Word on the Street:Baseball Coach out at N.C. A&T/Matt Orth(UNC) and several other key players are now at GTCC

World Series begins TONIGHT and we have baseball news on the local level……

Big changes seem to be on the horizon at N.C. A&T with the baseball program, as the ‘Word on the Street’ today has the baseball coach(Joel Sanchez) out and change on the way at the top spot….The word we received this afternoon is that the baseball coach is out and a new coach will be named soon….A&T may looking on the inside and who knows, on the outside you may have some good possibilities that have baseball knowledge, that could be shared in the search for the new coach…

Why not inquire and pick the brains of men like Larry Farrer(Dudley HS), Ray Crawford Sr.(Dudley HS), Nat Norris(High Point Andrews), Deon Clark(Dudley HS) and others…These men know what is happening here locally and it might not be a bad idea to reach out to them and to more baseball people in the community, as the Aggies look to rebuild….

It is a little odd/strange that change like this would be coming today, as the baseball staff was making moves just two weeks ago to shore up their staff….

from N.C. A&T athletics web site on October 7, 2014….

GREENSBORO — North Carolina A&T baseball coach Joel Sanchez put the finishing touches on his new baseball staff by announcing the hiring of Tyrone Dawson as an assistant coach.

Earlier in the month, the fourth-year head coach appointed Ben Hall as his new hitting and infield instructor. Dawson, who has an extensive junior college background in coaching, will assists in recruiting and developing some of the Aggies young talent.

*****At Guilford College today and they had the real nice sideways cut in the outfield grass now and I don’t ever remember seeing the grass cut like that and it did look about as good, as I have ever seen that outfield grass, at Guilford….They have been doing a lot of work on their baseball field this off-season and it appears that the hard work is paying off….*****

+++++Another interesting move from the off-season was Keaton Haack(Northwest Guilford High School) coming back to Greensboro by way of Pitt Community College and before that he was at the University of Alabama and now for 2014-15 Keaton will be meetin’ and defeatin’ teams from the Southern Conference, as he takes to the hill/mound for the UNCG Spartans….May not get many wins if he goes middle relief, but I could see him back in the starting rotation, or coming in as a closer and shutting down the SoCon in the process….+++++(He will be a big accessory to any team he suits up for at around 6’5 and he plays like he is 6’7 or 6’8 and not sure if that will matter at all in baseball, but something tells that it just might be a real good thing.)

This news just in today from Coach John Barrow at Guilford Technical Community College:

Matt Orth (SW Guilford) has joined the GTCC baseball program this Fall after leaving UNC. Matt will be a big factor not only on the mound, but also in the middle of the Titan lineup this Spring!

They also have some other local guys worth noting:
Avery Hodges and Kennan Lynn (Ragsdale)
Dillon Cox and Jorden Zamrik (NW Guilford)
Matt Kaplan (Northern Guilford)- returning sophomore

John Barrow
Head Baseball Coach
Guilford Technical Community College

18 thoughts on “Word on the Street:Baseball Coach out at N.C. A&T/Matt Orth(UNC) and several other key players are now at GTCC

  1. NCAT baseball program has been a disaster since Shumate left. Not making the conference tournament last year was a complete joke and should NEVER happen.

    The AD should look at a former alumn who played on the championship team in 2005 and takes pride in the NCAT program. This guy has huge recruiting ties to the triad area and across the entire state of NC. He also has 5 years coaching and recruiting experience at UNCG and is the head coach of one of the most prestigious collegiate summer teams in the area, where he recruits all local guys and consistently wins every year.

    The guy I’m talking about is Dustin Ijames. There is no doubt he will bring NCAT back to the top of that conference and be competiting for championships every year. Give the guy a chance, you won’t regret it!

  2. What is going to happen to all the freshmen, sophomore, and junior players on the team. What will happen to there scholarships. What about the high school seniors who committed to A&T and are expecting there NLI in early November. Remember some of those kids may have had other offers but decided to come to A&T because they liked the head coach. This whole thing smells and the timing could not be worst.

  3. Coming from someone who played at the collegiate level you should never sign with the coach, but with the school. The players that are there now will continue to be a part of the program as long as they follow the process of the new coach. Scholarships are annual agreements, so they will be honored for this year.

    With the timing you aren’t going to see the new coach come in and run off the current players, but he will also want to bring in his type of guys that fit his system, so the ones that are good enough to play will continue to be a part of the program and the ones that can’t probably will not. These things happen and it’s the nature of college and pro sports so you just have to roll with it.

  4. My son played for Coach Dustin Ijames and had a great experience! Coach Ijames develops all of his players both on and off the field. He understands what it takes to win and all players that are surrounded by him get better. He values academics to the highest standard and holds all players accountable while taking a personal and sincere interest in their lives.

    NCAT Baseball would be lucky to have him!

  5. Why doesn’t A&T just say they messed up and bring back Coach Shumate? He did a good job and was all about doing the local recruiting.

    This Ijames fellow doesn’t sound like a bad choice either and whatever happened to JJ, is he still around?

  6. Totally agree with previous post about looking at Coach Barrow from GTCC. My son had a great experience playing at G-Tech for him and there is absolutely NO support from the school there for baseball. My son learned a ton from him and developed into a pretty good player earning a scholarship at a 4-year school. Barrow would be an excellent hire.

  7. Dustin Ijames is the best choice for this area he has the right mind set when it comes to the college athlete.
    Great experience would support him with sponsorships if this happens.

  8. NCAT is a unique situation. You need someone with a background and ties to the program. Getting outsiders that have not recruited or been around that culture/conference will have a hard time recruiting elite players there. Ijames was around and a part of the program when it won the conference and went to the NCAA regionals. He will know what type of player and skill set they will need to compete at that level.

    WIth Ijames experience at NCAT as well at recruiting at UNCG (at a higher level/better conference the NCAT) should make him at least a high candidate that deserves an interview.

  9. A few questions to look at with the old coach out and a new coach coming in are what were the terms of the previous coach’s contract???

    How much time was on that contract and how much will A&T have to pay the coach that just got let go and how much money will be owed to the new assistant coaches that just got hired back on October 7, just two weeks ago, according to the N.C. A&T Aggies’ sports/athletics web site???

    If you will still have to pay the former coach and you think you would if he was still under contract and if does not take on another job right away, and the new assistant coaches will have to paid for the time that they spent at A&T and for the time until they find new jobs….

    That looks like at least three salaries and how long will be the term of payment for those coaches???

    And how much money will be left for hiring of the new staff????

    Just some thoughts and if this week’s football game and the festivities go well, maybe there will be enough money to go around for everybody, but you still have to wonder, how much time was left on those contracts?????

  10. DO ANY OF THE COACHES THAT HAVE BEEN MENTIONED AS POSSIBLE REPLACEMENTS NO ANYTHING ABOUT PITCHING. FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND THE OLD COACH WAS ALSO THE PITCHING COACH.

  11. Everyone knows that every good baseball team has strong pitching. For a head coach to run both the program and the pitching staff is a HUGE challenge. I am not saying that can’t be done but I believe the new head coach should worry about the team and hire a quality assistant coach to handle the pitching staff.

    I know Coach Ijames has an INF/OF and hitting background so if he got the job then he would hire a pitching coach. I am sure he would also hire a pitching coach with strong ties to the state of NC so they can team up and heavily recruiting the state.

    The majority of the roster (over 85%) of the 2005 championship team was made up of NC players and the best players to come out of the NCAT program in recent years (Tendler, Jones, Macklin, Beatty, etc) all hail from NC.

    This program has to much rich history and has ALOT of potential to be a powerhouse in the MEAC. If you have a guy who has seen NCAT at its best and has already coached at the D1 level and has head coaching experience, then why not give him a chance.

    Also, Dustin’s dad (Dale Ijames) is in the North Carolina Baseball Hall Of Fame, so Dustin’s recruiting ties are very strong and the high school school coaches respect and trust him. This will help him recruit highly talented NC players to turn that program around quick!

  12. Pitching coach named today Cory Lima. Anybody know who he is. I thought he was assist. compliance director

  13. Dustin Ijames would be my choice. He knows the game and has the credentials. He graduated from A&T Suma Cum Laude with a BA in Business Administration and has a Masters in Sports Science from HPU. Some of my kids have played for him in the summer collegiate league and benefited from his coaching. One thing he has done great things for some young black athletes he has had. Three of them Leland Clemmons, Cambric Moye and Joe Watson were recently signed to play in the pros recently. Brandon Burkes is another kid that Ijames has helped. He would be my first choice — Hope A&T finds the right fit — they do not have to look far in my opinion. Charlie Pannell

  14. What about ken Carlyle from Greensboro College? he recruited like crazy and Greensboro College hasnt been the same since he left….he is local and knows the high school coaches in area with professional experience might be a good fit..

  15. Are there any qualified African American coaches in the area? We never seem to mention any of them. I know Coach Farrar coached with Shumate at A&T years ago.

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