Chapman assistant baseball coach hosts interview series with players
The “In Their Own Words” podcast series, hosted via Instagram by assistant baseball coach Cameron McMullen, focuses on player experiences and showcases the best that Chapman baseball has to offer. Photo from @chapmanbaseball on Instagram
They’re the defending NCAA Division III World Series champion. Yet Chapman’s baseball team wants to be known for more than their powerful bats and flashy glovework.
Assistant coach Cameron McMullen had an idea for how to do just that, creating a new Instagram podcast series, titled “In Their Own Words,” to give the Chapman community and prospective athletes a deeper look at the men inside the uniforms.
“We have some pretty unique stories, where we have a couple players that have left Division I programs because they wanted to come to a school like Chapman,” McMullen said. “Everyone's journey is different and we've just wanted to give the platform for some of our guys to share.”
Mack Cheli, a senior first baseman, is one of those former NCAA Division I players, transferring to Chapman his freshman year from Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, California. He was featured on “In Their Own Words” Feb. 5.
“It's pretty cool when you have a head recruiter at a school say, ‘Hey, look at these four different guys; they all took different paths, but we're all here in the same place,’” Cheli said.
McMullen, an Orange County native, hopes that by sharing these players’ stories, he can encourage high school or college players around the country to play for Chapman.
“We know how to recruit, we know how to evaluate and we know how to develop,” McMullen said. “Where you start doesn't have to necessarily be where you end … (Our players) get that.”
McMullen’s not embellishing — Chapman has developed a litany of MLB prospects, most recently having pitcher Nick Garcia taken in the third round of the 2020 MLB draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates. McMullen said he hoped he could clear up misconceptions about Chapman baseball through the podcast.
“A kid and a family will say, ‘Coach, I just think this school over here at the Division I level (is better),’” McMullen said. “And we say, ‘OK, well, how many players has that particular school gotten drafted or gotten in professional baseball?’”
Junior Brad Shimabuku, who appeared Dec. 30 as the first guest on “In Their Own Words,” believes the series is a great way to connect with recruits, since so much sports media and news is digital. He also said he appreciated seeing the various perspectives from each of his teammates who appeared on the podcast.
“Everybody's story is so unique and different,” Shimabuku said. “It's good to get a lot of variation between stories, so maybe even one recruit can relate to one guy and another recruit can relate to another guy.”
Cheli expanded on the idea of players being able to take many paths to success, pointing out journeys like his may be difficult or unorthodox.
“You don't have to have this straight, narrow path to your destination like some people do,” Cheli said. “It might take a longer path or a different path than what you expect, but (by choosing Chapman), you can have something as great as winning a national championship.”
Everyone agrees that any player who finds their way to Chapman’s roster can find a home on the squad.
“(After this podcast), we kind of have a different mindset or point of view on everybody on our team,” Shimabuku said. “We're going to be more understanding of everybody … because we can empathize with them or sympathize with them on how they got here.”