Woody Wingfield, our Director of College Recruiting Operations, recently caught up with Assistant Baseball Coach/Recruiting Coordinator Matt Daily from Pacific University. Pacific University plays in the Northwest Conference and in 2011 finished the year with a 21 – 16 – 2 record. Check out what Coach Daily looks for in a recruit, how he uses video to recruit players and what recruits can expect for fall practices.

1.    So, you’ve recently moved to Pacific University from Menlo College. How long have you been coaching overall?
I’ve enjoyed the transition from Menlo College up to Pacific very much.  I’ve been involved in baseball in some capacity for 15 years in some capacity – playing, coaching, or scouting.  I’ve had a chance to coach at the DI, JC and D III levels, and was recently the Head Coach at NAIA Menlo College in Northern California.

2.    Who are some of your mentors or coaches that you look up to?
There’s been a ton of coaches that have made a profound impact on me, especially early-on when I started coaching at the collegiate level.  Ritch Price (Kansas) has been a profound influence in my career.  He is special in that he has this innate quality to both motivate his players as well as make everyone around him feel welcome and special.  My current boss, Greg Bradley, and college coach, Jerry Gatto, are just great motivators and men of integrity.  My former coaching staff at Menlo was a special group – (Matt Allison, Jimmy Meuel, Ben Quinto, David Tufo), and were some of the most motivated teachers and passionate coaches I have been around.   They made coaching fun and exciting for me. Coach Marquess, Stotz and RW (Stanford), Nino Giarratano and his staff at USF, John Smith (Sac St. – retired), Bob Whalen (Dartmouth), Ed McCann (just resigned at Alabama A&M), Mark O’Brien (San Jose State)…I could go on and on…

3.    What is the first thing about Pacific and its baseball program that you want recruits to know about?
Pacific truly is a hidden gem and special place, although the word is quickly getting out.  There has been an active “buzz” and “energy” about Pacific the last several months, which is exciting!  Pacific is unique in that it is in a college town (Forest Grove, OR), yet 30 minutes from downtown Portland.  Although I have been here since August, I have felt a genuine sense of family and camaraderie on campus among faculty, students, and staff.  Students love being here and going to school here.  The academic and athletic facilities are unlike any small college in the Western Region.  Combine this with tremendous academics, and it becomes something that potential recruits need to consider.  It has been fun for me already to see several recruits and their families’ eyes light up when they come to the campus for the first time.

4.    What do you look for in a prospective recruit on the field? Off the field?
There is a lot that goes into the process for us when we look for potential players – it is important to us that we find the right player for our program.  We speak a lot about finding the right “fit” and the right “feel,” and the process is a two-way street.  In short, we love baseball players that enjoy not only the idea of competition, but also the process of getting better and working hard.  Off the field, academics will always be the top priority here, so a student must be diligent and organized.  For me, good students make great baseball players, because their academic success already shows me the ability to be disciplined in many different aspects of their lives.

5.    How has video helped you in the recruiting process?
As a young coach, I didn’t understand the value of video as much as I do now.  Baseball is such a unique sport in that practice is about repetition of certain skills.  Often we run practices that include drilling fundamental actions and aspects of hitting, pitching, and defense.  Video is important to capture a prospect both in a practice or game situation.  We like to use video more as a means of introduction, and don’t look to make personnel decisions based upon a small amount of film.  Film misses a player’s ability to make adjustments, which is important for us to see and understand.

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6.    Can you break down your fall practice schedule? What were you all working on to prepare for the spring season?
The fall (or non-traditional) season is extremely important.  The NCAA limits the number of practice time we can have, so the days we work together become extremely important.  Evaluation of skills of new players is important, as well as an assessment of how returning members of our program have developed since the conclusion of the previous season.  Our staff makes teaching a priority in the fall, just to allow all to adjust and be on the same page.  Competition is important to us, so we do everything we can to create and foster a competitive environment during the fall.  Spring is about becoming game-ready, extending pitchers, and becoming crisp and fluid as a unit.

7.    Do you have a strength and conditioning coach?
We do actually have a full-time strength and conditioning coach that is available to all of our student-athletes.  Combined with our two weight rooms and indoor field turf facility, and we have the ability to train in a variety of ways.

8.    What can you tell us about the facilities at Pacific?
In short, the facilities are incredible.  Often, recruits and families mention their amazement with the facilities we have when they are on campus.  It’s fun to see recruits and their parents light up with excitement when we show them around.  Bafaro Baseball Stadium is less than five years old has stadium seating and lights, and is designed exclusively for baseball use year-round.  It is a great place to practice as well as watch a game.  We also have an indoor facility with field turf that was installed in September.  Other than Oregon and Oregon State, it is the biggest indoor field-turfed facility in the State.  We are able to take a full infield and work on any type of offensive/defensive situation possible should weather be an issue.   Add in our two weight rooms and locker room, and this place becomes a special place to practice and play baseball.  

9.    What part of the 2012 schedule are you looking forward to the most?
I’m genuinely excited to be back in the Northwest, and the Northwest Conference.  It’s one of my favorite conferences I have coached in.  All are great academic schools with similar values yet are extremely competitive baseball programs.  We open our season playing six games in Hawaii against DII schools, which will be tremendous for our kids and program.

10.    Is there anything you would like to add about your assistant coaches, recruits, parents, or program that we have not asked you about?
Pacific is a hidden gem, and I can’t think of anywhere else I would want to be.  It is such an exciting place – it’s not often when we can look around as baseball coaches and feel that all the pieces exist to do great things.  With Pacific’s combination of a strong academic environment, tremendous student body, its location in a small college town near a big city, off the charts facilities, and the baseball program coming off a great year last year, I could not be more excited about the future.  This will be a great home for some talented students and talented baseball players in the coming years.

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