In and Out Talks Podcast

In and Out Talks Podcast Episode 63: Cody Smith

• Tier One Performance, LLC • Episode 63

Share episode

Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.

0:00 | 54:14

On this episode of the In & Out Talks Podcast, powered by Tier One Performance, we sit down with Cody Smith, a North Houston native who built his baseball career through resilience, belief, and relentless work ethic.

Cody played at Oak Ridge High School before continuing his journey at the junior college level with Richland College, where he developed his game and earned the opportunity to move on to Stephen F. Austin University to compete at the Division I level. After college, he continued chasing the dream by playing independent professional baseball.

In this episode, Cody shares the ups and downs of his path — from being overlooked to proving himself at every level. He dives into the mindset required to overcome adversity, the importance of staying confident when things don’t go your way, and the lessons learned from chasing baseball at the highest levels.

🎙️ Tune in for a powerful conversation about perseverance, growth, and what it really means to bet on yourself in the game of baseball.

SPEAKER_03

Hey guys, welcome back to the In N Out Talks. I am your host, Jordan Powell, and we are here today with a very special guest, Mr. Cody Smith. Cody, I appreciate you taking the time to come down here. I know you're a very busy dude training and rehabbing, but um for those of the for those of those guests that are watching and they don't know who you are, go ahead and explain where you're from and how you got into baseball.

SPEAKER_01

Okay, so uh I grew up in the Oak Ridge area, kind of around the woodlands. It's a bigger spot that everybody kind of knows, but yeah, we didn't grow up rich like woodlands kids. Um I got into baseball kind of late compared to kids now. I got in at like nine years old just playing little league at Warwall. Um went straight into coach pitch, didn't do T-ball or nothing. Or not even coach pitch, straight into kid pitch. Um my mom got me into it. She was a hell of a softball player at SFA. Oh wow, which is part of the reason I I wanted to go to SFA and I eventually did. But uh hell of a softball player, all American, national champion in college, played some pro for a bit, traveled with the Olympic team. Like are you stating you get your athleticism from your mom? She's I don't know if I can compare to my mom. She was a badass. Like, in comparison, I'm nothing compared to what she did for the sport. Absolutely. She made softball like a UIL sport in Texas. She like battled Title IX lawsuits and everything. Like she was big for women's athletics. Got started there and I played little league for a couple years, and then I got right into travel ball at around 11. Okay. Um I was a smaller kid growing up. Like by the time I was a freshman in high school, I didn't make the prep teams or anything like that going into high school. Um I I was kind of doubted for my size, my freshman.

SPEAKER_03

Were you always on the small stuff? The camera may pull you because you're massive now. But where were you? Were you always like on the undersides? Like people kind of you're shorter, skinnier, uh always fighting up.

SPEAKER_01

I was I was normal until about middle school, and then it seemed like everybody hit puberty early. I really didn't grow until I was like 16. Um, as a freshman in high school, I think I was about four foot eleven, maybe five'1 with my good shoes on, and I was like 90 pounds, 95 pounds.

SPEAKER_03

Are you playing, are you you haven't been just declared a pitcher, right? You're still playing everything you can.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I was an infielder through and through. Um I was never a great hitter. Okay. Um I was very fast, had good defense, tried to play the game the right way, you know, situationally hitting and everything.

SPEAKER_03

So when you got to Oak Ridge High School, you know, um, let's let's jump to your 16 when you've actually started growing into your body, and now college is looking realistic. Um, who did you play for um uh travel ball-wise?

SPEAKER_01

So I played for the Woodlands Warriors whenever I was younger. Okay. And then around the time I was 15, I got into WBA. It's ran by Angel Romero. Okay. Um, he was a big mentor of mine, and he was the first coach that really like believed in me and tried to get me to develop instead of just go get me some wins. Right. Um today that's not as common in travel ball, it's all about winning and rankings, you know.

SPEAKER_03

It's all about execution and delivery now versus the actual development. Yeah. So he kind of spent a little bit of time developing you into an actual baseball player and giving you your own skill set. Yeah. So is that when you started making that move over to being a pitcher, or you're still playing in field yourself? No, no, no.

SPEAKER_01

So uh can I backtrack just a little bit? Yeah, go ahead, go ahead, go ahead. So, my freshman year, I was actually the manager for my high school team. Oh wow, I didn't even make the team. Oh we had 25 kids my class, and we actually had two freshman teams. Oh wow. Didn't make either.

SPEAKER_03

That is insane. Is that due to like a lot of talent?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, a lot of talent. Like I wasn't an unskilled kid. I just I wasn't big enough to play with the bigger kids.

SPEAKER_03

And you're right, you're right, you were, and like to preface this, because for those that we got guys that watch out of state, you were in an area that was high development baseball players. Like it was uh it was arguably in the North Houston area, one of the most competitive places you could probably find baseball in Houston area alone or Texas in general.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, first rounders out of high school every year in my area. Yeah, like crazy.

SPEAKER_03

Like literally five minutes down the road, and then it's like you got an MLV prospect right here, you have to go compete up, compete against the first spot of your high school.

SPEAKER_01

That's just being realistic. Uh, I wasn't talented enough to play.

SPEAKER_03

I had the skills comparatively to other areas if I went and played there, but so that didn't deter you though, because you started at you went you went in as the manager still, and then what how'd you build yourself back?

SPEAKER_01

Uh I uh sophomore year, same kind of deal, didn't grow. Asked me to be a manager again. I was like, no, I'm good. I didn't like get the whole dynamic of like the bullying and everything like that.

SPEAKER_03

I'm sure oh, I'm sure the dynamic is drastically different.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, everyone can understand that. Uh just focused on travel ball and everything, did other sports like wrestling, you know, tried to really try to get into working out, putting on weight. Yeah, um, struggled mentally bad. Junior year came around, made JV, I started to kind of switch to outfield. Uh, because they told me, hey bro, you're not playing infield. Like, sorry, you're not a third baseman. You're not in the middle. Yeah, bro. Like, if you want play inside, I moved to outfield. I grew probably to about maybe 5'9, 140 my junior year, and I started to kind of pick up some VLO and some strength. That's the first time at school we started lifting. Okay. Um my high school coach brought in some of his Navy SEAL buddies that like put us through workouts and everything, and it was it was hell. It was hell. It was hell. We literally had hell weeks. If y'all don't know what that is, it's Navy SEAL training, it's crazy. So high school, right? Junior year happens, played JV the whole year, got brought up to varsity for playoffs, started to really have fun with baseball. It's been work, work.

SPEAKER_03

Fall back in love now that you were actually playing.

SPEAKER_01

Um, senior year comes around and I really start to put on some size. I'm around six foot at the time, and I'm I'm still fairly skinny. I'm like 170. Okay. Full outfielder now. I still have not pitched an inning at all. I just I started to have a canon. I was starting to hit some 90s from the outfield. All that training is finally catching up. Starting to catch up. I was starting to get I played like two district games and a bunch of tournaments, um, and then COVID happened spring break my senior year in 2020. Oh, that's right. Pretty gone. Gone. I went to some camps here and there. I didn't really get anything. I got uh talk about a walk-on spot at SFA as an infielder, and I knew, man, I'm gonna get cut as an infielder. Uh so I play the summer after my senior year. Can I pause for a second?

SPEAKER_03

So while you're in COVID, are you still training or are you kind of just like desperation mode? I'm just reaching out, or are you like, hey, like, hey, there's a pandemic going, we didn't, there's nothing I can do. I'm kind of just cold turkey.

SPEAKER_01

Oh no, I didn't slow down. You kept going. Yeah. Um, didn't slow down at all in COVID. I was like, man, I kind of saw this as a blessing. Like, right, all these guys start getting recruited, they're sophomore junior of high school. I didn't play inning of varsity yet as a senior. Time to play catch up. Like, let's go. Other guys are kind of sleeping in every day, taking it easy. They're already committed. I had to get to the grindstone in the summer in the pandemic. Like, yeah, this is my last shot.

SPEAKER_03

Absolutely. No, that's awesome. And so, using that, you ended up getting uh an opportunity at SFA to walk on, but not as an infielder. So well or I guess it was an infielder, but you were like, I know I'm not gonna go into that.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, the the coach, uh, shout out Johnny Cardenas. Yeah. Uh he he knew who I was because of my mom and everything, and they had some mutual friends, and he told me, yeah, we're out of money. You could walk on as an infielder, we could see what we could do. And in my head, COVID happened, I was like, man, it's not that's not gonna work out. Like, I could tell outfield was my way in. So summer after my senior year, that was like January before all that. Summer happens, my senior year, pandemic. I'm playing travel ball, PG tournaments, five tools, everything I can get my hands on, every showcase, um, picking up for different teams, even. Yeah, this is still kind of with WBA. Um, and I remember I ball out in the summer. Like for the first time, I feel like I'm the man on my team. Okay. Um, I have so much fun that summer, and it kind of comes to a halt. July happens, and I still am not sure of where I'm going. Like SFA was gonna be my fallback.

SPEAKER_03

Okay, so you were still looking to get picked up on your own.

SPEAKER_01

I already put a down payment on like my dorm and everything for SFA, and with a random guy, it wasn't even another athlete. Uh, it was just a normal student in it. Right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

So So what we're right right about now, you are like you're about what, six foot? Are you like 180, 190?

SPEAKER_01

I'm about 180 now in the summer, yeah. Okay. Best shape of your life so far. So far, that was the biggest I've ever been. Okay. Um and you're feeling good baseball wise, you're just you just gotta get you just gotta find a field to play for. Yeah, I I was feeling good. I was balling out. The last tournament happens, like July 26th. Okay. And I'm walking out, and this is at uh in Cyprus um premiere. I'm walking out, and I'm like, that might have been my last day of baseball. And I'm it's a gut-retching feeling. Yeah, and I'm I'm walking to the parking lot, kind of like tears in my eyes, like, damn, that was really it. And uh I hear these people, a little side conversation happening about a showcase the next day on a Monday. Like a whole bunch of JUKOs are gonna be there. And I'm like, I don't care what I gotta do, I'm gonna be there. Yeah. So I'd be there like six or seven in the morning to like get measurements and everything done. I show up uninvited. Where is this at? This is at Premier. Oh, is that Premier? So this is back at Premiere the next day. Okay. Show up uninvited, unannounced. I just tell them my name. I'm like, yeah, I'm on there. I don't know, I don't know why they don't have me on the list. It was for it was for like juniors, and I was I had already graduated a month ago. And uh they put me through everything 60 times, you know, these juniors. Bro, I hit like 95 off the T. All these other guys are like, you know, in the 80s, maybe a 90. I throw like 92 from the outfield, these other guys 85, 84. Just dominating. I ran like a probably like a 6'8 at the time, pretty decent. And uh Jimmy Kirk, who was a volunteer assistant for San Jack, pulls me to the side. Hey man, uh, I have this coach, I think he needs you on his team. We don't have room at San Jack, but I'll tell him about you and I'll try to set up a meeting for you. Um so this was for Richland College, which is where I ended up going in Dallas, uh super competitive JUCO in the Dallas area.

SPEAKER_03

Um I believe you ended up being uh the first team all conference in that as well, and you ended up uh were you JUCO all-American or JUCO all-player of the year, something like that.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, yeah. I was uh I was like reliever of the year, and I was first team all conference. I got So you still balled out. Yeah, you still balled out. That was well, okay. So to backtrack a little, like a month before that, we have a private tryout for this Richland coach.

SPEAKER_03

Uh so you ended up meeting him up and you got a tryout.

SPEAKER_01

I already knew who the guy was. Okay. I met him at a private tryout at my travel ball practice. He came to look at some players and whatnot, and he told me he didn't want me. Whoa. In our private little tryout. And I was like, okay, I never heard of Richland College anyways. Like, screw this guy. And then the end of the summer happens, Jimmy Kirk uh sets me up with him. I'm like, oh my god, I don't know if he'll remember me. I didn't like like show my ass to him or anything. I was respectful, but I was like disappointed, like, bro, you're a nobody juco, and you don't want me, and I feel like I'm pretty talented. I'm balling out right now, yeah, exactly. Um so I set up the meeting with him. Me and my mom go down to meet him in Houston, and he tells me, hey man, super old guy, super stoic. And he's like, Yeah, we don't we don't really have room. We have 73 guys on the roster already coming in in the fall. Can't promise you anything. Goodness. I'm like, alright, bro, well, it's all I got. So I I don't even sign a letter of intent. It's just just word to word. Yeah, just mouth to mouth. Sure, I'll be there. So it was all online school at the time because of COVID. Oh, that's right. No in-person classes. Right. So I sign up for classes. I start taking them in August, like two weeks later, because that's how late it was. And don't hear anything from him about reporting to practice or nothing like that. And it gets to October, and he said that that was around the time that things would pick up and we were being allowed to practice. Okay. And I pick up for a team, I'm still playing. Okay. Through uh this is like the last weekend of September.

SPEAKER_03

So you're not the school, you're still you're still back home.

SPEAKER_01

I'm still back home. I'm working, I'm doing online school, I'm I'm playing when I can, training and stuff. I pick up for a team, uh, and there was a kid named Luke Ferrias who went to Atasca Cita same year, 2020, who was an infielder committed to Richland. Okay. And I meet him for the first time in September, picking up for this team, playing, and he's like, Oh, you're committed to Richland, bro? Like, where where are you gonna move in at? Like, when are you when are you heading up there next week? I'm like, next week. The coach never texted me.

SPEAKER_03

Never told you when you're gonna be able to get back to the book.

SPEAKER_01

Never told me when to come. And and I had like, I had, I can go back and show text messages like you were you were in communication with them. Yeah, I was like, hey man, like, when do I rapport? Where can I find an apartment? Who can you set me up with roommate-wise? Uh-huh. Radio silence. So if I didn't pick up for this kid, like for this team, I would have never met this kid who would have told me. This is where I am, and then you would have missed all your opportunity.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. So it's crazy that like they're still not giving it to you after your all struggle. You have to still make your own avenue to get to get to where you want to be. And this is all behind the scenes of someone who's not sought out, which is I think majority of how recruiting is. Like, everyone wants to be that dream D1 guy, like, oh, I'm the guy on campus, but it's hardly ever like that. Even mine wasn't like that. I felt like I had an amazing high school career, and I felt like everyone was talking about me, and then you know, I tried to go on my recruiting visit, and like they couldn't even remember my name. You know, I was just like, or they maybe I think I'm somebody else. Like, I went on a trip to Rice and they had signed like literally two guys higher rank above me, same dynamic player, same guy. Like, we like we all know each other, and they signed two guys, and then they're like, Oh yeah, you can come here if you want. I'm just like, alright, no thanks. That was uh yeah, insultingly, no, respectfully not, you know. But okay, so you end up get you end up finding out from the dude from a tacita that you had to go up there next week, so what ended up happening?

SPEAKER_01

So uh he gives me the assistant coach's number. I text him, he gets me a roommate, I book, like I buy the apartment like that night. Damn. And then I go up next week, my mom helps me move in. Um it's a little one-bedroom apartment. I'm splitting with another guy on the team that I just met. Just met, Donna. He was like 21 or 22 from Michigan, who threw like 96, like he was a dude. Um and I'm a nobody from high school that like barely played varsity and got cut twice. I'm like, damn, these guys, all these guys on this team were like the dude from where they're from. And I never was. So you have nothing to lose though. I have nothing to lose. I'm having fun. Yeah, it's the first I have all online school. Yeah. We only were allowed to practice like two hours a day, Monday through Thursday. Oh. Did y'all have to wear masks too? Yeah, we had to wear masks the whole spiel. Uh I remember having mask and he's so bad, hot as hell. Sweating on through that thing. So, eight hours a week practice, all online school.

unknown

Bro.

SPEAKER_01

Living the dream. Bro, we had so much fun in JUCO.

SPEAKER_03

Oh my gosh. So then um, so when it when it finally boils down to when did you decide, like, I gotta be a pitcher now?

SPEAKER_01

When did you make this transition? I that that was never really decided. I didn't make that decision, it was decided for me. Okay. I go like two for 20 my freshman fall. I did bad. Like I had two bombs and literally struck out probably 15 times. Okay. I could not see the ball. Like these kids. Well, when you got it, you got it. When I got it, I got it. I I was a little bigger, I was like 190 now, 195.

SPEAKER_03

But this pitching, I think, was on a different level than you were accustomed to to seeing, or was it just like you just you just couldn't see it?

SPEAKER_01

I I just couldn't see it. Like I said, I was never really a talented hitter. Um, I just did everything else right. Okay. Um, and so the fall ends, and we go home for for Thanksgiving break, and we stay all the way through Christmas to January. Like we don't go back because we weren't allowed to practice either. Right. Restrictions. Um I remember I start my classes in January, and I went to the gym like six days a week, pick up basketball, just being as active as I could, staying in shape for because that's a long stretch from the beginning of November to the end of January. 100%. So, like a week before we were supposed to go back for practice and everything. Still online class and everything, not having school. Um, just for practice, we get a text from our head coach, this long big text paragraph. Hey guys, season's canceled. Let us know if you need anything, we'll try to send you elsewhere, blah, blah, blah. Uh devastated. I text him immediately. Hey, please get me somewhere. Please get me somewhere. I'll do whatever I need to. Radio silence again. Bro, he he wasn't lying when he said we had like 73 guys. I bet you he barely knew my name. Like there was actually that many guys. There was actually that many guys in JUCO. Like, it was nuts. It was an absolute nuts, huh? What happens is a bunch of our more talented pitchers and more talented players leave. Easily. Easily. They go find somewhere else to play. We petition, and like two weeks later, we get the season back on. Oh, okay. And so now we're reporting like the end of January.

SPEAKER_03

But you're guys there are guys that have already left.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, guys have left. So now we're trying to scrape together a team. My coach tells me straight up, hey bro, I planned on cutting you, but I need you to learn how to pitch. And like I throw like three or four bullshit. Well, the dominoes are five are falling for you. I throw like three or four bullpins. Like, I I think I barely threw a ball.

SPEAKER_03

Um But like this is without any work on pitching, right? No work on pitching.

SPEAKER_01

Just got up on that mountain threw hard. So you're a thrower right now. I was a thrower. Like I had a cannon from the outfield. I hadn't pitched since like 12 years. Zero innings in high school. Okay. Throw like three bullpins, four bullpins, um, including like some like scrimmage games. Okay. And how are the outings? Decent? Great. Like I was I was probably like, I think my first one, I was like 83 to 86. Not bad for like first time on a mound. Not bad at all. Couldn't really throw anything but like a curveball. Um two pitch guy. No runs. Yeah. No runs at all. He's using you as like a just the he's just seeing what you got. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, yeah. Like one, two innings at a time. Opening day comes like three weeks later. I'm our starter. No opening. Opening day. Oh wow. Yeah, and I remember first inning was pretty easy. Our first game against Brookhaven, who was like number two in the nation. They ended up winning like 43 games that year. Like insane team. Oh wow. Um, I get taken out in the second inning.

unknown

I gave up.

SPEAKER_01

I gave up like at least two nukes. I didn't know how to throw a changeup, so I just kind of slowed my arm down, and I remember super.

SPEAKER_03

Super, super, super telegraphing it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

And I had a horrible first half of the season my freshman year. Horrible.

SPEAKER_03

Makes sense. Um position, pitching of all things.

SPEAKER_01

Pitching of all things. And then I moved I was immediately moved from starter to reliever after one outing. Uh getting the start is kind of crazy, and that's brutal.

SPEAKER_03

Just start off your pitching career as a starter, that's brutal. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

And I remember we actually had a spring break. The only time in my life I've ever had a spring break because of baseball. Um the last game before spring break, we were tied with Eastfield, who they were ranked too. They were like number five. So we had number two and number five in the nation in our conference. Um and we were tied for second or third place, and last game before spring break, and I remember, and this is why this is still my my walkout song to this day, Dream On by Aerosmith starts playing uh at the field, and I come out, it's the like eighth inning, tie game, and I just kind of get like this feeling of I don't care anymore. Like I'm just gonna go and throw. I don't care about I was domed up thinking about my entire past. Everything that year.

SPEAKER_03

This is your this is your climax movie moment.

SPEAKER_01

This is like where I can pinpoint things turned around. Um I struck out six to end the game, eighth and ninth inning. We go on spring break, we're number two in the conference now because we won that last game. And the entire second half of the year, I went from like a like a six ERA to like a sub-two. I didn't let a run score the entire second half of the year, and I became like our closer.

SPEAKER_03

So you had a mental shift within yourself. Yeah. And that's it, wasn't necessarily something Coach showed you. You kind of just, you know, I think all the mental struggles and battles you dealt with, right? You were kind of able to like, all right, this is me, this is who I am, and this is my game. It doesn't matter anymore. Yeah, I just at the end of the day, I'm just gonna do what I need to do.

SPEAKER_01

I was like, dude, I may not go anywhere after JUCO, like this might be my second to last year. I'm gonna just have fun with the guys. Like.

SPEAKER_03

And I say, I I always say, and because I recognize this in college too. We um when your back's against the wall and all of a sudden you stop, it's almost like less is more when you stop caring. It's like all of a sudden, like everything just comes out and you start bawing out. For example, when I played in the NECBL in New England for the Sanford Mainers, I think we had a bunch of selfish guys and we were in Maine. None of us are from Maine. We just want to go home, and we're playing, we're playing summer ball, and you know, summer ball can be brutal. You can play like 60-something games or 40-something games after you've done a main season. And we all just wanted to go home. So, and we were losing. So we were just like, guys, if we just continue to lose, like we'll probably we'll probably just be home and we have like three weeks of summer and then we go back in the fall. And so we stopped caring and then we start turning it around. Like, I mean, all of us, individually, we just stopped caring, didn't care, like, hey, what's whatever, let's just play. And next thing you know, we're in the championship. Oh, yeah. And we have like one week in between school and summer ball, and we ended up making it all the way. We ended up losing because at the end we were like, hey, let's care. And we ended up losing, but it was it's uh it's so funny how that works when your back's against the wall, and then now all of a sudden nothing else matters. Just go out, have fun. And it's like, you know, I don't care if this is the end of my career because I'm gonna go out my way, and all of a sudden you just absolutely ball out. And you were able to take that mental battle. I mean, you had your own MJ moment. I would I would kind of consider it, like, you know, getting cut from high school twice, um, battling your way back, never played an absolute inning of varsity, which is outrageous. But I don't know any any guy that's never played varsity and came back and played at the college, collegiate level, let alone gone D1 from it, you know, and then you come back and you uh your coach says, Oh, I'm gonna wasn't even gonna tell you about it. What's even gonna tell you, wasn't gonna cut you, needs you out of desperation, you still decide to ball out. I mean, that a lot of people would have stopped like four hills back. Like, you know, and I think that's impressive, and that's that's also why I think baseball is one of the hardest games and the most rewarding games because your life was just like baseball. Your career was just like baseball, right? Your career might have been like 200 up throughout high school, right? I'm trying to do this, you get set back. You try to do this, doesn't work, and then you come back and you keep pushing, and then you get to college and you're adult, you're all on your own. Ain't nobody there. Even mom can't really hold your hand or help you out. You're on your own with some strangers, and you decide mentally, this is it, and you're able to buckle down. I mean, that's that's the true essence of a baseball. That's a base, that's a baller, a grinder. You know what I'm saying? Like a true Juko bandit. Juco bandit. True Juko bandit is what that is. Like, that is the most Juko story.

SPEAKER_01

I identify myself. Like, that was my identity was I'm a JUCO guy, I'm a grinder, this is the perfect place for me.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, that's why you get those teams that like you know, those teams that, like, hey, these guys are guaranteed to go to the playoffs. Your season's over after this. Those teams are the scariest going to because they'll just whoop your ass.

SPEAKER_01

They're not supposed to be there.

SPEAKER_03

They're not supposed to be there, they don't care. Yeah. And they'll just ruin it. They're there to ruin your day. Oh, yeah. They have, and that's why I love being the underdog. I they yeah, I'm here, I'm just here to ruin your day.

SPEAKER_01

No one cares if I win. That's why baseball, it's the most beautiful sport there is. They could have all the prospects on paper, they are guaranteed to win. And one on day, whatever team, you can be beaten by anybody on any given day.

SPEAKER_03

Yes. 100%. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Also, why I don't gamble on baseball. No, never do that. No prize, no draft kids, no nothing.

SPEAKER_03

None of that. So, how did you um so by you balling out? I mean, you ended up getting these awards, I haven't written down. You were DAC first team all conference, you were a JUCO All-Star, NYCBL player of the year, all after this defining moment for you. Um, how did you end up back at SFA then?

SPEAKER_01

So, summer happens. I play summer ball for Jimmy Kirk, just in the Houston area. Okay. Um, and my VLO starts ticking up. I was like 83, 86, beginning of the season, started learning pitchability, tunneling, basics.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. Learning to be a pitcher, actually.

SPEAKER_01

Learning how to be a pitcher, not just a. So actually, yeah, those ceilings only gonna keep rising. And I start ticking up in VLO, uh, and my coaches call me in the summer for my exit meeting of the year, like, hey man, you were selected in the All-Star Game uh September 26th at Dallas Baptist University. Yeah. Um and so the entire fall, like we get there and life's finally back to normal. We have in-person classes, we have the true JUCO practice time, which there's no restrictions. Like the 20-hour weeks don't exist. We had, dude, we had like weight room in the morning, then we went to class, we had practice for like four or five hours, then we had weight room at night. So, like altogether, probably close to like 30, 40 hours.

SPEAKER_02

A lot of that optional? Optional, not optional volunteer, yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_01

So there we had a ton of talented bounce backs and and transfers come in my sophomore year because of what we did my freshman year. Like, we went from like not really being expected anything of us to oh wow, we're we're a top 10 in the nation contender. Whole bunch of guys came with us. So now I had to like fight for a spot again. Like there were no loyalties. I was I was like the guy coming back, like I was the pitcher on our team coming back. I was the man finally. Yeah. And now you now you get now got all those targets on you. And I've never had an ego before. I had to learn, I've I've always been on this side, now I'm kind of on the upper side of things. Fighting for what's yours. And I, man, the baseball gods are real. Like that humble pie everybody talks about, dude.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Uh I have a good fall. I try to be a good leader. My my friends that were with me, everybody's great, dude. Everybody's very team-oriented, despite having another 50 guys now in the fall again.

SPEAKER_03

I was about to say, it's gotta be hard coming from that guy who's always been the underdog to be now everyone's following you, listening to you, and you're thrown into that role. And these are these aren't this isn't like a high school team. These aren't kids. No, these are grown adults. Some of these dudes are older than you.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. You know, so it's hard. It's I understand I can coming from that. And uh so I play in the All-Star game, and it was a little disheartening because every arm on the on those two teams was you know, low to mid-nines, absolute snap dragons, like electric stuff. They're getting peached. They were getting peached.

SPEAKER_03

Because those guys, those hitters are just as good.

SPEAKER_01

I remember Tyler, there was a kid from Tyler Junior College that threw like 96 to 98. The inning before me, I had to follow him. He gave up like three. And I threw the ninth inning, I gave up no hits, no runs, no walks. But I was like, I was probably like 87, 89. That's pitching, baby. That's pitching, though. That's pitching, baby. I threw backwards, you know.

SPEAKER_03

I showed my stuff. There's there's absolutely no, you want to succeed. There's no reason to be like, and that's why when we played in those all-star games, I love pitchers that just like, I'm a flamethrower. I like my 97 got me here. That's fine. I play 97 every Friday. So please, I want you to in this moment right now, show me your 97. I don't want to see, however, you throw me two backdoor sliders to start me off in an all-star game. Yeah. Because that's my weakness, and I don't want to show that in front of these scouts. However, probably a backdoor slider is not your specialty. Right. Right? So, and then, but like if you were to do that to me, I'd be like, oh, this dude's pitching me like I'm a freaking four-hole battery. Yeah, you know, like and then, but you give me that guy that throws 97, yeah, I'll see you. Cause like, what else, what else are you gonna try and do?

SPEAKER_01

You're trying to sub-ball, ball, ball, ball, ball, and then down the middle cookie. Exactly.

SPEAKER_03

Like, what I mean, you're trying to show off for these guys, you're not even looking at me. And that's how a lot of pitchers I feel like think when I was doing that. When I went to the my conference or any CBL all-star game, like I played, and then I at first I was like, man, this guy's like a he's definitely a slider, slider, slider, and this guy tried to throw 92 behind me. Spare me, dude. Don't even, don't even, you should have read my scouting report. Like, I swing at the first pitch. Yeah, you know, but you you end up you end up being a great pitcher and you ball out at this all-star game. What'd that lead to?

SPEAKER_01

I I got a couple small offers. Like I said, the VLO wasn't there. How was that?

SPEAKER_03

How was those offers though? Must have been exciting. Finally hearing your name.

SPEAKER_01

I felt I felt like it was like NFL draft day when they call you, it's like, Mama, I'm going to the league, well, I'm going to college. Yeah. And same thing, the ego didn't really know how to handle it well.

SPEAKER_03

I think you need an ego though. You definitely need an ego, especially when you play. I'm not saying it has to show. I definitely, because I don't show my ego when I play. However, when I get in the dugout, my ego's definitely ripped in a lot. No, but you definitely need to.

SPEAKER_01

It can be a positive thing, but it was very negative towards my development at the time. I understand. In the longer span of things, like it was good for my growth, learning how to handle those types of feelings and everything, and truly being a better human being and not putting your identity and your performance and everything. Right. Um, yeah, you have to quickly be able to be uh you have to be able to separate it. Yeah, and I I wasn't. So I was getting these offers. Uh, you know, my teammates are hyping me up every day at practice. Right. It's a good feeling. It was a great feeling. Um had it finished up a good fall, uh, and I remember they were very, very like time, like putting me on a time constraint of, hey, if you don't sign within, you know, a week, like we gotta move on, pull your scholarship, we gotta offer it to another guy. Yeah. And I was like, man, like, really, I didn't come from a great financial situation, like my home life. Um, so I I tried to hustle as much as I could. Academics were always there, um, and try to get the most athletic money too. Yeah, you're trying to find financially what's the best situation for you. Um so SFA contacts me and they tell me again, like, hey, preferred walk-on spot, like we'd love to have you. We're just out of money at this point, which was kind of a spit in my face because uh my my teammate at Richland just got offered the same thing. He got he got offered money. Oh. He got offered money. Uh, and I didn't, and I was like, man, this kid loved the guy. He wasn't here last year. I he didn't, I know he didn't have as good as a year as me last year. Right. You know, so I ended up signing to prayer review AM uh on a pretty good amount of money. Uh I don't know what percent it was, but I didn't have to pay a thing in tuition with my academics and everything. Oh, that's nice. Um and so I have kind of that ego crisis in the spring. I what looking back, what I should have done was ride it out and not be quick to jump. Yeah, not quick to jump on those offers. Um I probably could have got something better in the spring, but I I jumped on it. First, hey, first time. Yeah, you live and learn. Uh, and I love the coaching staff at PV. Um they really loved me and they made me, I mean, I get people jokes at me all the time, like, oh, you're the white guy at HBCU, blah, blah, blah. Which really wasn't true. Our whole pitching staff was it was it was mixed, but uh they loved me and they made me feel welcome. I had no idea what it would pan out to be. Um I went on the visit and everything there, and I was like looking around, like, oh wow, this is uh I didn't know what HBCU was.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

I just it was Division I, it was close to home in Houston. They were giving me money, dude. I'm gonna go. What else do you need? I go on the visit there and I'm looking around like, oh, this is different. It's completely different. People don't want me here. Like staff and students are like, why boy, we don't want you here. Like, oh wow. This is crazy. Completely different.

SPEAKER_04

And it's only like it's not that far from Texas AM too.

SPEAKER_01

Like, no, 45 minutes from college station.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, um completely different, it's a completely different culture.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Uh, but I loved I loved all my teammates there, I loved my coaching staff there. Um Were y'all a good team? How'd y'all do? Uh I think we won maybe 30 games, uh middle of the pack. Okay. Um, but the first time I initially got my shoulder issues was the summer after JUCO and before I went to PV. I was playing in the New York Collegiate Baseball League, NYCBL. Um Who'd you play for? I played for the Genesee Rapids. Okay. Uh I believe it's one of the 11 MLB affiliated summer leagues, like Northwoods, Cape Cod. I think there's 11 of them, and it's one. Um I I thought in my mind I gotta be a starter again. I I went away from the reliever thing and I told my coaches there, I'm a starter, I'm gonna be a starter at my university, I need innings. Why'd you why'd you feel that you had to push away from relieving? Because I was looking at getting drafted. Like I thought I had a real chance of getting drafted, and I was like, I don't have an absolute like. You want something more like you more uniform, so you had something more regimented to go off of it. More regimented, and I thought, man, the guys that get drafted are the Friday night guys. Like, not that's true, no. Yeah, not that many relievers get picked up, you know, not many Saturday or Sunday. Most of your starters get turned into relievers, right? Right, right, right. So I'm thinking, man, if I'm gonna go to the next level, I gotta start at this level. Okay. I ball out in the summer like crazy. Um, and there were some really talented guys. Velo ticked up, I was like 90-93 now. All my pitches were there, curveball changeup, pitchability was there. I dealt with the ego death in the spring, didn't have a great sophomore year, so like I learned the mental side of things.

SPEAKER_03

The other half of the mental things.

SPEAKER_01

The other half of the mental things, dealing with failure after being at the top now. Correct, yeah. Um get to P V. I hurt my shoulder in my last game in New York. I felt a little pop, and it was like a 26-hour drive home from New York that back here to Houston. And uh the whole time my shoulder's killing me in the car. And my coaches text me about my summer stats and everything, and I don't tell them about it. What do you think about the shoulder? I I get my first bullpen at PV and I'm 86. I'm like, oh wow. 86 with pain or 86 just for summer? No, 86 with pain. And I was I was up to 93, like I was sitting, I was hitting 93s consistently in the summer, starting, holding that through the six innings. Right. And I go and throw my my pen at PV and I'm 86. I'm like, oh wow. Like this just got real. I've never dealt with injury before. Um I end up like kind of going back on that, throwing backwards, you know, pitchability, stuff, not lying.

SPEAKER_03

That's what you know.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Um, I have a great junior year. I I was often on the I.

SPEAKER_03

You ever going back into the 90s throughout the season or no?

SPEAKER_01

Uh I might have touched a nine, like maybe once. Just straight adrenaline. Strictly reliever, though. Oh. Yeah. I was an eighth or ninth inning guy. Um yeah, straight adrenaline. Arm killed me every time I threw. I just kind of like got through it. I was like, I gotta put up my numbers. This is my draft year. Right. And in the meantime, there's this guy at LSU named Paul Skeens that is putting up numbers, and I'm trying to chase him. I'm like never heard of him. Never heard No, this was this was uh right when he transferred, so like nobody really knew. Right after right after he went to the Air Force, and then he everybody was talking about this Paul Skeens guy, and I'm like, man, yeah, I need to I need to put numbers up. Uh and so I decide after that year, like my arm hurts, I need to get help medically, you know, C orthopedic. I hit the transfer portal, SFA rings me again, and I'm like, okay, I gotta go. Like PV was great, I loved a lot about it. I think academically it didn't give me enough to set up my life after baseball. Okay. Um and I I just I didn't feel like I was used like I should have been. Okay. A whole lot of things went into transferring like it does with everybody. Um but I still speak very, very highly of my guys at PV and my coaching staff at PV. It just wasn't the right fit.

SPEAKER_03

It wasn't the right fit, but it was it was good enough to get you to where you needed to be. Right. And um, I mean, every everybody's journey is different. You got some guys that transfer every year, you got some guys that stay all four years, some guys that never make it, right? So when you get to SFA, you st you you've gotten your arm checked out. What is the diagnosis?

SPEAKER_01

Well, so I get a phone call from Cardenas, the head coach at SFA, for this is the third time I've talked to him now, and I'm in the orthopedic's office getting me checked out. Slight tear of the labrum, no big deal. You know, just go to PT twice a week and rehab and take it slow and you should be good. Like the tears aren't bad. Yeah. You know, every labrum, every baseball player's labrum is torn somehow or another. I I certainly feel mine. So I get to SFA, I pass my my uh physicals, my screenings, and everything. My first bullpen at SFA. I didn't play that summer. I just worked. You just took it all off. Yeah, I didn't play. I just focused on rehabbing and uh my thumb progression and everything, no games. First bullpen at SFA in August, 81. Got worse. Dude, got worse. And the pain, the pain was up and down. I knew it was still there. Are we talking like scar tissue here? That's why? Uh I I think partially, yeah. Okay. For sure. Um and so I'm shut down at SFA, and I gotta get in a whole new environment, new team. And you can't even do your thing. I can't do my thing. I'm I'm kind of I'm not blacklisted from the team, but I'm set to the side, you know. I know I'm not gonna be one of the essential players, and I'm treated as such. Yeah, I'm treated as such. 100%. Um, and that was a really hard thing to go through. Um, and so I remember the eligibility rules started to change a little bit. Like this whole time when I got to SFA, that 2021 in Dallas, my freshman year, was awarded back to us because we only played 35 games my freshman year. Right. Okay. Um That's nice. So the entire time at PV, my junior year, I was technically a sophomore by eligibility rules. So I'm thinking I got two years at SFA. Um and so I tell my coach, I'm gonna play no matter what. I got a whole nother year here anyways. Like I want to be on the field, I want to do what I can to help the team win. Even if I only get to play half the season. Well, at the halfway mark, I finally get cleared, and my first two games, I think, was against DBU and Texas Tech, who were they were both top 25 in the nation at the time. Brother. Talk about no stranger to that race. Another humble pie, another humble pie. Man, just got pieced, like, destroyed my mental. Like I've been rehabbing from August to March. Tough, tough, tough teams to go right back out to. There's levels for sure. Like, we're we're mid-major who's had some success in the past, but these are NCAA appearance. They have an appearance every year in the tournament. Yeah, they're coming con. And they win games in the tournament every year. Big 12, and I think they were they were American. They they got out of some belt, I think. Yeah. Um, so yeah, uh, I'm getting kind of lost here.

SPEAKER_03

No, well, you were just saying that uh you just got back, humbled. Now we're yeah, now we're back. Now we're back. Now we're now we're back into being clear, season's halfway gone then.

SPEAKER_01

Right, so season's halfway done, right before I get on the bus to go to Lubbock, um, I have a talk with my compliance officer, and he tells me they're no longer honoring that 2021 year. He told you this after. This is this is right as I'm about to get on the bus to go to Lubbock for the last half of the season. Oh no. So I was I was really domed up about that because I wanted to keep my word to my coach. Yeah. And he told me, hey man, it's up to you. Whatever you decide, like, I support you. And I was like, man, I gotta be a man of my word. Like, I told him I was gonna play. Uh so I'm gonna. And I was like, I got March to May and I'm I'm done. Um so I go, first couple games are rough, and then I turn it around. I pitch really well. Shoulders still up and down hurting, VLO still not what it was. Um But you're making it work. I'm making it work, and then now I have to change my degree plan a little bit because I thought I had another year at SFA. Right. So now I'm changing my minor to graduate in December now instead of the next year. Right. So I go. What is your major? I did uh kinesiology, exercise science, okay. All my stuff was set up to where I'd graduate with all my physical therapy prereqs. And I uh and then I would be able to apply to physical therapy school. Yep. That doesn't happen. I changed my minor and everything, all those classes I don't take. I do like psychology because it's what I had the most elective credits in. Graduate in December. And then I'm working as a trainer after I graduate in December. And I get a call from one of my JUCO buddies. Like, hey, I'm I'm playing indie ball up in Oregon, and my coach says they need an arm, and I thought about you. Like, you want to come play? I'm like, bro, yes.

SPEAKER_03

From the rafters, that array of light. I'm sorry?

SPEAKER_01

From the rafters, that ray of light shining down again. Yeah, yeah. And just by chance, like this is a kid who I haven't talked to in three years now. But you where would you where'd you know him from?

SPEAKER_03

JUCO. JUCO. So this is from when you that grind, that lasting impression when you were a leader at that junior college, and now he's remembering you. This is like what, two, three years later?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, so that was 2022 in JUCO, and now this is now I graduated 24 in December from SFA. This is like February of 25.

SPEAKER_03

Well, that's that's sign enough that it wasn't all for nothing. Right. Because this dude came back and gave you your other sec, your third chance of life. Yeah, which is crazy. And not only that, it's professional. It's professional. So now you're gonna figure out to be a pro who didn't even play a game of varsity baseball, and now you're about to be professional baseball.

SPEAKER_01

That's so I go to Oregon, and I've I'm in the best shape of my life. I've just graduated, no school, right? Just graduated from SFA, no school. I'm just working. Um and I'm I'm still through the entire fall. The entire summer and fall, I still threw, I still trained, did everything I could. I yeah, I knew I wasn't done. I knew I still had more to give, yeah. More to give, even though I couldn't play college anymore. Absolutely. Um I didn't really know what my direction was. I just knew if I worked hard enough, the path would kind of clear itself. Um and so I get that call and I report in May, and same thing. I try to be a starter. I'm like, man, I gotta start, I gotta put up innings, and then something else will come from it. Um the very first game I wasn't supposed to pitch. Uh there was another starter through, and I was supposed to go on like a Friday. This is a Wednesday night. Okay. Um and the final score ended up being like 17 to 14. We used every pitcher we had. I was the last guy on the bench. It was Wednesday. I ended up closing that game out, three out of three down, two K's. Nice. Uh and then I started the day after. So back to back. Yeah, back to I started the next day. I mean, we used every pitcher we had.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, you're literally the only guy that can go.

SPEAKER_01

I I threw the least amount of pitches out of everybody. Um, and so he was like, give me what you can. Yes, sir. You know, it's not, uh, I can't, like, I'm I'm resting. No, bro, this is Pro Ball. Get out there like you want to play. There's no there's no baby, which there's really not in college, but to a point, they have to, you know, be concerned about your well-being and your health. The Pro Ball, dude, they really don't care. They really don't care. Like, you better get out there and put up some zeros, no matter what.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Um, and so I go, and I know my VL's down a little bit, but I'm pitching my ass off. Um, I have a great game. And then two days later, I break my foot at practice. Doing what? We were just running on the field. Turf field. You just broke it. I just broke my foot like randomly. That's outright. Stress, stress fracture? Dude, I couldn't tell you. Like, I literally was just running and my foot like folded like this. Like my toes went up to my ankle, kind of. That's crazy. And it broke the middle of my foot. I didn't know it was broken. I got up and I walked in the parking lot, up the stadium steps, got home to the house I was sharing with like nine other guys. Yeah. I couldn't get out of the car. Like I couldn't lift myself up out of the car seat. Oh crap. And I had to go up these stairs, and I uh I wake up in the morning, I elevate my foot. I wake up in the morning, and my foot is like twice the size. And I'm already telling my manager, you know, my arm's bugging me again, blah, blah, blah. This foot was a sign. I had to come back home to Houston to get taken care of medically. Yeah. And just for shits and gigs, I check my arm out again. Yeah. Um, because it still wasn't the same.

SPEAKER_03

Of course, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Still wasn't fine.

SPEAKER_03

You're gonna be out, get it all done.

SPEAKER_01

Yes, get it all done. Uh, and I get the MRI and everything back, and they tell me, bro, like your rotator cuff and your labrum is like diminished. It's it's yeah, it's it's shredded. You need surgery. Um, and I I really didn't like the bedside manner, the orthopedic I was seeing, and what he was talking about doing and everything.

SPEAKER_03

So you want to get a second opinion?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I wanted to get a second opinion. I went to Dr. John Conway, who's a renowned orthopedic surgeon uh here in the Houston area. I mean all over the world, but he's right here in Houston.

SPEAKER_04

Works on a lot of guys.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Um, and he tells me we're not gonna anchor anything down, we're not gonna surgically repair anything, we're just gonna clean out all the bursitis, all the gunk in your shoulder. So that's what I did, and that was in the very end of September. I was just starting to walk again in like August. I never had a cast put on, I just had a boot. That's all I could do. Yeah. Um, and yeah, I started here at the den in December, and I made a plan with Tyler and with uh Doc about rehabbing and working here at the same time, and all of that led to right now, like how'd you get in how'd you get in touch with Tyler and how'd you get in touch with the den?

SPEAKER_03

I mean, this is relatively new guy, and then like you also you're here a lot. So, how did you end up at this place? What what's this place special?

SPEAKER_01

Well, I was uh I was doing odd jobs here and there just to try to make some money, and I was on LinkedIn, and James had reached out to me about a strength and conditioning job, and I was like, Yeah, I came and I interviewed, um, and I told him, you know, my plan is to go back to Pro Bowl. I I just had surgery, I just need to rehab and everything. They're like, well, that's great. We have a PT here in-house, eight years with the Giants, bro, perfect guy to see.

SPEAKER_03

Um, the staff here, you as well, is like, this place is full of uh professional collegiate guys that have been through the works and know the ups and downs and then know the process. And then so are you working here part-time as well while you're also rehabbing?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Helping out? Yeah, so I'm I'm strength coaching here, and I'm also rehabbing and training, trying to get back to it. My plan is to stay here through the summer, help them get through the chaos that is the summer with all these kids coming in every day. Yes, huge fluctuation of kids, and then continue rehabbing and playing. I already told my manager I'm not reporting to Oregon in May. Um he's trying to get me back, and I'm like, man, I I can't do it. Like, I decided, and uh Harrison Francis was a was part of this decision because he had been up to 97 and he was not going back to Pro Bowl, not going back to Pro Bowl, wasn't ready, wasn't ready mentally. Yeah. And I was like, man, if a guy like that says he's not ready, who am I to say I can't put another three, four months of work in to see what I can do for another contract, you know, staying through the summer. So I told my manager, I'm not coming back in May, I'm gonna stay here and work and train a little longer and see what I can get in the fall, winter ball. So that's now we're all caught up.

SPEAKER_03

That's good, man. Hey, that that is a hell of a story, hell of a journey. Um, you you going through so much adversity, I think, has made you so mentally tough in your resolve mentally that it's gonna keep taking you forward with your career. And my only qu my last question before we wrap this up, because I know we've been talking for almost an hour, if not more. Um, if you had to give advice to kids out there or to the kids you train or to future baseball players that are really going through it, because it feels like you've almost gone through every scenario possible for a baseball player. How do you what what would what would be your advice mentally to help them get through it and be strong? You know, it may not be the physical aspect, but the mental aspect. How do you think?

SPEAKER_01

I mean, faith was huge for me. Uh I didn't grow up in the church. My parents were were religious, but they kind of left it up to me and my siblings to want that for ourselves. Um I found faith in college while I was injured through some work organizations at campus, so faith is big for me. Um sports is such a small part, even though it's a big part of a lot of people's identity in the grand scheme of things, like we're on a floating rock in space. Yeah, your sports problems are not that big a deal. There's way more to life than how well you do in a sport. Yeah. Um and finding, you know, separating your life from the field, that's huge. Having an identity outside the field, enjoying life out outside of the game is big mentally. Um But really just knowing that there's always a plan in place, and you may not know what it is, but it's not your job to understand why the plan isn't isn't what you want it to be, or you can't see the plan, you just gotta you just gotta row. Like God will God will push you wherever you need to go. You just gotta row. Go the course. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

That's awesome. That's great advice. Well, Cody, I appreciate you taking the time today to come out here and meet me. And dude, we're gonna have you on again. Um hopefully we see you on the back end when you're throwing again. Thank you, brother.

SPEAKER_00

Five, four, three, two, three, three, three.