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Cory Welch served as the pitching coach at JL Mann High School from 2012-2017. During Welch’s tenure at JL Mann, nine pitchers continued their career at the next level. Also, in his time at JL Mann, the Patriots have captured the Region, District, and Upper State titles in the 2015 and 2016 season. Prior to arriving to JL Mann, Welch served as the Head Baseball Coach at Southside High School in Greenville, SC from the years of 2010-2012. Welch is from Anderson, SC where he played at Westside High School and was an All-Region selection in 2003 & 2004 and participated in the 2004 North/South All-Star Game. Following his time at Westside, Welch continued his baseball career at Anderson University and contributed to the pitching staff at Anderson in a variety of ways. He was named Most Valuable Pitcher in the 2008 season and currently holds the school record in career appearances (99). Welch is also a pitching instructor in the Upstate area and coaches with Canes Baseball in the summer and fall seasons. He lives in Fountain Inn, SC with wife Meredith, son Colt (12) daughter Mary Collier (9) and Olivia Claire (5).

Gary Randall is a St. Petersburg, FL native, growing up where sunshine, warm temps and baseball were givens. Arguably one of the most prolific MLB Spring Training sites in history, St. Pete. hosted the New York Yankees (1947-1950 & 1952-1961 –  Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle, Maris, Ford, etc.), St. Louis Cardinals (1947-1997 – Stan Musial, Bob Gibson), New York Mets (Tom Seaver) and now the Tampa Bay Rays having trekked through there over the years. Being born in 1952 (please don’t do the math) one can see that a number of those Hall-of-Famers were seen and idolized by yours truly as a youngster, none, however, more idolized than Mickey Mantle.   Attended grade school and junior college locally, playing both baseball & basketball before moving on to finish schooling and athletics after a 4-year hiatus. On field/court highlights during that period included high school conference championships each year in baseball with no earned runs allowed during a senior season of pitching and a “Cinderella” season of hoops missing the State Tournament by a game. Of note on the baseball side – still friend, classmate and battery mates with Tom Zimmer, son of baseball icon Don Zimmer.  Junior College brought on more hard court accolades than did the diamond, including a 59 point game (no 3 point line) and among the Top 10 scorers Nationally until later in the year an ankle injury dropped the scoring average to 27 PPG, ranking second in the state. After being recruited by mid-level D-1’s in basketball, a sabbatical of sorts ensued for four years.  At the age of 24, with no college eligibility remaining other than with NAIA colleges, was awarded a full scholarship (1/2 Baseball, 1/2 Basketball) follow a tryout at a small AL college (Birmingham-Southern College) and finished my  playing career…other than a stint in an Independent Professional Baseball League.  On to graduate school at the U of Tennessee and a grad assistantship in baseball working with/under then pitching coach Mark Conner – Asst. Coach 1974-79, Head Coach 1988, 1989. Conner later served as the NY Yankees Pitching Coach and coached with the Blue Jays, Diamondbacks, Rangers and Orioles.  Upon completion of a Master’s Degree, Vanderbilt offered an opportunity to coach, to teach and to serve as Assistant Director of Campus Recreation. In those days, Vandy had 3-4 assistants, all part-time, but not something that hindered us from becoming the 1980 SEC Baseball Champions. George Weicker who has a dugout at Davidson College bearing his name was one of the other assistants at that time.  Four years later a small college head coach’s job opened up in AL and the next six years were spent there, with only moderate success in terms of W-L, but much more success in recruiting players who would be given pro opportunities in baseball. In 1987, six players signed professional contracts (4 drafted, 2 free agent signs). It was about that time that the handwriting seemed to become more legible that evaluating talent was a much more a held skill than actually coaching those players within the confines of a team. During the time as head coach, the following players played for opposing teams we matched up against – Bo Jackson, Rafael Palmeiro, Will Clark, Bobby Thigpen, Jeff Brantley, Frank Thomas, Gregg Olson – to name some of those most well-known. The next stop was the best fit both for my skillset and for my personality – Major League Baseball Scouting. Starting out with the MLB Scouting Bureau (part of MLB proper and under the MLB Commissioner helping all 30 MLB Clubs), I was charged with covering TN and KY. A few years later my area became TN and NC over to I-95 and then to NC/SC. Age mid-60’s pushed a move to anything not full-time and thus came affiliations with the New York Mets and now the Los Angeles Angels – now in my 34th year of scouting.   Top big-leaguers scouted within my area of coverage during their high school and/or college careers (excluding players scouted while they played in/for) USA Team(s), Puerto Rico Winter League, Arizona Fall league, MILB coverage, Perfect Game National Events, etc.) –  Todd Helton, HS and College, Madison Bumgarner, Andrew Miller, Ty Wigginton, Adam Warren, Cameron Maybin, Daniel Bard, Dustin Ackley, Chris Iannetta, Matt Wieters, Evan Phillips, Carlos Rodon, Josh Hamilton, Brian Roberts, Cory/Kyle Seager, Brett Gardner, Trea Turner, George Kirby, Spencer Strider, Emilio Pagan, Zac Gallen, Cedric Mullins, Jordan Montgomery, Jordan Lyles, Jackie Bradley, Clarke Schmidt, Whit Merrifield, MacKenzie Gore, Hunter Harvey, Marcus Stroman, Wil Myers, Wil Crowe, Cal Raleigh, Tommy LaStella, among numerous others. Saving the best for last, 1) Saving relationship with Jesus Christ, 2) Married for 38 years to Cyndi (Allen) Randall. 3) Blessed with two children (Jamie-37 and Jordan (Randall) Norman-31). Jordan along with her husband Lane have given us our two granddaughters, Sutton 3 ½ and Merritt 1. 

Taylor Hollifield is a Boiling Springs, SC native. He played baseball at Boiling Springs and was a member of the 2008 State Championship team. After graduation, he attended North Greenville University as an infielder.  After his time at North Greenville, he coached at Limestone University for one year where he worked with infielders, hitters, and coached first base. After the one year at Limestone, he began coaching at Palmetto High School in Williamston, SC where he worked with infielders and hitters. During this time, he coached with the Upstate Mavericks for five years in the summers. After two years at Palmetto, he then moved back closer to his stomping ground and landed at Byrnes High School where he was the assistant coach for 5 years. In June of 2022, he was named the head coach at Byrnes High School. He has been part of the DP staff for four years where he works as an Upstate Scout. Hollifield currently resides in Spartanburg, SC with his wife Samantha, sons: Riggins (3) and Reese (1). In his free time, Hollifield enjoys playing golf, doing yard work, and spending time with family.

Jason Kullman was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As a kid he split his time growing up between Allentown and Pittsburgh where he played football, basketball and baseball through high school. Kullman pitched and played quarterback before shoulder injuries forced him to stop playing competitively in high school. After high school, Kullman made his way to Conway, SC enrolling at Coastal Carolina University in 2005. In 2009 he earned his bachelor’s degree in English along with a minor in Journalism from CCU. In addition to playing baseball and basketball, he also has worked as an umpire and referee. In January of 2010 Kullman began working for Diamond Prospects as an editor while living in Myrtle Beach, SC. After nearly six years in Myrtle Beach, he moved back to Allentown, Pa with his dog Bailey and is currently working for the Hartford Insurance Group as a customer service consultant while continuing his duties with DP. In addition to editing the game recaps, he also selects the Uncommitted Players of the Week and spearheads the DP All-Academic Team.

Coach David Beckley brings 26 years of coaching experience, including 16 years at the Division I level to the Diamond Prospects. Beckley spent 11 years as the Associate Head Coach and Recruiting Coordinator for The Citadel Baseball Program. Beckley recruited hundreds of high school student-athletes during his tenure, and was an integral part of The Citadel’s Southern Conference Championships in 2002, 2004, and 2010. Coach Beckley was directly involved with recruiting, scholarship offers, academic programming, NCAA rules and regulations, admissions, camps, fund raising, public speaking, sales and game day operations, corporate sponsorships, management of the program’s booster club, and even served as the program’s military liaison. Coach Beckley helped support the development of 27 professional players, including four big leaguers (Asher Wojciechowski, Michael Clevinger, Chris McGuiness and JP Sears). Additionally, Beckley has coached a combined 10 years in the high school ranks of South Carolina. Serving as an assistant coach at James Island HS and Barnwell HS, along with a three-year stint as Berkeley High School’s Head Baseball Coach. Since 2017, Beckley has also coached while also serving an administrative role with the prestigious SC Diamond Devils Organization. David Beckley also enjoyed a very successful playing career graduating in 1996 from The Military College of South Carolina. As a member of the 1994 and 1995 Southern Conference Championship teams; Beckley graduated as The Citadel’s all-time leader in hits, stolen bases, and games played! While also graduating as the Southern Conference’s all-time career leader in stolen bases. Beckley prepped at Stratford High School in Goose Creek, SC where he flourished in both baseball and football; earning All-State in both sports. Beckley was also selected to play in the North/South Baseball Game and the NC/SC Shrine Bowl Football Game in his senior year and was named Stratford High School’s Athlete of the Year. During his coaching career Beckley learned what it takes to build and run a successful program. He has taken those lessons and turned them into two separate businesses. E4 Consultants serves student-athletes, travel teams, high schools and school districts with support in NCAA Academic Eligibility. To compete and earn a college scholarship, you must first be academically eligible. E4 makes sure players and their high schools are meeting the ever changing standards of the NCAA. Beckley also owns mPower6 Fundraising, an online platform designed to help student athletes or teams raise funds for player fees, facility upgrades, or day-to-day operations. mPower6 has a unique model that connects each campaign to a charitable organization – giving our youth an opportunity to give back.