No More Indoor Warriors: Cal Hernandez on Building Grayson's Culture | Ep. 124 - Baseball Forward

What You'll Learn in This Episode

Host Ross Hawley sits down with Cal Hernandez, head baseball coach at Grayson College, one of the top junior college programs in the country. Hernandez played at Oral Roberts, was drafted by the Seattle Mariners, and took over at Grayson in 2022. He has been a two-time conference coach of the year, including a 36-15 season this past spring.

Hernandez grew up around the Dallas Tigers, the select organization his dad, Tommy Hernandez, has led for more than 30 years. He talks about what that taught him about developing players, why he stepped away from baseball before coming back to coach, and why he thinks junior college is about to become a powerhouse level again.

The highlights:

• Growing up as "Tommy's kid" and turning that into an advantage
• Accountability, being a good teammate, and why the little things matter at Grayson
• Why players who reach a high level can still feel like failures when they finish
• "Indoor warriors," and why families chase facilities over playing time
• How the transfer portal is pushing more high school talent toward junior college
• What to research before a visit, and a postseason lesson about staying in the present

Growing Up a Dallas Tigers Kid

Hernandez has two older brothers and three older stepbrothers, and they all played for the Tigers. His dad never pushed baseball. The kids played whatever they wanted outside until high school, when it was time to narrow things down. Being known as Tommy's kid frustrated him while he was trying to build his own identity, but as he got older he used it as an advantage. His dad knows the game and the business side inside and out, and he always kept a line between being a dad and running the Tigers.

The biggest lesson he took about development is knowing your personnel. Every player handles adversity, swings, and moves differently, so a coach has to build a relationship with each one. Some can be pushed harder than others. The rest is mindset: a player who is coachable will stick with a plan, and still adjust when he is 0-for-30.

Accountability and the Little Things

At Grayson, the message is simple: work hard and be a good teammate. Hernandez says the game is drifting away from that, and holding each other accountable is not negative. It makes everyone better.

The details are part of it. Grayson players match in navy undershirts, belts, and socks, run hard down the line, and handle their gloves the same way between innings. He says programs at the next level look for that maturity. When one player dresses differently, it singles him out instead of the team.

"It's a very simple black and white system that we run here."

Stepping Away and Coming Back

When his playing career ended, Hernandez was burnt out and took a 9-to-5 job. Then someone reminded him that baseball had molded him. It shaped how he carries himself, the friendships he made, and the people who taught him. His path took him from Division I to junior college, back to Division I, and to the draft, and along the way he found his faith and his wife. Now he is a father, and he says he is still learning to be a better husband and dad every day.

Ross asks why players who had good careers still feel like failures when they finish. Hernandez says competitors set one goal, the major leagues, and when they do not reach it, they forget the journey. He was the first in his family to play professionally and calls himself the luckiest guy ever. It took him six or seven years to see his career that way.

What Families Get Wrong About JUCO

Hernandez says families chase facilities and names instead of what a staff can do for a player. Some high schools now have facilities worth tens of millions of dollars, and players expect the same at the next stop. Grayson has a turf field and lights coming in, but he admits the facilities do not match some in its conference.

He also coined a phrase for a type of player he tries to avoid: indoor warriors. There is nothing wrong with indoor hitting, bullpens, or ground balls on turf, he says, but players who only work in a controlled setting can look like a deer in headlights when real competition starts outside.

"We try to avoid the indoor warriors as much as we can."

He still sees dirtbags who love the game and just want to be on the field. Social media can help a program find players, but it can also breed selfishness. As a young coach, he says, he has to adjust to how this generation goes about its business.

Know Your Why

Grayson asks every player why he is there. Maybe someone said he was not good enough for Division I, or he was under-recruited, or a school let him go. Hernandez says last year's team bought into that question. Junior college can be a selfish place, but that group decided to win where they were and trust that signing somewhere would follow. He says more than 20 players signed with four-year programs.

The best why, in his view, is being doubted. A chip on the shoulder pushes a player harder than having everything handed to him. Many of last year's players were Division I and junior college transfers who had not gotten a chance, and they came together around the idea that this place wanted them. Hernandez loves being the underdog, even in a conference where Grayson often gets overlooked.

The Portal and High School Recruits

Hernandez says the transfer portal has been good for Grayson, though the program wants players who want to be there. Rosters are tighter now. Two or three years ago, he could ask a four-year coach for players and get a list of four or five names. Now the answer is often that they are not releasing anyone.

He believes four-year programs prefer older players with more reps, which means more top high school talent will end up at junior colleges. His advice to high school players is to keep options open and let go of the idea that it has to be Division I. At Grayson, he says, players get a chance to play early, the fall roster was 44 players, and the program is run like a Division I or professional organization so the next transition is easier.

"I think junior college is going to be a powerhouse again."

What to Ask on a Visit

Hernandez says families should ask about depth and research what players who left actually did there. Not everyone plays shortstop and hits second. Program websites show where players came from, so families can see whether a school brought in 15 transfers or five. He is a relationship guy, and if a player cannot talk to a staff the way he can talk to another, that is a sign it may not be a fit.

No Regrets, and a Postseason Lesson

Hernandez says he has no regrets, because looking back at flaws starts to affect the present. He shares one lesson from last season. Grayson won its conference and hosted a regional, then faced a Howard College team it had beaten in two of three games earlier in the year. He admits he was focused on hosting the super regional and on the five wins that would send the team to Grand Junction. Howard won two of three. He takes the blame, and this fall the team's mentality has been to finish today.

He also wants his players to see a coach admit mistakes. Everyone in the building is accountable, whatever their title. Following Dusty Hart, whom he calls one of the greatest ever at this level, has been tough, but he says you live and learn. A coach who preaches accountability every day has to walk the walk.

Cal Ripken and Walk-Up Songs

Hernandez was named after Cal Ripken Jr. His walk-up music changed often. In junior college, one of his songs was Selena Gomez's "Hands to Myself."

His closing message is that everyone sees and talks about the game differently, but the goal is the same: the love of the game and making it better.

Episode Timestamps

Tap any timestamp to jump the player straight to that moment.

• 0:37 — Introducing Grayson College head coach Cal Hernandez
• 1:42 — Life at Grayson since 2022
• 2:23 — Growing up around the Dallas Tigers
• 5:25 — What his dad taught him about developing players
• 7:50 — Accountability and being a good teammate
• 10:36 — Why consistency in the little things separates programs
• 13:57 — Burnout, stepping away, and coming back to coach
• 15:53 — Why players feel like failures when they finish
• 19:29 — What families get wrong about junior college
• 22:21 — Indoor warriors
• 24:19 — Do dirtbags still exist?
• 26:12 — Know your why, and last year's team
• 27:40 — The best why: a chip on your shoulder
• 29:27 — Competing and loving the underdog role
• 30:53 — How the transfer portal affects Grayson
• 34:29 — Advice for high school players worried about the portal
• 38:47 — What to ask on a junior college visit
• 41:50 — No regrets, and a lesson from last year's postseason
• 45:18 — Why coaches should admit their mistakes
• 47:32 — Named for Cal Ripken Jr., and walk-up songs
• 48:40 — Closing message: the love of the game

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Cal Hernandez is the head baseball coach at Grayson College. Follow Coach Hernandez on X at @CalHernandez1 and Grayson Baseball at @GraysonBaseball. Subscribe to the Baseball Forward Podcast for more conversations with the players, coaches, and leaders elevating the next generation of the game.