Cougars Beat Podcast

Houston Athletics hosted a baseball media availability this week with head coach Todd Whitting, along with student-athletes Ryan Hernandez and Ian McMillan, to take questions from media members. Episode 37 of the podcast is a discussion of some answers given by these three individuals, along with a little discussion about the start of the upcoming 2022 season.

Host Steve Parkhurst talks with Tony Altobelli, the Sports Information Director (SID) for the Orange Coast College Pirates, and the younger brother of John Altobelli, aka Alto. John died two years ago in a tragic helicopter crash that also took his wife Keri and their daughter Alyssa, leaving behind a teenage daughter and an adult son, J.J., who is also a scout for the Boston Red Sox. Alto played for the Cougars from 1984-85 and was an assistant coach with the Cougars in 1987. Tony joined the podcast to talk about the event of this upcoming weekend where the Pirates are renaming their ballpark John Altobelli Park.Donate here: https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=occf&id=1You can designate a fund from a dropdown menu at the top, the Altobelli Family Memorial Fund or the Baseball program itself if you choose.

Host Steve Parkhurst talks with Bubba Wagner, Cougars catcher from 1958-1960 before going on to three season in the minor leagues with the Milwaukee Braves organization. Bubba is from San Antonio, where he still lives, and he shares his story of going from Thomas Jefferson High School to the University of Houston to play baseball, when his high school did not have a baseball program. All this and more in this episode of Cougars Beat Podcast.

Host Steve Parkhurst sits down with former Cougars pitcher Rick Brewer. Brewer pitched for Lovette Hill's Cougars in 1966 and 1967. In the 1967 College World Series in Omaha, Rick went 2-0 on the mound, the last two victories for the Cougars program in Omaha. Rick grew up in Pasadena and attended San Jacinto College, when that program was new, before attending UH. Rick also has a connection of sorts with a Cougars freshman pitcher. All of this and more in episode 34.

Hosts Steve Parkhurst and Gerald Sanchez sat down in October of 2020 with Rayner Noble, former Houston Cougars player and Head Coach, and 2021 inductee into the University of Houston Hall of Honor. This wide-ranging conversation covers Noble's career from high school where he pitched on the same team as Roger Clemens, to his being recruited to UH by Rolan Walton, to his professional career, to his days as an assistant coach, to his tenure as Head Coach of the Cougars.

Cougars right-handed pitcher Ben Sears joins host Steve Parkhurst to discuss playing baseball for The Community College of Rhode Island, how he chose to attend UH, and how he pitched against the Longhorns. Ben also talks about his early baseball memories growing up in the northeast and how he developed into the type of pitcher he is now.

Houston Cougars slugger Tyler Bielamowicz talks with host Steve Parkhurst about the 2020 and 2021 baseball seasons, including what went into preparing for 2021 after the shortened 2020 season. The two discuss how the local Cy Ranch kid decided to stay in Houston. They also delve into the proper pronunciation of Tyler's last name.

Host Steve Parkhurst is joined by Steven Rivas, Houston Cougars outfielder. Steven talks about growing up around baseball in California, starting his college career at Long Beach State playing for the Dirtbags, then transferring to Southern Nevada. He also discusses how he landed at UH, along with his hitting approach and how it changed over the last year.

Host Steve Parkhurst talks with Devon Roedahl, former Houston Cougars pitcher, and current pitcher in the Boston Red Sox organization. Devon is about to begin his second spring training to prepare for his first full year of professional baseball. He talks about his draft day experience, what it was like getting to work after being drafted, and he reflects back on how he ended up at UH for the 2019 season.

Host Steve Parkhurst talks with Cougars pitcher and designated hitter, Derrick Cherry. Derrick is entering his third season at UH and is already in the 9th spot according to Perfect Game on their AAC MLB Draft Prospect list, along with being third-team Preseason All-American according to Collegiate Baseball. Derrick proved to be a worthy hitter in 2019 after coming back from injury, and he proved to be an amazing pitcher out of the bullpen in his shortened 2020 campaign.

Houston Athletics hosted a baseball media availability Thursday for head coach Todd Whitting, along with student-athletes Ryan Hernandez and Derrick Cherry, to take questions from media members. Episode 27 of the podcast is a discussion of some answers given by these three individuals, along with a little discussion about the recently-released 2021 schedule.

Host Steve Parkhurst kicks off 2021 in an interview with Ryan Hernandez. Ryan returns to UH after a great campaign in 2020, stopped short because of the pandemic. Ryan has been selected for the American Athletic Conference Pre-Season All-Conference Team at first base. Ryan discusses the differences in 2020 and 2021, his approach to his game this year, and even recalls his little league days when baseball began for him.

Host Gerald Sanchez talks with former Cougars INF/OF Brandon Caraway about his career at UH, including the 2000 Super Regional team.

Hosts Steve Parkhurst and Gerald Sanchez talk with Joe Davis about his Cougars career. Joe is the all-time UH leader in home runs, extra-base hits, total bases, and RBI. Joe was drafted by the Boston Red Sox and he discusses his minor league career to this point and his offseason activity this year waiting out the pandemic.

Host Gerald Sanchez chats with Kirk Blount, former Cougars catcher who also had two stints as a coach at UH. In this Labor Day weekend special, Kirk discusses his role as the pitching coach for the 2000 Super Regional team, as we continue to pay tribute to that team 20 years later. Also, in the closing segment, a tribute to Tom Terrific, Tom Seaver, who passed away this week. Seaver was briefly teammates with former Cougar (and podcast guest) Tom Paciorek with the White Sox, and he was on the 1986 Boston Red Sox team that lost the World Series to the Mets, teammates with among others, Roger Clemens.

Hosts Steve Parkhurst and Gerald Sanchez have a conversation with Jerret Sykes, former Cougars left-hander who pitched from 1997-2000. Jerret was a spot-starter and a midweek starter on the 2000 Super Regional team. Jerret re-lives some of the key moments of his Cougars baseball career in this episode of Cougars Beat Podcast.

Hosts Steve Parkhurst and Gerald Sanchez talk with former Cougars pitcher Shane Nance. Nance led the Cougars with the lowest ERA in three of his four seasons. Shane still holds the UH record for career wins (32) and is a decorated Cougar. The lefty was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers and pitched with the Milwaukee Brewers and the Arizona Diamondbacks before retiring back to the Houston area.

Hosts Steve Parkhurst and Gerald Sanchez talk with former Houston Cougars catcher Jarrod Bitter. Jarrod was behind the plate for the Cougars from 1998-2000, where he caught the great staff during the 2000 Super Regional run. Jarrod was also a big time hitter. Jarrod then spent some time in the San Diego Padres system before retiring from baseball and returning to Tyler, Texas.

Hosts Gerald Sanchez and Steve Parkhurst discuss the 2000 Super Regional team with the second baseman from that team, Sean Allen. Allen played at UH from 1998-2001 and was a coach on the team from 2002-2007. He is now coaching at UT under the leadership of another former Cougar, David Pierce.

Hosts Gerald Sanchez and Steve Parkhurst talk with former Cougars first baseman J.P. Woodward. On May 26, 2000, J.P. hit a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth of game 1 of the 2000 regional against Princeton to put the Cougars in the winners bracket with a 7-6 win. Listen, 20 years later, to recollections about that game, but also that great season in Cougars history.