INSTRUCTORS
Mitch Wylie: was selected by the Montreal Expos in the 1995 draft after his senior year in high school. He decided to attend St Ambrose University instead and was later drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 8th round during the 1998 draft. He pitched with the Chicago White Sox organization from 1998 - 2005, San Francisco Giants organization 2005, and New York Mets organization 2006. He also played 3 seasons with Independant league teams. Three years of college and eleven years of professional baseball playing experience along with 20 years of coaching and providing instruction have given him the ability to implement the proper training and coaching techniques that will help a player be the best all-around player he can be.
Jeff Lanning: Four years of professional baseball playing experience with the Minnesota Twins, Philadelphia Phillies, and New Jersey Jackals organizations. Jeff played Division I baseball, and has been a baseball hitting/catching instructor for the past 9 years.
Tanner Buenting: Graduated from Ankeny High School in 2013, was the starting shortstop on the 2012 4A High School State Championship Team earning the MPV award for the Championship game. Tanner graduated from Iowa Central Community College where he earned first team All-Region his freshman year. Tanner went on to play Division 1 baseball at Morehead State University.
Kevin Richardson: Graduated from Ankeny Centennial in 2014, has three years of College playing experience with the Grand View University Vikings. Kevin has been involved in the program since he was 12 years old and has been providing baseball instruction the past 3 years. He will be entering his 3rd season of coaching USSSA teams this spring. His 2017 14u AAA Game Ready team finished 3rd in the State Tournament.
Nick Belzer - Graduated from Ankeny High School in 2013 and was on the 2012 4A High School State Championship Team and earned pitcher of year in the state that year. Nick went to Kansas State out of high school and then transferred to DMACC. After graduating from DMACC he went on to play two years at Minnesota State Mankato. Nick also played 3 years in the Northwoods college summer league.
Sean Murphy - A 1990 graduate of Johnston High School, he attended Indian Hills Community College, Creighton University and St. Ambrose University, playing in 2 college World Series and was drafter in 1994 by the Cleveland Indians. Sean’s professional career spanned over 10 seasons. He has been working as a coach and private/academy instructor for over 20 years, and coached 4A High School baseball for 5 seasons. Sean focuses on hitting skills from tee ball through college and professional levels. Sean brings a depth of knowledge of the skills that are important to college and professional scouts.
Cole McDonald - Selected in the 15th round by the Houston Astros in the 2019 MLB Draft (2.25 career ERA). Cole attended the University Iowa and threw Iowa’s first nine inning no-hitter since 1965 against the Czech Republic in the World University Games in Taipei, Taiwan. He is 5th All-Time in career strikeouts (203), 7th in single-season strikeouts (89), made 45 career starts. In 2019 he was Iowa's Friday night starter and finished the 2019 season with a 6-3 record and a 3.54 ERA. He was the 2019 Team Captain and received Academic All-Big Ten (2017-2019). Cole attended New Hampton High School and was rated as a Top-500 Prospect Nationally by Perfect Game, 3-time All-State selection, 4-time All-District, and All-Conference selection. He was an All-State selection in football, All-Conference selection in basketball, and State place winner in track.
Peyton Long: Graduated from Vally high school in 2016. He went on to attend Kirkwood Community college for 2 years and Central Methodist University for 1 year. At Central Methodist he is 2nd it single season strikeouts with 118. In 2019 after his one year at Central he was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 30th round and has spent 3 years with them
playing his first full season in 2021 with the Carolina Mudcats.
Tyler Eckberg - Tyler just completed his first season with the Miami Marlins organization Double-A, Pensacola Blue Wahoos. Eckberg recorded 60 innings with an ERA of 2.55, 71 strikeouts, ten walks, and seven saves. Before his professional career, Eckberg played Division I College Baseball at Kansas State University. During his collegiate career, Eckberg played as both an infielder and pitcher. As a pitcher, Eckberg had appearances as both a starting and relief pitcher, tallying over 60 games with 129 innings, 130 strikeouts, and 13 saves-ranked 4th overall in Kansas State in May of 2021 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Tyler offers hitting, pitching, and fielding lessons to players in 8U through high school. Additionally, he has experience coaching high school summer ball teams.
Cody Wolfe - 2019 graduate of Ballard High School where he was a two time All Conference and All District player. Additionally, in 2019 he was the Ames Tribune Player of the Year and shares the Iowa State High School record for most hits in a single game at 6. Cody went on to pitch at John Wood Community College for two seasons and following graduation played at Lincoln College for a season. He played one season in the MINK College Summer League and coached this past summer at Ballard at both the middle school and varsity levels. Cody wants to share his experiences taking the JUCO route while developing players to be the best they can be as he pursues a career in coaching baseball at the college level.
Nic McCay -