Baseball Factory is privileged to work with programs from every level of college baseball. We strive to educate and guide our players when it comes to choosing the right school. The more information a player knows about a school, coach and program, the better. Dan Mooney had the chance to talk with Mark "Carv" Carvalho, the Head Coach at Kansas Wesleyan University. KWU is a NAIA program in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC). Find out what Coach Carvalho had to say about his mentors, the importance of video and what he looks for in a recruit.

1. How long have you been coaching? How long at you current college or university?
I have been coaching along time, over 30 years since I began coaching in college. I have coached at the college level since 1987, when I was an assistant at Friends University, in Wichita, KS. I was head coach for the Falcons from 1997-2006. I have been at Kansas Wesleyan University since 2009. I have also coached as much summer NBC Baseball as college–I have been very fortunate to have coached year- round.  I also had the opportunity to coach several USA Teams in Europe, Aruba and Hawaii.

2. Who are some of your mentors or coaches that you look up to?
I have had so many that I have learned from in all my years, such as Andy Lopez (Arizona), who has for years strived for a class program with the utmost priorities as having young men who are student/athletes with STUDENT being first. He believes in doing this right and being a team–on and off the field!  A coach who personally assisted me in my coaching journey was the first head coach I worked under at Friends, Jim Deckinger, a legendary coach in Kansas who I learned discipline and organization from.  Also, Paul Sanagorski, a long-time college coach (Newman University) and professional hitting coach (Marlins/Nationals) who I consider one of my closest friends.  Rich Russo (Nebraska Wesleyan) was helpful to me in my early years as a collegiate head coach in how to handle problems at a small college–players, fundraising and administrators. The coach that gave me a chance to succeed as a player and put the seed of coaching in my mind was Coach Ben Cleveland at Cowley County Community College in Arkansas City, KS. He taught how to be patient, be true to God, family, team and yourself.

3. What is the first thing about your school and program that you’d want a recruit to know about?
You will get an opportunity to get the most of your abilities as a student and an athlete. The professors here are first-rate and when you get your degree you will be ready for 'real-life.' In baseball you will work hard, smart and you will get the best chance to make some great memories that will be instilled in you for the rest of your life. I have never been around a group of young men that are so close on and off the field.

4. What qualities do you look for in a prospect on the field? Off the field?
I always look for hustle and for the love of the game on the field. I want to see that the players WANT to be there and will run hard, go all out every time. I want to see that he is willing to adjust as well as how he does when handling adversity. Off the field is so important. It is character and there hasn't been a coach out there that hasn't had to deal with problems away from the field–we all have to deal with them. Our three priorities at KWU Baseball are: 1) School; 2) Baseball and 3) Social Life. This is from John Wooden and it has to be in this order. We want kids that go to school every day, are dedicated to the baseball program and represent themselves well in the community.

5. How has video helped your recruiting?
We do look at video and welcome it at KWU. Especially to look at players that we cannot get to see personally. Video doesn't lie they say and if shown the right angles we can see a lot on their swings, throwing motions and overall abilities. Also, if a player commits to us, we know what we need to work with and improve before he steps on campus.

6. Do you recruit from Junior Colleges?
Yes, we do quite a bit. We like JUCO pitchers especially since they have the key experience on the mound. We also look to fill needs with junior college players. We know all players, high school and JUCO, that have some habits that are sometimes good and sometimes bad when they come in here in the fall, but we expect them to be open minded and be leaders since they are older.

7. Can you break down your fall practice schedule? What will you try to accomplish?
We have eight weeks of fall ball and have lots of learning on each end, both players and coaches. We have our annual New vs. Old guys game, then we mix it up after that the rest of the fall. We put players in tough situations and see who is consistent and who is willing to 'buy-in.' We will scrimmage, work on plays, drills and see who has improved in that eight-week span.

8. Do you have a strength and conditioning coach?
We have been fortunate to have them, but have had the opportunity to have a strength coach in Todd Stanghoner who was with the Chicago White Sox for years. He was there when Michael Jordan was playing baseball. He is from the Wichita area and will work with our players throughout the year.
We also have a speed coach and a 'mental coach' which I think makes our program very unique.

9. Anything planned for your facilities (upgrades, changes, etc.)?
We are looking to improve our field Dean Evans and our practice field. There are plans for a multi-purpose field on campus that will be state-of-the art once completed.

10. Is there anything you would like to add about your assistant coaches, recruits, parents, or program that we have not asked you about?
We have a successful Junior Varsity program the assists the younger players to get some key experience by playing JUCOs throughout the state of Kansas. Our coaching staff has experience with many years in college and professional ball. Our goal is a process one, winning the KCAC, the league tournament, going to the NAIA Regionals and then on to Lewiston for the World Series. With all the right ingredients–we look to have an exciting spring every year at Kansas Wesleyan University.

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