The league is excited to announce that LTD Hospitality will be serving as our Official Lodging Partner again for the 2019 season. Parents of TSL members can use the discount codes provided to take advantage of great savings at some of the area’s finest hotels. Click HERE to visit our Parents Lodging page for details about all the great properties available.
The Norfolk Redbirds Baseball Club has announced the signing of Jon Gold as their new head coach for the upcoming 2019 season. The Pelicans and the TSL would like to welcome Coach Gold to our organization.
Jon Gold comes to the Tidewater Summer Collegiate Baseball League following his first year serving as an assistant coach at Albertus Magnus College, a DIII program in New Haven, Connecticut. At Albertus, Jon manages the infielders and provides additional fielding instruction to both pitchers and outfielders. Jon also backs the hitting instruction for the team. Jon attended Emmanuel College, located in Boston, Massachusetts. There, he was named captain and manager of the club baseball program. As the president of the club, Jon controlled all decisions pertaining to baseball operations. Upon graduating from Emmanuel, Jon began working for Fenway High School as the Assistant Coach of their varsity baseball team. Jon served as Fenway’s Head Assistant for two years before taking over as Head Coach in the fall of 2017. During his time with the baseball program at Fenway, Jon worked towards his master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling at Boston College. After graduating from Boston College in May of 2018, Jon acted as Assistant Coach of the Bancroft Bandits within the Pioneer Summer Collegiate Baseball League in Iowa. While there, Jon advanced the player development of infielders and hitters.
The Portsmouth Yardbirds are excited to announce the hiring of Michael “Mick” McFerran as their new head coach for the upcoming 2019 season.
Coach McFerran is serving in his second year as the associate head coach and pitching coach for the Skidmore College baseball program and will be entering his first year in the Tidewater Collegiate summer Baseball League as the Head Coach of the Portsmouth Yardbirds Baseball Club.
McFerran brings a wide variety of baseball experience from his young, post-athletic career to Skidmore. McFerran is an Associate Scout for the Rockland Boulders, front-runners in the Can-Am Independent League, in addition to being the pitching coach for the Hayner Brothers Barnstormers summer travel program. He also served as Assistant General Manager for the Glens Falls Dragons in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League in in 2017.
McFerran ended his collegiate playing career in 2016, pitching in the Sunshine State Conference for NCAA Division II powerhouse, Lynn University in (FL), under 2009 NCAA National Champion and tenured Head Coach, Rudy Garbalosa. He was also a two-year veteran of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, pitching for the then – Glens Falls Golden Eagles in 2014, before returning to pitch for the renewed Glens Falls Dragons in 2015, following their transitional year into new ownership. There, McFerran learned under former Major Leaguer and Detroit Tigers / Houston Astros Pitching Coach and Coordinator, Jon Matlack (Matlack was National League Rookie of the Year for the New York Mets in 1972).
McFerran also pitched in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League for the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks in the first two summers of his collegiate career, where he posted a 3.50 ERA following his freshman season in 2012, and won a FCBL Championship with the team in 2013.
McFerran earned his Master’s in Business Administration with a concentration in Sport Management at Lynn University in 2016, and his Bachelor’s in Mass Communications at The College at Brockport in 2015.
McFerran originally hails from Albany, N.Y., but grew up spending much of his time living with his family in nearby Lake George. He also attended Catholic Central High School in Troy, N.Y.
The Suffolk Voyagers Baseball Club is excited to announce the signing of Matt Young to serve as their head coach for the upcoming 2019 summer season, along with Associate Head Coach Nick Galenti and Assistant Coach Scott Courturier. The Voyagers and the Tidewater Collegiate Summer Baseball League welcome Coach Young, Coach Galenti and Coach Courturier to our organization.
Matt Young is in his 6th year of coaching. He is currently coaching at Thomas College in Waterville, ME where he serves as an Assistant Coach working mostly with hitters and middle infielders, while also recruiting. Coach Young spent last summers season as the Assistant Coach of the Carolina Forest Crawdads of the BCBL in Myrtle Beach, SC. Previously Matt was at Messalonskee High School in Oakland, ME At Messalonskee Matt coached the catchers, hitters and infielders. Matt also coached both the junior and senior legion summer programs being named the Norths Division All Star Team Head Coach in both the 2017 and 2018 seasons during his tenure at MHS. Coach Young is a 2018/2019 participant at the invitation only Major League Baseball Scouting Development Program. Matt owns and operates Play Ball, a 12,000 sq. foot indoor baseball and softball training facility in Vasselboro, ME. This is his first year coaching in the Tidewater Summer Baseball League.
Coach Galenti enters his 4th season as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for Erie Community College in Buffalo, NY where he is the understudy of long-time coach Joe Bauth, who has amassed over 950 wins and is the active President of the NJCAA. Nick works with hitters, infielders, as well as catchers. Nick is also the recruiting coordinator and has seen each recruiting class get bigger every year since he started. Nick is also included in the process of helping the sophomores that play for ECC search for potential 4 year schools to play at after they graduate at Erie CC. In his playing day, Nick played at Erie CC for two years. He then went on to play at NAIA Central Methodist University where he won a Gold Glove playing 2B and led the conference in double plays and fielding percentage.
Scott Couturier joined the United States Marine Corp directly upon graduating from Messalonskee High School in Oakland, ME. Serving from 1988 to 1993 and is a Gulf War Veteran. Scott has served on Coach Young’s staff for the past couple of summer seasons starting in 2017 as a bench coach. Coach Couturier took on the role as both the pitching coach and bench coach in 2018 for Carolina Forest Crawdads of the Beach Collegiate Baseball League in Myrtle Beach, SC. Coach Couturier volunteers time at a local gym working with high school and college baseball players with baseball specific strength and conditioning both off season and in season. Coach Couturier is also a certified power lifting judge. This is his first year coaching in the Tidewater Summer Baseball League.
The Virginia Beach Shredders Baseball Club is excited to announce the signing of Barry Powell as their new head coach for the 2019 summer season. Coach Powell brings decades of coaching experience to the Shredders and the Tidewater Summer League. Also joining the Shredders staff for the upcoming 2019 season is Associate Head Coach Murray Ruggiero and assistant coaches Matt Carter and Jonathan Shiver. The Shredders and the league are excited to have Coach Powell, Coach Ruggiero, Coach Carter and Coach Shiver joining us for the 2019 season.
Coach Barry Powell comes from Patrick Henry Community College baseball program where he serves as the pitching coach for the 2018-19 season. He has an Associates Degree in Arts and Sciences from PHCC and a Bachelors Degree from Mary Baldwin University in History. Coach Powell currently teaches Physical Education and Health at George Washington High School in Danville. While this may be his first year with PHCC, this is by far not his first year coaching. He has coached for more than 40 years and at many different levels.
Coach Powell is originally from the South Boston/Halifax area, where he coached middle school and American Legion baseball. He has coached at Martinsville high school as well as in the Collegiate Coastal Plains league with the Martinsville Mustangs. He moved to George Washington High in Danville and was the assistant coach until 2013 when he took over as head coach. In 2017-18 he became the pitching coach for Danville Community College. Part of his professional experience came from the years that he was a MLB scout for the Philadelphia Phillies, Florida Marlins, and Kansas City Royals. Coach Powell has had numerous young men to go on to play professional baseball. He looks forward to assisting the Virginia Shredders team in another successful season.
The Outer Banks Daredevils Baseball Club is excited to announce that Head Coach Michael Dooley will be returning for another season as manager of the club. Joining Coach Dooley for the 2019 as Co-Head Coach is longtime Tidewater Drillers skipper Gary Wright. Coach Wright is on of the local legends of baseball in the Virginia Beach area and the Daredevils are excited to have him working with our players this coming year. Also returning to the Daredevils staff will be long time Assistant Coach Graham Barnes.
Coach Dooley, a resident of Kitty Hawk, NC and native of Chesapeake, VA, will be entering his 6th season as head coach of the Outer Banks Daredevils. Coach Dooley led the Greenbrier Knights as head coach for 20 seasons prior to moving to the Outer Banks and taking the helm of the Daredevils. Coach Dooley has established great summer programs year after year, with his player first approach to summer baseball. His formula of combining playing at championship caliber level with playing for the love of the game has provided hundreds of collegiate players with a great summer baseball experience. Over his collegiate summer league coaching career, Coach Dooley has lead his ball clubs to a combined 14 summer league championships.
Founder and long time Tidewater Drillers skipper Gary Wright has joined the Outer Banks Daredevils coaching staff for the upcoming season. Coach Wright is one of our local baseball legends, and any attempt to provide an accurate and complete bio would be an overwhelming undertaking, but Coach Wrights contribution to the Tidewater Summer League, to the Tidewater area’s youth baseball programs, and the men who have come through the Drillers program through the years cannot be overstated. We are honored to have Coach Wright working with the Daredevils players.
Assistant Coach Graham Barnes, a graduate of Appalachian State University, has been a part of the Daredevils organization through out the teams existence. His family served as host parents for many years, and Graham enjoyed his younger years as a host brother to Daredevils players each summer. During his collegiate baseball career, Graham was an outfielder and designated hitter for the Daredevils, and following his playing career, Graham joined the coaching staff of the Outer Banks Daredevils, where he has served as the first base coach during the past several seasons.
The Lakewood Legends Baseball Club is excited to announce the hiring of Head Coach Roberto Vaz, and Assistant Coach Freddie Bynum, Jr. Both Coach Vaz and Coach Bynum bring extensive collegiate and professional experience and the Legends and league are excited to have them joining us this summer.
In his first year with the Bengals, LSU Eunice earned its fourth NJCAA National Championship. The 2012 offense was highlighted by six NCAA Division I signees, led by All-American Dalton Herrington and Golden Glove recipient Stuart Turner. The Bengals also set a then-school record for wins with 57 victories.
In Coach Vaz’s second year, the Bengals were national runner-up with a 52-10 record. The offense compiled a .311 batting average while stealing 253 bases, a school record. The offense was highlighted by five position players moving on to play at D-1 schools.
The Brooklyn native returned to Eunice for the 2018 NJCAA National Championship season. Vaz guided a Bengals attack that led NJCAA Division II in doubles (159), walks (350) and stolen bases (241). LSUE was also top Top Five nationally in eight other hitting categories.
In the four seasons Vaz was been with the Bengals, LSU Eunice has reached the National Championship three times, winning twice. LSUE is 168-21 during that span.
As a player, Vaz began his collegiate career as a member of Northeast Texas CC, helping the Eagles capture the 1996 NJCAA National Championship. The two-way star was the JUCO World Series Most Valuable Player and recipient of the tournament’s “Big Stick” (top hitter) and Sportsmanship Awards after hitting a blistering .579 during the Eagles stay in Grand Junction. He was later named to the JUCO World Series Golden Anniversary Team, celebrating the World Series’ 50th year in 2007. Vaz was on the 21-member team alongside baseball greats such as Kirby Puckett and Wayne Graham.
After NTCC, Vaz joined the Alabama Crimson Tide, making an immediate impact. In 1997, Vaz was named First-Team All-American, First-Team All-SEC and still holds several Crimson Tide offensive records. The outfielder and pitcher was nominated as a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award, the “Heisman Trophy” of amateur baseball. Alabama finished as NCAA Runner-Up at the College World Series in his lone year in Tuscaloosa.
A seventh round selection by the Oakland Athletics in 1997, Vaz played seven years of minor league baseball with both the A’s and Texas Rangers. In 1999, Vaz helped the Vancouver Canadians capture the Triple-A World Series. Vaz compiled a career .286 batting average with 35 home runs, 77 stolen bases and 249 RBIs in 494 minor league games.
The Lakewood Legends Baseball Club and the Tidewater Collegiate Summer Baseball League are excited to have Coach Vaz joining us this summer.
Coach Bynum will be joining the Lakewood Legends coaching staff for the upcoming 2019 summer season. Coach Bynum played in the big leagues in the Oakland Athletics organization, the Chicago Cubs organization and the Baltimore Orioles organization and brings a wealth of baseball knowledge and experience to the league. We are excited to have Coach Bynum joining us this summer.
The Greenbrier Knights Baseball Club are excited to announce that Coach Chuck Slaughter and Coach Jack Moore will both be returning to the Knights. In addition, the Knights are excited to have John Bates and Jabari Brown joining the staff for the 2019 summer season.
Coach Slaughter, a native & resident of Chesapeake, VA, is entering his 25th season of coaching in the Greenbrier Knights organization. Coach Slaughter is the former head baseball coach at IC Norcom HS in Portsmouth, VA. Coach Slaughter played collegiate baseball at Virginia Wesleyan College.
Coach Moore, a native & resident of Virginia Beach, VA, is returning to the Knights coaching staff. Coach Moore is currently an assistant baseball coach at Bryant & Stratton College, and has over 20 years of collegiate coaching experience, serving as head coach and assistant coach for NCAA & NJCAA college programs through the years, as well as in collegiate summer leagues. Coach Moore played collegiate baseball at Barton College.
Coach Bates is currently serving as the assistant Coach/recruiting coordinator at Rust College in Holly Springs, MS. Coach Bates has previously served as head coach at Lane College in Jackson, TN as well as several other coaching positions. Prior to beginning his coaching career, Coach Bates served our Country in the US Army.
Coach Bates earned his BS degree in Education from Liberty University, and his BA in Theology from the University of Minnesota Graduate School of Theology, Brooklyn center, MN.
Coach Bates played his collegiate baseball at Coahoma Junior College in Clarksdale, Mississippi and then Mississippi Valley State University. Coach Bates will be entering his first season as associate head coach of the Greenbrier Knights in the TSL.
Coach Brown is currently serving as the assistant baseball coach at Claflin University in South Carolina. Coach Brown will be in his first year as the assistant coach for the Greenbrier Knights Baseball Club. We are happy to have Coach Brown joining us this summer.
The Virginia Blasters are excited to announce that Gary Lavelle will be returning as Head Coach for the 2019 Season. Joining Coach Lavelle as co-head coach will be Gary Denette. Coach Denette served as an assistant coach with the Va Beach Shredders in 2018, and the Blasters are excited to have him joining the staff for the upcoming season. Also returning to the Blasters coaching staff is Mitchell Everett, who served his first season as an assistant coach with the Blasters in 2018. The Blasters and the league are excited to have Coach Everett, Coach Denette and Coach Lavelle back for another season.
With over twenty years of professional pitching experience under his belt, Coach Gary Lavelle will be an incredible asset to to the Tidewater Collegiate Summer Baseball League and our players. He spent most of his his pro pitching career with the San Francisco Giants where he was twice named a National League All-Star and held the record for most game appearances as well as being listed in the top 10 for saves and wins.
Coach Lavelle also played pro ball for the Toronto Blue Jays and the Oakland Athletics before deciding to move from the mound to the coaches’ box, where he had a strong desire to work with youngsters in developing their baseball ability, sportsmanship and leadership. As head coach of Greenbrier Christian Academy in Chesapeake, VA, Lavelle was named TCIS Conference Coach of the Year for six consecutive years, as well as a seven-time Virginia State Independent Schools Coach of the Year. Lavelle’s team was a four-time winner of the Metro Conference Championship, a six-time winner of the Division I Virginia State Championship, and winner of the Division II Virginia State Championship in 1999.
In 2000, Coach Lavelle returned to the Big Leagues as a Pitching Coach for the New York Yankees where he culminated his career as the 2004 Eastern League All Star Game Pitching Coach. After five years with the Yankees, Lavelle decided to return to Greenbrier Christian Academy where he had found his true calling. Over the next 10 years, his team went on to win the Virginia Independent Schools State Championship four times and Lavelle was named Coach of the Year for each of those years.
Coach Gary Lavelle officially retired from Greenbrier Christian Academy at the end of the 2016 school year, and is currently the Head Baseball Coach of the Bryant & Stratton College Bobcats, where he continues to help develop and mentor young student athletes and is establishing what will become one of the premier junior college programs.
After serving as an assistant coach during our 2018 season, Coach Denette will be rejoining us as head coach for the upcoming 2019 season. Coach Denette was an outstanding player for Churchland High, earning Portsmouth Player of the Year honors, All-Southeastern District, led district in batting, All-Tidewater led tidewater and all AAA schools in OBP. All-Region. Gary went to Christopher Newport University, where as freshman he led team in batting. Gary also was a starter on the Chesapeake Cubs travel team managed by Allan Erbe. Gary was an outstanding top of the order hitter/ baserunner and performed effectively at several positions including P, SS, 2B and CF. Gary is currently a SCPO in the USN, having served 20 years. Gary is currently the JV coach at Churchland HS.
Assistant Coach Mitch Everett is entering his second year of coaching in the TSL, and will be assisting Head Coach Gary Lavelle with the Blasters again this summer. Coach Everett is currently serving as a vol. assistant coach at Elon University.
The TSL provides college baseball players the opportunity to participate in a highly competitive, well organized, collegiate, summer, baseball league during the summer months, and gain valuable playing experience after the college season has ended.
Founded in 1946 in Norfolk, VA and currently located in Virginia Beach, VA, the TSL has consistently delivered a great summer baseball experience for over 70 years. More than 50 of our former players have went on to play professional baseball, 
and over a dozen of them have played in the Major Leagues, some earning All Star recognition, among other various awards, and one even winning the National League Batting Title.
The Tidewater Collegiate Summer Baseball League is a “wood bat” league, as are most of the major college summer leagues, playing games in Virginia Beach and the surrounding area. As one of the country’s top developmental leagues, the Tidewater Collegiate Summer Baseball League remains focused on providing our players with a professionally ran summer playing experience.
Our 9 inning games are played on quality fields; using experienced, collegiate umpires, collegiate quality baseballs & equipment, for the purpose of providing a high quality environment for our players to continue to develop their baseball skills during the summer months.
The Tidewater Summer League provides a “spring training” style environment, where daily lifting, strength & conditioning, hitting, throwing and fielding work outs are combined with a competitive baseball game, providing our players with consistent, quality work outs that promote development and growth, and that work is reinforced and evaluated daily during the games played.
We are led by our experienced coaching, whose shared goals are focused on helping develop college baseball players. Our outstanding coaching staff has decades of experience helping collegiate student/athletes develop and include current and former head coaches and assistant coaches from NCAA Div. I, Div. II, Div. III, NJCAA, NAIA, NCCAA; current and former professional baseball scouts; and former professional and collegiate players who have the experience and knowledge to help players take the next step in their development.
To ensure our members get the most from their summer baseball experience, roster limits are strictly enforced, as are the league’s strict “pitch count/days rest” rules for pitchers; providing maximum playing opportunities, while ensuring the health and safety of all of our league members.
College summer leagues have played a role in the careers of many current and former professional baseball players, providing them the opportunity to improve their skills and understanding of the game, while gaining invaluable experience that helped with both their collegiate and professional careers.
Not 100% sure about where you will be playing college baseball for the next school year – each summer, Junior College Players & other players looking to transition to a new school have been able to parlay their summer baseball experience into a new collegiate playing opportunity. Our league is “watched” by dozens of great collegiate programs.
Extended Summer Playing Opportunities – Also, each summer, once our season has ended, several of our league’s top players receive invitations to join other teams in some outstanding summer league’s whose season run into early August, such as the Coastal Plain League, the Texas Collegiate League, the Valley League, the Perfect Game League & the Northwoods League.
Tidewater Summer League (formerly known as the Norfolk City League & Norfolk Summer League) has been fielding baseball teams across the greater Hampton Roads area for over 70 years. Our goal remains to provide quality playing and development opportunities for collegiate baseball players; to maintain a quality venue for area college coaches and professional scouts to evaluate potential prospects; to help connect collegiate programs and players; to provide a high quality, well organized platform that assists in helping to develop players, coaches, interns and umpires; to assist in the maintenance and improvements of our area fields and facilities; and to continue providing great family entertainment for our area’s baseball fans, as we have done since 1946.
Visit our League Info page for more information about the league, it’s 70+ year history, alumni, champions and more.
