Reed Smith

Troy baseball Alum | Central school baseball & football assistant coach

[Dirt From the Dugout @dirtfromthedug]

Dustin Pedroia breaks down the origins of his "chip on my shoulder" mentality and what mindset he thinks young baseball players should have.

"If we're playing a 9-inning baseball game, one guy is gonna help your team win. I'm gonna be that guy."
@karlravechespn @JustinMusil

[Troy Baseball ⚔️ @TroyTrojansBSB]

𝙏𝙍𝙊𝙔𝙈𝘼𝙃𝘼 𝙃𝙀𝙍𝙀 𝙒𝙀 𝘾𝙊𝙈𝙀⚔️

[SportsCenter @SportsCenter]

FROM THE LAST FOUR IN TO ITS FIRST TRIP TO THE MCWS!

What a run to Omaha for @TroyTrojansBSB 👏

[11Point7 College Baseball @11point7]

The first time ever the State of Alabama has hosted more than one NCAA Super Regional in the same season. All are separated by less than 125 miles.

The little baseball giant.

[Noah Bieniek (Bee-Nick) @NoahB77_]

“This sport should be popular on every campus in the country…”

Troy Coach Skylar Meade is one of the most fascinating coaches in the sport. Here’s what he had to say when he was asked what makes College Baseball so unpredictable:

[SportsNet Pittsburgh @SNPittsburgh]

Jake Mangum saw a young fan wearing his jersey and made sure the ball got to her...

That reaction 🥹 💛 ⬇️

[Andrew Fillipponi @ThePoniExpress]

The Pirates benched Oneil Cruz to play a centerfielder who can actually catch the ball. Novel concept

[Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness @coachajkings]

Dawn Staley shares a coaching and parenting truth that most people get wrong.

"I'm very different than your parents because your parents don't want you to fail, and they don't want you to be uncomfortable."

You can't steal the struggle for others.

"They do everything in their power to make sure you don't feel the pain that they felt growing up. And it's probably the biggest mistake because they're gonna fail."

Love isn't protecting someone from struggle - it's preparing them for it.

"I tell them, 'I love you enough to allow you to fail.' I do."

"I love you enough to allow you to hurt. I love you enough for you to have a bad game or bad month or even a bad season."

You can't grow without failures, mistakes, and setbacks. That's where true growth happens.

"And that's not just basketball, that's just anything. You're gonna have bad days that you're gonna have to just fight."

The greatest gift you can give someone isn't comfort. It's the ability to handle discomfort.

Optimize for resilience, not comfort. That's what prepares them for anything.

(🎥Interview with Jemele Hill )

[Brant Blaylock @blaylockbrant]

One of the simplest ways I’ve gotten guys to stop being consistently under.

We can talk about 265 mechanical things so that they know I’m smart or we can just do this and fix it.

The battle to simplify hitting again.

[Cody Durden @Cody_Durden]

I got friends making $25/hr. I got friends that can show you $25,000 any day of the week. I got friends that might need to borrow $25 until payday. . The respect is the same with all of em. It’s deeper than who’s up and who’s in need of help. Humble yourself and stay solid!!! 💯

[Nick Jones @CoachJonesACS]

Boy i wish HS players understood this.

Casual practice habits create casual game habits that have you looking crazy when you can’t turn it on.

[ESPN @espn]

Alabama beats LSU for the THIRD TIME IN A ROW 🐘

[Trey Wallace @TreyWallace]

Alabama with the 98-yard interception return for touchdown off Joey Aguilar.

[RussellvilleBaseball @RussellvilleBB]

Make plans to come out tomorrow night and watch us take down LC in our first region matchup of the 2025 season and celebrate the 10 Year Reunion of Russellville Baseball’s first State Championship Team!

[Sidelines - Bama @SSN_Alabama]

Alabama currently leads the nation in 5⭐️s with four.

Each of them are from the states of Alabama or Georgia.

[Joey Cunha @_joeycunha]

Every year, people go on a rant about how “kids these days” are soft or ungrateful for entering the transfer portal. But let’s talk about what’s actually happening because most people have no idea how this really works.

There are tons of players in the portal who didn’t “quit” on their program—they were told they didn’t have a spot anymore. Coaches told them they should look elsewhere. Coaches pulled scholarships. Coaches pushed them out behind the scenes without ever owning that publicly.

But you don’t see those stories. You just see numbers in the portal and assume it’s all selfish kids running from adversity. You’re not talking to the players. You’re not seeing what really happens.

At the same time, those same coaches are hitting refresh on the portal, shopping for new players. They’ll tell one kid they’re “not part of the plan,” and then celebrate when they land a high-profile transfer from another program. Then they’ll start that new player over the one who’s been loyal for three years. And when that player enters the portal next year? They’ll trash him too.

Meanwhile, fans and media will scream, “Where’s the loyalty?” But they’ll turn a blind eye when the coach takes a better job and leaves overnight, no exit meeting, no plan, no heads-up. He was doing what’s best for him. But the players aren’t allowed the same grace?

The reality is, college sports have become big business. There are schools signing billion-dollar TV deals, and we’re still talking about how a “free education” should be enough? Do you know how hard it is to play a sport and earn a legitimate degree at the same time? Most of the time, they can’t even get into the real programs. They’re steered toward the majors that don’t conflict with practice or travel. Internships, labs, clinicals? All off the table.

So don’t act like you gave these athletes some massive life-changing opportunity. You handed them a pre-selected major and an impossible schedule, and in return, they gave you their body, their time, their brand, and everything else. And when they ask for a little leverage, a little control over their future and you get pissed?

This whole thing is built on sacrifice and the backs of kids who give up time with their families, who travel year-round, who carry the pressure of entire programs, getting shit on by hundreds of their home fans on social media because they went 0-4 tonight while barely keeping their heads above water academically and emotionally. But when it doesn’t work out, we treat them like they’re selfish for looking for a better situation.

If you had a job offer in another state that paid better, was closer to family, and gave you more opportunity—you’d take it. No one would question that. But when a player does it, suddenly it’s betrayal?

And let’s not forget—players built these programs. Decades of sacrifice from 18-to-22-year-olds who got nothing while their coaches cashed in, athletic departments built $50M facilities, and schools marketed the hell out of it all. It’s branding. It’s business. It’s not just a game anymore. And if it’s business on one side, it’s business on the other.

You don’t get to shame a kid for protecting his future just because it makes your team worse. You don’t get to talk about loyalty while you’re actively replacing your own guys with better ones. You don’t get to be mad at the system while benefitting from it.

At the end of the day, players are people.

They get to make decisions, too.
Give them some damn respect, love, and grace—instead of ignoring the inconvenient facts.

You want to talk real numbers? Let’s talk about what people like to avoid because it’s uncomfortable:

Between 2002 and 2022, suicide became the second-leading cause of death among NCAA athletes—only behind accidents.

Even worse?
The rate of suicide among college athletes has doubled over the last two decades.

Players today are carrying pressures no one before them ever had to shoulder. (1 of 2)

[Atlanta Braves @Braves]

The first big-league pitch he's seen in a nearly a year...

LA BESTIA IS BACK!

[11Point7 College Baseball @11point7]

Troy is now 13-0 in weekend series. The ONLY team in the nation who hasn’t lost a weekend series 👀

They face off against Southern Miss next weekend, who is 12-1 in weekend series 🔥

[Patrick Jones @pjonesbaseball]

The best way to decrease strikeouts:

Be ready to hit 0-0

Most hitters take FB down the middle for strike 1

And then get mad at the umpire on strike 3.

[RobsRankings @RobsRankings]

Only #1 Texas and #18 Troy have not dropped a series all year! @TroyTrojansBSB @TexasBaseball