PROGRAM 15, the Official Global Grassroots Player Identification and Development Program for New Balance Baseball, reveals impressive scouting additions to their staff for the New Balance Future Stars Series Combines and Tournaments.
PROGRAM 15 officially announced the following appointments to the organization’s growing faculty and staff of Professional Scouts and Major League veterans covering New Balance Future Stars Series Regional, National and International Combines and Tournaments.
Derrick Ross, Special Assignment Scout
Derrick Ross is a former Major League Baseball scout with more than 15 years of experience identifying the physical and mental tools needed for an athlete to play Major League baseball.
Ross has worked with both the Detroit Tigers and the Cleveland Indians where he was deeply involved in the drafting of more than 70 players from his region, a large percentage of whom have signed, and are either in the Majors or playing in the Minors. Ross has hundreds of connections to college coaches, professional scouts, pro coaches, and front office executives that he utilizes to advise players.
Rick Oliver, Special Assignment Scout
Rick Oliver brings 28 years of experience with the Major League Baseball Scouting Bureau; 10 years as an area scout and 18 years as the Assistant Director with oversight of amateur scouting, cross-checking, and Scout School as well as 11 years as a collegiate coach at U La Verne, Cal State Fullerton (CWS) and Chapman College.
Oliver played college baseball at Santa Ana College, Cal State Fullerton, and La Verne College (CWS) where he graduated with a B.S. in Physical Education. After college, Oliver went on to play four years in the California Angels organization; finishing in Triple A (PCL Champions).
Noel Sevilla, Latin American Coordinator, Florida/Puerto Rico
Noel Sevilla brings over 10 years of professional baseball scouting experience in the amateur, professional and international scouting departments for The Boston Red Sox (2008-2010), The Seattle Mariners (2010-2016), and as an MLB scouting Consultant for The Baltimore Orioles (2017-present). He is also a member of the South Florida Collegiate Baseball League Advisory Commission (2013-present).
Sevilla is the signing scout of closer Edwin Diaz (3rd round, 2012 MLB Draft) to the Seattle Mariners major league and played a vital role on the signing of former Cuban free agent Guillermo Heredia, a major league outfielder for the Seattle Mariners.
Mike Eaglin, California, Northwest
Mike Eaglin spent four years as Scouting Supervisor for the Minnesota Minnesota Twins Baseball Organization as well as the better part of a decade as professional player with the Atlanta Braves and Chicago White Sox organizations.
Before becoming a scout, Eaglin transitioned his knowledge and experience as a professional athlete into the field of coaching and player development. First, as an assistant coach at the High School level, to working with kids at The Baseball Center NYC in Manhattan, as the Director of Player Development and Pro Training for B.A.T.T.E.R.-U.P. Foundation in Washington, DC, as well as giving one on one instruction to aspiring players at the Baseball Factory in Columbia, MD. At the end of 2011, Eaglin started “E3 High Performance Baseball, LLC” to develop the tools of amateur and professional ballplayers all over the state of California and beyond.
Rusty Gerhardt, Texas, Gulf Coast
Rusty Gerhardt spent 18 years on the field as a pitcher and manager/instructor prior to scouting with the Major League Baseball Scouting Bureau. Gerhardt is currently responsible for Free Agent coverage of area High Schools, Junior Colleges, and 4-Year Colleges.
Over the last 25 years, Gerhardt has organized and worked over 200 Open Tryout camps across a 9-state area.
Chris Heidt, Great Lakes, Ohio Valley
Chris Heidt is a 14-year veteran with Major League Baseball’s (MLB) Scouting Bureau, where he’s covered a wide range of national and international events. Heidt has been responsible for covering 12 Midwest states, identifying amateur talent for all 30 Major League teams. In recognition of his sharp scouting eye, Heidt was honored with the Tom Hull Scout of the Year award. Before climbing the ranks and earning a full-time scouting position with Major League Baseball’s (MLB) Scouting Bureau, Heidt honed his evaluation skills, first as an Associate Scout with the Kansas City Royals and later as a Part-Time Scout with the Cleveland Indians.
A Master’s degree in Sports Management through Northern Illinois University coupled with his successful scouting tenure earned Heidt a position as an instructor at MLB’s famed Scout School, where he has played a role in shaping and developing some of MLB’s best young scouts.
Brad Stoll, Midwest
Brad Stoll has been a part-time scout with the Milwaukee Brewers since 2001 and Head Baseball Coach at Lawrence High School since 2004, leading his team to become Kansas State Champions 2009, 3rd place in 2007 and 2008, and 4th place in 2011. Lawrence High School baseball was nationally ranked by Baseball America in 2009 and 2010. Stoll was named Kansas 6A coach of the year in 2009 as well as Baseball Coaches of America Region 5 Coach of the Year.
From 2009-2016, Stoll was the Assistant Coach for the Falmouth Commodores of the Cape Cod Baseball league which played in the championship series 2014 and 2016, finishing 2nd.
In 2011, Stoll was a member of the USA Baseball 18U task force selection committee. He has been a guest speaker at state coaches’ conventions in Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, and Kansas as well as a presenter at ABCA 2015 National Convention in Orlando.
Jeremy Booth, PROGRAM 15 Founder, CEO and President of Baseball Operations for The New Balance Baseball Future Stars Series says, “A big part of our mission in providing a better return for families and players is the experience we bring to the Future Stars Series. To do this, we must add evaluators whose word and report carries weight and meaning. With these additions, we get exponentially better as a group and elevate the PROGRAM 15 scouting staff in ways we can’t measure. When proven professionals and veterans with decades of experience want to be a part of this it validates the effort and mission.”
According to PROGRAM 15 VP of Scouting, Butch Baccala, “When Jeremy started his vision for global baseball, evaluation, development, analytics and next level, he went after the best National Staff of experienced Major League People. Jeremy’s directive for our scouting staff was the same: accumulate hard working talented evaluators that had scouted in Major League Baseball. I can proudly say we have hired experienced and talented men that have worked at all different levels of baseball. They are an outstanding staff of evaluators and people. It’s important that our people can evaluate and put on paper what they see and what the player can do to meet his ability level but these scouts like players and will work for their success because they’ve been where the players they see are trying to go.”
ESPN Senior Writer, Keith Law said “PROGRAM 15 has assembled an enviable staff of longtime industry veterans who bring their experience, scouting acumen, and development expertise to all of their events. They get the right players on the field and they work to help those players improve.”
Commenting on the new scouting appointments, NY Mets Scouting Director, Marc Tramuta stated, “The evaluation staff at the PROGRAM 15 has had their credibility tested daily throughout Major League Baseball. Reading their reports and discussing the players with them directly leaves little doubt as to what you’ll be seeing. It’s easy to look forward to the Future Stars Series Events and the players in them.”
The New Balance Baseball Future Stars Series is the global initiative between New Balance Baseball and PROGRAM 15 to elevate the game of baseball by providing amateur baseball players the opportunity to reach their full potential through the training, development, and guidance of professional players, scouts, and coaches.
Amateur players identified by PROGRAM 15’s National Staff of former Major League and professional players, scouts and coaches will be submitted to New Balance Baseball for advanced opportunities and the potential to represent their country at the New Balance Future Stars International Week.
For the latest Future Stars Series updates and announcements follow @ftrstarsseries on Twitter or visit http://futurestarsseries.com.
ABOUT PROGRAM 15:
PROGRAM 15 boasts a faculty and staff that includes multiple Major League All-Stars and World Series veterans responsible for executing the New Balance Baseball Future Stars Series, an initiative between the two organizations to elevate the game of baseball by providing amateur players across all economic levels an opportunity to reach their full potential through the training, development, and guidance of former MLB players, scouts, and coaches. For more information on Program15 and the Future Stars Series, visit www.futurestarsseries.com or @program15bb and @ftrstarsseries on twitter.
PROGRAM 15 National Training Center
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ABOUT NEW BALANCE:
New Balance, headquartered in Boston, MA has the following mission: Demonstrating responsible leadership, we build global brands that athletes are proud to wear, associates are proud to create and communities are proud to host. New Balance is the only major company to make or assemble more than 4 million pairs of athletic footwear per year in the USA, which represents a limited portion of our US sales. Where the domestic value is at least 70%, we label our shoes Made in the USA. New Balance owns five factories in New England and one in Flimby, U.K. New Balance employs more than 5,000 associates around the globe, and in 2015 reported worldwide sales of $3.72 billion. To learn more about New Balance, please visit www.newbalance.com and for the latest press information please visit http://newbalance.newsmarket.com. Keep up-to-date with all of the latest New Balance news on Twitter @NewBalance and newbalance on Facebook.
