Baseball Staff

Neal Packanik

General Manager

Brandon Szink

Director of Baseball Operations & Player Development

• Played Collegiately at Notre Dame College
• Former Program Director and General Manager for ACE Baseball
• Former Cleveland Indians Youth Baseball Development Instructor
• Tampa Bay Rays Player Development Intern, 2020
• Former Assistant/Infield Coach at St. Petersburg College (FL)
• Rapsodo Hitting Certified
• Current 17U BJE Coach

Brian Thacker

Player Development & Advanced Training Coordinator

• Played collegiately at Bowling Green State University (1998-2001)
• Assistant coach at Pickerington/Pick North High school
• Head Coach at Bloom Carroll High school for 11 years where he was the district COY 4 times and Regional COY in 2014.
• 2013 State Runner up and 2014 State Champion at Bloom Carroll High school
• Has coached summer travel baseball teams for 8 years
• Current 16U BJE Coach

Ronnie Dawson

Hitting

• Played collegiately at Ohio State University
• Drafted in the 2^nd round of the 2016 MLB Draft by the Houston Astros
• 8-year professional baseball career
• Played professionally for the Houston Astros, Cincinnati Reds and internationally (South Korea)

Zarley Zalewski

Hitting and Infield

• Drafted in the 40th round of the 2012 MLB Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates
• Played collegiately at Kent State University 2013-2016
• Four-year Varsity Baseball Letterman
• 3-time All-Mid-American Conference First-Team
• 2-time All-Region First-Team
• Played professionally with the Joliet Slammers
• Current 15U BJE Coach

Joey Murray

Pitching (R)

• Played collegiately at Kent State University, where he was a 2 time All-American
• National player of the year semifinalist (2018)
• Single Season Strikeout record at Kent State (141)
• 2-time MAC pitcher of the year (2017 & 2018)
• Drafted & played in the Toronto Blue Jays organization for 6 years

Eric Stamets

Hitting/Infield

• Graduated from Dublin Scioto High School in 2009 where he played baseball, basketball and football
• Attended the University of Evansville
• Starting shortstop for three years before being drafted by the Angels in the 6th round in 2012.
• In 2015 was traded to the Cleveland Indians and has spent some time at their AAA affiliate the Columbus Clippers.

Cody Dennis

Hitting/Infield/Baserunning

• Former NCAA Assistant Coach at Capital University
• Former assistant coach at Eckerd College (FL). Assisted Eckerd in breaking the stolen base % record (2024)
• Played collegiately at Youngstown State University and Culver-Stockton College
• Host of the Baseball Blueprint Podcast

Stephan Hernon

Catching & Hitting

• Played collegiately at Otterbein University 2014-2017
• 2x OAC Champion (2016, 2017)
• First Team All-OAC, 2017
• OAC All-Tournament Team, 2017
• OAC Record holder for RBI’s in a game (10)
• Current 16U BJE Coach

Zach Dezenzo

Hitting & Infield

• 12th round draft pick Houston Astros 2022
• 2nd team All-Big 10 2022
• 2x Big 10 player of the week
• Tied single season HR record 2022 (19)
• Freshman All-American 2019
• Made his big league debut for the Houston Astros in 2024

Clay Strausbaugh

Hitting & Catching

• Current High School coach at Bishop Watterson High School
• Current 18U BJE Coach
• Played collegiately at Northwood University
• Played high school baseball at Hilliard Darby where he was a 3 time All-OCC player

Cole Andrews

Hitting & Catching

• Played collegiately at Miami (OH) (2019-2022) and Ohio State University (2023)
• Earned Second Team All-MAC & Academic All-MAC honors in 2021
• First Team All-MAC honoree in 2019
• Buster Posey Award Watchlist (2023)

Marcus Ernst

Hitting & Infield

TBA

Evan Hall

Pitching (R)

TBA

Izaiah Withrow

Hitting, Infield(1B) & Outfield

• Played high school locally at Bloom-Carroll, where he was second team All-Conference his Junior year, First Team All-Conference his senior year & part of the 2014 State Championship Team.
• Played 2 years collegiately at La Roche University (PA), where he was part of 2 AMCC conference championships, prior to finishing up his collegiate career at Ohio Wesleyan University
• Owns OWU’s single game RBI record with 9
• Current Head Junior Varsity Coach at Dublin Jerome High School
• BJE 18u Coach

Jake Norris

Pitching

• Played collegiately at Muskingum University (2018-2022) before transferring to Slippery Rock University in 2023
• Played 2 years with the Chillicothe Paints in the Prospect League
• Played in the MLB Draft league for the Williamsport Crosscutters in 2023
• All-Star Selection in the Pecos League for the Garden City Wind
• Played on the inaugural Cangelosi Blacksox team in 2017 and 2018

Chris Follina

Hitting & Outfield

• Played collegiately at West Liberty University
• Attended High School at Holy Name in Parma Heights, Ohio
• Named Second-Team All-Ohio Division-II as an Outfielder in High school
• Current 17U BJE Coach

Genesis Hillard

Hitting & Outfield

• Played collegiately at Ohio Dominican University
• GMAC First Team All-Conference, 2019
• 2-Time GMAC Player of the Week

Jared Solomon

Pitching (R)

• Drafted in the 11th round by the Cincinnati Reds in 2017
• Debuted for the Cincinnati Reds in 2022
• Pitched collegiately at Lackawanna College, Xavier University and Alderson Broaddus University

Justin McConnell

Hitting & Infield

• Played Collegiately at Wright State University
• Played SS, 3B & 2B
• Named to the 2021 Horizon League All-Tournament Team
• Career .953 fielding percentage

Taylor Hutchison

Hitting & Infield

• Played collegiately at Otterbein University
• Named honorable mention All-OAC as a sophomore in 2014
• Garnered first team all-league honors three times as Whitehall-Yearling High School

DJ Neff

Hitting/Infield

• Hit .350 his senior year at Grove City leading his team to a regional semi-final appearance
• 5 Year Starter at Ohio Wesleyan University where he had 166 career hits for the Bishops
• 2x 3rd Team All-Conference (NCAC) in 2023 & 2024
• 9th all time leader in Home runs at Ohio Wesleyan University
• Current 15U BJE Coach

Zach Sterry

Hitting

• Played collegiately at Oakland University
• Was the 2016 Valley League MVP
• Drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 8th round of the 2017 MLB Draft

Jordan Peck

Pitching (R)

TBA

Brandon Riley

Catching & Hitting

• Played 3 years at Defiance College as a catcher
• Catching and hitting instructor for the Midwest Prospects prior to becoming an instructor and coach with Bo Jackson Elite

Adam Madias

Catching & Hitting

• Graduated with Honors from St.Edward High School in Cleveland, Ohio (2013)
• Played Collegiately at Muskingum University
• Led Muskingum in home runs in 2015
• Current 18U BJE Assistant Coach

Cole Revels

Hitting, Infield & Outfield

• Originally from Charlotte, NC where he attended Providence High School
• Played collegiately at Ohio University
• Volunteered with the Cincinnati Reds Rookie League inner city baseball camps in 2019
• Current 17U BJE Assistant Coach

Roger Danison

Hitting & Outfield

• Played collegiately at Xavier University & Ohio Dominican University
• Four-time BIG EAST All-Academic selection with Xavier University
• Played high school locally at Bloom Carroll, where he was a part of the 2014 Division II State Championship team
• 2015 Eagle-Gazette Player of the Year
• First Team All-Mid-State League-Buckeye Division, First Team All-District & First Team All-Ohio during his time at Bloom Carroll
• Current 16U Assistant BJE Coach