Coaches/Instructors
Baseball Coaches & Instructors
Jim Chamblee
12U, 2025 & 2027 Chamblee Head Coach
Jim is a graduate of Denton High School where he lettered in both basketball and baseball. As a shortstop he helped lead the Bronco baseball team to the Regional Finals back to back seasons in 92' and 93'.
Following his high school career Jim signed with Odessa College on a baseball scholarship and won the starting shortstop job as a freshman. He had a great freshman campaign and followed it up a stellar sophomore year hitting .425 with 18 homers earning him WJCAC MVP, All Region, All American and JUCO World Series All Tournament Team honors. After the success of his 95' season Jim signed a letter of intent to play at Texas Tech but was drafted in the 12th round of the June Amateur draft by the Boston Red Sox. He opted to follow his dream and play professional baseball.
Jim played for 10 seasons with 4 different organizations (Red Sox, Astros, Cardinals and Reds) and finally retired in 2004. The highlight of his career was reaching the big leagues in 2003 briefly with the Cincinnati Reds. Over his 10 seasons as a professional ballplayer he logged 1,162 games and finished his career with a .264 AVG, 1,046 hits, 131 HR and 560 RBI. Jim is married with 2 sons and enjoys spending time with his family, coaching his boys, golfing, hunting and teaching kids the game he loves.
RAY GAITHER
Pitching & Hitting Instructor
JAKE JOHANSEN
2027 Johansen-Head Coach
Pitching & Hitting Instructor
Jake grew up in Allen Texas and attended Allen High School. He played first, third, and pitcher for the Eagles during his time there. Jake was drafted out of high school in the 45th round by the New York Mets but chose to further his education and baseball career at Dallas Baptist University. During his four year span at DBU, Jake was a part of 1 conference tournament championship, 2 regionals, and 1 super regional appearance. In 2012 Jake was drafted by the Pittsburg Pirates in the 27th round and again turned it down to go back to college to graduate with a degree in Kinesiology and play for another year. In 2013 he was selected 68th overall in the 2nd round by the Washington Nationals.
Jake played in the Washington Nationals organization from 2013-2017 before getting picked up by the Chicago White Sox half way through the 2017 season. He played with the White Sox through the end of the 2018 season and is currently a free agent. During his 6 year professional career, Jake has experience as a starter, reliever, and closer at almost every level in the minor leagues.
Cole Solomon
13U, 14U & 2027 Solomon-Head Coach
Catching, Hitting & Pitching Instructor
Cole Solomon grew up in Coppell, TX and attended Coppell High School where he spent 3 years as the starting catcher on the #1 team in the nation. During his senior year, he hit .340 and was 1st team all-district. After high school, Cole spent his freshman year at Abilene Christian University starting 43 games as a Catcher/3rd baseman.
Cole transferred for his sophomore season to Fort Scott Community College hitting .344 with 11 home runs and 35 RBI’s and received ALL-KJCCC Honors. Cole finished his collegiate career with a 3 year span at the University of Texas at Arlington as a catcher, while not allowing a single passed ball during UTA career and finished with a near perfect .996 fielding percentage.
Cole specializes in catching and hitting bringing over 15 years of experience at the position, including 4 years of catching at the Division 1 Level.
ADAM GUAY
10U Guay, 11U Guay & 2027 Guay HEAD COACH
Pitching & Hitting Instructor
Adam is a graduate of Creekview High School where he lettered in both basketball and baseball. As a pitcher, he helped lead the way to 2 district championships and 3 playoff appearances in 4 years for the Mustangs. He was named to an All-District team in his Sophomore, Junior, and Senior seasons.
Following high school, Adam walked on at Seward County Community College in Liberal, Kansas. After a slow start to his first year, Adam finished strong with a conference championship clinching win in the last game of the regular season throwing a 2 hit shut out. In the NJCAA Region 6 Tournament, Adam was the go-to arm out of the bullpen and notched wins against the #2 and #25 ranked teams in the same day about 12 hours apart helping get the Saints to the Region 6 championship game.
After two years at Seward, Adam signed with Urbana University in Urbana, Ohio to continue his collegiate career as a Blue Knight. His Junior year came to an abrupt end the second week of conference play with a season-ending knee injury. After rehabbing and getting back to full strength, Adam enjoyed great success in his Senior season where he set a school record for wins in a season (7), came in second all-time in school history for winning percentage (.875), and was named to the Second Team All-Conference roster.
BRANT BENNETT
11U & 12U Head Coach
Pitching & Hitting Instructor
Born in Denton, TX. Went to High School and Was a four-year member of the baseball team at Denton Braswell High School (Texas) ... as a senior, tossed 71 innings, recorded 122 strikeouts and finished with a minuscule 0.50 ERA ... in his junior season, he threw 62 innings and had 85 strikeouts for a 1.50 ERA ... was named District Pitcher of the Year and DRC All-Area Pitcher of the Year ... was an all-district and Dallas Morning News all-area selection
Before Washburn: Played two seasons at McLennan Community College in Waco, Texas ... was a member of the Highlander squad that finished in second place in the North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference and advanced to the championship game of the Region V Tournament in 2019 ... earned back-to-back academic all-conference second team selections ... pitched 12 innings for the Highlanders, recording eight strikeouts and a 4.30 ERA in his freshman season ... made two appearances his sophomore season before the remainder of the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
At Washburn he worked eight innings in 12 relief appearances on the mound and finished with a 3.38 ERA and five strikeouts ... picked up a save at Northwest Missouri on May 7th
Marcos Campos
12U Campos Head Coach
Hitting, Catching & Fielding Instructor
| Marcos attended Newman Smith High School where he played on varsity for 3 years. During his time at Newman Smith, Marcos won several awards including all-district and won the 2010 Area Championship.
Marcos is passionate about coaching youth baseball players to not only be the best they can be on the field, but off the field as well. His primary areas of instruction are hitting, fielding and catching where he teaches young men how to be great competitors. Off the field, Marcos' primary focus is his family and being the best husband and father(2 kids) he can. |
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Dylan Blyleven
9U & 10U Head Coach
Hitting & Pitching Instructor
I am the Grandson of HoF pitcher Bert Blyleven. I grew up in MLB locker rooms learning how to play the game from some of the best players at the time. I Graduated from Frisco Reedy HS in 22’ where I played 4 years of varsity baseball as a catcher and third baseman. During my 4 years I was awarded 2nd team utility player once as a freshman and once as a junior, my senior year I was selected 1st team catcher as well as Reedys team MVP for that season with my contributions on offense and defense.
I signed to Southeastern Oklahoma State where I redshirted and transferred to Brookhaven JC, in my freshman year at Brookhaven I was hitting .270 with 1 HR and a .500 OBP in 8 conference games before I had season ending surgery on my labrum. My goal is to teach kids how to play the game the right way while also providing a fun and positive environment for them to enjoy their time playing baseball and being a kid.
Caleb Vuono
12U Vuono Head Coach
Hitting, Pitching and Fielding Instructor
Caleb Vuono grew up in Lewisville, TX and attended Lewisville High School for 4 years where he was a 4 year varsity player as an outfielder and pitcher. He was part of the playoff team in 2017 for LHS and was an all district player in his career. After Caleb attend Weatherford College, UTPB and is currently playing at UTD. Caleb has experience as a collegiate pitcher, outfielder, and infielder.
Caleb is available for pitching, hitting and fielding lessons.
Jordan Jones
13U Jordan Head Coach
Hitting, Pitching and Fielding Instructor
Jordan was born in Carrollton Texas and played at Denton high school and Braswell high school for two years winning first team all district utility back to back years in a row. He then went on to pitch at Richland community college for one year. After his freshman year, he transferred to the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff where he played the remainder of his years and graduated with his bachelor's degree.
Jordan is excited to help his players grow and develop into passionate hard working athletes. Who chase their dreams and goals through adversity.
Zak Adams
Pitching & Hitting Instructor
15th-round draft pick 2010 MLB Draft out of Flower Mound High School as a left-handed pitcher. During his 8 years in travel baseball, Zak has produced 20+ All-Americans and has had over 100+ players commit to NCAA/NJCAA programs (including SEC, Big 12, Pac 12, ACC, Missouri Valley, Big 10, and C-USA). Zak specializes in optimizing health, maximizing efficiency, and mitigating risk for pitchers while maintaining unique movement patterns that allow athletes to perform at their most effective levels to produce in-game results.
Dylan King
Pitching & Hitting Instructor
Graduate of Riverdale High School in Murfreesboro, TN where hr was voted pitcher of the year of the 7AAA district his senior year. Dylan went on to get drafted by the New York Mets in the 25th round, but decided to go to college instead.
He attended Belmont University which is a division 1 school in Nashville, TN. Dylan found success at Belmont winning first Team ALL OVC honors his sophomore year and was invited to play in the Cape Cod League that summer. He had a great summer and started meeting with professional teams that were projecting him to go top 5 rounds in the 2018 draft. Unfortunately, Dylan tore his UCL during his junior year and had to have Tommy John Surgery.
Dylan thought his pro chances were over that year until his agent asked if he was still interested in signing and starting rehab with a pro team. Of course he jumped at the opportunity and the Angels ended up drafting him in the 18th round. Dylan continued rehab with them and started his pro career June 2019 in Orem, UT playing rookie ball.
He was quickly was promoted to Single A in Iowa where he would finish the year on innings restrictions. The next season was cancelled due to COVID. The next 2 years he spent in Washington for the Angels' High A team the Tri-City Dust Devils. In 2023, he started there again before getting promoted to AAA in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Dylan decided to retire in May 2023. After much thought and reflection, he knew he wanted to continue working in baseball and decided to start giving lessons again. Dylan has been giving lessons and developing athletes since high school, so he's always had the passion to teach. He specializes in teaching proper arm care routines and mechanics to help keep the athlete healthy. In his free time he enjoys playing golf, cooking, and working out!
Softball Coaches & Instructors
Kristin Smith
Softball Director
Softball has always been a passion in my life. I went from playing at 5 years old all the way to college and went into coaching right away and never looked back. I truly love seeing girls fall in love with a game that has brought me so many wonderful memories with teammates and joy from doing something I love. I am currently coaching at Lewisville High School. My husband Chris and I live in Lewisville with our three kids, Gentry (11), Joe (10) and Marleigh (5)
Playing Career:
2000-2002 Vernon College (NJCAA)
2002-2004 University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (USAO) (NAIA)
College Coaching Career:
2005 USAO Grad Assistant
2005-2007 Assistant Coach- Vernon College (NJCAA)
2007-2011 Assistant Coach- Texas Woman's University (NCAA DII)
Given lessons for 12 years
Former Director of Lion-Hearted Softball
Coaches’ Statement
Our mission as a coaches is to develop your true potential in life. We promise to have an open door policy and be available to you to talk about your needs and dreams. Our goal is to encourage athletic skills through individualized instruction, strengthen inner core values and principles, encourage abilities in leadership, fair play and team work, and provide a fun, rewarding and memorable experience.
After years of playing competitive baseball, our coaches have integral knowledge about baseball and use a wide variety of techniques. We encourage our players to participate in other sports like our coaches did. It is a great way to cross train and enables them to build other skills for lifelong use. After all, our players are kids and should have a chance to be one.
We feel we must build not only a well-rounded baseball player, but a well-rounded person. As a staff, we constantly work with players to develop individual and team goals, exhibit sportsmanship, and create a positive environment which encourages growth in life skills. We also teach the importance of citizenship thru our teams volunteering in the communities they live and play in.
Baseball is not just something you experience as a child. What we teach at Texas Cannons changes lives.