The 2011 NAIA Baseball Coaches’ Preseason Top 25 poll has been announced, as voted by a panel of head coaches representing each of the 25 conferences, independents and unaffiliated groups.  The poll is led by defending national champion Cumberland University, a program which remains a heavy favorite for next year after receiving 16 out of 20 possible first place votes.  Notable among the Top 25 NAIA baseball programs is the University of South Carolina-Beaufort, ranked as the 18th best program in the country heading into the 2011 season.  For head coach Rick Sofied’s USCB Sand Sharks, it’s an impressive feat considering the school didn’t have a baseball program as recently as three years ago.

No program? No problem.  Insert Coach Sofield with his incredible background and in only two years USCB finished a game out of first place in the Sun Conference, one of the toughest conferences in the country.  In the team’s inaugural 2009 season, USCB went 33-22, including a 14-10 conference record.  Last year Coach Sofield led USCB to a 39-14 record (19-7 conference), good for second place in the conference and the second seed in the NAIA regional tournament, not to mention seven USCB players were voted to the All-Conference team.  Since being drafted in the first round by the Twins in 1975, Sofield has compiled an impressive baseball resume. After three seasons in the Big Leagues and nine total professional seasons, he worked as a field coordinator for several minor league programs and coached at the minor league AA and AAA levels.  Sofield also coached at the University of Utah, where he was named the Diamond Sports/ABCA Division 1 Regional Coach of the Year in 1993, and at the University of South Carolina, where he helped lead the Gamecocks to the College World Series in 1985.  A few MLB players on the long list of stars Sofield has coached include Vladimir Guerrero, Orlando Cabrera, Jose Bautista, Javier Vasquez and Milton Bradley.  

Looking to help players at a younger age, Coach Sofield came to Baseball Factory in 2003 as the keynote speaker for the Pre-Season All-America event.  Since then Sofield has become involved with Baseball Factory from a full-time capacity to serving as a coach at many Baseball Factory events.  He has served as an instructor and coach at the Under Armour Pre-Season All-America Tournament, the USA 16U Baseball Championships, Cape Cod Select Training & Competition, Pirate City World Series, Baseball Factory Christmas Camp & Tournament at Pirate City, Arizona Fall Classics and the Pirate City Select Training & Competition.   His involvement with Baseball Factory boosted the careers of myriads of players, including several that represent the top teams in this NAIA poll.  Twenty Baseball Factory alumni play for the top three ranked teams alone!  

Chase Hudson, a member of the number one ranked Cumberland University team, developed his skills as a young player through the Baseball Factory program.  Chase attended the Baseball Factory Premium Video Program in 2008, where his performance earned him a selection to the Dodgertown World Series (now the Pirate City World Series).  Baseball Factory alumnus Klifford Hawkins, currently a sophomore at #2 ranked Lee University, took advantage of the most comprehensive recruiting program Baseball Factory has to offer, the Exclusive B.A.T.S. or Exclusive Baseball & Academic Targeting Service.  During his time with the Factory, Hawkins attended the Dodgertown World Series as well as the Arizona Junior and Senior Fall Classics.  Bobby Kelley, a senior at the third ranked California Baptist program, attended an Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout before earning an All-American nomination.  

Baseball Factory is well represented in Coach Sofield’s program as well, with 34% of players on the 2010 roster having come through the Baseball Factory program.  One of these players is senior Gabriel Torres, who will look to lead the Sand Sharks to another successful year after earning the team MVP award in 2010.  Gabriel utilized the Baseball Factory Premium Video Program as a high school player, in addition to earning a selection to the Under Armour Pre-Season All-America Tournament.  Another Baseball Factory alumnus to make strong contributions to USCB’s program is senior DeShontay Berry.   DeShontay attended an Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout in 2007 before attending the Baseball Factory Christmas Camp & Tournament.  Gabriel and DeShontay are two of many players who have contributed to the success of the young program built by Coach Sofield.  

Baseball Factory would like to thank Coach Rick Sofield for his contributions to our program and congratulate him for his achievement in building one of the NAIA‘s top baseball programs in just two seasons.  

Congratulations to all the Baseball Factory alumni representing the top 25 NAIA programs heading into the 2011 season.  This list includes:
Daniel Kern (Pompano Beach, FL) – Cumberland University
Daniel Harrison (Lebanon, TN) – Cumberland University
Matthew Burke (Smyra, TN) – Cumberland University
Brandon Corley (Lebanon, TN) – Cumberland University
Justin Fann (Woodbury, TN) – Cumberland University
Brandon Goodman (Murfeesboro, TN) – Cumberland University
Brian Hoff (Brentwood, TN) – Cumberland University
Chase Hudson (Lebanon, TN) – Cumberland University
Evan Sharp (Woodbury, TN) – Cumberland University
Joseph Ramirez (Bakersfield, CA) – Lee University
Justin Marrero (Reynoldsburg, OH) – Lee University
Travis Anderson (Brownsville, OR) – Lee University
Dustin Lawson (Cleveland, TN) – Lee University
Matthew Passauer (Erie, PA) – Lee University
Klifford Hawkins (Kailua-Kona, HI) – Lee University
Eric Zaragoza (Ontario, CA) – California Baptist University
Bobby Kelley (Mira Loma, CA) – California Baptist University
Matthew Marnati (Yucaipa, CA) – California Baptist University
Garrett Rau (Ventura, CA) – California Baptist University
Jon Bengard (Moreno Valley, CA) – California Baptist University
Braxton Miller – Lewis-Clark State College
Kevin Lovelace – Lewis-Clark State College
Billy Silvestri – Lewis-Clark State College
Christian Soberanes – Lubbock Christian University
Tyler Rogers – Lubbock Christian University
Steven Vitale – Oklahoma City University
Clint Maune – Oklahoma City University
Steven Winnick – Point Loma Nazarene University
Stephen Taylor – Southern Polytechnic State University
Ryan Taylor – University of British Columbia
Greg Densem – University of British Columbia
Miles Verweel – University of British Columbia
Tavis Bruce – University of British Columbia
Graeme Carey – University of British Columbia
Billy Hardin III – Madonna University
Spencer Sarel – Madonna University
Chris Skalski – Madonna University
Jimmy Gilford – Belhaven University
Paul Hoffman – Belhaven University
Wade Broyles – Belhaven University
Paul Faulkenberry – Belhaven University
Kane Kimrey – LSU Shreveport
Brandon Cooksey – LSU Shreveport
Dennis Koenck – LSU Shreveport
Josh Matthews – LSU Shreveport
David Leanord – LSU Shreveport
David Lindsay – Tennessee Wesleyan College
Karlan Andrews – Fresno Pacific University
Jose Reyes Jr. – Fresno Pacific University
Tyler Pryor – Fresno Pacific University
Jeffrey Taylor II – Fresno Pacific University
Dwight Nixon – Fresno Pacific University
Ryan Acevedo – Fresno Pacific University
Matthew Unruh – Fresno Pacific University
Michael Rivera – Fresno Pacific University
Daniel Grimm – Union University
Luke Hawkins – Campbellsville University
Gabriel Arcoleo – Campbellsville University
Jameel Ziadeh – Campbellsville University
Adam Munoz – Campbellsville University
Tanner Scott – Campbellsville University
Larry Perry – USC-Beaufort
Brett Martin – USC-Beaufort
Gabriel Torres – USC-Beaufort
DeShontay Berry – USC-Beaufort
David O'Neil – USC-Beaufort
Jorge Olmo – USC-Beaufort
Alexander Graham – USC-Beaufort
Denzel Campbell – USC-Beaufort
Blake Cilwick – USC-Beaufort
Andrew Boyll – USC-Beaufort
Stephen Richards – USC-Beaufort
Spencer Cromer – USC-Beaufort
Colton Rudd – USC-Beaufort
Andrew Matheny – York College (Nebraska)
Sam Feiner – York College (Nebraska)
Brandon Bolivar – Faulkner University
Matthew Darr – Faulkner University
RL Eisenbach – Faulkner University
Cory Hamilton – Faulkner University
David Roberts – Faulkner University
Gavin Gamboa – College of Idaho
Jesse Vermillion – College of Idaho
Anthony Pawelek – College of Idaho
Randy Cruz – William Jewell College
Jason Demore – William Jewell College
Ben Rister – William Jewell College
Stryker Salyer – Taylor University
Arthur Clyde – Brewton-Parker College
Fernando Frias – Brewton-Parker College
Josh Palmer – Brewton-Parker College
Randall Shepherd – Brewton-Parker College
James Whitehead – Brewton-Parker College
Brandon Lay – University of Rio Grande