In this episode, I sit down with Maryville College head coach Clint Helton to talk about Division III baseball, recruiting, player development, and what it really takes to build a winning program.

Clint shares his path from playing at Maryville to becoming the head coach, how the program has grown, and what he looks for when recruiting players. We also dive into the misconceptions around Division III baseball, why the right people matter as much as talent, and how Maryville has built a culture where players take ownership of their development.

We also get into pitching strategy, why pitchability matters more than velocity at certain levels, how Maryville uses data, and what makes the school and Knoxville/Maryville area such a unique place to play college baseball.

• Clint’s background as a Maryville player and coach
• His transition from assistant coach to head coach
• What he would tell his younger coaching self
• Why recruiting is about finding the right player and the right person
• How Maryville evaluates makeup during the recruiting process
• What high school players misunderstand about Division III baseball
• Why D3 baseball can be much better than people think
• The importance of self-directed work outside team practice
• How Maryville structures its fall development period
• Why pitchability, command, and off-speed usage matter
• How Maryville’s staff tracks competitive pitches and uses data
• What makes Maryville College and the surrounding area appealing
• The history of Maryville baseball, including its 150th season

Clint Helton: @CHelt29

Check Out Patrick's Stuff:

• 📬 Patrick's Weekly Recruiting Newsletter – Get insights on college recruiting, player spotlights, and advice for parents and coaches. Subscribe at https://www.patrickjonesbaseball.com/recruit

• ⚾ Need Help with College Recruiting? – We help serious baseball players get recruited. Book a 1-on-1 consult at https://www.patrickjonesbaseball.com/recruiting

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, I sit down with former Division 1 head coach Steve Rodriguez to talk about recruiting, player development, leadership, and what actually separates players at the college level.

Steve shares lessons from decades in baseball—from coaching at the highest levels of college baseball to developing relationships with players, assistant coaches, and families throughout the recruiting process.

We dive into the mental side of player development, why communication matters more than most people realize, and the biggest mistakes players and parents make during recruiting.

This conversation goes way beyond mechanics and tools—it’s about mindset, adaptability, leadership, and understanding how successful players actually operate.

Topics Covered:

Traits successful college players consistently have

Why some players respond to coaching—and others don’t

Biggest recruiting red flags from both players and parents

Why body language matters so much to college coaches

The importance of learning how to fail and adapt

How Steve evaluated recruits beyond stats and metrics

Why communication is one of the most underrated skills in recruiting

The role parents should (and shouldn’t) play in the recruiting process

Transfer portal realities and common mistakes players make

NIL, scholarships, and making long-term decisions

Why development paths are rarely linear

What assistant coaches need to do to grow professionally

The importance of hip mobility, speed, and nutrition for players

Key Takeaways

Great players refuse to stay stuck

The best competitors are obsessed with improvement

Recruiting is about much more than talent alone

Players need to focus on development—not just labels and rankings

Parents can either help the process… or completely derail it

Follow Steve on Twitter: https://x.com/UTCoachRod

Check Out Patrick's Stuff:

• 📬 Patrick's Weekly Recruiting Newsletter – Get insights on college recruiting, player spotlights, and advice for parents and coaches. Subscribe at https://www.patrickjonesbaseball.com/recruit

• ⚾ Need Help with College Recruiting? – We help serious baseball players get recruited. Book a 1-on-1 consult at https://www.patrickjonesbaseball.com/recruiting

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jimmy Martin, a college baseball coach at North Lake College, comes on the show to break down what actually matters in recruiting, player development, and making it to the next level.

Jimmy gives a behind-the-scenes look at how college coaches evaluate players, what makes players stand out (and what instantly turns coaches off), and why so many players struggle to move up levels—even when they have the talent.

If you’re a player, parent, or coach trying to understand how recruiting really works, this episode is packed with real, practical insight.

Jimmy's Twitter: https://x.com/_CoachJMartin

Patrick's Twitter: https://x.com/pjonesbaseball

Check Out Patrick's Stuff:

• 📬 Patrick's Weekly Recruiting Newsletter – Get insights on college recruiting, player spotlights, and advice for parents and coaches. Subscribe at https://www.patrickjonesbaseball.com/recruit

• ⚾ Need Help with College Recruiting? – We help serious baseball players get recruited. Book a 1-on-1 consult at https://www.patrickjonesbaseball.com/recruiting

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jordan Gates is the Midwest Crosschecker for Perfect Game, covering key recruiting hotbeds across Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, and Michigan. His role puts him on the front lines of amateur baseball—evaluating players, building reports, and identifying both top-tier prospects and under-the-radar talent.

Gates began his journey with Perfect Game as an intern in the Ohio Valley, working events while also gaining hands-on experience inside a training facility environment. He later moved into a full-time role as a Southeast Tournament Director, where he built relationships with players, coaches, and organizations while getting exposure to high-level competition across the region.

After a stint working with the Cincinnati Reds organization, Gates returned to Perfect Game in a full-time scouting capacity. Known for his detailed evaluations and balanced perspective on projection vs. performance, he combines in-game observation, video analysis, and industry collaboration to assess players at every level.

His work emphasizes not just tools, but how those tools translate into real game performance—making him a trusted voice in the evolving landscape of player development and recruiting.

• "Projection is a fickle game."
• "Most overrated stat is batting average."
• "Deception in pitch tunneling is a key trait."

Chapters

00:00 Jordan Gates: Journey to Scouting

04:48 A Day in the Life of a Scout

09:59 The Art of Scouting: Finding Hidden Gems

14:43 Evaluating Players: The Perfect Game Scale

21:53 Showcase Insights: Maximizing Opportunities

36:36 Understanding Arm Injuries in Young Athletes

42:39 The Impact of Mental Health on Performance

47:30 Spotlight on Rising Baseball Talents

54:16 Evaluating Player Metrics and Traits

Resources

• Perfect Game Official Website
• Jordan Gates on Twitter/X

Check Out Patrick's Stuff:

• 📬 Patrick's Weekly Recruiting Newsletter – Get insights on college recruiting, player spotlights, and advice for parents and coaches. Subscribe at https://www.patrickjonesbaseball.com/recruit

• ⚾ Need Help with College Recruiting? – We help serious baseball players get recruited. Book a 1-on-1 consult at https://www.patrickjonesbaseball.com/recruiting

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, I sit down with Tyler Rubasky, first-year head coach at Anderson University, a D3 program in Indiana with a rich baseball history, including three D3 World Series appearances. We dig into:

• What it's actually like transitioning from assistant to head coach, and what he misses most
• Why he believes D3 baseball is the purest form of the game right now
• His approach to playing time transparency and keeping an open door
• The mental performance program that's changing how his players handle failure and pressure
• Why Anderson doesn't run a 60-yard dash, and what they measure instead
• Why Anderson baseball is "data supportive, not data driven"

Follow Tyler Rubasky and Anderson University baseball on X:

Tyler Rubasky: @tyrub3

Anderson University baseball: @AURavensBSB

Connect with Patrick Jones Baseball:

On X: @pjonesbaseball

📬 Sign up for the Recruiting Times, my weekly baseball recruiting newsletter – Get insights on college recruiting, player spotlights, and advice for parents and coaches.

https://www.patrickjonesbaseball.com/blog

⚾ Need help with college recruiting? – We help serious baseball players get recruited. Book a 1-on-1 consult.

https://www.patrickjonesbaseball.com/recruiting

Check Out Patrick's Stuff:

• 📬 Patrick's Weekly Recruiting Newsletter – Get insights on college recruiting, player spotlights, and advice for parents and coaches. Subscribe at https://www.patrickjonesbaseball.com/recruit

• ⚾ Need Help with College Recruiting? – We help serious baseball players get recruited. Book a 1-on-1 consult at https://www.patrickjonesbaseball.com/recruiting

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, I sit down with Jonathan Estes, assistant coach at Weatherford College, one of the top junior college baseball programs in the country.

Jonathan grew up in a town of 648 people in Arkansas, graduated in a class of 50, and worked his way through multiple small college stops before joining Weatherford this year. We dig into:

• How he structures batting practice to challenge hitters
• What he's looking for when he shows up to watch a high school player
• How fine the line really is between a junior college freshman and a Division I freshman.
• The sliding scale for pitching recruits
• Why making a JUCO roster isn't the same as playing
• What usually separates guys who succeed after transferring to a D1 from guys who struggle

We wrap up with the most important advice he'd give any high school player going through the recruiting process right now: Love the game.

Follow Jonathan Estes and Weatherford baseball on X:

Jonathan Estes: @estesthethird

Weatherford baseball: @WCoyoteBaseball

Connect with Patrick Jones Baseball:

On X: @pjonesbaseball

📬 Sign up for the Recruiting Times, my weekly baseball recruiting newsletter – Get insights on college recruiting, player spotlights, and advice for parents and coaches.

https://www.patrickjonesbaseball.com/blog

⚾ Need help with college recruiting? – We help serious baseball players get recruited. Book a 1-on-1 consult.

https://www.patrickjonesbaseball.com/recruiting

Check Out Patrick's Stuff:

• 📬 Patrick's Weekly Recruiting Newsletter – Get insights on college recruiting, player spotlights, and advice for parents and coaches. Subscribe at https://www.patrickjonesbaseball.com/recruit

• ⚾ Need Help with College Recruiting? – We help serious baseball players get recruited. Book a 1-on-1 consult at https://www.patrickjonesbaseball.com/recruiting

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's podcast, I sit down again with Dr. Adam Maloof, Princeton professor of Geosciences and athletics fellow for the baseball team.

This time he’s tackling one of the most overlooked problems in baseball analytics: pitch classification.

If you’ve ever looked at a scouting report and thought, “This guy doesn’t throw seven pitches,” you’re not alone. Dr. Maloof explains why existing pitch tagging data from popular systems (TrackMan, Synergy, and MLB’s StatCast) are often inconsistent, inaccurate, and difficult to use for data analysis.

Together, we discuss:

• Why MLB’s pitch classifier is trained on what pitchers call their own pitches (and why that’s a problem for hitters and analysts)
• How Dr. Maloof analyzed nearly 5 million college pitches using a “blank slate” approach inspired by geology
• The “color wheel” analogy: why pitches within a category (fastballs, breaking balls, changeups) exist on a continuous spectrum with no natural boundaries
• How Princeton’s staff uses reclassified data for scouting, pitch design, and pitching machine programming
• Pitch tunneling: what it is, how they measure it, and how they’re teaching it to pitchers
• The role of arm slot, biometrics, and what’s next for this research

Read Dr. Maloof's article on pitch tagging: How to Classify a Pitch

https://medium.com/sabr-tooth-tigers/how-to-classify-a-pitch-a4805ce35082

Connect with Patrick Jones Baseball:

On X: @pjonesbaseball

📬 Sign up for the Recruiting Times, my weekly baseball recruiting newsletter – Get insights on college recruiting, player spotlights, and advice for parents and coaches.

https://www.patrickjonesbaseball.com/blog

⚾ Need help with college recruiting? – We help serious baseball players get recruited. Book a 1-on-1 consult.

https://www.patrickjonesbaseball.com/recruiting

Check Out Patrick's Stuff:

• 📬 Patrick's Weekly Recruiting Newsletter – Get insights on college recruiting, player spotlights, and advice for parents and coaches. Subscribe at https://www.patrickjonesbaseball.com/recruit

• ⚾ Need Help with College Recruiting? – We help serious baseball players get recruited. Book a 1-on-1 consult at https://www.patrickjonesbaseball.com/recruiting

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.