New Place, Familiar Face

By GARY STALLARD

AC Athletics

Jon Phillips really can't remember life without baseball. He said his earliest memory is as a three-year old watching his father – who played professionally with the Toronto Blue Jays – putting baseballs on a tee while coaching Jon on how to swing the bat.

Years later, Jon is the one teaching players the game, and now he'll do so as a head coach.

Angelina College this week named Phillips the new head coach for the Roadrunner baseball team, a program with which Phillips has plenty of familiarity, having served as Associate Head Coach and Recruiting Coordinator at Bossier Parish Community College for the past six seasons. This past year, the Cavaliers won the Region XIV North Zone while achieving a national ranking during the season. Phillips has spent ample time on the grass at AC's Poland Stadium and said he's excited about the opportunity.

"Ever since I can remember, the game has been part of my life, and I want be that way for as long as it lasts," Phillips said. "The game ends for everybody at some point, but from three years old all the way up to now, I'll just keep doing it the best I can in whatever role I'm in."

Phillips said he thought baseball as an everyday part of his life ended with his playing career (he played shortstop and third base for Texarkana College, Texas State University and Southern Arkansas University). He graduated with a business degree and thought that would be his path, but then life threw him a change-up in the form of a phone call.

"I got a phone call from Will Davis at Lamar University, and asked if I wanted to coach with him there," Phillips said. "It was cool that my first job was a Division I job, especially while getting to work with Will, who coached at Louisiana State University for 10 years. After being under his wing and learning so much that first year, I kind of sat back and thought, 'Man, this is what I want to do.'"

Phillips said these past few years have helped him gain valuable insight and experience in the ever-changing world of recruiting. He noted there are currently around 4,000 players in the transfer portal looking for a place to play collegiate baseball.

"Knowing how all of it works means looking at every avenue to find good players, whether they're in the portal or here locally," Phillips said. "You kind of adapt and learn how to recruit, especially in areas such as social media, which plays a big part in the recruiting process now. Everyone sends videos, and yes, I get emails, but most of the messages I receive are on social media.

"It's a never-ending cycle of recruiting," Phillips added. "With the new 34-man rosters in the NCAA, the landscape is going to look considerably different. I also think it frees up a lot of the good high school players to pursue a role at a junior college where they'll get more playing time rather than just being one of the names on a roster at a larger program."

As for beginning anew with a program facing a fresh start, Phillips said gathering the right types of players has more to do with mere on-field talent.

"The number one thing is to recruit good people," Phillips said. "Any new head coach wants the same thing. If someone were to describe me, I think they'd say I'm fair, but I also hold players to a high standard. If I'm holding you to a higher standard than you hold yourself, things can go south pretty quickly. If you expect to play at a high level and take care of your work in the classroom, you won't have anything to worry about when it comes to playing for me.

"We're starting fresh, and we're excited about having success right away."

The email address for AC's Sports Information Director is gstallard@angelina.edu.