Jersey Baseball Show - powered by NJ College Baseball Nation

The nation's No. 1 high school baseball player, Indiana's Max Clark came on our show in April and talked about his goal of playing (and winning Gold) for Team USA in international competition. Max returns because it's no longer a bucket list item - he and the USA won the U-18 World Cup on US soil in September. Max takes us through the experience of what it's like to play for your country from tryouts to the exhilaration of winning the Gold Medal and hearing the National Anthem after the title game. This was one bucket list item that actually exceeded the hype Max had created! An incredible interview and you can still hear the emotion more than two months later. We also talk briefly about signing day as Max put pen to paper to attend Vanderbilt. Clearly, Max has a lot to be thankful for as we enter the holidays.

Part 2 of our Garden State Baseball Coaches Clinic PREVIEW is today and we have a fantastic time talking to two of the speakers and learning about their stories. Stetson head coach Steve Trimper is ALWAYS running at game speed. The North Jersey native has built championship programs at Manhattan and Maine and taken Stetson to the brink of the College World Series and has a rather large contingent of Jersey guys on his squad. Watch for his awesome story of recruiting Astros ALCS and WS MVP Jeremy Pena to Maine. Mary Hardin-Baylor's Mike Stawski built a powerhouse at Concordia of Chicago before moving down to Texas and has a great shot to do the same at one of the top athletic programs in all of D3. COACHES - Make sure you're registered for the Clinic - Friday 12/9 at Gamers Baseball & Softball in Kenilworth.

Friends, rivals, some former teammates, now all future teammates. These "Four From The Shore" are ready to ride up to South Orange, where they hope to help Seton Hall's baseball program restore its place at the top of the Big East Conference. Today we talk with Ryan Frontera (Middletown North), Frankie Scrivanic (Red Bank Catholic), Alex D'Ambrosio (Marlboro), and Gabe Cavazzoni (Wall) as these four stars reflect on signing day, playing with friends, and the excitement about heading off to college together.

Rutgers head coach Steve Owens and Seton Hall HC Rob Sheppard are the two biggest names in NJ baseball. They join us here to talk about their programs AND discuss the Garden State Baseball Coaches Clinic which will be held Dec. 9 in Kenilworth, from 9 AM to 2:30 PM at Gamers BA. This is a must watch program for coaches of all ages and sizes, for fans of Rutgers and Seton Hall, of college baseball in general, of New Jersey baseball. These two have combined for more than 1,500 wins as college head coaches. Owens is just 15 away from 1,000, while a Sheppard has run Seton Hall for more than 50 consecutive seasons!

Today we visit with Rutgers' All-American center fielder Ryan Lasko, who enjoyed one of the best seasons in Scarlet Knights history in 2022 as he earned first-team all-Big Ten, first-team all-Region, and second team national honors for a team that set a school record with 44 wins. We talk about how important it is to him to do it will staying in New Jersey and how important it was for the Jackson Memorial grad to finish his HS career with the Last Dance during the COVID summer of 2020. Ryan gives us the vibe around practice this Fall - looking forward to a season of promise, as well as a season of newcomers, as Rutgers welcomes a huge recruiting class as well as a number of new players from the portal. He also shares how the sting of being snubbed by the NCAA Tournament added fuel to the fire for him and his teammates. Throw in Life in the Cape last summer AND Ryan's favorite beach towns, and enjoy this interview with a guy who is living his dream of taking Rutgers to the top.

2022 was a year to remember for Cherokee Baseball. The Chiefs got on a roll at the end of the season and scored a series of dramatic wins to take the South Jersey Group 4 title. Some of the key returning players from that squad drop by to dish on that run and the future of Cherokee Baseball, and all things Orange. Epic conversation with Brandon Prince, Jason Schooley, and Evan Brown as we talk everything from college commits to postgame celebrations to who looks the best in the team's signature Orange Jacket (everyone agrees on the answer). Great half hour of HS baseball talk that you won't want to miss.

It took Connor Staine two years to go from our COVID Sandlot League to the pros, as he was drafted in the 5th round this year by the Colorado Rockies. We connect with the West Morris Central grad and Central Florida standout for an always open, always interesting, always fun talk about life in pro ball, new rides, and some exciting plans for the offseason. Get some great insights on the process and playing at the next level and enjoy this great episode of JBS.

Zach Fronio and Andrew Parisi were a devastating punch for Rutgers Prep last year, with Fronio pitching to a sub-2 ERA and throwing well in big games and Parisi hitting 11 bombs and driving in a state-best 54 runs. And that was just the start - literally - as the two were just freshmen a season ago. Two of the best in the class of 2025, Fronio and Parisi figure to torment Somerset County and the rest of NJ for the next three years. Already a commit to Big Ten regular season champ University of Maryland, Fronio boasts a complete array of pitches from his 6-4 lefty frame, while Parisi is a must-watch AB every time he steps to the plate. They join us for a special episode of the Future as we profile some of the best players in New Jersey's sophomore class.

Gavin Cohen and Jake Lodgek have been through a lot of baseball together. They teamed up last year as freshmen at Holy Spirit and there are a ton of Baseball Performance Center days, but these two young stars will be friendly rivals in 2023 as Jake is now at Mainland, another team with legitimate title goals. These two Class of 2025 stars drop by for Vol 3 of our Future series. Both have some footsteps to follow. Gavin played last year with his older brother Trevor, one of the top players in the Class of 2022 and now a promising freshman at emerging national power Rutgers. Jake comes from a great baseball family himself, with his uncle and grandfather both playing ACC baseball, and his father, Scott, a star pitcher at UNC, who was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 7th round and pitched professionally until injuries ended his career. Expect to see a lot of these guys over the next few years and enjoy today's edition of JBS.

One of the top players in the Shore Conference last year has moved inland a bit for 2023. Alexey Stout, a mainstay in the CBA infield the last few years, is taking the Postgraduate path to college, as he's now a part of the New Jersey prep battles at the Peddie School in Hightstown. He's traded Red Bank Catholic and Middletown South as rivals for Hun and Lawrenceville. The extra time also enabled Alexey to get his college choice in order and the hard-hitting second baseman recently committed to attend Gettysburg College, a team with designs on building a power in the always-tough Centennial Conference under new coach Cory Beddick, who has the deserved reputation as one of the bright young stars in the D3 coaching world. Great talk with Alexey as we mix past and present, talk about competing in the Shore, favorite summer hangouts, life at Peddie and much more on a great edition of JBS.