Staff
Justin Orenduff – Director of Baseball Operations
Justin Orenduff is the founder of the Delivery Value System and creator of the DVS Scoring System. The scoring system was built as a product of Justin’s pitching career, research into throwing patterns among pitchers, and hours of testing and validating the scoring system over a 4-year period. Aside from the ongoing development of the DVS Model, Justin’s primary focus is to spread awareness and educate the baseball community on the cycle of information and movements within the pitching delivery that are injurious. Before DVS, Justin was an All-American pitcher at both George Washington University and Virginia Commonwealth University. He was a first round draft pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers and member of the 2003 USA Collegiate National Team pitching alongside MLB stars Jered Weaver and Justin Verlander.
Birmingham-Bloomfield Beavers:
Chris Newell – Manager, Birmingham-Bloomfield Beavers
Chris Newell has been in professional baseball since 1997 as a player, manager and scout. After a successful college career, Newell played parts of two years in Professional Baseball in 1997-1998, earning a Gold Glove for his minor-league team. After retiring as a player, Newell began his scouting career with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, spanning from 1999-2005. Since 2006, Newell has been scouting for the New York Yankees. In 2003, Newell made his Professional Managing debut with the Kalamazoo Kings of the Frontier League, making him the youngest manager in professional baseball that season. Through his private instruction, he has trained 44 players who have either been drafted professionally or signed professional contracts. His former students include MLB All-Star and 2016 N.L. Batting Champion, DJ LeMahieu and 2015 Tampa Bay Rays draftee, Jacob Cronenworth.
Ray Ortega – Assistant Coach, Birmingham-Bloomfield Beavers
Born in Miami, FL and former Birmingham-Bloomfield Beaver, Ray enters his first year as the Assistant Coach after coming off a very successful playing career. Ray was an Under Armor All-American High School catcher in 2008, All MAAC Player from 2011-2013, and NCAA Johnny Bench Award Finalist in 2013. Ray’s experience with handling the pitching staff, managing defensive situations, and leadership will continue to help the development of the USPBL players both on and off the field.
Eastside Diamond Hoppers:
Paul Noce – Manager, Eastside Diamond Hoppers
Paul Noce has been in the game of baseball for over 33 years including two stints in the Major Leagues for the Chicago Cubs (’87) and Cincinnati Reds (’90). In 1986, Paul was selected as a Topps All-Star for his play at the Double-A level. After his successful playing career, Paul was an instructor and manager for MLB organizations before moving on to the collegiate ranks. In 1994, he took the reins at Hillsdale College in Adrian, Michigan. Noce had an accomplished career at the collegiate level winning 349 games during his tenure. Paul has excelled at every level of baseball, winning the Triple-A World Series in 1988 and being a part of the 1990 Cincinnati Reds World Series Team. In 2012, Noce was inducted into the Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame in San Mateo, California.
Ed Campaniello – Assistant Coach, Eastside Diamond Hoppers
Campaniello comes to the USPBL with extensive coaching experience. He spent the 2016 first half with the Souther Illinois Miners of the Frontier league posting a .280 team avg and leading in all but two Offensive categories. Prior to Southern Campaniello was with Amarillo Sox of the American Association in 2013, where his team was second in the circuit with a .295 team batting average. While there, he worked with David Peralta, who is currently playing in the major leagues with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Campaniello was also previously a hitting coach in the Oakland Athletics organization in both the Arizona League and the Northwest League in Vancouver, helping to develop the A’s prospects.
During the off-season from 2004-10, Ed worked as the National Director of America’s Baseball Camps in Arizona, where he developed hitting and fielding programs. As a player from 1995-2003, Campaniello finished with a career batting average of .304, including a batting title in the North Atlantic League as a rookie for the Welland AquaDucks in 1995 and a .343 batting average in 1998 while playing for the Bayou Bullfrogs in the Texas-Louisiana League. His nine-year career took him to various stops in independent baseball and the Cincinnati Reds organization as well as a one-year stint with Rimini in the Italian Baseball League overseas where he helped the team to the A/1 title in 1999 by hitting .329 and taking home MVP honors in the championship series.
Utica Unicorns:
Jim Essian – Manager, Utica Unicorns
Jim Essian started his 46-year professional baseball career in 1970 with the Philadelphia Phillies in their minor-league system where he was tagged as a Topp’s Rookie All-Star. Over the next three years he excelled at all levels of Minor League Baseball earning All-Star recognition at almost every level before breaking into the Big Leagues with the Phillies in 1973. For the next 11 years Essian played in the Major Leagues with the Phillies, A’s, White Sox, Mariners and the Indians. After his playing career, Essian became a manager with the Miami Marlins before moving to the Chicago Cubs organization in 1986. In his second season as manager of the Winston-Salem Spirits, Essian brought home the Carolina League championship and was named Manager of the Year. In 1991 he took the reigns as manager for the Chicago Cubs. In 2000, Essian was inducted into the Reading Baseball Hall of Fame. In 2016, Essian worked alongside Paul Noce of the Diamond Hoppers in the USPBL.
Cedric Landrum – Assistant Coach, Unicorns
Cedric “Ced” Landrum enters his first year as the assistant coach for the Utica Unicorns. Cedric’s expertise in the mental approach of hitting, base running, and helping player’s understand game situations will be a welcome addition to the USPBL. Cedric has been coaching professionally since 1997 both with the for Montreal Expos and Baltimore Orioles. As a player, Cedric was an NCAA All American at the University of North Alabama. After his collegiate success, he was signed by the Chicago Cubs and went on to be the stolen base leader for four different affiliates in the Cubs organization. Cedric ended up played professionally for nine seasons with the Cubs, Mets, and Rockies and now currently resides in Forth Worth Texas where he is the High School Coach for Forth Worth Country Day School.
Westside Woolly Mammoths:
Shane McCatty – Manager, Westside Woolly Mammoths
Shane McCatty is returning for his second season with the USPBL after working alongside former Utica Unicorns manager Greg Grall during the league’s inaugural season. Under Grall’s guidance they led the Utica Unicorns to the first ever USPBL Championship. Selected by the Washington Nationals in the 34th round of the 2009 First-Year Player Draft out of Oakland University and a successful four-year professional playing career, McCatty turned his attention to managing. McCatty is following the same path as his father Steve McCatty, a former MLB player and pitching coach.
Alan Oaks – Assistant Coach, Westside Wooly Mammoths
Born in Southfield, MI and raised in White Lake, MI, Alan enters his first year with the Westside Wooly Mammoths as assistant coach of the Westside Wooly Mammoths. A former Dream Team selection by the Michigan High School Athletic Association, Alan was drafted by the Tigers in the 50th round of the 2006 MLB draft but decided to accept a scholarship to play baseball at the University of Michigan. During his four year career at Michigan, Alan had a pinch hit home run off of Cy Young and Golden Spikes award winner David Price in the 10th inning the the regional championship game as well as making 15 starts as the ace of the pitching staff earning All Big Ten 3rd team honors.
Following his playing career at Michigan, both as starting outfielder and starting pitcher, Alan was drafted in the 8th round by the Miami Marlins in the 2010 MLB first year player draft. Alan currently resides in Ann Arbor Michigan where he has been offering private instruction to youth players for the last seven years.
Baseball Support Staff:
Casey Smith – Hitting Coordinator
Casey Smith grew up in the Marietta area and played high school baseball at McEachern where he graduated in 2002. Smith went on to play college baseball at Erskine College. At Erskine, Smith set numerous single season and career offensive records including RBI’s, Home Runs and Doubles and was named the 2005 CVAC, South Atlantic Region, and NCAA DII National Player of the Year. After a record setting junior year, in which he hit .448 with 18 HR, 28 2B and 83 RBI, Smith was selected in the 9th round of the 2005 Major League Draft by the San Diego Padres. He spent over two years with the Padres and two years in the Frontier League with several different teams. He returned to Erskine and finished his last year of school, graduating with a degree in Sports Management. Today, Smith is the owner of JCS sports in Georgia and serves as an off-season hitting coach to multiple minor-league and major league players, including 2016 National League Batting Title Winner DJ Lemahieu.
Will Fox – Throwing Coordinator
With a passion for research and a comprehensive understanding of biomechanics and muscle physiology, Will’s primary focus is to advance and further test the DVS Scoring System by looking at correlations between a pitcher’s DVS Score and injurious shoulder range-of-motion patterns. Will graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a BA in Exercise and Sport Science, and obtained his Master’s Degree in Exercise Physiology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. His Masters research related to the testing and validation of the Thrower’s Isometrics at reducing the severity of injurious, range-of-motion risk factors that arise within the throwing shoulders of overhead athletes. Will is a Muscle Activation Technique Specialist (MATCS) and also holds certifications as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and a Performance Enhancement Specialist (PES).