Rogers Hornsby, one of the greatest baseball players and managers of all time, once got asked what he did in between baseball seasons. He told whoever asked the question, โ€œIโ€™ll tell you what I do, I stare out the window and wait until spring.โ€

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While the major leaguers are in their dog days of summer and the minor leaguers press toward the end of their season – the players and coaches of Northwest Florida State College donโ€™t have any games that count towards a record coming up soon. But they arenโ€™t sitting around, staring at any windows.ย 

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The Raiders at Northwest Florida State College have just released their fall schedule – which includes both Troy University and UWF. their 18-game schedule is available here.ย 

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In light of the fall scheduleโ€™s release, we sat down to talk to the Raidersโ€™ Skipper, and longtime coach Doug Martin about the fall schedule, a recent reunion of the Pensacola Pelicans – of which he was a coach, and more.ย 

The late, great Rogers Hornsby had a 22-year career with the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants, Boston Braves, Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Browns. He was inducted into the Baseball Writers of America Hall of Fame in 1942.

Recruiting for Junior College - And Watching Past Players Succeed

One of the most excellent perks of coaching Junior College Baseball to Coach Martin – he gets to watch players who heโ€™s coached in the past succeed wildly.ย 

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The players, Coach Martin says, โ€œcome to us for a variety of reasons. Sometimes they just didnโ€™t get the opportunity they were looking for right out of high school at the Division I level.โ€ He says that schools like NWFSC allow student-athletes to work on their skills.ย 

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In 2022, 14 players from Martinโ€™s Raiders signed to play for Division I programs. Schools included UNC Charlotte, Appalachian State, Alabama, University of South Alabama, Auburn, UNF,ย  Miami, Lipscomb, FAU, Faulkner, FIU and Missouri State.ย 

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The class before included Reagan Buford and Dylan Delucia – players on the National Champion Ole Miss baseball team. Delucia was the tournament MVP. โ€œThey all worked on their craft and their skills and got better while they were here,โ€ said Martin.

Ole Miss Baseball Player and NCAA Tournament MVP Dylan DeLucia
Ole Miss Baseball Player Reagan Burford

Here's How to Get Recruited To Play College Baseball - From a College Baseball Coachโ€‹

The obvious first answer is that you need to get caught playing the game. NWFSC scouts, along with every other college team in the world look for players in two places: High School Baseball and Travel Ball Teams. The more baseball you play, the more likely someone is going to see you playing baseball well – and make you an offer.ย 

Coach Martin says that he relies heavily on his assistants to help him find the best possible talent he can acquire to come and play in Niceville. Hereโ€™s what they are looking for.

1. Commitment:ย 

Coach says that the players heโ€™s looking to have on his team have a standing commitment to the game of baseball. โ€œSo we are looking for the guys who are playing in high school and are playing in these travel ball tournaments for something to show us that we are looking at someone who may be different than the rest,โ€ Martin says, โ€œThat could just be the passion and energy with which they approach the game. It could just be simple things like hustling on and off the field. Running ground balls out.โ€

2. Being Coachable

3. Having A Love For The Game

โ€œWe want to surround ourselves with players that donโ€™t just like baseball, who maybe just played it growing up through little league and high school because thatโ€™s what theyโ€™ve always done and they just assume they are supposed to continue to play it when they get to college,โ€ Martin said. โ€œWe want the guys who love it and are interested in learning and are open-minded to new and different things and want to go out and apply that and even sometimes do it on their own.โ€

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RELATED: Former NWFSC Basketball Player signs for CEBL League

Head Baseball Coach Doug Martin, Northwest Florida State College

Continued Success

Northwest Florida State College continues to make strong showings nationally – and regularly finds itself at the top of the heap in Florida Junior College Baseball. That doesnโ€™t happen by accident. โ€œIt starts with having a school that values athletics, and Northwest Florida State College has always valued athletics. Iโ€™ve worked for more than four presidents in my 15 years and all of them valued athletics and wanted us to be good. Our current President, Devin Stephenson, has even taken that to another level. He was instrumental in helping us improve our facilities out there with a place that we can now practice when the weather is bad.โ€ Martin added, โ€œYou donโ€™t get that kind of commitment from the top down if the leadership doesn’t have the kind of interest in us being good – so it starts from the top down.โ€

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The other key to long-term success – is the hiring and mentoring of good assistant coaches. Assistant coaches at the junior college level are responsible for many tasks. Everything from game planning, bus logistics and laundry go into an assistant coach’s area of responsibility. Having an excellent group of assistants guarantees good play on the field when the time comes. โ€œYou have to get good players in your program to [succeed,]โ€ Martin said. โ€œWell, you have to have good coaches on staff willing to go out and beat the bushes and make the phone calls and watch these kids as they are in high school and travel baseball.โ€

Dr. Devin Stephenson, NWFSC
Dr. Devin Stephenson, president of Northwest Florida State College

Fall Baseball

The Northwest Florida State College Raiders will hit the road this fall to play a series of 18 games against both Junior College and 4-Year Universities as a warm-up for the spring season. The Raiders will play Gulf Coast State College on September 29th at the campus in Niceville. The other games will be played on the road, between Mobile and Panama City.ย 

While the games don’t count for the official record for the season, it will give fans plenty of opportunities to see the talent that the school will field for the ’23 season – including plenty of freshmen who have come on board for the Raiders.ย 

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The games are free – students and residents are encouraged to come for a night out.ย 

Pensacola Pelicans

Coach Martin talked briefly about a reunion of the Pensacola Pelicans which took place recently in Pensacola.ย 

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Prior to working at NWFSC, Martin was an assistant coach at Pensacola Junior College (PJC), andย  did the fieldwork for PJC and the Pensacola Pelicans.

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โ€œThat first year [The Pelicans] played at Pensacola Junior College. And that was our back into professional baseball – it had been like 50 years,โ€ Martin remembers.ย 

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By 2005, the Pelicans began playing at UWFs facilities – and Martin became the teamโ€™s pitching coach. He got to work with Boston Red Sox Hall of Famer Bernie Carbo.ย 

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Since the Studer Family arrived in Pensacola and opened up shop with the Blue Wahoos, Martin says the baseball environment has reached its highest heights. โ€œThey put a whole lot of effort into the whole experience,โ€ Martin said, โ€œQuint Studer and his wife are wonderful people. They love Northwest Florida, and Pensacola and try to put a great product out there every night.ย 

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The Pensacola Pelicans Logo
Boston Red Sox Hall of Famer, Bernie Carbo

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