Brevard College Baseball
Vinny Carone has been named the Head Baseball Coach at Brevard College, announced Associate Vice President for Athletics Dr. Myranda Nash. Carone is elevated to the head coaching position, effective June 1, after serving as Interim Head Coach of the Tornados this past season.
“This past season, Coach Carone proved that he is an outstanding leader and mentor of student-athletes both on and off the field,” commented Dr. Nash. “Vinny is an important asset to the Brevard College community, and we are excited for the continued growth and success of BC baseball under his leadership.”
With Carone at the helm of BC baseball in 2025, the Tornados earned their third-consecutive postseason berth after finishing in third place in the USA South Conference regular season standings. Brevard earned three USA South All-Conference selections, with Matthew Evans and Frankie Vasquez earning First Team nods and Cale Oehler collecting Second Team accolades. Oehler earned National Team of the Week honors to highlight a plethora of weekly accolades for the Tornados.
“It is an honor to be named the Head Coach of the Brevard College Baseball program,” commented Coach Carone. “It has been a long term goal of mine to be a collegiate head coach, and to get this opportunity at a place like Brevard makes it even more special. A special thank you to Dr. Myranda Nash and President Bradley J Andrews for giving me this incredible opportunity, and for their continued support and trust. Go Nados!”
As the program’s Assistant Coach in 2024, Carone help guide the Tornados to the program’s first appearance in the USA South Conference Championship series. BC earned its first-ever, NCAA-era postseason home wins, while eclipsing the 20-win mark for the third straight season.
In the classroom in 2023-24, the Tornados earned the ABCA (American Baseball Coaches Association) Team Academic Excellence Award and had a program-record five student-athletes named CSC (College Sports Communicators) Academic All-District.
Carone arrived at Brevard College from McDowell High School in Erie, Pennsylvania where he led that program to a divisional championship. He began his coaching career in 2019 at McDowell, one of the largest high schools in the state of Pennsylvania. After serving as an Assistant Coach, Carone became the school’s Head JV Baseball Coach in 2020.
In 2021, Carone was promoted to Head Baseball Coach at McDowell. He went on to lead his 2022 squad to a 16-5 overall record and a 2022 divisional championship to go along with a number one ranking in the region’s power rankings. In 2023, Carone led the squad to a 15-7 record winning district once again to go along with a state playoff berth. Impressively, 42% of the graduates that Carone coached at McDowell High School went on to play college baseball.
In the summer of 2023, Carone served as Assistant Coach and Pitching Coach for the Hastings Sodbusters of the Independence League, a collegiate summer league team comprised of NCAA DI, D2 and JUCO players located in Hastings, Nebraska. Additionally, Carone was the Co-Founder and Head Baseball Coach for the Millcreek Baseball Club in Erie, Pennsylvania and has worked as a private hitting instructor since 2019.
As a student-athlete at Allegheny College, Carone was a four-year starting infielder for the Gators from 2016-19. As a senior in 2019, he registered a .346 batting average with five doubles in 36 games played.
A native of Erie, Pennsylvania, Carone received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History with a minor in Communication Arts from Allegheny College. He went on to earn a Master of Science degree in Secondary Education: Pedagogy and Practice from Mercyhurst University.
Carone also holds a certificate from Sports Management Worldwide where he completed the renowned organization’s Baseball Player Development Course in 2021.
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Vinny Carone has been named the Head Baseball Coach at Brevard College, announced Associate Vice President for Athletics Dr. Myranda Nash. Carone is elevated to the head coaching position, effective June 1, after serving as Interim Head Coach of the Tornados this past season.
“This past season, Coach Carone proved that he is an outstanding leader and mentor of student-athletes both on and off the field,” commented Dr. Nash. “Vinny is an important asset to the Brevard College community, and we are excited for the continued growth and success of BC baseball under his leadership.”
With Carone at the helm of BC baseball in 2025, the Tornados earned their third-consecutive postseason berth after finishing in third place in the USA South Conference regular season standings. Brevard earned three USA South All-Conference selections, with Matthew Evans and Frankie Vasquez earning First Team nods and Cale Oehler collecting Second Team accolades. Oehler earned National Team of the Week honors to highlight a plethora of weekly accolades for the Tornados.
“It is an honor to be named the Head Coach of the Brevard College Baseball program,” commented Coach Carone. “It has been a long term goal of mine to be a collegiate head coach, and to get this opportunity at a place like Brevard makes it even more special. A special thank you to Dr. Myranda Nash and President Bradley J Andrews for giving me this incredible opportunity, and for their continued support and trust. Go Nados!”
As the program’s Assistant Coach in 2024, Carone help guide the Tornados to the program’s first appearance in the USA South Conference Championship series. BC earned its first-ever, NCAA-era postseason home wins, while eclipsing the 20-win mark for the third straight season.
In the classroom in 2023-24, the Tornados earned the ABCA (American Baseball Coaches Association) Team Academic Excellence Award and had a program-record five student-athletes named CSC (College Sports Communicators) Academic All-District.
Carone arrived at Brevard College from McDowell High School in Erie, Pennsylvania where he led that program to a divisional championship. He began his coaching career in 2019 at McDowell, one of the largest high schools in the state of Pennsylvania. After serving as an Assistant Coach, Carone became the school’s Head JV Baseball Coach in 2020.
In 2021, Carone was promoted to Head Baseball Coach at McDowell. He went on to lead his 2022 squad to a 16-5 overall record and a 2022 divisional championship to go along with a number one ranking in the region’s power rankings. In 2023, Carone led the squad to a 15-7 record winning district once again to go along with a state playoff berth. Impressively, 42% of the graduates that Carone coached at McDowell High School went on to play college baseball.
In the summer of 2023, Carone served as Assistant Coach and Pitching Coach for the Hastings Sodbusters of the Independence League, a collegiate summer league team comprised of NCAA DI, D2 and JUCO players located in Hastings, Nebraska. Additionally, Carone was the Co-Founder and Head Baseball Coach for the Millcreek Baseball Club in Erie, Pennsylvania and has worked as a private hitting instructor since 2019.
As a student-athlete at Allegheny College, Carone was a four-year starting infielder for the Gators from 2016-19. As a senior in 2019, he registered a .346 batting average with five doubles in 36 games played.
A native of Erie, Pennsylvania, Carone received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History with a minor in Communication Arts from Allegheny College. He went on to earn a Master of Science degree in Secondary Education: Pedagogy and Practice from Mercyhurst University.
Carone also holds a certificate from Sports Management Worldwide where he completed the renowned organization’s Baseball Player Development Course in 2021.
Cameron Cook has been named Assistant Coach and Recruiting Coordinator for the Brevard College Tornados Baseball program, announced Interim Head Coach Vinny Carone.
Cook joins the coaching staff after an outstanding four-year career as a well-rounded student-athlete at Brevard College. Cook will officially begin his coaching duties at Brevard College on December 1.
“Cam is simply an outstanding representative of the Brevard College baseball program,” said Carone. “His knowledge and charisma are going to make him a difference-maker on the recruiting trail and the practice field.”
A CSC Academic All-District and three-time Academic All-Conference (with distinction) performer, Cook competed in 42 games and made 20 starts in his career as a pitcher for the Tornados.
“I am very excited that Coach Carone gave me this great opportunity,” stated Cook. “After spending four years as a player at BC, I have seen our program grow so much in my time here. I’m eager to help continue that growth and improvement.”
Cook was named to the USA South Conference’s All-Sportsmanship Team following the 2024 season as a key part of a Tornado team that advanced the USA South championship series for the first time in program history. As a junior in 2023, Cook helped Brevard earn its first postseason wins in the program’s NCAA-era history. In 2022 as a sophomore, Cook went 4-2 with six starts in 12 appearances.
Beyond his playing career, Cook has served as a Head Baseball Coach for Stuart Cramer Junior League Baseball in Belmont, North Carolina. His experience also includes time as a Baseball Instructor for Kinetic Drive, a player and team development program located in Lowell, North Carolina, as well as serving as a referee at Mount Holly Parks and Recreation. Most recently, Cook completed an internship with the Brevard College Department of Athletics.
In the community, Cook has served as a volunteer at the Cindy Platt Boys and Girls Club of Transylvania County. He has been a leader on the Brevard College campus as well, serving as a Resident Advisor amongst other duties.
Cook is a native of Mount Holly, North Carolina where he graduated from Stuart Cramer High School. A three-time Dean’s List performer at Brevard College, Cook is set to graduate in December with a Bachelor of Arts in Physical Education with a Teacher Licensure as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Exercise Science.
Steve Hucke has joined the Brevard College Baseball staff as the Volunteer Assistant Coach and enters his third season with the program in 2021-2022.
Hucke joins the Brevard coaching staff after 17 successful years as the Head Baseball Coach at Rochester Community and Technical College in Rochester, Minnesota where he amassed a coaching record of 339-282-1. At RCTC, Hucke coached and developed six All-American players along with numerous All-Conference, All-Division, and All-Region selections in addition to one Rawlings Gold Glove winner. Many of Hucke’s players transferred to DI, DII. DIII and NAIA schools, as well as having four former players play Independent Professional Baseball.
“Adding Coach Hucke to our staff was a no brainer,” commented Coach Victory. “His experience in the baseball community will be invaluable for our staff and for our players. Coach Hucke knows what it takes to build a winning culture and a winning program. He has integrated himself seamlessly to our beliefs and team philosophies and we are excited for where he can help us take this program going forward.”
Hucke holds a 353-306-1 career record, as Hucke served one season as the Head Baseball at the University of Wisconsin at River Falls. All told, Hucke has 24 total years of collegiate baseball coaching experience.
Over the course of his illustrious career, Hucke’s teams participated in the Regional Tournament 14-out-of-17 seasons at RCTC. Hucke led RCTC to a Regional Championship in 2011, where the Yellow Jackets went on to be NJCAA DIII World Series participants. The seasoned veteran has been honored with numerous Coach of the Year awards over the course of his career.
In addition to coaching baseball, Hucke also served as the Head Women’s Basketball Coach at Rochester over the past 17 years. At the helm, Hucke compiled a career record of 294-170, highlighted with an NJCAA DIII National Championship in 2009 with a flawless 34-0 record. Hucke coached nine All-Americans, numerous All-Region, All-State, All-Division players as the women’s basketball head coach, and had many players transfer to play at DI, DII, DIII, and NAIA institutions.
Alongside his duties as Volunteer Assistant Coach at Brevard, Hucke also works as an Admissions Counselor at Brevard College.
Hucke played collegiately for two seasons at Ellsworth Community College before transferring to Coe College to complete his playing career. At Coe, Hucke was selected First-Team All-Midwest Conference, All-Region, Team MVP, Team Captain, Gold Glove, and Mr. Hustle.
Bill Sizemore has been named Director of Pitching Development for the Brevard College Tornados Baseball program, announced Interim Head Coach Vinny Carone.
Sizemore joins the coaching staff with a wealth of baseball experience on the high school, collegiate and professional levels. Sizemore will officially begin his coaching duties at Brevard College on January 1.
“I would like to thank Director of Athletics Myranda Nash and Coach Carone for the opportunity to join the Brevard College baseball program and the Tornado family,” said Sizemore. “I am excited to continue coaching student-athletes at Brevard College. As a coach, my focus has always been the development of student-athletes, both on and off the field. I look forward to being part of the continued success of Tornado baseball.”
Sizemore arrives at Brevard after college baseball tenures at Whitman College (Wash.) and Bethany College (W.Va.). Prior to coaching at Whitman and Bethany, Sizemore spent over 20 years working with professional baseball organizations.
“Bill is a living encyclopedia of baseball knowledge and stories,” said Carone. “Not only will he challenge our players to be better, but he will challenge me to be a better coach. I’m looking forward to being alongside him in the dugout for 40-plus games this season.”
Sizemore began his coaching journey in 1979 as the Head Baseball Coach at Burroughs High School in Ridgecrest, California. After a stint at Canyon High School in Canyon Country, California, he became the Pitching Coach at Saugus (Calif.) High School where he had the opportunity to work with Roger Salkeld, the no. 1 pick (no. 3 overall) of the Seattle Mariners in the 1989 MLB draft. Sizemore then moved to Hart High School in Newhall, California in 1992 as an assistant coach.
Sizemore left Hart H.S. to become the Head Coach at Thousand Oaks (Calif.) High School where he won a Marmonte League championship and reached the state quarterfinals in 2000. While at Thousand Oaks, he coached Jack Wilson, an MLB All-Star shortstop who played for the Pirates, Mariners and Braves.
Next for Sizemore was the veteran coach’s first college baseball opportunity, serving as Assistant Coach for Moorpark College in California. In 2013, he was named Pitching Coach at Bethany College in West Virginia. From 2016-18, Sizemore was the Pitching Coach for Whitman College, an NCAA Division III school located in Walla Walla, Washington.
Sizemore’s 20-plus years in professional baseball began in 1989 as an Associate Scout for the Mariners before being hired as a minor league pitching coach for Seattle. After his time with the Mariners, he worked with Major League Baseball as a pitching coach in the Pioneer League, followed by a seven-year assignment as a minor league pitching coach for the Florida Marlins. After working in player development, Sizemore moved into scouting for the Marlins for four years. He later served as a part-time area scout for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 2007-11.
During his eight years of scouting, Sizemore spent his summers working as the pitching coach for the Rockville Express and the Bethesda Big Train in the Cal Ripken Collegiate League. The Big Train won a national championship in 2011 and was the number one ranked summer league team by Perfect Game. While in the Ripken League, Sizemore helped develop future major league pitchers Joe Smith (Angels, Astros), Justin DeFratus (Phillies), Cody Allen (Indians, Angels) and Matt Bowman (Cardinals, Reds, Yankees).
Sizemore graduated from Cal State Stanislaus with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Physical Education. At Cal State Stanislaus, he was a member of two national championship baseball teams and held the school record for career winning percentage as a pitcher.
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