Staff - Gators Baseball Academy

FRONT OFFICE

Chris Cradick | Club President

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Chris’s personal aspirations for the club:

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Steve Marion | Business Development

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Steve’s personal aspirations for the club:

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Joe Lopez | Business Development

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Joe’s personal aspirations for the club:

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SHERRY SOSSAMON

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS & FINANCES

JOSH POTTER

GBA OPERATIONS & MARKETING

JIM CROMER

ILLINOIS GATORS COORDINATOR

GBA Development Staff

Seth Von Behren | GBA Director

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Email: seth.vonbehren@gatorsba.com

Seth was added to the Gators Baseball Academy staff in 2017 with the purpose of creating an elite high school program for players with a strong desire to play college baseball. This would lead to the beginning of the GBA College Development program.

Prior to GBA, Seth coached at the collegiate-level for 17 years that included stops at Maryville University (DII), South Alabama (DI), College of Charleston (DI), and West Chester University (DII).

Accomplishments

7 top 50 recruiting classes
3 programs that finished in top 25 including 12th while coaching at the College of Charleston
39 former players sign professional contracts to MLB affiliate teams
4 former players have appeared in the big leagues and 1 currently is an MLB Manager

From 1997-2001, Seth studied and played collegiate baseball at Illinois State University where he was a 4-year starter. In 2000, Seth was an All-Conference selection. He graduated from Illinois State with a Bachelors degree in Communications.

Currently, Seth resides in Troy, IL with his wife (Meredith) and two daughters (Alayna and Reese).

Seth’s personal aspirations for the club:

To continue to provide an positive learning environment for athletes at all levels by surrounding them with high level trainers who have players and their family’s best interest in mind on and off the field.

Jake Depew | Player Development Staff

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Email: jake.depew@gatorsba.com

Jake was added to the Gators Baseball Academy staff in 2017 to assist in player development at the high school level. In 2018, Jake and Seth Von Behren built what is now known as the GBA College Development program.

Prior to GBA, Jake played 8 seasons of professional baseball. He was drafted out of high school in the 2010 MLB Draft by the Tampa Bay Rays (9th Rd, 281 overall). Jake reached as high as the AA-level with the Rays before signing with the Boston Red Sox for a season. His professional career would end at 2745 innings caught with 141 runners caught stealing (44%).

In 2019, Jake took his passion for hitting development and started a company called HitLab. This would quickly become one of the area’s top hitting development programs. By 2022, HitLab partnered with 3 select teams to provide high quality assessment based programs for their hitters.

Currently, Jake leads the GBA 2029 class as well as grow his HitLab business. He resides in Granite City, IL with his wife (Danielle), son (Turner), and daughter (Shea).

Jake’s personal aspirations for the club:

Create a safe, educational, and cutting edge environment for baseball and softball players looking to pour into this great game

John Lord | Player Development Staff

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Email: john.lord@gatorsba.com

John was added to the Gators Baseball Academy staff in 2019 to assist in player development at the high school level.

Prior to GBA, John played 4 seasons at Webster University (DIII) and obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management. Following his playing career, John joined Webster’s coaching staff as a pitching coach and recruiting coordinator. In his first season as a coach, Webster broke their single-season wins record (38), while securing a 12th consecutive SLIAC championship and reaching the NCAA Regional Tournament.

In 2021, John was hired by HitLab to assist in the development of high school and youth hitters in the off-season. Since then, John has overseen the Missouri side while assisting in the overall growth and advancement of HitLab.

After a successful 3 years with the 2026 class, John will now lead the GBA 2030 class. He resides in St. Louis, MO with his wife (Jodi) and son (Jace).

John’s personal aspirations for the club: