New pitching coach looks to share experiences

The University of Rhode Island baseball head coach Raphael Cerrato has announced the addition of a new pitching coach to his staff in Kevin Vance, who arrives to Kingston following a six-year minor league baseball career.

Vance grew up in Solana Beach, California but has traveled all over the country and world playing the game he loves. During his college career, Vance was a pitcher at the University of Connecticut (2009-12) and was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 19th round of the 2011 Major League Baseball draft following a stellar collegiate career.

With UConn, Vance was named an All-American closer in 2011 as he helped the Huskies win a Big East Championship, and make it to the NCAA Super Regionals before being drafted. During his stint in the White Sox organization, Vance reached the Double-A level, pitching for the Birmingham Barons from 2013 to 2014. He then made his Triple-A debut in 2015 for the Arizona Diamondbacks affiliate, the Reno Aces, after signing a free agent contract.

Vance now directs his attention to coaching, with the hope of lending his insight to the URI staff, as well as teaching those fortunate few what it takes to go from college to the next level.

“Every level you go up as a player, the competition gets better, the players become more polished, and you have to do the same,” Vance said. “The strike zone gets smaller, and the hitters are much more disciplined so every pitch counts.”

Vance returned to UConn as an assistant coach and undergraduate intern with the coaching staff during the 2012-13 offseason. He was given duties that college baseball coaches typically deal with to help prepare himself for a future as a college or professional baseball coach.

“The coaching at UConn was a great experience to get my feet wet in coaching,” Vance said. “It helped my understanding of the in’s and out’s of college baseball that you don’t see much as a player; going to the office, administrative work, and booking hotels. I knew I could play the game, but had to show myself that I could coach it.”

Vance also has experience playing baseball internationally, as he represented the Philippines last February when the team traveled to Sydney, Australia for the 2017 World Baseball Classic qualifying tournament. His mother’s Filipino heritage allowed Vance to gain entry into what was a once-in-lifetime experience for the pitcher.

“Playing for the Philippines last year was probably my best baseball experience,” Vance said. “I think it was more fun than any minor league level I have played at just because I was representing a country and it was a really cool feeling. It was very cool to play with guys from the Philippines just to see the world that they are coming from being completely different than mine.”

Following a benchmark season where URI made an appearance NCAA Regionals, Vance has high expectations for his new team, and is excited to work with the pitching staff.

“We have a lot of good arms,” Vance said. “I think we are going to sneak up on some people this year.  We just had our scout day this week and we have a lot of potential arms that could go to the draft, and we have many arms that will help us win games.”

Vance will work with each pitcher at URI’s disposal, but one who will likely cause him to do a few double-takes is junior starting ace Tyler Wilson, who with a career ERA of 2.23, a long list of accolades and a gutsy performance against South Carolina in the NCAA Regionals, seems to be well on his way to the major leagues.

“Tyler is pretty unbelievable,” Vance said. “He is one of the top arms in the country no doubt. Coming in with a guy that is already so established and polished I’m really looking forward to working with him.”

With a team full of talent on the field and in the coaching staff, the Rams are looking to maintain the high level of play they displayed in the latter part of last season. The experienced Vance is proud to join a successful group, but knows it is more important not to be complacent.

“We don’t want to be satisfied with making a Regional this year,” Vance said. “We want to win a regional, go to a Super Regional, and go to a College World Series. That will always be our goal and it always should be.”

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