JERSEY BASEBALL SHOW EPISODES
EPISODE 24 - Rappaport, NJIT ready to run it back. NJIT's first-team, all-Region closer Jake Rappaport joins us to discuss the incredible 2021 college baseball season and talk about how the Highlanders' group of fifth-year seniors hope to run it back in 2022. Jake set school D1 records for wins (8) and saves (11) and became the first player from a New Jersey school to earn ABCA/Rawlings first-team all-Region honors since 2014! He is part of a six-person core of fifth-year seniors who made the decision to stick together rather than join the transfer portal so they could play together one more season. And why not? They joined a program that was 9-40 their senior year of high school and won the America East title last spring, hitting the national stage for the first time with an amazing NCAA Tournament weekend at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark.
EPISODE 23 - Schneider trades in his fungo for gloves. Once one of baseball's fastest rising young coaches - Kevin Schneider has left the world of running a college baseball program and is now running a business. He followed his heart and is building his own custom glove company from the ground up. Launched little more than five months ago, Emery Glove Co already has a number of high profile clients and Kevin hit the jackpot when he designed a custom model based off an iconic photo for Vladimir Guerrero Jr at the 2021 MLB All-Star game. As Emery becomes nationally (and internationally) known, Kevin gives us the story on the transition from coach to glove maven and tells us what's next for Emery. ALSO - a preview of what to expect on the CLEAN LEATHER podcast starring the always opinionated Kevin and Mike Olshin starting next Tuesday 9/14 at Noon.
EPISODE 22 - Shinn Swings for it All. Ryan Shinn's career has taken another awesome turn, the latest since he graduated from Northern Burlington in 2015 as the best baseball player in the area. Shinn had a great college career - stud JUCO at Harford (MD) CC, all-SEC at Kentucky - and played professionally in the Mets organization. He retired this year to follow his passion for teaching and helping others improve their games. Suddenly SHINN'S SWINGS was born. He quickly grasped the power of the online world - his TikToks have 500,000 views and he does online hitting analysis for clients around the United States. He also has a great local presence, training HS and college guys to become the best versions of themselves.
EPISODE 21 - Rider's Mr. Clutch Johnny Volpe. It was the biggest single hit for Rider's baseball team in decades. Broncs IF Johnny Volpe, fighting off an ankle injury, comes off the bench in the winner's bracket final of the 2021 MAAC baseball tournament to deliver a dramatic two-strike, two-run, pinch-hit, ninth-inning single that turned a gut-wrenching 3-2 loss into a 4-3 win for the ages and left Rider in the driver's seat to win the MAAC and advance to the tourney for the first time since 2010. With another great team effort, the Broncs did that the next day.
EPISODE 20 - Frank Talk with Rider's Frank Doelling. Rider University ace Frank Doelling is back after shoving against Alabama at the NCAA Tournament in June. This college baseball star joins us to talk about his summer, his time in the Cape Cod League, the excitement around Rider Baseball, his relationship with pitching coach Mike Petrowski, and of course, his time with the Trenton Generals! Great interview and it has been awesome watching Frank grow into the MLB Draft hopeful he is today. Going to be a lot of scouts in Lawrenceville this spring, every day Frank is on the mound.
EPISODE 19 - Road to the Majors - the amazing story of Mike Adams. We are so excited to tell the best New Jersey baseball story of 2021 - Mike Adams - the South Jersey pitcher who accidentally taught himself to throw 100 mph! The great story of Adams is this - retired from Indy baseball in 2016 to pursue the business of helping others on the journey to the majors. Mike and childhood friend Ed Charlton opened BPC in South Jersey out of his father's oil business warehouse and watched it grow to one of the best baseball facilities of its kind in America! Mike helped Chase Petty grow into a first-round draft pick throwing 102 mph IN HIGH SCHOOL. In the meantime, through studying the movements of elite athletes who throw hard - Mike's OWN velocity spiked, he threw 98 mph in an open tryout in January, and was signed by his beloved Phillies THAT NIGHT. Now he stands one step from the majors and is pitching awesome for the AAA Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs. He even hit his ultimate goal of 100 mph this year!
EPISODE 18 - Olympic baseball with Team Israel assistant Nate Mulberg. Here's a great college summer baseball story - hard to imagine a more amazing summer than that of South Jersey native and current Richmond assistant coach Nate Mulberg. Nate had the opportunity to be an assistant coach for the Israeli National Team in the baseball competition at the Tokyo Olympics! He tells his story here, why it was so important to him, some WOW moments and what he learned on this amazing episode of the JERSEY BASEBALL SHOW.
EPISODE 17 - ACBL MVP Chase Conklin - The Captain unplugged. Conklin takes us inside the 2021 season for the ACBL Champ Trenton Generals, talks about leadership, refusing to lose, and his excitement for the 2022 Richmond Spiders season. Always great talking college baseball with Chase, one of the most heads-up guys we've been around on a ball field. #Leadership#Captain#Gens
EPISODE 16 - Cape Cod League Pitcher of the Year Trey Dombroski - No time to rest. A fantastic New Jersey college baseball story now skyrocketing up the 2022 MLB Draft charts. One of the best pitchers in NJ throughout his HS career, Dombroski took a chance by going up to the vaunted Cape Cod League on a temporary contract -- and won the league's Pitcher of the Year Award, going 3-0 during the season with a 0.85 ERA and 45-2 K/W ratio. Great stuff from one of NJ's finest! This is what college ball, summer ball, and great pitching is all about.
EPISODE 15 - Summer Baseball with the Franzonis. Two of the great baseball players to come from Mercer County in recent years, brothers Paul and Luke Franzoni are together on the field for one last summer with the Valley Blue Sox in the New England Collegiate Baseball League. The Robbinsville natives have had great success in college baseball, Luke with Xavier where he's one of the school's best sluggers in the BBCOR-bat era, and Paul with NJIT, where he joined a program that was 9-40 his final year in high school and turned it into one of the feel-good stories of the national D1 season. "Fayetteville's favorite out-of-state baseball player" tells us how Pauly Biceps started and the two brothers talk about growing up Mercer. We even touch on hockey as their childhood friend and neighbor Ross Colton (Tampa Bay Lightning) just scored the Stanley Cup winning goal. A lot of fun with the Franzonis who are 2 great examples of what's right with college baseball! Enjoy this week's Jersey Baseball Show!
EPISODE 14 - (Audio only) - Post-draft with Anthony Solometo. We got to spend a few minutes on the phone hotline with Anthony Solometo, the Bishop Eustace lefty drafted No. 37 overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Anthony talks about his excitement since living the childhood dream, his love for the Steelers, and the message he wants to deliver to Pirates fans.
EPISODE 13 - NIL Rights - Know your Brand with NOCAP Sports CEO Nick Lord. July 1 marked a new era in College Athletics - the NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) period. For the first time ever, NCAA athletes can be paid for use of their name, image, and likeness to endorse products, make appearances, profit from lessons / camps etc. What does that really mean? And what does it mean for college baseball players? Also learn about the NOCAP platform, helping athletes line up potential deals -- and more importantly -- handle the compliance issues that result. All this and more on a Special BRAND AWARENESS edition of the Jersey Baseball Show
EPISODE 12 - MLB DRAFT PREVIEW with Shane Panzini. He throws 97-98, hits the ball 400+ feet, has a scholarship waiting from a program that just played in the College World Series, figures to be drafted somewhere in the first 100 picks in next week's MLB draft, and sits down with us today. He's Shane Panzini, the Red Bank Catholic grad who just returned from the MLB Draft Combine, volunteers as a counselor for his school's summer baseball camp, and is about to face a life-changing decision in just a few days. Join us for a very special episode of the Jersey Baseball Show - Draft style! (Editor's Note: Shane was actually drafted 104 - 4th round - by the Kansas City Royals!) Congrats, Shane!
EPISODE 11 - MLB DRAFT PREVIEW with Anthony Solometo and special guest host Chase Conklin. Our Jersey Baseball Show draft preview with South Jersey's Anthony Solometo, who has shot up the draft charts the last nine months. The 6-foot-4 LHP from Bishop Eustace is projected as the 2nd HS arm taken in the entire nation, a potential first round pick who is soon facing the life-altering decision of a mega signing bonus or full ride to UNC. We talk to Anthony, along with his HS teammate and current Generals star Chase Conklin (now at the University of Richmond) and learn what makes Solometo - and playing in South Jersey - special. (Editor's Note: Anthony missed the 1st round by ONE PICK - first pick of the 2nd round and No. 37 overall to the Pittsburgh Pirates. CONGRATS, ANTHONY!)
EPISODE 10 - We talk with the Kevin Bacon of New Jersey College Baseball - NJIT coach Giuseppe Papaccio - Zero degrees of separation - Papaccio was on the last NJ team to win an NCAA Tournament game - Seton Hall in 2011 - where he had two hits in the school's victory over Arizona. This is a MUST LISTEN for fans of New Jersey College Baseball, for ANYONE in the recruiting process, and especially for PARENTS whose kids are involved in the recruiting process. In addition to the great NJIT story, we also dive deep into the recruiting process, what coaches are looking for, etc. If you are serious about college baseball - YOU WILL LISTEN to this episode of the Jersey Baseball Show!
EPISODE 9 - Where NJIT becomes THE national story of the NCAA Tournament and becomes honorary Razorbacks - Pitcher Jared Kacso talks about finishing his college career in the most remarkable way possible - a surreal NCAA tourney experience that included pitching in front of 11,000 people, a photo op with a well known college hoops coach, time spent in the Hog Pen, and the team's first-ever tourney win. Lots of fun!
Special NCAA Tournament Episode with Rider University's Johnny Volpe, Sebastian Williamson, and Brendan O'Donnell - Some of our Sandlot Legends from last year join us to talk about Rider's MAAC title and first appearance in the NCAA since 2010
Special NCAA Tournament Episode with NJIT's Cole Fleming - Another Sandlot Legend gets on with us to talk about NJIT making its first-EVER appearance in the NCAA Tournament
Special NCAA D3 World Series Episode with Rowan assistant and Caps manager Brett Young - Caps manager and Rowan assistant talks about the Profs making the D3 World Series and also visiting Field of Dreams
EPISODE 5 - The CleanFuego Story with CEO Mike McGuinness - Our talk with the brains behind the best pitcher's training tool on the market.
EPISODE 4 - Making it to the Majors with Padres beat writer A.J. Cassavell - The Hopewell native discusses his journey to the majors and life on the West Coast.
EPISODE 3 - Competing with Confidence with Quality At Bats' Steve Springer - Getting quality at bats and being in the right frame of mind at the plate. MUST LISTEN for anyone who wants to get their mind right on the field!
EPISODE 2 - Showing Gratitude and Dealing with Anxiety with Major League University's Austin Byler - MLU's Austin Byler talks about dealing with performance anxiety and his mission to help others perform at their best on the field.
EPISODE 1 - Save La Salle Baseball with James Santore - The last-ditch attempt to save La Salle's baseball program reaches its final innings.