By Jerry Shank
Maryland Director of Scouting
Follow @PBRMaryland

Dan Blue is in his 19^th season with CCBC Catonsville and is entering his 12^th year as the head coach.   During his tenure he has a career winning percentage just under.600 with 11 trips to the NJCAA Region XX semifinals and 12 Maryland JUCO Conference Championships.  He has also coached or recruited 18 players that have gone on to play professionally.  He was kind enough to sit down with PBR Maryland and talk a bit about recruiting and the CCBC Catonsville program. 

How did recruiting go for you in 2014?  

--I am very happy with our 2014 recruiting class. We picked up a couple of pitchers who should develop into front of the rotation type starters and also brought in two new starters at both middle infield spots.

Tell us something interesting about CCBC Catonsville.

--CCBC Catonsville has had 74 players who were drafted and many others who eventually signed professional contracts after transferring to four year colleges. Also, CCBC Catonsville has won more Maryland JUCO Conference championships (12) in baseball than any other program in the conference

In Junior College you have to not only get the player, but then find a four year program to want that player as well, describe how you have had success with this?

--We send out letters/ emails in the fall to nearly 400 colleges across the country (D-I, D-II, D-III, and NAIA). Many of these colleges have recruited our players in the past so we have developed a solid reputation with these schools. Having a successful baseball program that regularly is in competition to win the conference and regional titles has certainly helped. These coaches know that we have talent and are interested in getting the best talent available. They also know that when they get a player from CCBC Catonsville, they are getting not only a talented baseball player, but a fundamentally sound player who plays the game hard and can also get it done in the classroom.

As a recruiter you have to be everywhere at once. How do you like the fact that Prep Baseball Report will now run events in Maryland?

--It's great to have PBR in Maryland! PBR has a good reputation for attracting the most talented players to their events and it makes recruiting for us much easier. Because of finances, travel issues, time limitations, etc., it's difficult to get out to all of the "showcase" events that occur throughout the Mid-Atlantic region and having events in our backyard is a tremendous help!

How important is having some video footage available to you in order to begin to identify a player you may not have seen before?

--Video footage is an important part of a coach’s evaluation tool. It's difficult to get out to see players in the spring since it coincides with our own seasons. Having high quality video footage allows us to see some of the things that we want from recruits such as solid mechanics, bat speed, lateral quickness, soft hands, etc.

Prep Baseball Report may be new to Maryland, but is an established resource for amateur baseball across the country. How do you feel to finally have Prep Baseball Report in the state of Maryland?

--PBR has a tremendous reputation amongst college coaches for running first class events and giving honest appraisals regarding a player’s ability.