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Baseball Coaches Unplugged | If you're tired of cookie-cutter baseball coaching tips, Baseball Coaches Unplugged is your new dugout. Hosted by Ken Carpenter, a 27-year veteran high school baseball coach, this podcast delivers practical baseball practice plans, college baseball recruiting insights, and proven youth baseball coaching strategies you can use immediately.
Every week, Ken interviews championship coaches, college recruiters, and industry experts who share actionable baseball coaching tips that actually work. Whether you're coaching youth baseball, travel ball, or high school, you'll discover ready-to-use practice plans, culture-building tactics, and leadership strategies for modern athletes.
Perfect for baseball coaches at every level—from first-time youth coaches to seasoned varsity veterans. Subscribe for weekly episodes that turn coaching challenges into championship moments.
New episodes drop every Wednesday!
199 Episodes
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Send us Fan Mail The majors look glamorous from the stands, but the real game is the pressure, the travel, and the personalities you share a clubhouse with. I’m joined by former MLB outfielder and longtime minor league manager Brad Komminsk, and he takes me straight into the moments most fans never hear about: the shock of going from high school baseball to pro ball, the constant need to prove you belong, and the whiplash of getting moved from city to city on trades and waivers. Brad walks t...
Send us Fan Mail Your smoothest pregame infielder turns into a statue when the game starts, and you can almost see the thoughts rushing in. That flip isn’t random, and it isn’t a mystery flaw in his mechanics. It’s FOMU: the fear of messing up. I walk through why today’s Gen Z and Gen Alpha players can feel like every ground ball is an identity test, a travel ball investment audit, or a potential viral moment, and how that pressure quietly pushes them into survival mode. Then I tell a ...
Send us Fan Mail You can tell within the first few pitches whether a high school baseball team has been coached with intention. It's not on the scoreboard — it's in how they carry themselves, communicate on the field, and respond when things go sideways. Dell Lever, head coach at Chapin High School in South Carolina, has built his program around four non-negotiables: play hard, play the right way, be an unbelievable teammate, and compete every single pitch. In this episode, he breaks down exa...
Send us Fan Mail Last year, one state lost nearly a third of its umpires and not to retirement. They simply stopped showing up. I’m Coach Ken Carpenter, and I’m putting you in the plate shoes for a few minutes so you can feel what your local officials feel on a Tuesday afternoon after an eight-hour workday: the pressure, the noise, and the moments that decide whether a 19-year-old umpire ever comes back. From the umpire’s perspective, the fix is not complicated, but it does require lea...
Send us Fan Mail The swing that wins on a showcase doesn’t always win with two strikes and a runner on second. We sat down with Cloverleaf head coach Aaron DeBord to unpack how to build hitters who make better in-game decisions, how to train under pressure, and how to align high school and travel programs so players stop living between two philosophies and start thriving. We start with trust: Aaron meets seniors first, invites the whole community—not just parents—and then backs it up with co...
Send us Fan Mail If you’re banking on raw talent to carry you, this conversation will feel like a wake-up call. We break down the real separator in high school baseball—consistency—and show how it outperforms flash, hype, and one big showcase swing. From running out grounders during a slump to throwing intent-filled bullpens when no one’s filming, we draw a straight line between boring, repeatable habits and the trust that earns roles, innings, and opportunities. We also go straight at excus...
Send us Fan Mail Looking for the blueprint to develop a catcher who actually wins you games—and a program that players never want to leave? We sit down with Gaetano Gianni, former Reds draft pick and 2025 NHSBCA Region 7 Coach of the Year, to unpack the skill stack that matters behind the plate and the culture moves that turn a team into a true home. From leadership standards to real-world drills, this is a masterclass in catching and program building. We start with the non-negotiables: why ...
Send us Fan Mail Pressure finds you in baseball—the question is whether your mind helps or hijacks the moment. We pulled back the curtain on the inner voice that shows up with two outs and the game on the line, and shared a simple system to turn stinking thinking into calm, repeatable execution. Drawing on lessons from Ken Ravizza, Patrick Cohn, and the performance habits of pros, we translate sports psychology into crisp tools players can use today. We start with the two voices every athlet...
Send us Fan Mail Ever wonder how a Hall of Fame coach keeps his team sharp when the forecast says 30 degrees and snow? We sit down with Jeff Mielcarek, head coach at Toledo Central Catholic, to unpack the hard choices, smart practice design, and durable culture that thrive in northern Ohio. From heated locker rooms to twenty-minute outdoor segments, Jeff shows how to get more live reps outside while staying safe and intentional. His approach turns weather into a competitive filter: build the ...
Send us Fan Mail A small-town program doesn’t stumble into seven state titles and five Hall of Famers by chance. We sit down with coaches shaped by Coldwater, Ohio and the late legend Lou Brunswick to unpack how a people-first culture, simple fundamentals, and joyful competition built a winning standard that still travels across the state. The stories are rich: Lou treating the star and the 16th man the same, scheduling bigger schools without apology, and yes—calling squeeze from a bus with a...
Send us Fan Mail A Hall of Fame career doesn’t happen by accident—it’s built on clear language, daily habits, and choices that put integrity first. Coach Ken welcomes ABCA Hall of Famer Terry Ayers to trace five decades of high school baseball and why, despite all the data and tech, the path to better players is still surprisingly simple: see the ball, repeat the fundamentals, and keep people at the center. We dive into practical hitting frameworks that start with vision—where to set your ey...
Send us Fan Mail Five coaches. One convention floor. A flood of practical wisdom you can use at your next practice. We hit record at ABCA in Columbus and asked straight questions about what actually translates to wins when the lights are bright and the lineup is short on second chances. Coach Ronald Maestri opens with a clear case for command over radar gun romance and a blunt assessment of the transfer portal. For most high school players, JUCO can be the fastest route to real innings, deve...
Send us Fan Mail Want to win more high school games without a big budget or a data team? We break down a practical roadmap for using analytics that fits into a busy coach’s life, from what to track in a notebook to the in-game decisions that swing close contests. The message is simple: ask better questions, measure what matters, and teach your players the why behind every choice. We start by replacing old offensive habits with clearer metrics. On-base percentage becomes the north star for li...
Send us Fan Mail Old-time baseball isn’t a museum piece—it’s a masterclass hiding in plain sight. We invited Jim Koenigsberger, a gifted storyteller of America’s pastime, to trace how legends like Yogi Berra, Jackie Robinson, Satchel Paige, Ted Williams, and Rickey Henderson still shape the smartest coaching on today’s fields. What emerges is a fresh, practical lens on development, durability, and the decisions that win games. We start with Yogi’s real greatness—RBI crowns on stacked Yankees...
Send us Fan Mail Normal equals average. That single idea hits like a fastball under the hands, because it calls out the comfort that keeps programs stuck. We pull back the curtain on why talent and facilities won’t save a team that avoids adversity—and how a humble, hungry culture turns hard moments into momentum. We start with the coach’s mirror: owning the postgame questions that matter. Did we prepare them for pressure, manage with intent, and teach adjustments, or did we fall back on rou...
Send us Fan Mail A holiday thank you turns into a masterclass on building a champion when Gary Gilmore, the recently retired head coach of Coastal Carolina, joins us to unpack how a mid-major beat the blue bloods in Omaha. From overlooked recruits to a dogpile on the final out, he takes us step-by-step through the strategy, the culture, and the belief that changed everything. We start with the foundation: recruit athletes, not résumés; redshirt for strength and skill; and teach the details t...
Send us Fan Mail A roster full of talent won’t save a season if communication fractures. We sat down with Travis Davidson from Team Sports Consulting Group to unpack how a simple five‑minute survey can transform culture, reveal real leaders, and help coaches read stress before it derails a game. From high school diamonds to College World Series runs, Travis shows how relational science turns “culture” from a buzzword into a repeatable system you can coach. We dig into the four core traits th...
Send us Fan Mail What does it take to move one seat over and keep a winner winning? We sit down with Hilliard Darby’s new head baseball coach, Andrew Ozbolt, to unpack the real work of inheriting a high-performing program: protecting standards, earning trust, and evolving without erasing what made the team great. Andrew shares how 11 years as an assistant under Hall of Famer Chris Fugitt prepared him to lead with clarity. He explains the habits that travel—punctuality, defensive communicatio...
Send us Fan Mail Why do high school coaches keep showing up when the hours are brutal, the stipend is small, and the critiques are loud? We open the door to the dugout and talk honestly about purpose, sacrifice, and the quiet wins that outlast any trophy. Ken shares his ongoing battle with ulcerative colitis and multiple surgeries, describing what it means to keep serving through pain and why the podcast became a bridge back to the game after disability retirement. We walk through the real d...
Send us Fan Mail Winning can be the start of the slide. After a deep run or a title, the real threat isn’t on your schedule—it’s in your clubhouse. We unpack how complacency takes root during the quiet months and map out a hard-nosed offseason plan that keeps players hungry, focused, and honest about their work. We start with lessons from Nick Saban’s process: celebrate briefly, then eliminate the “rat poison” of praise by anchoring everything to execution—one drill, one rep, one play at a t...
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