Meet the Team at Ahead in the Count Recruiting, LLC
Career Highlights
-
Former educator, college coach and recruiting coordinator for 35 years.
-
Coached four sports in High School
-
Was President and Advisor for a Sports Recruiting company in the Northeast.
-
Owned and operated a Travel Baseball organization which had 8 teams and led to many college opportunities for players.
Career Bio
Tom was an educator and coach for 35 years. During this time, he had the opportunity to coach and recruit a diverse group of college student athletes. As a result, he was able to meet many individuals and their families, guiding them through the recruiting process from beginning to end.
Tom has a son who was recruited out of high school to play at the collegiate level. The recruiting process was extremely involved, sometimes overwhelming; initially starting with letters arriving in the mail followed by emails and phone calls from a variety of coaches. After many college visits and late-night family discussions, a choice was made on his collegiate career. Quickly it was realized this was a perfect fit for both student and athlete. After graduating college, his son played professional baseball and is now coaching at the collegiate level.
As a parent of a son being recruited, Tom learned the various tasks of this extensive process. His experience in the role of a parent, and a college coach has led him to become a recruiting advisor and consultant. In this role, Tom will help student athletes try to obtain their dream of playing collegiate baseball at the highest level. Trusting his many years of experience, he wants to help make this process more enjoyable and less stressful while creating the best college fit options for the student athlete.
Tom currently resides in Alabama with his wife Kim. Their daughter is an Executive Director with the Guardian ad Litem Foundation. Their son is a Division I college baseball coach.
Developer
Tom Coons
Scouting Director/Advisor

Chad Porter
Scouting Director/Advisor

Career Bio
Chad was a 2-sport varsity athlete at Meadowbrook High School in Byesville, Ohio. He went on to attend and play baseball at Heidelberg College before transferring to Ohio Valley University where he earned his B.S. in Physical Education and completed his eligibility. Following graduation from Ohio Valley University he attended West Virginia University where he earned his M.S. in Physical Education/Teacher Education.
In 2002, Chad began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Ohio Valley University. He would spend the 2002 and 2003 seasons as an assistant coach before being promoted to head coach in 2004. In 2008, Chad was named the head coach at Texas A&M International University. He served as the head coach at TAMIU from 2009 – 2014 before returning to Ohio Valley University to serve as the Director of Athletics and Head Baseball Coach.
He is currently the head baseball coach at Warren High School, where he resides in Parkersburg, WV with his wife, Valissa and daughters Kennedy (14) and Khloe (10).
Career Highlights
-
17 years as a Head Baseball Coach at the NCAA DII level (Ohio Valley, Texas A&M Int.)
-
2006 West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Co-Coach of the Year
-
2017 Great Midwest Athletic Conference Coach of the Year
-
Led both Ohio Valley and Texas A&M Int to their first Top 25 DII Ranking
-
Helped coach many players who have played professional baseball.
Jeff Waggoner
Advisor

-
Extensive experience directing and
coaching collegiate baseball programs and guiding student-athletes toward high levels of success athletically, academically, and within the community.
-
Well-developed skills supervising and evaluating, recruiting and developing qualified student-athletes, collaborating with agents and scouts.
-
Coached 6 All-American players and 53 players who were drafted by Major League Baseball clubs during career, including two first-round draft picks.
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
-NCAA Baseball Coaching
-Player Recruitment
-Skill Development
-Assistant Coach Development
-NCAA Regulatory Compliance
-Budget Management
-Academic Guidance & Support
-Marketing/Public Relations
-Game & Practice Scheduling
-
MARSHALL UNIVERSITY
2016 C-USA Coach of the Year and 2008 College Baseball Insider Coach of the Year. Coached 3 National “Players of the Week,” 2 All-Americans, 22 C-USA All-Conference Players, 6 C-USA All-Conference Freshman Players, and 12 players named to the C-USA All-Academic team. Had 11 Herd Players named C-USA “Player of the Week” and 34 Herd Players drafted by MLB clubs. Achieved a 100% graduation rate for non-drafted MLB players. Highest overall team GPA of all Marshall teams in 2016, 2009, and 2007. Beat 21 ranked teams during career and broke 20 team and 25 individual records.
-
NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY, RALEIGH, NC 2004 – 2006
Assistant Baseball Coach/Hitting Coach. Held an overall program record of 81-41. Coached 2 All-Americans, 5 1st Team All-ACC Players, and 4 2nd Team All-ACC Players. Had 12 players drafted by MLB clubs, including 2005 1st round pick Joey Devine.
-
KENT STATE UNIVERSITY, KENT, OH 2002-2004
Assistant Baseball Coach. Assisted with the development and supervision of student-athletes in the baseball program. Coached 2 All-Americans and had 7 players drafted, including 2006 1st round supp pick Emmanuel Burriss. Won 2004 Mid-American Tournament Championship earning NCAA regional bid.
-
THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, WASHINGTON, DC 2000 – 2002
Assistant Baseball Coach. Held an overall program record of 80-45. Helped guide program to record for season wins, finishing 38 in 2001 and 42 in 2002. 2002 Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament Champions, earning an NCAA regional bid.
Advisor
Henry "Turtle" Thomas
Advisor
OVERALL ACHIEVEMENTS
-
27 Regional Appearances
-
7 Super Regional Appearances (Super Regional’s Started in 1999)
-
14 College World Series Appearances (Tied for most in Active Coaches)
-
2 College World Series Championships (1999, 2000)
-
College World Series Runner-up (1996)
-
Recruited/Coached 69 Major League Baseball Players
-
19 Straight Top 9 Recruiting Classes
-
Four (4) #1 Ranked Recruiting Classes (NCAA Record)
EXPERIENCE
-
Minor League Catching/Hitting Instructor - Texas Rangers (2016-Present)
-
Head Baseball Coach – Miami, FL
Florida International University (2008-2016) -2010: Coral Gables Regional
-2011: Chapel Hill Regional (#2 seed)
-2015: Coral Gables Regional
-3 NCAA Regional Appearances
-2010 Sun Belt Conference Tournament Champs
-2015 C-USA Tournament Champions
-(3) Conference Player of the Year (Garrett
Wittels, 2010; Pablo Bermudez, 2011; Aramis Garcia, 2014)
-(1) Conference USA Freshman of the Year
-5 All-Americans
-
Assistant Baseball Coach/Recruiting Coordinator – Tempe, AZ Arizona State University (2007)
-College World Series Appearance
-Was responsible for Recruiting, Hitting, and Catching
-Conference Championship
-Regional/Super Regional Appearance
-
Assistant Baseball Coach/Recruiting Coordinator – Baton Rouge, LA Louisiana State University
(2000-2006)
-2000 National Champions
-(3) College World Series Appearances
-(6) Regional/ (5) Super Regional Appearances
-2003 SEC Conference Champions
-(2) SEC Players of the Year
-(1) SEC Freshman of the Year
-(1) Johnny Bench Award Winner
-Was responsible for all Recruiting, Hitting,
Outfield, and Catching
-
Assistant Baseball Coach/Recruiting Coordinator – Miami, FL University of Miami (1988-1999)
-1999 National Champions
-(9) College World Series Appearances
-(12) Regional/ (1) Super Regional
Appearances
-Recruiting, Hitting, Catching, & Outfield
-
Assistant Baseball Coach, Recruiting Coordinator – Atlanta, GA Georgia Tech. (1986-1987)
-(2) Consecutive Regional Births
-Was responsible for all Recruiting and Catching
-
Assistant Baseball Coach – Clemson, SC
Clemson University (1978-1985)
-College World Series Appearance
-(3) Regional Appearances
-Was responsible for Infield, Base Running,
Catching, and Assisted in Recruiting

LET US EVALUATE YOU
EXPERT SCOUTING AND COLLEGE EVALUATION
3
FOLLOW OUR EXPERT GUIDANCE & CREATE A INDIVIDUALIZED SCOUTING REPORT
WE HELP YOU FIND THE BEST ATHLETIC, ACADEMIC, AND FINANCIAL FIT
RECRUITING PLAN
COLLEGE CHOICES
1
THE PITCH COUNT
2
Contact us to help with your recruiting needs. We offer a variety of packages, as well as a series of showcases to help get you evaluated.
