Diamond Notes

The recent assignment of shortstop Ryan Vilade to the Colorado Rockies alternate training site sparked an inquiry as to the current status of his father, former ACBL All-Star Jim Vilade (Baylor University, Jersey Pilots, 92-94). Ryan was a second round draft pick of the Rockies out of Stillwater, Oklahoma HS in 2017 and a California League All-Star in 2019 after hitting .303 with ten triples, 12 home runs, 71 RBIs and 24 stolen bases.

Jim was a First Team All-State player at Bernards High School and played for the Pilots for three years under Glen Gardner as field manager. He was captain of the Baylor University Bears when they won the Southwest Conference championship in 1993.

Vilade started two NCAA programs from the ground up. He guided the University of Dallas for four seasons before leading the University of Texas at Tyler for their first seven years. In these eleven seasons he compiled a 348-117 record and is the second winningest coach in NCAA baseball in Texas and trails only Cliff Gustafson, the former University of Texas coach.

For six seasons he worked for the Texas Rangers AA affiliate, the Frisco Rough Riders. He then served as an assistant coach for Oklahoma State University for four years. Most recently he has rejoined the Miami Marlins as a scout. He has always been very active in community affairs and is the founder of the Keeper of the Game foundation for kids with special needs and disabilities. The organization provides special baseball experiences and fosters their love of baseball.

The National Alliance of College Summer Baseball (NACSB) is monitoring developments of the COVID-19 pandemic and how it will affect summer baseball for our member leagues. We are engaging in regular alliance discussions as well as conversations with our partners at Major League Baseball.

The NACSB covers many different states and regions of the country. With states individually handling the bulk of the response and restrictions that are put in place, each league is faced with a different set of circumstances and unique challenges due to this pandemic.

Due to vast uncertainty about when the pandemic will safely pass and when social distancing requirements may be loosened, it is difficult to predict what kind of summer baseball season there will be this year. We expect to receive more guidance about this in the coming weeks. Each league is prepared with different contingency plans should it be deemed safe to host games.

Each summer the NACSB is home to over 4,500 college baseball players who hail from over 900 schools. Our leagues share a singular goal of helping college baseball players get back on the diamond this summer in preparation for the next college season or possibly a future in professional baseball. To achieve this, we encourage you to follow federal, state, and local orders. Stay safe, be patient, and please stay home.

The NACSB is an alliance of non-profit summer collegiate baseball leagues that are each partially funded by Major League Baseball. Members of the NACSB provide a platform for elite college baseball players to compete at a high level. Players are bound by NCAA eligibility and are sent to each member league by their college coach. Member leagues include: Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League, Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League, California Collegiate League, Cape Cod Baseball League, Florida Collegiate Summer League, Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League, Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League, New England Collegiate Baseball League, New York Collegiate Baseball League, Southern Collegiate Baseball League, Sunbelt Baseball League, Valley Baseball League.