Ep. 44 | Mitch Thompson, Baylor University

What You'll Learn in This Episode

Mitch Thompson, head coach of the Baylor Bears, joins Ross Hawley to talk about the joy of opening day, how players develop by watching the game, what college coaches really see while recruiting, and why relationships must remain at the center of college baseball.

Coach Thompson has spent three decades coaching in Waco across Baylor and McLennan Community College. His perspective is clear: player development includes talent and competition, but it also includes faith, character, teammates, family, and the ability to stay committed when real life gets difficult.

The highlights:

• Why watching baseball helps young players understand the level they are working toward
• How the 20-round MLB Draft and older college rosters have raised the standard of college baseball
• What separates recruits beyond measurable tools: energy, humility, competitiveness, and behavior when nobody thinks they are being watched
• The developmental value of Junior College and the support available at the Division I level
• Why Baylor's program invests in the whole person, including academics, strength, nutrition, mental training, and spiritual development
• How the transfer portal, NIL, and roster limits can challenge long-term player relationships
• Why teammates are forever, and why the college decision cannot be reduced to the next transaction
• How parents can create lifelong memories by keeping the game fun and playing with their children

Opening Day Never Gets Old

Even after decades in college baseball, Coach Thompson still feels the anticipation of opening day. Spring practice is a countdown toward being ready, and every season begins with the same mix of butterflies, excitement, optimism, and a new group that has a chance to build something together.

"I've never been to work a day in my life."

For Thompson, coaching is a chance to help players maximize their ability, prepare for the future, and grow into better men. The work is demanding, but the reward is the opportunity to invest in people every day.

Watching the Game Helps Players See the Next Level

Young players benefit from getting around baseball as much as possible: watch Major League games, stream college games, attend practices, and sit close enough to hear the game. Observing competition teaches things that a highlight clip cannot.

College baseball is faster, bigger, stronger, and more physical than many high-school players expect. By watching it in person, players can see the standard clearly and understand what they need to improve to reach it.

The level has risen further as the shortened MLB Draft keeps more talented players in college and older athletes remain on rosters. Thompson calls this a golden age of college baseball, with more talent, better facilities, stronger support systems, and broader coverage than ever before.

Junior College and Division I Both Develop Players

Thompson sees Junior College as a valuable route, not a fallback. At McLennan, he watched undrafted high-school players develop over two years into major draft picks, and he helped the program win a national championship.

Division I programs offer a larger support structure: assistant coaches, operations staff, player development, analytics, strength coaches, academic counselors, chaplains, nutrition, and mental performance resources. Junior College often develops a different kind of toughness because players and coaches handle more responsibility with fewer amenities.

Both paths can help a player find out how good he can become. The right path is the one that provides opportunity, development, and people who will invest in the player.

Recruiting Is About More Than Tools

Baylor's staff wants to see recruits in person, more than once. A social-media clip may show a player's best swing or best throw, but it cannot show how he handles a hard game, treats his family, supports teammates, or leaves the ballpark.

"You never know when somebody's watching you."

Physical tools, size, speed, and strength matter. But coaches are also looking for the player who competes with energy when it is 100 degrees, stays engaged when his team is losing, remains humble in success, and knows the score of the game instead of only his own statistics.

What Stands Out to College Coaches

• Physical ability and continued athletic development
• Competitive energy and passion for playing to win
• Consistency from day to day
• Humility when things go well
• Engagement and maturity when things go poorly
• Respect for teammates, coaches, parents, and the game

Players should want schools to see both their good and difficult moments. A coach who truly knows a player has a more accurate picture of what that player can become.

Building Champions for Life

At Baylor, player development includes baseball, academics, character, relationships, and spiritual growth. Thompson explains that the program has dedicated chaplains and creates space for players to explore faith voluntarily.

He shares a fall moment when seven players chose to be baptized on the field, with each identifying a teammate who had influenced them. The point was not a program requirement. It was players caring for teammates as people.

Thompson's ambition is long-term: recruit players as teenagers, help them grow through their college years, and remain friends decades later. He hopes the lasting measure of his career is former players telling his family that he loved and served them well.

Teammates Are Forever

The transfer portal, NIL, revenue sharing, and roster limits can create useful opportunities, but Thompson worries that the constant search for a better deal can make college baseball overly transactional. Players can miss the value of developing through adversity with a team that knows them.

He remembers the death of former Baylor player Willie Kemp and the way 23 former teammates and four former coaches rallied around Kemp's wife and young children. That response reflected the kind of bond college baseball can create.

"Relationships matter. People matter. Teammates are forever."

Players should be thoughtful before leaving a situation where they have trusted coaches, meaningful relationships, a chance to develop, and teammates who will remain part of their lives. The grass is not always greener, and real life will eventually ask everyone to work through adversity instead of running from it.

Advice for Young Players and Parents

Players need to love the game enough to enjoy practice and seek out the work on their own. Lessons and teams can help, but a player should still want to play catch in the yard, set up a Wiffle ball game, take swings, and be around the game because it is fun.

Thompson encourages young athletes to play multiple sports. Athleticism transfers, team experiences translate, and childhood should not become an endless sequence of expensive baseball transactions.

For parents, the advice is equally direct: enjoy the time. Play catch, throw batting practice, hit ground balls and fly balls, and create memories. Those moments matter to a child long after the score is forgotten.

Trust the Process

Coach Thompson grew up in Goodland, Kansas, without high-school baseball. A mentor taught him how to seek a graduate-assistant job, and a resume sent to Mississippi State opened the first door in a career that led through Mississippi State, Auburn, Baylor, professional scouting, McLennan, and back to Baylor.

His lesson for young coaches and players is not that every path will look the same. It is to do the best work possible where you are, treat people well, invest in relationships, and trust that the right opportunities will come.

Episode Timestamps

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

• 1:17 - Opening day, optimism, and why coaching never feels like work
• 4:24 - Why young players need to watch baseball
• 6:58 - The golden age of college baseball and older rosters
• 10:31 - Junior College versus Division I development environments
• 16:08 - What Baylor coaches look for in recruits
• 23:14 - Faith, service, and building champions for life
• 28:45 - Transfer portal, NIL, and staying focused on the player
• 32:30 - Willie Kemp's legacy and why teammates are forever
• 41:35 - Advice for young players: find joy and play multiple sports
• 47:15 - Coach Thompson's path from Kansas to Baylor and trusting the process

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Episode 44 features Mitch Thompson, head coach of the Baylor Bears, on recruiting, player development, faith, relationships, and the life lessons built through college baseball.