Don Mitchell
President & Founder
Phone: (480) 329-5649
Email: don@collegebaseballadvisors.com
Twitter: @CBAScouts
Instagram: @CollegeBaseballAdvisors
Facebook: College Baseball Advisors
Purchase Don’s book, the
“College Baseball Advisors Resource Guide,” HERE!
Don Mitchell has extensive knowledge and experience in collegiate and professional baseball spanning more than 30 years. He has been a college and professional player, Major League Baseball Director of Scouting, Certified MLB Agent, College Baseball Head Coach and College Athletic Director.
From ‘93-‘95 Don was the Atlanta Braves Assistant Director of Scouting and National Scouting Supervisor, during which time the Braves won the World Series. During his 4 years as the Director of Scouting with the Diamondbacks, Don and his staff were able to draft and sign over 30 players that would eventually play in the Major Leagues. During a 9-year period, GAAMES represented 32 players in the top 3 rounds of the MLB draft, resulting in over $28M in negotiated signing bonuses and $6M in college scholarship plans. In 2013 Don was asked by the President of ACU to assume the role of Head Baseball Coach in addition to his VP of Athletics position. During his time as Head Coach, the ACU baseball team went to Ohio for the National Championship Tournament of the NCCAA. After finishing the 2013 season ranked number one in the nation in the NCCAA each of the final four weeks, three of ACU’s players were drafted in the 2013 MLB draft.
Don is currently the Founder and Lead Advisor for College Baseball Advisors, providing personal advice to athletes to promote themselves to college programs. Over the last three decades, Don has established a great reputation within the national baseball community. He has cultivated personal relationships with over 350 college coaches. His honesty and integrity coupled with his scouting ability make him uniquely qualified to match high school and junior college players with a college program that is beneficial to both the student athlete and the college involved.
Mike Orchard
National Advisor
Phone: (407) 489-7509
Email: mike@collegebaseballadvisors.com
Twitter: @CBAScouts
Instagram: @CollegeBaseballAdvisors
Facebook: College Baseball Advisors
Mike Orchard is the National Advisor for College Baseball Advisors. Mike has more than 16 years of coaching and recruiting experience most notably as the Recruiting Coordinator and Pitching Coach at Central Arizona College (2009-2014), an annual Top 10 nationally ranked contender in the NJCCA. During Mike’s 6 years at Central Arizona, 24 pitchers went on to pitch at a 4 year level, including 15 at the NCAA Division 1 level, as well as 12 pitchers being drafted in the Major League draft.
Along with coaching experience in the prestigious summer Cape Cod League, Mike was named to the All Decade Team as Manager of Mankato in the Northwoods Summer Collegiate League. During his 6 years (2009-2014) as Manager, Mankato won Divisional titles 4 times and more than 100 of his players to date have gone on to play professional baseball. Having established himself as an experienced player evaluator, Mike also currently serves as an Associate Scout for the Arizona Diamondbacks assisting with player evaluations.
Jim Murphy
Regional Advisor, Phoenix, AZ
Email: jim@collegebaseballadvisors.com
Twitter: @CBAScouts
Jim Murphy has joined College Baseball Advisors after 45 years as a baseball coach and a professional baseball scout.
Murf has coached high school baseball in his native Illinois, Iowa and Florida winning three state championships, 19 conference and several regional championships, receiving many honors associated with those years. In 2006 he was selected as Coach of the Year by the Florida High School Baseball Coaches. Overall Murf has received Coach of the Year eight different times. In 2007 he was inducted into the Iowa Coaches Hall of Fame and was three-time Iowa Coach of the Year.
Murf has had many players go on from high school ranks to play college baseball at all levels. Altogether he has helped well over 400 players go on to play college baseball at all levels including 10 Division I players. There have been 28 former players of his selected in the MLB drafts over the years. His son Quinn and nephew Sean both played for him at Assumption High School in Davenport, Iowa, and both were drafted by the Cleveland Indians in 1994. His younger son Dustin played in the Super Regional while playing at North Carolina State. Jim was the Head Coach at St Ambrose University and Head Assistant/ Hitting Coach at Iowa State University where he coached Shawn Leimbeck, the Big 12 Conference Batting Champion.
He coached the Sexton Ford Giants to a 3rd place finish in the AABC World Series in 1978. He served as an Assistant Coach in the North Woods League, Head Coach in the Florida Collegiate League and the Arizona Collegiate League. Over the years Jim has been a scout for several different Major League Organizations. Currently, he is an Associate Scout for the LA Dodgers. He has worked for the Cincinnati Reds, Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians and Tampa Bay Rays.
Jim Murphy has a broad base of contacts throughout the baseball world from high school up to the major leagues. Jim has many contacts who are head coaches at all levels of collegiate baseball. His professional contacts include area scouts, cross checkers, scouting directors and even general managers of major league teams.
Cody Ortega
Regional Advisor, Cranston, RI
Phone: (401) 261-6065
Email: cody@collegebaseballadvisors.com
Twitter: @CBAScouts
Cody Ortega brings a wide range of baseball experience to College Baseball Advisors, including coaching, recruiting, player development and training from youth baseball all the way through college baseball.
Cody served as an assistant coach for three seasons at the Community College of Rhode Island. He assisted with hitters, infielders, and national player recruiting. During Cody’s three years at CCRI, the Knights had a team batting average of .356, an on base percentage of .432 and a fielding percentage of .952. During Cody’s second year at CCRI, the Knights finished second in the nation for Div. II NJCAA in team hitting average (.358) and team fielding percentage (.958).
Cody is now the Director of Baseball Operations & Player Development for 365 Sports RI. As the director, Coach Ortega spearheads the recruiting of local/regional players for the SeaWolves Baseball Club (Youth) and RI Prospects Baseball Club (High School Showcase). Cody’s college coaching experience and recruiting at the college baseball level enables him to incorporate high level, state-of-the-art training protocols and systems to prepare players for high school and collegiate competition.
Matt Ridings
Regional Advisor, Nashville, TN
Phone: 615-390-6912
Email: matt@collegebaseballadvisors.com
Twitter: @CBAScouts
Matt Ridings comes to College Baseball Advisors with a variety of baseball experience. Matt graduated from Western Kentucky University and holds the school record for wins, strikeouts, and innings pitched. His hat is in the College Baseball Hall of Fame for setting school career wins record. He was awarded WKU’s Male Athlete of the Year in 2006, and his team had back to back regional appearances (with one win short of Super Regionals in 2009).
Matt tied for career win total in the Sun Belt Conference with 34 wins, and he won the 2010 Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Year. Matt also played for the Hyannis Mets (now Hyannis Harbor Hawks) in the Cape Cod League in 2008.
Matt was drafted in the 25th round by the Washington Nationals but did not sign. Instead he signed with the Kansas City Royals as the 41st round pick. Matt played three seasons with the Royals, reaching AA Northwest Arkansas. He also made the Midwest League All Star Team – Class A. He came away with a career 14-10 record with 3.23 ERA in 65 games.
Matt now coaches during the summer for local travel teams and also gives year-round lessons. He currently lives just south of Nashville, in Spring Hill, TN with his wife, Blakely, and two daughters Ryan Grace and Landrie.