Connect with us

Summer Collegiate

Offers they couldn’t refuse: How a pair of Scottsdale natives ended up in interior B.C.

Published

on

Ahead of the 2025 season, Head Coach Reilly Jepson has brought in a set of best friends from Arizona to round out his coaching staff. Trey Newman will serve as the assistant coach, and Jack Slominski will be the team’s pitching coach.

It won’t be the first time these two friends are on the same coaching staff. Last summer, the two friends coached in the Arizona summer league, and it offered them a chance to build a special dynamic beyond playing the game they love.

Newman’s name may sound familiar to fans, and that’s because he was the first player signed in franchise history. Trey spent the 2022 season as a NorthPaw, where he hit .218 in 16 games.

“It’s cool to see how far this place has come with the money being put into the team and the players were getting as well as the support from the community,” said Newman.

Newman started his Collegiate career at Utah Valley State. After a sophomore season in which he hit .230 in 23 games, the catcher decided to return to his home state. Still, he didn’t play Division I baseball. Instead, Newman transferred to Central Arizona College in Coolidge, Arizona, to play Junior College Baseball. He would play 54 of the team’s 55 games en route to an NCJAA World Series crown.

From there, Trey would receive the call from Arizona State and head back to the valley where he was born. As a Sun Devil, he would appear in 26 games of two seasons, with 18 of those being starts. After the 2024 season, Newman decided Coaching was his calling, but based on his upbringing, many weren’t surprised.

Trey’s Grandfather, Jeff, was a nine-year MLB veteran with the Oakland A’s and Boston Red Sox. After his career ended in 1984, he quickly returned to Oakland as the bullpen coach. In 1986, when Manager Jackie Moore was fired, Jeff Newman was named interim manager, where he guided the A’s to a 2-8 record.

He remained with the organization at the minor league level until 1991. From 1992 to 1999, he was the third base coach for the Cleveland Indians and eventually landed in Seattle, where he retired from Coaching in 2005.

Trey Uncle Ryan Newman also has plenty of coaching experience, having served as a manager in various independent professional leagues. Today, he serves as the infield coordinator for the Chicago White Sox.

“Growing up, I spent a lot of time in the coach’s office, and I started to think from a young age that this is what I wanted to do,” Said Newman

Today, Newman serves as the Offensive Strategy and Analytics Director at the University of California, Berkeley. Growing up around Coaching planted the seed, but Newman says being behind the plate opened his eyes to Coaching.

“You look at the game in a different way when you are behind the plate. You start to think about the other eight guys as well as yourself and what the other team is trying to do, so it definitely got me into more of a coaching mindset as my career went on”, Said Newman.

Joining Trey this summer is long-time friend Jack Slominski. Despite going to rival high schools in Scottsdale, the two have been close friends since they were 14. Slominski is excited for the opportunity and said it was one he couldn’t pass up.

“He’s one of my best friends in the world, so to have someone like that here, it was a no-brainer to come up,” said Slominski.

Like Trey, Jack’s career took a couple of turns. After graduating from high school, he got recruited to attend Grand Canyon University, located across town in Phoenix. In two seasons there, he made only nine appearances, so he also decided to pursue the Junior College route, moving back across town to Scottsdale Community College.

Like Newman, the 2022 season was a huge bounceback for Slominski, during which he made 13 appearances, 11 of which were starts. He carried a 4-3 record with a 3.75 ERA over 57 and two-thirds innings pitched. The following season, he moved out of state to attend the Metropolitan State University of Denver.

In his final two seasons of eligibility, Slominski appeared in 30 games, making 27 starts. His record was 15-7, and he logged 149 innings, striking out 133 hitters over that time. After finishing his career, he accepted an assistant coaching job at his alma mater, Scottsdale Community College. After just one season of Coaching, Slominski has been promoted to the team’s pitching coach and is excited to build his skills.

“This will be a time where I can start brainstorming my own ideas and philosophies around pitching; I feel like having more responsibility this year will be a great opportunity for me to grow as a coach,” said Slominski.

Being a pitching coach in Summer Baseball can be difficult at times, managing players’ innings limits and the health of pitchers going back to school in the fall. This mentality can sometimes take the competitive spirit out of the game, but Slominski’s message to his staff was simple.

“We’re going to have fun and give you guys innings, but I want to win,” said Slominski.

Slominski believes that a skill that can be developed is learning how to win, something often not talked about by Summer Baseball coaches.

“Winning is fun, and knowing how to win is a great skill to take back to school with you,” said Slominski.

Away from the ballpark, the two friends have been known to take their competitive spirit to the golf course. With both being from a premier golf destination, they’re excited to spend a summer surrounded by great courses. However, Newman is also eager to learn a thing or two from his friend.

“Jack is really good, so hopefully, he gives me some swing lessons this summer,” said Newman.

When asked about this, Slominski took the humble road.

“I think my schedule allows me to play more, so maybe that’s why I’m a little better.”

With these two long-time best friends, their competitiveness has served them well in their short coaching careers and will be welcomed additions this summer as the NorthPaws embark on another season.

Source

Continue Reading
Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

Summer Collegiate

Victoria HarbourCats – HarbourCats sweep Falcons to remain undefeated

Published

on

June 1, 2025

For immediate release

KELOWNA, B.C. – The Victoria HarbourCats went curling to start the season, breaking out the brooms on the Kelowna Falcons Sunday night, winning 8-3.

Hudson Lance (Coastal Carolina) started for the visitors and was in control early, retiring the first six batters he faced. However, he ran into trouble in the third inning, allowing four singles in quick succession, giving Kelowna a 3-0 lead.

The lead didn’t last long as the HarbourCats brought 10 batters to the plate in the top of the fourth, scoring five runs, including an RBI single from Victoria’s own Dominic Biello (Golden Tide). Patience was a virtue for the Cats tonight, drawing 12 walks on the evening, including two bases-loaded walks in the fourth to give themselves a 5-3 lead.

BOX SCORE

After Lance completed three innings in his HarbourCats debut, he turned it over to a bullpen that put on a show. Ethan McNish-Heider (Niagara), Marcus Janovsky (UBC), Dillon Dibrell (Central Oklahoma), Dustin Davidson (Brookhaven), Jacob Thompson (Minot State), and Robert Sanford (Paris JC) all pitched one inning and combined for nine strikeouts. two walks, one hit, and zero runs. It was about as dominant a team-wide pitching performance as you will see this season.

BUY TICKETS HERE

On the other side of things, the HarbourCats’ approach at the plate continued to force mistakes, adding two more runs on wild pitches in the latter stages. Enrico Carrion, a commit to the University of Hawaii, drove in his first run in his debut with a sacrifice fly in the seventh.

Victoria played great defence behind the stellar pitching, committing just one error all series compared to Kelowna’s eight.

Jack Johnson (Baylor) and Bobby Filler Jr. (Niagara) had a pair of hits each, adding to their strong starts to the season.

WATCH GAMES HERE

After a day off tomorrow, the HarbourCats are in action on Tuesday, June 3, opening a three-game series in Edmonton. They return for the home opener on Friday, June 6 at 6:35 PM, followed by the first of four fireworks nights on Saturday, June 7 at 6:35 PM.

Season Tickets, 10 and 32-Game Flex Passes and Single Game Tickets are now on sale for all 33 home games and four “Showcase” events through the HarbourCats’ new and one-and-only ticketing partner SHOWPASS at harbourcats.com/tickets.

Tickets and merchandise can also be purchased in person at the HarbourCats office at 101-1814 Vancouver Street or by calling 778-265-0327.

Source

Continue Reading

Summer Collegiate

Smart hitting, aggressive baserunning and stellar pitching on display in opening-day victory

Published

on

The Kamloops NorthPaws started their 2025 campaign off strong with a 8-0 victory over the Port Angeles Lefties. Notable performances from designated hitter Keegan Drinkle and right-handed pitcher Kaden Douglas-Pluff helped the NorthPaws cruise to win on Friday night.

Kamloops came out of the gates swinging, scoring one run in each of the first three innings courtesy of singles from Drinkle and catcher Matt MacDonald, along with a sacrifice fly from shortstop Anthony Setticassi.

Right-hander Owen Fernandez got the opening day nod and didn’t disappoint, going three shutout innings while allowing only three hits and striking out a pair of hitters. Lefty Kaden Douglass-Pluff was first out of the bullpen and pitched a gem. He threw five shutout innings, giving up three hits and striking out five while not allowing a walk.

“You couldn’t have drawn it up and better,” Said pitching coach Jack Slominski. “That’s one thing I’ve preached to them: if we are going to get beat, they going to have to hit their way on.”

Douglas-Pluffs’ brilliance on the mound allowed the offence to keep attacking. In the fifth, a hit-and-run attempt was perfectly executed as Matt MacDonald broke for second while Drinkle sent a double to the gap, scoring the fourth run of the game.

In the sixth, some aggressive baserunning put another run on the board as both runners on base attempted the double steal. The Lefties catcher threw the ball over his second baseman’s head, allowing Ethan Kodama to score. The NorthPaws were aggressive all night, creating chaos on the basepaths.

“I think we’re really athletic one through nine and have seven or eight guys who can run at all times, so we’re going to do that a lot and put pressure on teams,” Said Assistant Coach Trey Newman.

In the seventh inning, after yet another double steal, Keegan Drinkle drove in his third run of the ball game, this time via a sacrifice fly. He and Matt MacDonald were all over the bases, combining for seven hits and four RBIs. It’s noteworthy that of those hits, only one was for extra bases.

“This is what I expect from him (Drinkle). The guys in front of him did a great job setting the table, and he cashed in,” said head coach Reily Jepson.

In the ninth, second baseman Joey Marino had runners on second and third and sent a single up the middle that scored the seventh and eighth runs of the ballgame for the NorthPaws.

To round out the performance, there were a few nice defensive plays. In the bottom of the first, Kalen Applefield couldn’t get to a fly ball on the right field line but quickly threw a missile to second base to record the out. A pair of nice double plays were turned in the middle infield, and the defence was capped off by a heroic catch by center fielder Ethan Kodama, who ran down a ball and then slammed into the wall and hung on to secure the catch.

The NorthPaws will look to build on Friday’s performance in game two against the Lefties on Saturday night. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35. You can watch on West Coast League TV or listen on the Kamloops NorthPaws Mixlr.

Source

Continue Reading

Summer Collegiate

NorthPaws fall behiend early but claw their way to another dominant victory

Published

on

The Kamloops NorthPaws are 2-0 on the season following an 11-5 victory over the Port Angeles Lefties in game two of the weekend series. The Lefites scored the first four runs of the ballgame, but Kamloops responded with eight unanswered and never looked back as they cruised to a five-fun victory on Saturday night.

The game started with Lefties starting pitcher Ian Hoffstettetter walking the bases loaded but got out of it by striking out the side. Port Angeles would build on their pitcher’s heroics and got to work in the bottom of the second. A single and two walks loaded the bases with one out.  Two singles and two wild pitches plate four runs for the Lefties.

In the top of the third, two singles and a walk loaded the bases for the NorthPaws with no one out—NorthPaw first baseman Keegan Drinkle dove in the first run with a sacrifice groundout. Ethan Kodama would then send a routine ground ball to second base, but a throwing error allowed a second run to score, cutting the lead in half.

In the top of the fourth, Kamloops tied the game by once again loading the bases with none out. Shortstop Elijah Clayton singled up the middle, bringing one home. Then left fielder Cade Palkowski scored from third after another Leftie error.

After a scoreless fifth inning, the NorthPaws found their stride at the plate. Elijah Clayton doubled and would later be driven in by Kalen Applefield. Drinkle doubled, and Kodama walked, setting up pinch hitter Austin Coyle, who delivered with a single, scoring two more to make it an 8-4 game.

The lefties would get one back, but that would be all from them. Drinkle would drive in a run in the seventh, and a throwing error by the lefties would allow two more runs to score. The NorthPaws would put it on cruise control from there and take game two.

“It was cool to see the guys battle back and not feel like they were out of the game,” said Head Coach Reily Jepson.

The comeback wouldn’t be possible without a pair of Kamloops natives on the mound who stopped the bleeding. Right-handers Manny Recchi and
Nolan Austin pitched a combined six innings, giving up four hits, surrendering just one run, and working their way out of jams in the process.

“It was cool to see those guys get in there and be steady and being in the moment and not letting it get too big,” said Jepson.

At the plate, the leadoff man, Elijah Clayton, was all over the score sheet with three hits, three stolen bases and two runs. Clayton reached base in five of his six at-bats on Saturday night.

“Getting on base and getting myself into scoring position is something I feel like I can bring to this team,” said Clayton.

To go along with his great night at the plate, he also made a could of nice defensive plays, including an unassisted double play. Assistant Trey Newman is on the coaching staff at CAL, where Clayton plays, and is very familiar with his game.

“I think he’s set up to have a great summer. He worked hard at Berkley, and I think as good as it’s been so far, he can be even better,” said Newman.

The NorthPaws will go for the sweep on Sunday afternoon, with the first pitch set for 1:35. You can watch all the action on West Coast League TV or listen on the NorthPaws Mixlr.

 

Source

Continue Reading

Trending