The baseball world has learned about the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff over the past seven months.
“At the (American Baseball Coaches Association) conference (in Washington, D.C.), … they had an interview of us, and they said, ‘UAPB, you guys are the talk of college baseball right now,'” new UAPB baseball coach Logan Stout said. “I get chills thinking about that. I had so many coaches come up to me, ‘Man, I didn’t even know where Pine Bluff was. It’s on the map!'”
UAPB hired Stout last summer, and his arrival brought a national spotlight to a typically overlooked baseball program.
Stout isn’t the typical coaching hire. He is an author, keynote speaker and entrepreneur. His book “Grit Factor” was endorsed by the “Sharks” of the show “Shark Tank.” He has his own website.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
At first glance, his resume may not look like that of a Division I baseball coach, but he has plenty of baseball in his background.
After an injury cut short his playing career, he took up coaching as an assistant at Dallas Baptist for one season and founded a youth baseball program called the Dallas Patriots. He also spent over 21 years as an MLB scout.
According to the UAPB news release that announced his hiring, Stout collected over 2,500 wins and 27 World Series or National titles with the Patriots in organizations such as Perfect Game or USA Baseball National Championships. The Patriots have produced over 200 MLB Draft selections.
When he decided he was ready to return to college coaching, he said it nearly wasn’t at UAPB.
“I was actually accepting another Division I college head coaching job in another state at a large school,” Stout said. “I just had to kind of sit down with my wife and go over it and make sure she was good with it. … On my way home from that meeting with the athletic director at that school, Torii Hunter called. … He goes, ‘You need to be the next coach at UAPB.'”
Stout’s relationship with Hunter, a Pine Bluff native who played 19 seasons in MLB and has worked with Stout in the business world, brought Stout to Pine Bluff. Stout’s arrival brought the national media.
D1Baseball wrote about him in November, and he told the Commercial another national outlet is planning a documentary, all looking to tell the story of this unique marriage of coach and school.
Ashton Davis, a senior right-handed pitcher from Pflugerville, Texas, said the extra attention is great for UAPB.
“I think Pine Bluff has never gotten enough attention, and having this whole turning the page, everything, this is a perfect time for everything to start kind of falling into place,” Davis said. “Pine Bluff’s always been the little guy, but this is where everything kind of turns around, I believe, in the next year, two years for sure. This is going to be a big part of it, and it all starts here this year.”
Stout’s background has brought more than just hype. His connections and networking skills have already begun paying off for the Golden Lions.
Former Texas Rangers strength and conditioning coach Jose Vazquez, who was named MLB’s Strength Coach of the Year in 2014, designed specialized conditioning plans for UAPB’s players.
He isn’t on UAPB’s staff but did it as a favor to Stout, which Stout said was a huge help, especially since the players returning from last season said they hadn’t had anything like it before and have gotten much stronger and in better shape.
Stout said he also used his connections with other college coaches when putting this year’s schedule together since most schools already had their schedules finished. He has other connections which help him scout recruits, allowing him to be at practice more often.
He said his connections will be a huge advantage for the Golden Lions.
“We had a scout day here on a Wednesday at 1:30 in the fall,” Stout said. “We had 22 Major League scouts out here; 21, 22. It’s just changing the culture. A Colorado Rockies coach texted me, goes, ‘Man, I’ve never heard of Pine Bluff until I saw the press release.’ I think it’s cool. People, when they ask me about Pine Bluff, I say it is a hidden gem.”
Stout hasn’t coached a game yet at UAPB, but he is already spearheading changes at the Torii Hunter Baseball Complex. UAPB has repainted the foul poles, installed new netting and batting cages, and is working on adding more chairback seating. The Golden Lions are also building a party deck on the third base side.
He said everything should be finished before the first home game on Feb. 25 against Central Arkansas.
Stout has welcomed the new spotlight the baseball world has placed on UAPB. But with opening day coming up on Feb. 14 at Oral Roberts, he said it is time for the Golden Lions to focus on winning baseball games.
“To our players, I said, ‘The higher you go, the stronger the wind blows,'” Stout said. “‘The more eyeballs on you, the more people looking for you to fall, and then there’s some looking for you to succeed. The key is you block out all the noise. You just come out here and have fun and play the game of baseball.’
“So, we’re going to have fun. We’re going to try to bring great pride to this community and bring a conference championship back home to Pine Bluff, Arkansas.”