BASEBALL instructors

 Coach Bappe, former Ames High Varsity Baseball Coach for 18 years. He coached Multiple All-Conference and All-State players. He has 25 years of experience in Baseball and Football coaching. He has been giving private baseball lessons and multi-player clinic's for the last 14 years. Coach Bappe has also participated in practices with the Baseball Coaching Staff at Creighton University and the University of Arizona.

Coach Moorman was a 3 year varsity baseball letter winner at Boone High School.  2-Time Little Hawkeye All-Conference Selection and 2002 IHSBCA All-Star Participant.  Ryan was a 4 year starting pitcher at Wartburg College.  He was a 4-Time IIAC All Coference Selection, 2-Time All-Region Selection and 4-Time IIAC Conference Champion.  He appeared in 2 NCAA Regional Tournaments and was part of the 2005 D3 College World Series team.   

Toran currently serves as the Director of High School Select Teams for 3T's and as an instructor who specializes in Hitting & Catching. 

In August of 2019 , Shahidi was hired by D1 North Dakota State University of the Summit league as the Catching Coach.  Shahidi served as an Assistant Coach during the 2019-2020 season for the Bison.  Shahidi did not return due to Covid 19 and took his teaching skills to 3T's.  

Toran spent his Senior college season at St. Cloud State University.  He finished his season as a 2nd Team All-Conference selection as Catcher, batting .327 with 7 home runs and 48 RBI's (both tied for 2nd on the team).  While at St. Cloud State, Shahidi served as the team's Catching Coach in a Player/Coach role.  Toran received his degree in Elective Studies in the Summer of 2019 from St. Cloud State.

In 2017 Toran accepted a scholarship offer to D1 University of South Carolina Upstate, Shahidi started 41 of 51 games while batting .280 and leading the team in doubles with 11.

Toran attended Kirkwood Community College after High School.  While starting as Catcher for the Eagles, he batted .342 as a freshman in 2015.  In 2016 he redshirted due to a shoulder injury.  He returned in 2017 and started behind the plate for the Eagles.

Toran attended Ames High School from the fall of 2010 - 2014.  He was a 4 year starter for the Little Cyclones, a 4 time all conference selection, and named team captain and pride award winner.  

 Brett Slight attended Boone High school and graduated in 2014. Slight was a 1st team all state, all district and all conference player his junior and senior year. Slight went on to play at the college level for DMACC for the 2015 and 2016 season. Slight is going on his 7th year of coaching baseball. He was the head freshman baseball coach in Boone from 2017-2019 and then took over as the head varsity baseball coach in Baxter from 2020-2022. This will be his first year coaching 7th grade baseball at Gilbert. Brett Slight has been around the game of baseball both as a player and as a coach and understands what it takes to be successful at the high school and college level. Being around a lot of baseball and always wanting to play at the college level, my goal is to coach kids and help them succeed and achieve whatever goals they might have.  

Brett Slight is currently a 7th grade PE/Health teacher at Gilbert Middle School. He coaches baseball, basketball, and football.

 David Zoz is a baseball pitching instructor at 3T’s. David first began his collegiate baseball career at Illinois Central Community College, and later on attended Middle Tennessee State University where he went 0-0 with a 3.38 ERA as a rookie in 2021. At MTSU, he finished as a Second Team All-Conference USA selection with a 6-3 record and 3.21 ERA as a senior in 2021. Throughout his career at MTSU, David went 9-6 with a 3.61 ERA in 51 appearances, seven starts.  

David is currently a pitcher for the Lincoln Saltdogs.  The Saltdogs are a professional baseball team based in Lincoln, NE. 

 Preston Church graduated from Ogden High School in 2013. He is the first and only baseball player from Ogden High School to receive a Division 1 athletic scholarship.

Class of 2013 Rawlings Top-75 Pitching Prospects in United States.

Preston was a Starting Pitcher at Western Illinois University and Creighton University (2013-2018). He was a 2x 2nd Team All-Summit League Pitching Selection. Voted Preseason Summit League Pitcher of the Year in 2016.

Earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management at Western Illinois University and a Master’s Degree in Organizational Leadership at Creighton University.

Preston is currently the Athletic Director at Storm Lake St. Mary’s High School in Storm Lake, Iowa.

Coach Church states, “I’m looking forward to giving back to kids and working with athletes who want to get better both mentally and physically to improve their baseball skillset. Hopefully applying some of the things I learned throughout my playing experience will aid in the improvement of their game to accelerate their opportunities to play at the next level.” 

Shahidi was a four-sport athlete at Ames High School earning three letters in baseball and one each in football, basketball, and wrestling… as a senior shortstop, he was named to the IHSAA All-State Third Team and the All-Central Iowa Metro League First Team… hit .389 with 14 doubles, one home run, and six stolen bases as a senior… during his junior season, earned All-Central Iowa Metro League Second Team honors… was an All-Central Iowa Metro League First Team selection in football as a wide receiver in 2017.

Shahidi continued his career at Parkland College in Champaign, IL for the 2019 & 2020 seasons. Shahidi played 45 games, primarily in the outfield... hit .328 with a .479 on-base percentage and .406 slugging percentage... finished the year with 42 hits, 37 runs scored, eight doubles, a triple, 28 RBI, and 30 walks.

Shahidi transferred for his 2021 season to Tennessee Tech University. Shahidi competed in 31 of Tech's 47 games, making seven starts, including four in center field and three in right field. Tynan recorded a .216 batting average with a .348 on-base percentage and .297 slugging percentage... totaled eight hits, six runs, three doubles, five RBI, six walks, and four stolen bases in six attempts. Shahidi posted a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage.