The MATC Times is taking their talents to the baseball field and we’re in the pitchers position throwing a few fastballs, curve balls, couple of cutters and splitters at MATC’s Head Baseball Coach Caleb Bounds who is ready to hit a homerun by talking about the 2023-24 season and answering a few questions about the recruitment process as well.
The regular Major League Baseball (MLB) season goes from March to October; the college baseball season is shorter and runs from February to June. This year, the Stormers’ season ended in May, after being eliminated in the NJCAA Region IV Tournament with a 25-31 record during the regular season and 25-33 postseason.
Currently, the coach is recruiting new players for the upcoming season. When asked what some of the struggles the Stormers faced during the 2023-24 season were, Coach Bounds responded, “This year the team did really well. We had our ups and downs though. We had your typical injuries happen throughout the season which definitely made it more difficult at times, but (we) gave a ton of guys opportunities to prove themselves. We were also a very young team with not much experience at the college level. It took some guys longer than others to adjust to the speed of the game and the style of game that was being played. Overall, I felt our team competed and gave us chances to win a lot of meaningful games. I’m really excited with what the future has in store for this group.”
Despite the team having to end the season with a loss, it’s time for Coach Bounds to focus on rebuilding the team with new pitchers, batters, short stops, etc. I asked him how long the recruiting process is. Bounds said, “The recruiting process can be a long time. Some guys we start recruiting at the beginning of their junior year in high school starting in the fall. Most guys, we typically start recruiting at the end of their junior year in high school during the summer and fall months. We try to be done with the following class by the end of winter time of their senior year.”
I asked Bounds the three main things he is looking for in an athlete. What makes them stand out? He told me, “It really depends on the positions we are looking at, and also the need we are wanting to fill. We look at size, speed and strength for the baseline of the overall athlete. We also really see how the kids battle adversity, along with how they can or can’t stay composed during tough situations.” He also mentioned pitchers as well, “Pitchers are much different than recruiting position guys. Size matters, but so does pitch ability along with how their body works and moves. We love having a ton of different types of pitchers so we go after all different types of styles for arms.”
I asked Coach Bounds about the role of diversity during the recruitment process. I wanted to know if he recruited players outside of Wisconsin, in other states or maybe foreign exchange students. He said, “We recruit out of the state of Wisconsin. We have kids from Texas, Illinois, New Mexico, Canada, etc. We have started to recruit a little more outside of the country, but it can be tricky to get those players at times because the process is much longer with admissions. We do a lot of recruiting in Wisconsin, but we feel kids are starting in surrounding states to pull guys into our program.”
Finally, I asked the coach what advice he would give a student that is interested in joining the baseball team. “My biggest advice for guys is to take video of your performances, and if you can get important metrics that are used for our sport. At the end of the day, social media is a huge platform, and you want to do the best at promoting yourself. I tell kids to make it like you are doing a long interview process. You want to impress and showcase your abilities and show you would be a great asset to that team or organization,” Bounds said.
