 17:43

Yeah, luckily I had some crazy upperclassmen, so like they were they were like real big on like no excuses, like you couldn't complain about a single thing. And at the time, I'm mad as hell. Like, I did not want to hear none of that. Like, bro, my fingers hurt, it's cold. This was before shysties, like there was no shysties, yeah, but none of that. So, like, we're out there in long sleeves, grinding it out, and uh, it's funny because I'm the same way now. I'm not really trying to hear excuses about how cold it is no more. Because like you just don't want to give something power that over you at all, right? You don't want to even build in that little doubt, like, I didn't get a hit because of this. Like, no, there's things that we can do to help ourselves out and just kind of making that choice. But yeah, I got lucky, you know, every now and again you just got to be around people that make you a little bit better, right? You don't even know why at the moment, but they make you a little bit better, and that's kind of how it worked out for me.

SPEAKER_02 18:34

So let's let's talk about the minor leagues now. So you get drafted, what a huge accomplishment. I know you know, everybody who I've talked to on this podcast who's gotten drafted, you know, you remember the day, you remember all the sacrifices that came into it from your family to your uh self, skipping things, whatever it may be to sacrifice for baseball, and then you finally get that uh uh call. Walk us through that. What is it? What if what was that day like for you?

SPEAKER_00 19:00

So as a junior, I ended up getting hurt late in the year, had a really good year, got hurt late, and I, you know, just some other things like people question my work ethic and things like that. So didn't really get the call as a junior. So then come in senior year, try to have the best year possible, back against the wall. Um, and then when the season got done, I left my exit meeting with my coach. I said, Coach, what do you got? What do you think? Like, do I need to get an agent? You think I got a chance? He goes, Trey, from what I heard, you should be round seven to ten, and you should be good. Perfect, love that. Well, we all know once you have a plan, God gonna find a way to throw some twists in there or something. So uh rounds one through ten, go through. Don't even get a call. Um, we're going through day three now, and we're at round 11. We're around 20, we're around 25. I remember my dad going, like, hey, we're gonna give you some time alone. You know, the the draft will wrap up here in about an hour. We know it's been a long career. Uh I know you're you know already thinking about like going back to school, finishing your degree. How about we give you some time to kind of digest all those thoughts? I remember being down in my basement with my my t-shirt over my head, like just no baby tears rolling down. Like, man, I really worked for it. I thought I was good enough. Guys that I played against are getting drafted, guys I played with are getting drafted. Um, and then as soon as soon as you give up hope, I get a call. Hey Trey, look at the screen. You're about to get drafted. Got drafted by the Braves, and it was amazing. Kind of funny because I run upstairs, nobody's home. Uh everybody went out.

SPEAKER_01 20:30

They were like, bro, he's about to self-destruct. Let's get out the way of tornado Trey coming through.

SPEAKER_00 20:35

Exactly. Exactly. Like, literally, like let's like he's about to crash. Like, it's about to get real scary in here. Um, so call my parents and everybody's happy and excited. We go get some wings and just have a blast. Like, just kind of euphoric feeling, right? Like, then the next day you go to at the time, go to Truest Park and sign contracts and take pictures, and my mom's crying, and it's just really, really good time for everybody. Uh, got my the rest of my school paid for, which comes in handy, which when I come back 11 years later, you know, all that's free now.

SPEAKER_02 21:08

They offered that on the first go-around, or you negotiated that into your contract?

SPEAKER_00 21:11

Offered it on the first go-around, so it was nice. They took care of it right away. That was one of the things.

SPEAKER_02 21:15

You just had one more year, you just had one more year that you can.

SPEAKER_00 21:19

Yeah, I took uh I took the I ain't gonna lie. I uh had this weird thing that I like felt like I couldn't do baseball in school at the same time. Um, so I just really did the minimum amount of 12 hours of classes. Yes, it is very hard, especially in season if like I don't know. It's hard. Yeah, it's just a grind. Like during the season, you're just gonna have to work your butt off in every direction. You're just gonna be worn out, and I just wanted to be worn out my senior year playing baseball. Um I messed up, dude.

SPEAKER_02 21:46

I switched I switched majors halfway through, and then my last three my last three semesters, I wasn't doing a fifth year. My last three semesters, I was 18 hours, eighteen hours, and twenty-one hours on my last go-round. To just get it done when more minimum is what 12? I didn't want to be great. No, I didn't want to go back. I didn't I was like, dude, I'm not going back for another year. It's too expensive. I didn't really know if I was getting drafted just like you. Nobody's gonna pay for it. Like, I gotta get it done. Like, I'm not gonna be in school and not play baseball. No thank you.

SPEAKER_00 22:18

Luckily, at Mizzou, they had a program to where any athlete who played a sport, if you had to come an extra year for one year, they would cover your same amount of scholarship and it would come out of a different fund. So that gave me a little bit of yeah, so that was nice. So, you know, having at least some of it paid for allowed a little security blanket to take my time a little bit. So um, that was really nice by Mazoo. Uh came up clutch because then I was able to like kind of counteract everything and get it all paid for. Um, so yeah, nah, so going back, it was wasn't really an option. So trying to just go make it shake and get it done, and then that's kind of what led to getting into Pro Bowl.

SPEAKER_02 22:58

That's awesome, man. And then you're in Pro Bowl. What are some things in Pro Bowl that you thought were gonna be something? Let me let me ask this away. When you think about Pro Ball as like a kid, you've got this uh uh idea of what it's gonna be, and then you actually get in there and it's not anything like what you thought it was. What was that moment for you, or what were some things that you were just like, wow, I did not expect this?

SPEAKER_00 23:22

So I was I'm technically like an old man now in baseball talk, right? Like you know how it is. Once you hit a certain age, now you're the old guy, but I'm older than you, so what does that make me? Yeah, no, crisp, bro.

unknown 23:35

God damn.

SPEAKER_02 23:36

This is my own podcast, bro. I'm gonna edit that out. No, I'm just playing. That's crazy. I know for sure.

SPEAKER_00 23:42

Um that gives you insight to my personality too. I'm always chirping. I'm always yeah, uh up to up to something. But um, pre-COVID, you know, you were getting 10k a year. Uh, we were living, I remember living in a host family with like four or two.

SPEAKER_01 23:56

Who was getting 10k a year? Hey, that's not me.

SPEAKER_00 24:00

You're not after taxes, after taxes, you get a month.

SPEAKER_02 24:04

Oh, you're talking about total. You're talking about total. Total, total. Oh, I thought you meant a month, bro. I was talking about, bro. No, no, no, no, no.

SPEAKER_00 24:10

Yeah, I wish. I would have played a long time. We were getting 10k a month.

SPEAKER_02 24:14

They were paying me down, they were paying me about that in Mexico, dude. Mexico was paying well down there. Yes, yeah, per month. Yeah, it was a good thing.

SPEAKER_00 24:21

So we were getting 10k a whole six months. We were living with like host family, so that was different, right? So, like, I'm 24 years old, my host family won't allow my girlfriend to come to the house. Like, she's not even allowed to.

SPEAKER_02 24:33

The families are weird, man. I was blessed to have two great host families. Uh, I saw you played in the Cape too. Did you have a you had a uh host there?

SPEAKER_00 24:39

Uh Mrs. E. She was famous in the Cape, uh, but we all stayed in an unfinished business uh uh basement with like five cot beds, and she made casseroles every single night, and it was brutal. She didn't have too many taste buds, so you could I could tell you how that tasted every time. Yeah, and she loved it.

SPEAKER_02 24:57

Hey, but still, shout out to the host families, man. That's a yes, that's a weird like thing to get into. Very, very niche. I had both of my host parents at my wedding, so I got lucky, I lucked out. I lucked out.

SPEAKER_00 25:09

In Sedelia, my first summer ball year in college, I call her boss lady to this day. My host mom was amazing. Like, even my host brother just got married. I was at the wedding. Like, host families, literally, they're opening up their home to people. They have no clue who they are, what they are about. They're just doing it out the kindness of their heart. Um, so just kind of adapting to that, right? Like, not knowing them, them not knowing me, me trying to play ball, me walking in the house at three in the morning because we're coming off a road trip, not trying to wake them up with the dogs, like those little things, like they're just kind of layered over themselves. And uh really, that's how I met JD, though. You know, like you're you're you're with the boys every single night. It was five of us, no, four of us, Greg Cullen, Brendan Ventor, and JD, and JD would play Fortnite, and then we get done with Fortnite and we watch Entourage until we fell asleep and then do it all over again. Love Entourage, big time show.

SPEAKER_02 26:05

That's my number one show of all time.

SPEAKER_00 26:07

Yes, mine too. See, and I tried to show the boys it this uh this year and it didn't hit the same because they don't understand like the cameos in it. Like they don't understand the guest appearances like that show.

SPEAKER_02 26:18

I don't need them to understand it either. I uh I that show is for me. Yes, for me and my and my people. I don't care if you like it. Although I follow their I follow they got a podcast too. Uh if you listen to their podcast, but they're always talking about like uh trying to come back up. I just don't know if they could do it in today's world, is what the is what the main thing is.

SPEAKER_00 26:37

Role could not get away with none of the stuff he was doing back.

SPEAKER_01 26:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:42

No, that that show is yeah, we watch, I mean, it's so many seasons, so it worked out nice. Like you just rolling through it, 30-minute episodes, as you know, watch three or four at night. Like you, it's I mean, and that's what all the boys want to do. They want one of us to make it, and then we all just kick it. I'll be the driver, I'll be the manager, and I'll just be the homie that keeps us in it every time. Like, that's what we all wanted to do. So it was a lot of fun. And then I think the biggest thing in the minor leagues was honestly the bus rides and then the off-season, right? Like not getting paid in the off-season, but having to invest in yourself to get better as a player. Uh, that was hard, which is how I started with the lessons, which you never know how things line up. Start lessons to pay to be able to play baseball. Those same lessons are why I believe I'm a good hitting coach now. Like all those little things I learned along the way. So um, but to be completely honest, because I think I was a late-round pick, I was extremely grateful for the process I had in the minor leagues. Like I love being able to play every single day. I love traveling on the road. I love that fans wanted to get your autograph and stuff like that. I thought all that was really, really cool because uh I was 10 minutes away from not having none of it. So I was just really grateful. Of course, there was a level of complaint. I think there's a level of complaint that gets you through just about anything. Um, so but if you can find the good things and be grateful for some things, it allows it to be a little easier.

SPEAKER_02 28:05

No, that's awesome, man. Yeah, you got a good perspective on it. And obviously, seven years is not even just like a stop, like you had a legit baseball career uh in in professional baseball. So that's really, really cool, especially again for a 32nd rounder who um, for anybody out there, like you know, you might get a short season, and if you don't produce in that short season, you're cut immediately. Hey, we gotta make room for other people. And uh, you know, making it through COVID, I was not somebody who made it through COVID. COVID ended my career, and that's when I had to go down to Mexico. But making it through COVID is a huge accomplishment with all the teams that were cut. I'm sure every GM evaluated every single player in their stable on like how do we move forward with this person? Are they somebody we continue to invest in or not? And they took a serious look at Trey Harris and they said, you know what, we need to um, you know, continue with this player. So that's awesome. Um, and so now you're let's move into the coaching realm of it, right? Uh again, a lot of people that listen to this, they're parents, they're high schoolers, they're they're using this platform to learn from coaches on how recruiting works, how each division works, you know, mid-majors, power fours, d2, d3, and ai, and juco. Um, I've had coaches on here from every sort of bit. Uh, you're the second JUCO coach on here. So give us your insight on JUCO baseball right now. Where is it? It's getting, I think, a lot more credibility than it did in the past just because of how um, you know, scholarships have played out at the higher levels, NIL money has played out at the higher levels, and I think people are still now recognizing that JUCO is a very serious option, and it's not where lesser players just go because they can't find a new school. It's actually where you go to develop and now be pushed out to these bigger schools. So um I might have just answered your own question, but tell me tell me why Juke, tell me why JUCO, man.

SPEAKER_00 29:58

Uh so you know, I just think it's a it's a place to find out where you're made of, right? Like you're gonna really test yourself in every avenue, right? Like our school is in the middle of Kansas. The closest airport is two hours away. So it's really all about ball and the boys, right? That's how I look at it. And what JUCO does is it's gonna give you the reps you need, it's gonna give you the mental fortitude you need. It's also gonna give you an idea of like, how do I get a big collection of people to move in the right direction, right? So we'll have close to 60 to 65 guys come into the fall. You've got to learn how to navigate that many personalities while also competing for your spot, right? So um for JUCO right now, I think it's I didn't I will say this before I say this next statement. I don't know crazy about what it was before. I do know who Mazou recruited from the JUCO ranks, and I know what I'm seeing now, and it's absurd. Um the the level of play is is really taking the uh a next step because of the roster limits, right? 34 roster limits, guys aren't getting the love they want. They hit the portal, they come down to JUCO and it's used as a launching pad, right? You look at the top teams in our conference, guys are coming from four uh from D1s, coming here now, finding better options with more NIL money because you're able to invest in yourself when it comes to the weight room, right? You ain't got nothing else to do. Our weight rooms open till 10 o'clock every night. So we lift at 6. Why not go back with the boys and get an arm farm done at 8? You know what I'm saying? Or like our guys, the lights are always on on the field. Hey, let's go hit a little bit. You don't have to worry about those same rigors when it comes to the hours for coaches and things like that. So you're also getting hands-on training all the time. We start August 14th. That first week is for the school. Get everything in order. After that, you're gonna be mine until the end of October. And even at the end of October, we got three weeks of individual work where we work four on ones the whole time. So you're just getting an immense amount of reps, you're pushing yourself in every direction possible, and you're kind of finding out what you're made of as a player and as a man. And I think it really allows guys to not just use this as a stepping stone, but a launching path, like being able to take your game where it needs to go.

SPEAKER_02 32:11

Yeah, and for those that don't know, you know, in JUCO baseball, there are no limitations for the hours that coaches and players can work together, where at every other level there is. Uh, I definitely remember that was my wake-up call to baseball, college baseball first year as a freshman, JUCO baseball. It's like, wow, we are out here doing this thing every day, man. I would say on average, we're spending four to six hours on baseball a day, right? You got your early morning groups, you got your hitting groups, you got your lifting groups, you got your uh meal time that needs to be spent with the in the cafeteria if you're on a certain meal plan or whatever it is, and then again, another workout, speed, whatever it may be. Um again, the facility is always open, go in there, fields are always open, the boys just want to do nothing but hang out. I was also Cisco, I don't know if you know Cisco, Cisco is in a town of just you know 900 people. That's pretty much how most JUCOs are. I don't want to say like it that way, because like you said, like there ain't nothing to do there, man. We were we were a dry community too, so like you couldn't even get alcohol in our community. You had to drive, you know, so far to get it. It was like, man, there's nothing to do here, but yeah, there's nothing to do here but like just grind and get after it. And for me, that's where my career went to the next level because I put on I put on 40 in that first year. I went from 160 having the tools that I needed to like 200 to being like, oh, those balls that I was like popping up to right field, like those are off the wall, now over the wall. And I was like, all right, this is what I needed. And then after one year, I didn't even play. I didn't even play freshman year and still got popped out of there and got picked up by a school because I put on um good, I put up good numbers in a summer league, and then uh from there the rest is history for me. But yeah, Juco Baseball, man, it's it's great. Glad that you're enjoying it over there. Um, you know, when you're out there recruiting kids, knowing that you can develop them into you know a man and you can put size on them, how do you go about like recruiting them? Are you personally out there recruiting a ton of high schoolers that you see potential in that are maybe getting overlooked? Are you out there finding, you know, uh uh D2 powerhouse guys that aren't getting the love and need to be one more year and go to D1? Are you getting D1 transfer backs, all of the above? Like, how are you recruiting right now?

SPEAKER_00 34:24

So I'm I'm I'm high school heavy, but then a mix of to be honest, our lane has been right now junior colleges. Um I think I I have this weird thing where I think schools are gonna stop playing us because it seems like every year there's always a group of kids reaching out to me because of how we played against them. And you know, being a younger coach, you know, the ox is always really good. I got good energy. I'm gonna throw on the good shoes, I'm I'm gonna look the part a little bit. You know, just kind of you know how old school coaches are, you know what I'm saying? One pullover at the time, bro.

SPEAKER_02 34:55

Just putting the ox on is a huge upgrade, man. I don't even remember listening to music, dude. Yes, like give me something, bro. Like, this is just you're out in the middle of a cornfield listening to just the wind howl. Like, can I get something? Can I get something, please?

SPEAKER_00 35:13

No, a hundred percent. So, like, I kind of most of my classes are gonna be high school. Uh, we do big heavy on camps. I feel like got people that are willing to invest to come see at the camp. I think in our class this year for scholarship guys, we had 20 scholarship guys, 15 came from our camp. Um uh it was nice to get because that way I could talk to them, right? I get an idea of what they do, I can see how their parents interact with them, I see how they respond to settings that are strictly not really in their favor, right? You get 10 swings, you get 10 pitches, you only get to run once. Like, how do you adapt to that? Um, and then from there I find my walk-ons with quality, right? So I'm a lot of the coaches are reaching out to me. I'm looking at video and I'm trying to figure out what works for us as a program. The number one thing I look for is how do you move? How do you move? I'm not really trying to chase VO because honestly, if you threw over 86, you probably would not be coming to JUCO, right? Like that's just what it is. You'll be at a D2, you'll be somewhere else because they know you'll have a tick up of two and be at 88. So every time I see that's another thing. Every time I see them VLOs online, I'm already ducking off two points. I'm already ducking off two. So um just kind of what it is.

SPEAKER_02 36:27

You're saying it's less. You say it's less. You see 86, somebody's like 86 to 88, you're like, yo, you're 84 to 86.

SPEAKER_00 36:33

84, yeah. You're gonna be, and then by the end of the game, you're gonna be 82. But if you're moving well down the mound, if I feel like you're athletic when you do it, all right, I like that. When it comes to hitters, all right, the swing might be ugly, but he keeps getting hit. So the bat to ball is there, right? So I'm looking at those things. Like, I just recruited a kid out of Texas, he's a switch hitter, he steps in the bucket, his swing gets kind of long, but he hit 550. All right, like if you can do it with with with terrible mechanics, you definitely gonna be able to do it when I put you in an environment where we're doing life flights, when we got heavy bats, when we got water bags and med balls, you're gonna be able to take that next step because I can teach you to do that. Same thing we had a kid, one of our pitchers, he was an outfielder in in high school for four years. In summer ball this summer, he said, Hey, why don't I get on the mound? I see him on the mound, I'm like, hold on now. He moves well, he's athletic. The first the fall was kind of ugly, his first two starts were kind of ugly, but then he became a starter for us on the weekend and really balled out. Because if you move the right way, we can teach you to be a baseball player. If you understand the game, we can teach you to get a little, we can get you a little stronger, we can get you moving in the right direction. So I'm looking for guys that move well, I'm looking for guys that come from good families, and then I'm looking for guys who are willing to go kind of go prove something. Like when a guy gets on the phone and he's kind of mad about, hey, I'm not getting the love I want, hey, I'm not getting this, I want that guy. Let me go see what you got then. Let's go see what you made of. Let's go see if you're really willing to go push yourself to find out why people thought this or thought that and go hush him up. So kind of use all that. For sure.

SPEAKER_02 38:12

For sure, dude. Are you getting, would you say that your guys are more one year and out, they're coming there one year, popping and then leaving, or you say that they're sticking around for two years? How how is that uh for you guys, and how do you even manage all of that year after year? You're just basically a reload every year.

SPEAKER_00 38:29

So I say most of our guys are two years only because they gain that strength and then they do okay, and then they do it again for a year and the game slows down and they're able to take off and really show it off. Um, so for the most part, we've been a two-year system. Now I am in only in the year two, so who knows if if I, you know, you really don't know how good of a recruiter you are until your first full class comes in, and that's where I'm at. Um, my first class did well, but when it's the first full one, that's when you find out, and we might have some one and done's there because we already got some guys that are already physically gifted, some of their V Lows kind of match what could be one and done. And even the guys we had this year had a lot of love from D2s, but everybody wants that D1 goal, so they're kind of coming back. But we had a few guys that probably could have had an option to be one and done.

SPEAKER_02 39:17

Yeah, yeah. And then uh what's what's the coaching staff look like? How many, how many coaches you got over there? Um, I know at our Drew Code, we had we had three. Yeah, head coach and assistant coach, we had a pitching coach, bro. And it was like, you know, again, it's one of those things where like they care, they're trying to get you better, but it's like they got 60 dudes. That's one person for 20 people. Figure it out. You know, this is the way that we're going. Here's the system that we're in. Figure it out.

SPEAKER_00 39:45

A hundred percent.

SPEAKER_02 39:46

And I think how many of y'all got?

SPEAKER_00 39:48

We got three, and then we added a volunteer uh this year, so we ended up having four during the season, which was a big help. Just extra set of eyes to look at the game. Um, so uh we had John Chalupa's our pitching coach, Chase McQuig is our uh defensive, uh call it a defensive coordinator because he handles all the shifts and the way that I want the defense ran, the way that we move in the outfield, uh things like that. And then he does the director of ops, and then I kind of do the head coaching and the hitting side of things. So we we're definitely dispersed. We all have our own spots, uh, but we're definitely equally as intense. We're younger coaching staff, so John's the oldest at 33, I'm 30, and Chase is 24. So um we got a little bit of everything. Chase is from Georgia, I'm from Georgia, John is from New York, right? So we got a little bit of everything in our staff, but it allows for guys that have different outlets to be able to talk about what they need. And we try to do our best to make everything personal. Uh, we we try to base our stuff off of a Q-based system. So one cue that allows every guy to get right where they need to get to in their mindset and then kind of going from there.

SPEAKER_02 40:52

Yeah, no, that's that's awesome, man. And and I think being at a young age, especially in baseball right now, where everybody is so young, the players are so young, it's able, you're able to relate, right? You're not too far removed from the game when you're talking, you're not talking about something you did 30 years ago. Not that there's anything wrong with that, because experience is you know, experience and it's and it's and it's uh held at a high regard for a reason, but they know that like you just live that life, and and obviously being a professional, being a player of the year, I mean, there's not really too much that these young men can argue because you're just like, you know, yeah, Google.

SPEAKER_00 41:30

It makes it nice. I don't know why. That's why I mean I work out, like I do the lifts, like the same lifts the boys do. I do it because like I don't know, I don't know if this is crazy to say, but like nobody wants that coach where you look at them, you're like, bro, you can't even do that. Like, you can't do that.

SPEAKER_02 41:46

I tell people that quietly all the time. I have no problem saying that. Like, yeah, if you're coach, like you're you're trying to get people to follow you and you're trying to be the leader, and like if you want people to look a certain way, you gotta look a certain way. Uh pitching coach who is the director of pitching for the Orioles, Chris Holt. First time I really I wouldn't say first time, my uh uh coach in college, uh Tom Fleenor, he worked out too. He's always in good shape, but uh uh Chris Holt for the Orioles pitching director, he was in there like power snatching like 225 pounds, and I was like, bro, at like 6 a.m. in the morning, you're just pulling up to like get your breakfast and stuff for the day. He's already in a full sweat, just you're just like dude, this dude is different. And now that now you're like, oh, I gotta be different now because this dude, this old man is looking like he's stronger than me. He's like 45, bro.

SPEAKER_00 42:38

A hundred percent. And it's like the same thing. Like, there's days where we'll do life flight or something on the machine, and they're just getting beat up, just getting beat up, just getting beat up. I'll get in the cage and be like, hey y'all, the queue is a ball above. Just go a ball above, watch the hit it. Wow, whack. Like, hey, we want to work off the X, you want to push through the ball. I will get on the machine and show you how to do it because a lot of people might be visual learners, some people are auditory, but at the end of the day, when they see it done right, now they have a model to go behind. And that's really what I want to be able to do for as long as I can is be able to show them, like, all right, we've talked about it, we did it over a meeting, we've had a couple practices about it. You don't quite get what I'm saying, cool. Let me show you. This is what I mean when I mean thumbs together on a double play. This is what I mean when we lead with our right foot and work off the X and downhill. This is what I mean. Go catch the ball. So, you know, just kind of setting the standard. Like, if you're as a head coach, you are the standard. So if you're gonna be the standard, you gotta do that in everything. And that's kind of what I think about it as.

SPEAKER_02 43:40

Yeah, no, it's definitely nice. Not that I'm the greatest athlete in the world, but like you said, it's definitely nice to be able to show rather than just talk. At some point, it's gonna go away, right? If you're gonna if you're gonna coach long enough, you know, if you're gonna be 67 years old coaching baseball, you're not getting in there banging balls off the wall. But for now, it really is nice. Uh Um to be able to just show kids because they're just like, I don't know how to do it, and you're just like that's out of it. Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_01 44:05

Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 44:08

It's always so funny. Um so right now I would have to imagine you're in a recruiting cycle, right? Uh school school ended already for you guys? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, so now you go into your recruiting cycle, you're gonna be traveling, I'm sure, all over, uh, going to tournaments and stuff like that. When you're out at these places and you're looking for your next crop of recruits, what are you looking for? How are you identifying them? Obviously, you have holes that you need to fill in your current team, but let's just say, for example, you're looking for a certain player, what mold does that player need to fit, not just on the field, but you know, off the field? What are you looking for?

SPEAKER_00 44:48

Uh the young kids call it aura, I call it a presence. I want you to have a presence on them on the on the field. Like when you step on the field, for some reason everybody kind of notices your energy. Uh, people who have seen it know exactly what I'm talking about. And if you haven't seen it, you need to get around better players because there's guys that are Google Trey Trey Harris and Justin Dean, you know.

SPEAKER_02 45:09

Yeah, no, like Justin Dean post post LR Bears because he looked like a hey, if JD, if you're listening to this freshman year, bro, you had no aura. You had nothing. Yeah, dreads, and I was like, who is this dude, bro?

SPEAKER_00 45:23

No, a hundred percent. Like, and and it's funny you say that because JD definitely had that, right? Like when he was in center field, everybody knew he was in center field that day. He would go make a play to make his presence felt. He would do something on the field where you notice him playing the game every day, whether that was going first to third, maybe stealing the bag, having a dirt ball read. Those type of things where people have to account for you is what I'm looking for off-rip, right? Like, do you really command the field? Two, if it came down to the nitty-gritty, does your team want you up to bat, right? Like when it comes down to it, do they want you on the mound? All right, now we get past that. So now we're talking makeup. We haven't even really started talking about your ability. And then after that, that's when I go to how do you move on the mound? Are you athletic? What's your size? Things like that. But I think that it's almost easier to see those guys that move well. It's easier to see those guys that are big. I'm trying to find the diamonds in the roughs. And the diamond in the rough is normally your leadoff guy, your two-hole, your six-hole, the guy that plays center field and right field, and then second base one game. Like, what are those guys doing? Does that coach seem to always count on that guy or the committed guys? He keeps going to this guy, though. Every single time he's going to this guy, those are the guys that I want for the JUCO level.

SPEAKER_02 46:43

That's awesome. Yeah, no, that's good stuff, dude. I appreciate that. So uh we're kind of getting that time here. Give us a little bit of um, I guess give us a message that you would send to to young Trey Harris coming up, you know, in high school, you know, knowing what you know now, knowing the journey that he's about to go on, right? The ups and downs, the ebbs and flows. You can look a guy straight, you could look young Trey Harris in the future in the uh past in the eye and be Trey Harris from the future and say, You're gonna have a great career, don't sweat anything. And Trey Harris from the past is still gonna sweat something along the line, right? He's still not gonna fully commit and believe something that you told him, even though that you're predicting it from the future. So, what is something that you would tell him uh in order to like keep everything chill and and maintain that that level of of love for the game and everything that goes into this baseball stuff?

SPEAKER_00 47:35

I say remember what kind of player and person you are, right? Like if you are the guy that is always smiling and joking, be that every day. If you're the guy that hits doubles all the time, just be that every day. Uh when the game changes, right? So for me in my time, the game started getting you got to hit the ball over the fence, and singles aren't aren't as good, and da-da-da. I should I try to change everything I could to go match what people wanted from me instead of just being the best version of the player that I am, right? And then being the best version of the person I am. Now I figured this all out a little late, which is why I was able to play an extra three years because I was a good person in the locker room that kept everybody loose and was laughing. I did stick to my guns and take my hits. And if two for four is two for four, regardless of what it is, and I have to be okay with that. Even though upstairs might not be, I have to be okay with that to understand what kind of player I am. And then I always say this to our boys is play hard and have fun. If you play hard every day and you have fun, that is the goal. That you have won the day if you just play your ass off and have a lot of fun while doing it. And fun can mean a lot of things, like you could be 0 for 4, but your boy makes a good play and you're jumping out out in right field, hype as hell for him. That's having fun. Like truly not caring what the score is, truly not caring what the results are. You just happy to play ball today. So play hard, have a lot of fun, and understand what kind of man and player you are.

SPEAKER_02 48:57

Let's go, man. Trey Harris. I appreciate you stepping up and coming into this uh uh forum to kind of share a little bit about you. Uh, where can people find you? How do they get in touch with you? What's the email? What's the IG? Uh, I'll post everything below wherever you're listening to this podcast. That'll be below. But how do how do they get in touch with you?

SPEAKER_00 49:14

Uh so deuce underscore 22 will be my Instagram, D-U-E-C-E-E underscore 22. Uh on Twitter, just call me Deuce. Um, and then on um for my email, tharris at allenccc.edu. Because I'm assuming if you're hitting my line, you want to talk a little ball, that's where I talk the ball at. Um so yeah, reach out. I'm a pretty open book. Sometimes I respond slow, sometimes I respond fast. The phone blows up crazy. Uh, but I'm I'm I'm a pretty open book. I'll be real with anybody all the time and uh kind of let you know where you stand in this game.

SPEAKER_02 49:49

Last question because it just brought up a thought. What's the best way to reach out to coaches, in your opinion, for high schoolers? How are they getting in touch with these guys? Email, Twitter, Instagram, text. So I'm gonna call coach's wife, be like a ball, like a ball.

SPEAKER_00 50:05

No, facts though. Uh at the ABCA convention, it was almost remarkable how many coaches said they don't listen look at their email, um, which was a little startling for me because like I had my guy sending emails, but then I think of myself, and I don't even really look at emails like that. You get six or six to ten a day. You get some from a recruiting service, then you got your normal day-to-day email stuff, and it kind of all blends together. So, in my opinion, because most of the people that are doing the recruiting are our age, Twitter is where it is right now. Uh, your video can get to all walks of life, Instagram, real, all that type of stuff. As lame as they don't want it to be, that social media is exactly what you need it to be, and that's getting the word out there, right? And I think that Twitter and Instagram, when it comes to seeing players, is gonna be the best way because everyone's around our age. We sit on Twitter because that's what we grew up on, and if I can actually do some recruiting along the way, mixed in with a couple laughs, it's a win-win for everybody. So, yeah, I would say Twitter.

SPEAKER_02 51:04

That's how we got connected via Instagram, bro. That's exactly how I reach out to every person. So, yeah, Twitter and Instagram, that's how I build my business right now. But uh yeah, Twitter, I don't even have Twitter right now, but uh yeah, good stuff. Appreciate that, man. Well, again, appreciate the time, dude. Uh everybody out there, I hope you just took notes. That was awesome to learn and uh you know hear your story. It's always interesting to see how coaches are going out there recruiting. So I appreciate you sharing some uh tidbits there. And uh, you know, good luck this summer uh looking for uh uh some players. What kind of players are you looking for this year? Uh so positions you gotta fill.

SPEAKER_00 51:36

So pretty much we're we're looking for catchers because there that's a position you can never really teach. I don't think you can just throw somebody back there and say, hey, be a catcher. They tried to with me.

SPEAKER_02 51:45

They tried to with me. How'd it go? At the end. It sucked. It sucked. I don't know if they tried it because they were like, yo, we want you to be a catcher, or if because they just wanted me to learn how to like put my body in front of a ball at third base. I don't I don't really know, but I sucked at catcher. I took like 95, two seam off the thumb, and I was like, I'm good.

SPEAKER_00 52:05

Yeah, no, 100%. Like even when I every now and again, you know how practices get long, you know, hey boys, I'll handle a bullpen, and I regret it every single time. So then mix that in with blocking 12 balls and throwing people out, and then I'm yelling at you because you're not framing the low pitch well enough. Yeah, keep that. So going to find some catchers, uh, and then you're always on the hunt for arms, quality arms, guys that want to go get better. And uh, when you're at this point of the summer, scholarship money is low. So you're trying to convince people to invest in the program by investing in themselves and and kind of just finding good quality people right now.

SPEAKER_02 52:41

Hey, if you're an arm that can help them out or catch, or reach out.

SPEAKER_00 52:44

Yes, for sure.

SPEAKER_02 52:45

All right, man. Stay in touch for sure.

SPEAKER_00 52:48

Yeah, I appreciate you for having me on. I thought this uh I love the uh format of the interview and uh love all the work that you're doing. That's how we got connected. I don't do this often, so I like having good quality around me. So just keep keep doing your thing. I enjoyed it and I appreciate you.

SPEAKER_02 53:03

I appreciate you, brother.