Outside the Box — Episode 2: 2026 High School Schedule Release

[00:00:00] Speaker A: There's no better club in this area of the Midwest and that's why I chose this club. [00:00:04] Speaker B: I feel like. That's why I feel like everyone should choose Top Tier. There's a level of excellence that's expected by the coaching staff within Top Tier. The goal then is still the goal today. Build competitive players that can compete at a high level. Not just a younger team, but you're giving them skills that translate to older ages. Welcome back to Outside the Box, the official podcast of Top Tier Las Vegas. My name is Patrick Flowers. I'm the director of Top Tier Las Vegas. And I'm joined by Nathan Urbach, the pitching coordinator at Top Tier Las Vegas, and Brandon Katage, the fielding coordinator at Top Tier Las Vegas. Gentlemen, first of all, Merry Christmas. Hope your guys holiday was as enjoyable as mine was. I actually got to sleep until 11am today on purpose with no alarm. [00:00:53] Speaker A: For you. [00:00:56] Speaker B: It was kind of wild. How you guys doing tonight? [00:01:02] Speaker A: Doing well, man. I know Brandon's Christmas is better than yours because he got my wife's bacon and you haven't gotten it yet. [00:01:07] Speaker C: Oh, dude. Shout out. Shout out for that fudge, man. That fudge was crazy. Peanut butter fudge. [00:01:16] Speaker B: I'm feeling very salty right now. Is it dark chocolate or milk chocolate? I mean, I'm sure it's gonna be good either way, but is it. But I. I got. Is it dark chocolate or milk chocolate? [00:01:26] Speaker C: I'm pretty sure. [00:01:27] Speaker A: I think it's mostly milk chocolate. [00:01:29] Speaker B: Yeah. Oh, then. Then she's a winner in my book. I've had too many fudge experiences where it was dark chocolate. I'm not big of a fan, so I'm. I'm into that. Before we get going, I just want to thank everybody who watched episode one, the interview with Brett Harrison. I thought that interview went very well. I thought Brett had a ton of really, really, really good things to say. Whether it be about prep baseball and what they do. The baseball scene in Vegas, collegiate recruiting at large. There was just so much good stuff there. So everybody who watched it shared subscribed. Thank you very much, Brett. Thank you. And anybody who didn't catch it yet. Totally understandable. Tis the season, right? The holidays are busy, but please make sure that you go and check it out when you have an opportunity because there's so much good information in there for players and parents and coaches alike. That said, let's get into the winter player development program. Calendar is turning to 2026 and whether it be for our high school guys or our youth guys, we're going. We're moving into the final phase of the winter player development program being the, the game blending phase. You know, we're going to be spending more time out on the field in January as our youth guys get prepared and geared up to go into their schedule and the high school guys get prepared to go into their high school season schedules. We'll start real quick, gentlemen. I'll start with Urbach and, and then I'll go to Brandon. Biggest not takeaway. Let me. What's the word I'm searching for? Biggest sense of accomplishment for you personally as a coach throughout the winter program as we wind into the end of it here. [00:03:20] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, I think we touched on this a little bit in the first episode, but I think really just getting to know the players on a, just on a personal level, each of them like, you know, obviously, you know, there's, you know, I know we're a fairly new, you know, club program, you know, in the, or club organization in the Vegas Valley, only here for, you know, a little over a year, but still have plenty of players. So getting, getting to know them individually one on one is, is difficult, especially during the season. You know, even when you're with them in the dugout and all that kind of stuff. I mean you're, you're coaching them and when you, when you get into the winter development program and you're able to have those one on one sessions potentially or small group sessions even, or, you know, taking obviously the 13 you guys to Chicago for, for their select tryouts, you know, and still working with them on their, you know, their, their winter, their winter programming. For me, it was the personal level to now be able to take that into winter, not only this season, but years to come, hopefully with a lot of these players and really, really get to know them on that personal level to where we can have those difficult conversations and make those difficult conversations, you know, easier conversations because we all know how that, you know, the, the easier you can make those difficult conversations, definitely the better. So I think that's probably my biggest takeaway. [00:04:51] Speaker B: Brandon. [00:04:52] Speaker C: Yeah, I, I mean I agree 100% with Nate. To add on to that, I think it's. For me the dots start connecting and the light bulbs start going on and these kids starting to see what it takes to be a great player in this game. You know, it's a lot of, it's a lot of hard work day after day stacking those days, getting 1% better every day. But to see them, we always say it, I think we say it every day. But to See them start to understand it and really now start seeking out opportunities. We're on our winter break now, and I got messages and text messages from a few kids wanting to get after it still, like, still work out, like, hey, let me know if you're gonna get working. Oh, Jack Carpenter, Johnny Rollins, that. That's just in the last couple days, you know, and for me, it's, it's. I love that stuff. I love when kids are seeking out opportunities to get better and they're not comfortable, you know, they don't stay comfortable. They constantly look to look to get better. So Johnny Rollins and Jack Carpenter keep it grinding, kids. Keep it grinding. [00:06:14] Speaker B: I say I put you on the spot there and tell you to name the guys because I feel like what you said is so true and so important. And I feel like it's also important for us to give those guys their flowers when they do that, you know, and that for everybody that does it, like when you're doing the right thing. Believe me, the three of us and everybody else on the coaching staff is going to make sure that not only you know it, but everyone else around you knows it. Because it's hard. It's hard for teenagers, especially in this day and age, to do the right thing on their own. And so, you know, kudos to Jack, kudos to Johnny, kudos to all the boys working silently in the background during this, this winter break because that's that level of dedication that it takes to get to the next level, that consistency that Brett spoke of on last week's episode. So good for them. I'll say that my most rewarding aspect of the winter program thus far has been the gains that guys have made. And, and we won't go too deep into gains, you know, number wise right now because we're gonna have an episode, we're gonna have some social stuff in the coming weeks where we do some retesting on the back end of the winter program and we're gonna share all the gains that everybody made as a program. I do. I will reference back to the, you know, midpoint of the winter program where we did kind of. And that was up across the board. It was really impressive for the program. But just like seeing recently like, you know, Tyke and Cade's dad text me the other day and he was like, man, he's like, Ty had a bullpen the other day. Chase caught him, right? So Catcher in the program, we're on the winter break, right? Nobody's assigned to do anything. They hooked up, got together, Chase caught him Tied through a pen. We've been working a lot with Ty because, like, Ty is a super ridiculous athlete, you know, with just like, the ultimate pitcher frame. And we expect a lot out of Ty long term, but we're still working to get there. We're cleaning up some things mechanically. We're. We're cleaning up some movement, patterning, trying to unlock some things with him and, you know, ties. Dad told me that, you know, he was. It was a low intent bullpen about 75, but there was a pitch, you know, he kind of finished it off with 100 pitch. Just kind of, you know, you wanted to see a little peek under the tree right at the presence. And he hit 82.3. Now this kid is. [00:08:39] Speaker A: He's. [00:08:40] Speaker B: He's 28, and he's hitting 82.3 from the left side at 6. 3. He's almost 6. 4. Like, that's great. Take into consideration the fact that when we started the winter program, you know, he was hitting 77. 78. I'm sorry. Right now I'll go off a rap soda because I don't want to misspeak. Topped out at 78. 7. Averaging 75. 1 on the fastball below. So now we're talking about hitting 82. 3 during Christmas break in a bullpen. That's. That's awesome. Like, that. That's huge. That's huge. [00:09:15] Speaker C: Annoying. Annoying. Ty, it was probably like an Easy, smooth 83. [00:09:20] Speaker B: Easy, bro. Easy. That's the biggest thing is so easy for him, but, like, getting the. Getting the oomph out of the easiest, like, where we're at with him. And, like. And it's not just Ty. Like, there's other dudes. I mean, B.L. dard has become like a whole different human being. The kid's just so much stronger. Like, his frame is just so different from the time I met him a year ago. Like, he's just taking his work so seriously and all, and everything's showing and paying off. And then, you know, there's guys who. Who got a little bit of a reality check. You know, we talked last week with Brett about the 27 rankings coming out, and we got Tony Whitney, who we all think very highly of, and so does Brett. He's a junior. He's a 27. And Brett sat on that episode, and he said to me, and. And you, Urbach as well, privately. Like, hey, Tony's missing this, that, and the other to, you know, take it to the next level here. And so I had to have the conversation with Tony's dad and I had to have the conversation with Tony about where he stands and why. And, you know, I talked to him yesterday and he's bulky, you know, he needs to put up. He needs eight more miles an hour on his exit below from the hand and from the bat. He's got to shave his 60 time by about a, you know, half a second. He's a 74 guy now. He needs to be a sub 7. So he's bulking, you know, he's on a whole new diet. He's putting in a ton of carbs. He's, he's, you know, he's staying in the gym, working. What did we do, PRs last week and he hit 400 on the deadlift. Like the kids gym ready strong is strong as hell. Nobody's gonna ever doubt him being in the gym. So I'm not even worried about him bulking heavy because I know he's gonna stay in the gym and, you know, continue to make that right rather than it being kind of lopsided. So, like whether you're a dude, a younger dude who's, who's striving for a number or you're, you're a guy who's, you know, a junior and he's, you're on the back nine of this process and you had to deal with kind of an uncomfortable reality about where you're at. All of our guys have embraced the work and the want, and that's, for me, been the most impressive part of all this. [00:11:27] Speaker A: Well, I think too, like, it doesn't matter how hard you work. Like you mentioned Tony. Obviously Tony's, you know, one of the hardest workers in top tier Las Vegas. [00:11:37] Speaker B: In the entire Las Vegas. [00:11:39] Speaker A: Yeah, no, absolutely, you know, at least from, in Pahrumpia, but you know, just obviously, like, from what I've seen, like, he's, he's a, he's an incredibly hard worker. You know, we have the track driveline stuff. He's always on there. He's one of the kids that puts in the work every day. But reality checks are reality checks. No matter how, how good you are, no matter how much work you put in, you know, there's always going to be someone bigger, there's always going to be someone stronger, there's always going to be someone faster. And unfortunately for some, like, they're never going to reach that point potentially. So for a kid like Tony who, you know is going to put in the work to get to where he wants to be, you know, that that reality check is only going to make him hungrier. And it's great. [00:12:24] Speaker B: Yeah. I'm looking for a photo right now because I want to throw these PR day things up right now. So, Brandon, if you got something else on that, I appreciate if you took the. The baton from me for a second. [00:12:33] Speaker C: Yeah, no, I. I think we need those to piggyback off. What next? I think we need those reality checks. Like, that's. That's. That's like, basically telling us where we are. You know, that's reality. Right? And it's so clouded these days for these kids to know truly where they're at. You know, you have. You have adults and coaches and parents telling you you're this and you're that and you're not this and you're not that, and who knows? Until. Until you. Until you get those reality checks and someone telling you, look, this is what you need to improve on, right? And we can either say, ah, nah, this guy doesn't know what he's talking about, or, okay, I got you, pal. Watch what I do next. Right? So I think. I think it's one of those things where the reality checks kind of expose your character, right? To Nate's point, we know what kind of dude Tony is, and I'm just excited for this next chapter for him, and I think. I think his best game is. Is yet to come, along with all these other dudes, too. [00:13:46] Speaker B: No doubt about it. Just, you know, we were talking about some guys, and I mentioned PR the other day, so I want to give everybody the. The proper flowers and recognition that they deserve. You know, Zach Andres is a PO who came to us, you know, later in the fall. Great ball player. He's up there in the leaderboards. Tony's up there. Jack Carpenter's in there. Aiden Lopez is. Yeah, yeah, you got. Ethan McConnis is in there. Tod is in there, of course. And. But I say I bring this up to counter or add to your point of reality checks. Here's a reality check. If your name isn't up on this board, it's because you weren't there for it. Because I guarantee you this board looks different if every single player is there for that day. And that is the reality check. This goes around social media. This gets hung up, you know, in the weight room. This is what the standard is. You're probably. There are certain players probably sitting there saying, man, I. I lift more than that. I squat more than that. I do it well. Be there. If you ain't there, I don't know what to tell you. It is what it is. So, you know, Again, a little bit of kudos to the guys on here, but also one of those reality checks to the guys who aren't be better be there. Speaking of the high school guys, we dropped the 20, 26 high school summer schedule today. And it was, it was a banger, if I might say so myself. So here, here's where I'm at with this, with the high school schedule. Like the high school schedule is, the summer schedule is so important for all of our guys because it's an opportunity for them to show off all of the games during the winter program that we're talking about. It's a chance to show off all the things they do at home. It's a chance to show off all of the progress that they make in the spring with their high school teams. But it's a chance for them also to see the best competition in the country. It's a chance for them to earn other opportunities, like top tier select, you know, to go play at, you know, USA National Championship carry or go play in Jupiter at the wwba, you know, national or World Championship, like, which is the crown jewel of all recruiting events in the world for high school athletes, save for the All American Games, Prep baseball, All American Games, but even prep baseball itself, like, you want to go be a super sophomore, you want to play in the Futures Games, you want to play in the All American Games, you gotta, you gotta do the work in the winter, you gotta do the work on the field and in the school during the spring in high school, and then you gotta go show out at the, you know, a really, really, really stacked, rigorous, tough summer schedule. This schedule wasn't designed to be easy. This schedule was designed to be a, a wake up call and an opportunity for certain dudes to show the country what they got. And I think, I think, you know, we accomplished that with what we've got on tap for this summer. We'll go over it in a second. But just your initial thoughts, gentlemen, on what we've got planned for the guys this summer. [00:17:02] Speaker A: For me, I think it's really cool that we're going to multiple regions. [00:17:09] Speaker B: And. [00:17:09] Speaker A: You know, all of us, you know, are kind of privy to this just because we've been around the block here now. But it's so like, sometimes it can be really difficult unless you're just like the dude of dudes to get seen all over the country if you're not playing all over the country. So the fact that obviously we're playing in the west region because that's where we're at, you know, you have the wwba, which is going to be, you know, probably coaches from everywhere because of the, the name brand obviously of the tournament. And that's where a lot of guys, if you show out, you're, you know, that's where the offers come. A lot of these kids are, you know, you know, we obviously, we talked about Ty, we talked about Tony, you know, we saw the guys on the leaderboard, the Jacks, the Aiden Lopez, Zach Andres, all those guys, if they show out at that kind of tournament, they're going to get seen and they're going to get offers, you know, and a couple of those guys are 20, 27. So, you know, it's going to be imperative that they do well at that, at that kind of tournament. But then you see that obviously we're going to Chicago and it's not just about going to hq. It's about playing, you know, some teams, some top tier teams from all over the country. But you're probably going to see a lot of Midwest scouts and a lot of Midwest, you know, coaches, you know, at those fields specifically. And we're playing at, you know, what, two colleges anyway, so you, you know, they might not be crazy name brands, but hey, sometimes getting into a college and getting those, it will be. But I just mean like the two colleges that they're playing at. [00:18:31] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, okay. [00:18:31] Speaker A: I'm sorry, those, like D1, you know, whatever. [00:18:35] Speaker B: But hey, Kirby Puckett went to Triton. [00:18:38] Speaker A: Exactly. And it, you know, and, and not only that, but you. Not every kid's gonna play D1 or high level juco. And it's like if you want to extend your career and you know, especially now with the Portal era and Nil and all that kind of stuff that's going on, you can be seen at those lower levels, get drafted potentially at those lower levels or move on from the Portal and play at a better school if you're, you know, if you, if you perform at the D2, D3, NAIA, whatever it may be. Right. You know, and then obviously now, you know, you see that we're going to, you know, going to Florida as well. And IMG Academy, everybody knows what IMG Academy is and you know, so you're hitting all these different regions and I. [00:19:20] Speaker B: Think that's. [00:19:22] Speaker A: My bad, my bad. [00:19:24] Speaker B: Leave with the Nader back to spoil the whole schedule. Release. [00:19:27] Speaker A: Hey, hey. That's the first impression I had. [00:19:33] Speaker B: I'm, I'm messing with you. [00:19:35] Speaker C: I know. [00:19:36] Speaker B: We'll get into it. I just couldn't help myself. [00:19:43] Speaker A: But yeah, no, I Mean, just to kind of finish up. I mean, just that. That. That part's really cool because, like, someone who played high school baseball, someone who's coached at the collegiate. The collegiate level, and, you know, now seeing a lot of these high school guys trying to get noticed, I think it's just really cool for them to be able to be seen by so many different colleges that, you know, maybe some other programs in Vegas or other kids aren't going to be privy to because they, you know, they. They just don't have those opportunities or they don't take advantage of the opportunities. [00:20:15] Speaker B: Thanks. What about you, Brandon? Yeah, right away. [00:20:21] Speaker C: Oh, dude. My initial reaction was, was that that's a dope schedule. [00:20:27] Speaker B: That's a. [00:20:27] Speaker C: That's a loaded schedule in terms of density. Right? [00:20:32] Speaker B: Like, can I tell you something real quick or can I. Can I say. Yeah. So you texted me the other day, another high school schedule release, and you were like, brother, I'm just sending you this so that this is not what ours looks like. And I. I was like, 75. Done with it at the time. 80. But I was like, don't worry about it. It's not. So when I sent you to you tonight, you texted me and you're like, yo, like. So I just. Just given the viewers the context of, like, how excited you were when I sent that over to you. [00:21:11] Speaker C: Yeah, no, that's. That's what I'm talking about. That's what I'm talking about. But that was my initial reaction immediately after that, obviously, and I think I texted you as well, was these high school boys better stay sharp. They better stay sharp through the spring. They better continue the progress from the winter program, find ways to continue their lifts, to continue the throwing program, to continue their skill development, because end of May, early June is going to come quick, and. And we want them to be ready, not getting ready. [00:21:48] Speaker B: Yeah, you got. You got to be ready for this. And. And when we get through, we're going to go over every event real quick, but after we get in, we're going to get back into that, because I think it's super important that our guys understand that you better be ready for this, because this ain't. This is not your average schedule, and it takes a lot, and there's, you know, if you ever think you got time, you don't have enough time. That's usually the. The safe way to look at it. So first up, we're gonna start in. Get out there. There we go. So first up, we're gonna start May 30th we got the Vegas Summer Classic in our backyard will be at bld, which I generally am not a big fan of, but it's recently renovated. So, hey, let's, you know, we're going to be one of the first teams to hop up, hop out on there. So essentially a local tune up, right? Give us a local tune up. It's a couple weeks removed from the high school season. Let the guys get out there in a game environment, play. This is a PG natty event. So, you know, generally with the PG national events, there's some good competition there, whether it be locally or externally. But I think this would be a good little primer for everybody to get going here after the high school season. And then we've got something that Nader Bach touched on or spoiled, however you want to look at it. But we're going to Chicago. [00:23:18] Speaker A: Thank you, Brandon. [00:23:21] Speaker B: We've previewed. All right, fine. So we're going to Chicago June 6th. We'll be out there for just shy of a week and this is going to be a lot of fun. Saturday, Sunday, we're gonna have inter squad games with our high school guys. We're bringing two teams out there, top tiers, HQ team, Chicago, Chicago suburbs, you know, the collar of it, and other locations around the country are going to be out there. Monday, we're gonna go to hq. We're gonna have a big workout with all the high school guys in town, locally and otherwise. And then Tuesday, we're going to be at Triton College for a prep baseball scout day. And that'll be the first opportunity that all these guys have had to update their prep baseball profiles since the preseason IDs, which will take place next month in January, locally here. But you figure that's six months away. So it'll be a nice opportunity for them to get everything refreshed. They'll do it on a college field, they'll do it out of the comfort of their own backyard and they'll do it around a lot of other top tier players and coaches. And then we wrap the entire week up with the college camp at St. Xavier University. And I'm super excited about that because, you know, the top tier college camps are always a big deal. In October, we had a top tier college camp at St. Xavier. I went out there with Tony Whitney. There was 25 schools there. You'd figure June, you know, there's going to be more than that out there. And we're not talking about just any school. We're talking like power for like D1 schools out there. And and you know the, that's where the Rolodex comes in handy for this organization. And so from the start to the finish, from the inner squats, the workouts to scout day to the college camps, is going to be a unique opportunity for all of our guys in our program to go out there and not only experience HQ and meet the players and the coaches out there like our 13 you guys got to do earlier this month, but they're going to be able to get seen in a variety of ways. We've got, after we get back in town, we're gonna do a, we'll have another local tuner prime up of sorts. Also just give the parents a little bit of a rest as far as the frequent fire miles are concerned. We'll do another local PG tournament again, a PG Natty event, a WWA event. It's the Vegas Summer Championship, June 26th through 28th. It'll be at Bishop Gorman, very prominent high school in the Las Vegas area. It's a three day event. It's a four game guarantee. I'm sure the competition there at the end of June as far as teams locally and outside of Vegas is going to be pretty good and, and again, give the guys an opportunity to play in their backyard a little bit before we do. Probably my most anticipated tournament in the summer, maybe not the, maybe not the best or the crown jewel of it, but I'm super excited for this because July 2nd through July 5th, we're going to Florida. [00:26:22] Speaker A: As I previewed. As I previewed. [00:26:24] Speaker B: As you previewed or spoiled or however you want to look at it. The Prep Baseball Florida Open in Bradenton, Florida at IMG Academy. Look, IMG Academy. Everybody knows what that is. Everybody knows where that is. We're talking about fourth of July weekend. We're talking about me being really humid and miserable because I, I hate humidity as it is. I'm tell you right now, here's a warning to all of our guys, that's not the weekend to play with me. I'm telling you right now, I'm gonna be extra cranky right off the plane. [00:26:58] Speaker A: But that's why we're not taking our 13 new team. [00:27:06] Speaker B: But, but all that aside, that's going to be a really good experience. Prep baseball, as they do with everything they do, they run really good events, prep baseball tournaments. I'm just counting down the days. Naderbach, you know it from, from last month when prep baseball converged on the Circa Legacy Club in Vegas and, and the top tier execs. Did you know that I was I was beating that drum pretty hard to get prep baseball tournaments here in Nevada, in the Vegas area because they do a good job. One of the, one of the bonuses that people might not think about about playing in a prep baseball tournament is your numbers. If you're in a stadium that supports it, IMG Academy being one of them, Lake Point being another, the rock, etc. Etc. Your numbers and metrics collected at that event goes onto your prep baseball profile. So it's a free opportunity for the player to update their profile again. Put some good video, put some good numbers on there. They're going to play some of the best teams in the country. They're going to get to spend the holiday weekend and you know, in a relatively nice and super humid and sticky place. But, But it's going to be a really, it's going to be a really good time for those guys. We get done with that, we're going to come home. I'll preview an event here a little bit that is not on the calendar yet, but should be on the calendar soon. Myself and Brett Harrison, we've been working on a top tier prep baseball, you know, national ID where we're gonna have top tier teams locally and from around the country come in in the second week of June and we'll be at either OR and or UNLV and CSN colleges out of Nevada. It'll be a three day event. We'll have a combine and then we'll have, we'll roll into a tournament exclusive to top tier teams. And I think that's going to be a lot of fun. We're gonna have a little bit of trouble getting some of the HQ teams and there's some of the Midwest teams just because their high school season's still going then because they can't start playing baseball till, you know, almost April. But, but us and, and NorCal and Florida and other regions will be able to participate in that and I think that's going to be a ton of fun. Another great opportunity for the kids to play in a college campus, to get seen by college coaches, to update their prep baseball profiles and then to, you know, meet and, and mingle and intertwine with, with HQ coaches and players and top tier coaches and players from around the country. After that, we are heading to Arizona for the WWBA 16U National Championship July 14 through July 18. That'll be a surprise. It'll be at the Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royal Spring Training Complex. This event right here is, this is baseball. This is the best teams in the country, coming out here to play. You're gonna have eyes on you for days. You're gonna play the best teams. And it's just a really. It's a crown jewel event as far as this goes. We were only able to get one bid. I put this in the written release of the schedule, release to the parents that we were only able to get one bid. Given the tournament that it is and the way that we're gonna do it. No, you know, you guys are already familiar with this, but we'll just call it what it is and talk about it. Right now, it's going to be the 15 best dudes, and that's it. You know, it is what it is. This is that type of event. 15. The 15 best guys on field, but not just on field. 15 best guys in the classroom, the 15 best guys that are doing all the things you're supposed to be doing at home, whether it be their work or their tracking or their logging, whether it be in the classroom, just being a good teammate, all those things are going to be considered when we pick the best 15 dudes to go to this thing, you know, and another aspect is going to be positionality. We're not taking four first baseman. We're not taking three short stops. That's just not how it's going to work. [00:31:18] Speaker A: Oh, we're taking 15 short stops, Pat. Remember that? [00:31:21] Speaker B: 15 dudes that train like short stops. [00:31:23] Speaker C: For sure. [00:31:27] Speaker B: But, like, you know, it is. [00:31:30] Speaker C: It. [00:31:30] Speaker B: It is what it is. This is a. This is a big event and. And I want our guys to understand this, and I want the parents, families to be aware of it right away. And that's why we put it out there. Go get this. You all say you're about it. Go get it. Go get it. Do all the things that I just said. Do all the things that we tell you guys every day. Do all the things that we put in the relief. Go get it. You want to be about it, you talk about it, be about it. Go and get this. You guys, I'm gonna pause here for a second so you guys can drop your thoughts and opinions on the wwba, the opportunity there, and the way that we're going to handle roster construction. Yeah, go ahead. [00:32:13] Speaker A: Go ahead, Brandon. [00:32:15] Speaker C: Now I just double down on what Pat just said. Like, go get it. Go get it. This is here for you guys. This is all for you guys, really. Right, Pat put this schedule together for the top tier. 16, you boys. So now is time to walk the talk, basically right. Walk the talk and get in Stay in the weight room, keep Those grades up, 3, 5 and above. Let's go. You know, listen to your parents, handle your business at home. Do, do the things necessary. Be, be, be that kid that you as a coach would want to recruit. Like, if you were a coach, would you want to recruit you? [00:33:04] Speaker B: It's a great way to look at it. [00:33:06] Speaker C: And if yes, cool. Keep doing what you're doing. Maybe take it to another level. If the answer is no, get on it. Get on it. We believe in you guys, but we can't do it for you. So I think for me it's. It's walk the top. Walk the top. [00:33:28] Speaker A: Yeah. And Pat, you said, you know, best 15 dudes, and my head went to the 15 most deserving guys. And I know that's kind of what you were getting at when you say in the classroom, as a teammate, all that kind of stuff. But I think when we eventually decide on this 15 man roster, there's going to be some guys that are surprised that, you know, maybe both ways there's going to be a couple guys that make the team. They're gonna be like, wow, I made it. But it's like, hey, like, you put in the work, right? You know, because sometimes you need that. Like, not everybody is like this, this crazy, confident kid that's just, you know, like, oh, I'm gonna make it. But they put in the work and they're gonna make it because they put in the work. And then on, on the other side of it, you're gonna get some kids that, you know, either make the team or left off the team. You know, at least based on what I've been seeing so far that, you know, those are the. They're gonna question, like, hey, why'd this kid make the roster? Or why didn't I make it? Or, you know, and when they really look back at it, you know, I think they'll be able to answer that question. But we're not here to like, like Brandon said, we're not here to hold your hand. We're here to help you along the way, but we can't do everything for you. And, you know, eventually, you know, we talked about reality checks earlier. You know, this, this roster could be a reality check for some 1000%. [00:34:54] Speaker C: Yep. [00:34:55] Speaker A: And just in the sense of like, hey, you weren't putting in the work. This guy was, you know, you might have more talent than this person or whatever it may be. Right. [00:35:05] Speaker B: But. [00:35:06] Speaker A: And then I think it obviously goes back to, you can't take 15 left fielders, you know, or you know, you can't take five catchers. I mean you probably could take five catchers actually, but you can't take, you know, you know what I'm getting at. [00:35:23] Speaker B: Some really slow footed dudes out somewhere. [00:35:26] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:35:29] Speaker A: But, but it's gonna be, and I think that's where it's going to come in from the coaching staff is we need to be strategic about it too. And yeah, that's gonna probably help some kids learn that too. Like hey, when you, when you create a, whether it's a 15 man roster or a 26 man roster for the pros or a 36 man roster for college or whatever they're at now, you know there's, there's strategic ways to build those rosters and you know, it's, it can't just be like you said, the 15 best athletes per se. So. [00:36:00] Speaker B: Right. Yeah, 100. I'm excited, I'm excited for the event. It's going to be 125 degrees. I'm not excited for that, but I am excited for the event and the quality of baseball that's going to be there and the, and most of all that itself, the pride and ownership the guys are going to take in being on that roster. And I'm, and I'm also excited for the guys that don't make the roster because as you said, Nate, it's, it's, that's a wake up call. You know, if you're, if you don't make that roster, instead of worrying about what everybody else is or isn't, you need to look in the mirror and ask yourself, what did I not do and how do I fix that? That's it, plain and simple. There's going to be a handful of guys are going to be in that position and we're gonna, we'll have those conversations with them when the time comes and try to guide them into the, you know, guide them to the answers. That's going to help them avoid making the mistake a second time. And that's just part of the job. But I'm, I'm excited for it because I think regardless whether you make the roster or not, it's going to be a growing moment one way or the other. [00:37:11] Speaker A: Which probably leads you to your next thing. Right? [00:37:13] Speaker B: Which leads me to my next thing. Those guys aren't going to be sitting at home not doing anything. They're going to play in a really, really, really, really good event. It's not like I said, hey, you're not going to play this weekend or we're Just going to give you some local backyard bs. You don't make that team. That's all right. You're still going to have a great opportunity. You're going to come in over the weekend. You're going to play. Oh, I'm in the wrong. On the wrong graphic. Coolio. Oh, that's all right. I just. This technology, gotta love it. I literally was on the right graphic. I promise. You can't see my end. But anywho, if you don't make that WWBA team, you're still going to be out in Arizona. You're going to be there over the weekend. You're gonna have a really, really, really good opportunity. You're going to play in the prep baseball summer Underclassman Championships. And I think underclassman is an important part of that title. In that statement is a lot of these guys that play six, and you, for us, are freshmen. They're young dudes and they've got a lot of. They've got room in front of them to grow and. And some of them need it more than others. And. And this is it. So, July 18th through 21st in Mesa at the Arizona Athletic Grounds. Really great complex. It's a prep baseball event. It's going to be well run. There's going to be very, very, very, very tough competition out there. It's going to be another really, really good event for our guys. So I don't look at this as a consolation prize for guys who didn't make the WWBA roster. I look at this as an opportunity for those guys to play in a really fantastic event at one of the nicest facilities in the Mountain west, under one of the best tournament or event producers in the country, and start to work on those things that maybe might have kept them off that WWBA roster. [00:39:06] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, it goes from wake up call to opportunity. So, you know, to me, that's really what it's all about, is every wake up call you have leads to another opportunity. And how do you, how do you seize that moment? Are guys gonna say, oh, sorry, I don't want to go to this because I didn't make the 15, man. So they say, no, okay, that's on you. Or are they gonna say, you know what? I get to go to an awesome event and show out. There's still going to be probably collegiate coaches there and scouts and different things like that. It's not like you're not going to be seen. You know, everybody knows what prep baseball is. I mean, it's essentially a prep Baseball event versus a PG event. And it's on sep. It's on different days. So it's not like college coaches or something like that are going to be at one event and not the other because there's. There's conflictions. They're going to be at both probably, so there's no reason to hang your hat. And like you said, I mean, a lot of these guys are freshmen. Sophomores haven't even played a lick of varsity baseball at the high school level yet. So go show out against competition that probably already is at the high school varsity level and, you know, improve your worth. [00:40:16] Speaker B: For sure. Well said. That all that all being said. I mean, super excited about all that. But that being said, Brandon, you. You. You had a point earlier that I wanted to go back to, and it's your. Your Facebook post actually was the best. You were excited, but your caption was awesome. And it was simple. Five months, boys, and that's it. You got five months to figure it out. You got five months to be ready to go play at IMG Academy, to go play at ML on MLB Fields, to go to Chicago, to go to college camps, to go to this and that. You got five months until you hit the toughest, most prestigious stretch of baseball you've ever played in your life. What are you gonna do to be ready for it? That's the open challenge from us to the players right now is what are you gonna do to prepare for this? It's really cool that it's on social media and you get to share it and repost it and tell your friends about it. That better not be the end of it, right? Like, like what. What are you gonna do now? If this is me, if I'm. That if I'm in that opportunity or in that stage, you know, we didn't have these opportunities. This. This is not how baseball was when we were growing up. When we were playing, we didn't have these opportunities. Okay? So I can't even really sit there and go back and be like, well, when I was. Because it's just not the way that it was. But I'm gonna tell you right now, I could tell you with the foresight of what I know now that I didn't know then that if I was afforded this opportunity the next five months, I would have a place plan. I would have a plan every single day about what I was going to do to take advantage of that opportunity that was presented to me. [00:42:05] Speaker C: Oh, no doubt. I mean, we had. We had this conversation with our 13, you guys right Pat, you. You pro gave them the challenge of setting short term goals, intermediate goals, and long term goals. And I don't know how many kids did it. [00:42:23] Speaker B: One. [00:42:24] Speaker C: One. Oh, one. [00:42:26] Speaker B: Nice. [00:42:27] Speaker C: Okay. So that kid now has the opportunity to start planning strategically on how to accomplish those short term goals, which should be in line with those intermediate goals, which should be in line with those long term goals. But it's basically a benchmark. And for. For our 16, you guys, my hope is that they would go into January, through their spring and high school season with those goals in mind and a plan which obviously we'd be more than happy to help them with as we will continue to be there for them throughout the high school season as we'll get into later, I'm sure. But come up with that plan and stick to it. You know, like you're not grinding until you wake up in the morning and you don't feel like getting that workout in before school. Right. And unless you hit something where you don't want to do, you're not even touching the grind yet. So have those goals and let it be uncompromising. So nothing will get into your way. Nothing will get in your way of sticking to the plan. Right. And making adjustments as you go. But having that plan and that, that guy, that road map to take you to where. Where you want to be. Right? [00:43:56] Speaker B: Yeah. 100. Nothing can get in the way of this. [00:44:00] Speaker C: Great. [00:44:01] Speaker B: If you're a player, nothing can get in the way of this. If you, if you let anything get in the way of it, you punted on an incredible opportunity. Hey, we say it all the time to players, to parents, to ourselves. Internally, we say it all the time. What do we do here as a program outside of player development? But, but also this. It's a part of player development is we make opportunities. The best thing we could do for players is make opportunities. We're never gonna stop making the opportunities. They're there. Go get them. Don't just show up to them. There's a difference. You can show up to the tournament, you can show up to practice, you show up to workouts, you can show up to school, you can show up to this, you show up to that. There's a difference. Go get it. Go win it. And if you want to do that stuff over the summer, I'm gonna tell you, I'm going to tell you right now, as a player, most of you guys ain't never seen baseball like you're going to see this summer. If you think you're ready, you're lying to Yourself. I promise you that. I've been doing this for a very long time. So have the two gentlemen here with me tonight. And we've done it in a lot of different places. If you think that any of the guys on our roster in our program have seen baseball league they're going to see this summer, that's a lie. Get rid of that now. Get that out of your head right now. You have not. So you better be preparing for something you never faced before. [00:45:24] Speaker C: I think that's why the standard has to be high, the accountability has to be high. So, you know, I don't know how some of the kids look at it and be like, man, why you guys always on me? Like, why you? Why are you always on me? [00:45:36] Speaker B: Because we know what it looks like. I mean, because we care and because we can't get. [00:45:43] Speaker C: Well, that part. [00:45:45] Speaker B: Listen, all of us, you, everybody sitting here right now is going to be coaching multiple teams in 2026. We're gonna spend it almost every weekend of our calendar year with one team or the other in this state or the other for these guys. Not for us. It's for them. We care. So yeah, to your, to your point, neither by why are we on top of you? Why did I call a player tonight, nine o' clock at night on a Friday night to tell him to, to get on track and, and get it, get his stuff straight. And don't let me get another message from the pitching coordinator about you not completing your goals and your assignments. Because I care. Not because I want to be annoying, not because I have nothing better to do. Because I care. So these guys, you know, again, I guess, fine line, soapbox, right? Like just guys need to understand why we do what we do, why we are the way we are with them. It's all about their futures and their opportunities. And I think we put a really good one together for them this summer. I want to touch on one more thing here before we get, get going. Brandon, you brought it up a little bit ago and then in pre show as well. And that's what the high school season looks like for our guys during the nia, you know, high school season. And we've told this to players and parents here and there and in between, but just as a reiteration here, reinforcement. The only thing we cannot do according to the NIAA is play games. And we won't. That's easy. That's simple. As far as beyond that, we're there for you the entire high school year, the entire high school season. We are there for you. There's going to come a point in the next couple of weeks where guys are going to have to submit their high school schedules to us. We'll take those high school schedules, we'll put together a giant, really annoying spreadsheet with availabilities for everybody based around their games, their practice schedules, where our coordinators can put together schedules for guys to come in and work one on one and in small groups or even remotely through track and get their throwing program done, get their arm care stuff done, get their development, their mechanical work done, get their hitting stuff done, weight room, et cetera, et cetera. You know, every high school program is built a little bit differently. Some high schools offer this and not that or vice versa. We will be there to bridge the gap for all of our players to make sure that they get everything all spring, no matter where they go to school, because they, they play here and that. That's what we do here and. Yeah, yeah, sorry, go ahead. [00:48:32] Speaker A: No, I was gonna say. And I think it's just important, like you said, like every, every high school has different, you know, just like, I don't know, different strengths, different weaknesses or different things that they offer, whatever it may be, but at the same time, like they're also in the middle of their season. They're trying to win. [00:48:50] Speaker B: It's really important. [00:48:51] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, exactly. [00:48:53] Speaker B: Really important that it's a difference. It's a different, it's a different job. Okay. High school coaches are, are paid to win games and that's it. They're not paid for anything other. Paid to win games. They have most players for three to four years and then they're gone, sometimes less. And, and that's it. They're paid to win games. That's their job. That's how they put food on their table. So I'm not knocking anybody. But the fact of the matter is there's different, different job descriptions, different priorities, different responsibilities and different resources between the club and high school level. And all we, all we need to do and have to do is bridge the gap between both sides. [00:49:35] Speaker C: Right. [00:49:35] Speaker A: Well, and I've, I've said this to you guys specifically. I've definitely said it to some of our players, some of our parents, whatever it may be. One of the things that I think really separates our organization apart from others that goes beyond top tier Vegas, it goes to hq. All the other, all the other top tier brands across the country is, you know, you, let's just say you play for X X club ball team. You probably need to have a fielding coordinator outside of that or a hitting coach outside of that, or a pitching coach outside of that. Because it's kind of similar to high school where you know, you're there to win. Like you're, yes, you're going to get some coaching. You know, hopefully you're with a good organization that's going to get you the coaching when you're at practice. But there's only so much these coaches can do with you because most of them have full time jobs by themselves, which, you know, obviously we do as well, but we have that dedication to a specific craft where it's like, okay, now we're giving you our time to say, hey, come to us and do this. So when you're with us, when it's, you know, when you're not with your high school team and it's, it's summer ball or you're a younger kid and you're playing with us all year round, why, what's, what's the point of using, paying all the money that you're paying for whatever baseball and then going outside and paying extra for that? That's just my personal opinion on it. Use the resources you have. And I think that's our big selling point is, yes, you, you pay X amount, utilize the resources that you're, that are there for you instead of doubling or tripling or quadrupling that amount to go get all these other resources when you have it right here. And I think that's the important about part about the high school. And what you're talking about right now is like, yeah, we might not be able to coach you from an on field perspective when you're in your season. But first of all, a lot of us are going to be at some of those games or every game because we want to see those kids or we have, you know, like, for example, my cousin plays at Bishop Gorman. So I'm going to be a lot of Bishop Gorman games. I know a lot of our kids are going to play against Bishop Gorman this year, you know, and then obviously we have those relationships with our guys and we want to go watch them play regardless. So we're gonna see you live. We're gonna be able to have our notepads and different things like that, our mental notes and, you know, and take that with us and be able to put that into track, whether it's pitching, hitting, weight training, like, what are we seeing on the field? What are you telling us that's like, oh, my arm's sore. But you know, maybe your high school coach again, not trying to put that on any high school coach, but, like, maybe you're just not telling your high school coach that your arm's bothering you, but now it's in track. I can see that. And hopefully I can prepare you in a better way or give you the resources to tell your coach, like, hey, your arm's bothering you, or whatever, make a mechanical adjustment here and there. So we're gonna be that, that steady presence in your life whenever you need it. And hopefully, hopefully the kids take, take advantage of that resource. [00:52:44] Speaker C: Yeah. And our, and our hope is that we can partner with schools as well. You know, not, not to say like, oh, you're an incomplete program. We understand budgeting constraints, we understand limitations as far as how much coaches you can hire, and we know that your heart is never to neglect or overlook or cast aside certain parts or elements or facets of the game. But our hope is that we can help supplement, you know, things that you may want that or may not see, even, you know, to, to be able to come alongside what you're doing already, you know, and enhance that. Never, never about, oh, we do it better, but simply we know these dudes and as you do too. But, you know, there's, there's a lot, there's a lot of data that we have that can, can help enhance what you guys are doing too. So it's never, never an inadequacy thing, but always an enhancement. [00:53:49] Speaker B: Spot on. Well said, both of you. Both of you guys, about as well said as it could possibly be. And you know, obviously we're, we're, we're newer here as a brand in the Valley, and we're, we're working towards building those relationships with high school program so that we can, you know, kind of have the, the same setup we have back home and be able to work cohesively with all the high schools. And one day we'll get there and hopefully we'll make a lot of progress on it this spring. But in the interim. Well said, gentlemen. And, you know, aside of, aside from closing thoughts from either of you two about scheduled winter player development or anything that we're looking at ahead, I, I don't really have much else here for this one. No, I mean, I'm with you. [00:54:34] Speaker A: I think we, I think there were a lot of good thoughts that if our players listen to this podcast specifically, you know, and obviously we're going to have plenty more to come and we're going to talk about. We're probably going to put a lot of the same material in there to kind of keep them Keep them on. On track. And I like how you said on track that it's called track, but ours, I think some people probably don't understand that when you, when you said it. [00:55:00] Speaker C: But. [00:55:02] Speaker A: Yeah, no, I mean, I, I just, I, for the time being, if all our guys can, if they tune into this podcast, I really hope they take something out of it because I think there were a lot of, just, a lot of just thoughts that were said that they, that they needed to hear. [00:55:21] Speaker C: Yeah, no, I'm proud of, proud of these guys that the work that they put in over the past couple months. Proud of every single one of them that came in and got after it and, you know, really pushed themselves and excited for what's ahead for all these guys. You know, whether or not you feel like you could have done more, you still can. You know, it's not about I missed X amount of days or I couldn't make it because of this reason or whatever. Like fix it and move forward. We have that opportunity. So it's exciting for all of these guys. You know, we have our, we have our 10U starting up. We have our 13 new guys getting back at it and then our 16U. 16U program for those not playing high school and also our guys that are going to be in high school. Everything is an opportunity and I, I cannot be more excited for you guys. For our guys. [00:56:15] Speaker B: 100. I definitely needed the holiday break. It was, it's been enjoyable, but I can't wait for 2026. We've got so much good stuff in store for every single person in this program and I cannot emphasize enough how excited I am and appreciative of you guys to be on this journey and everybody else who's a part of it. So here's the 2026. Probably won't have another episode before New Year, so happy New Year's. Have a safe, happy, healthy holiday and we'll see everybody on the other side of the calendar to get back to work. We appreciate you guys joining us again here on episode two of the Outside the Box. We'll see you next time.