Tommy Richards is Lane County Baseball
Eugene, Or — Tommy Richards is a coach not many people have heard of. He brought back not one, but two baseball programs in Lane County with the Bushnell Beacons and Springfield Drifters. And he’s coaching them both!
Richards’ career began as a player at Washington State University, before being drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 24th round in 2012. He played more and learned more about the game through his three years in the league, until he joined Lindenwood University in the fall of 2014 as an assistant coach. He got to work in every aspect of the coaching office there. Richards worked with recruiting and scouting student-athletes, administered the strength and conditioning programs, and coordinated the team’s travel plans.
Richards’ brother, Jay, played baseball at Whitman College, where Richards would volunteer as a bat boy for the team as a high schooler. This was his first time meeting the coach, Brian Kitamura.
Fast forward nine years, Kitamura hired Richards as an assistant coach where he taught him how to lead an offense, as well as develop new methods of strength training to reduce injuries.
After five years under Kitamura, Richards was hired as Head Coach at Bushnell University. He was given control to build a winning team and culture. Starting a program from little to nothing is no small task, and Bushnell was pulling out all the stops for him.
Richards described the experience of helping design the field as a thrill but admitted he “would have signed on if they were playing in a dirt field.”
Luckily for him, they would not be playing in anything close to the measly Sandlot field. Bushnell invested in renovating the field, seats, restrooms, concessions, and more. Richards said these changes are directly related to recruiting the best.
While crafting his team, he described wanting guys with a winning mentality. Their goal is to be a force to reckon with and win the NAIA’s Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC).
“Winning is everything, we want to win the conference and win the national championship,” Richards said.
To reach this goal, he recruited players like Albert Jennings and Taiga Yamane. Jennings, who hit a grand slam in his first game with the Beacons, said he’s “never been a part of a team like this. There are no cliques and everyone is really close.” The Washington native is coming off playing for Washington State, where he played for a year.
Yamane is in his final year of collegiate eligibility. The senior has been pitching since he was 10 years old in Japan, before coming and playing at four colleges around the United States, before finding himself at Bushnell.
“It’s more like family than teammates,” Yamane said. “Everyone takes care of each other and holds each other accountable.“
Yamane had high praise for his coach’s methods, allowing him to pitch to the strengths and habits he learned in Japan. “Coach trusts me, lets me do what I want to do, not what I need to do.”
Richards says the mantra he keeps to motivate his players is to “try to be high challenge and high support.” For many of the coaching challenges, he’s found himself reaching out to his old boss and coach, Brian Kitamura. Richards said today he looks back to a lot he learned from him and that he still reaches out to him once a week.
At 33 years old, Richards has had more of a career in baseball than many others can say. And his journey is just getting started. The Beacons are into their fourth season with a 5-4 record, toting three seasons each improving on the last.