CEO: John Owens
John Owens college baseball career began as a Pitcher for Palm Beach before he transferred to take the mound for University of North Carolina at Charlotte. In 2002 Owens started the Charlotte Hurricanes Baseball Organization (now SBA CANES) with the dream of exposing a select group of players to the best competition in the nation while teaching an advanced level of play. This dream has evolved to 16 teams in the organization competing nationally in every age group. In 2010, Owens decided to take his vision to another level by opening “Showcase Baseball Academy” where athletes can develop their skills and learn to showcase their talents to best serve their TEAM.
He is President and CEO of Ameritrust; where he started in 1995. Owens has been awarded the Charlotte Chamber Entrepreneur of the Year award, Charlotte business Journal 40 under 40, Inc Magazines, INC 500 for 2 consecutive years, and Carolina Parent top 40 for 3 consecutive years. In 2009 and 2010 he has been awarded Top Entrepreneur by Charlotte Business Leader Magazine.
Owens serves as a member of the Charlotte Chamber’s Board of Advisers and as a board member of the UNC-Charlotte Athletic Foundation.
He earned an undergraduate degree in Economics from the University of North at Carolina at Charlotte.
PRESIDENT: Jake Robbins
Jake Robbins is a former Major League Baseball pitcher with 6 organizations. Jake ended his career with the Chicago White Sox AAA affiliate Charlotte Knights.
He appeared in major league games in 2004 for the Cleveland Indians at the age of 28. The only run he gave up was a solo home run by Jacque Jones on September 24 of that year.
Since retiring before the 2008 season Jake has continued in the game of baseball by helping young baseball players achieve their dreams of playing in college and “the show”. Jake believes he is a better teacher of pitching than he was on the mound himself. Attributing his successes in teaching to God. “God gave me the ability and opportunity to play this great game and now I want to use the knowledge that was given to me, to help kids accomplish their dreams.”
Hitting School Director: Jeff Shore
Jeff Shore was a two sport standout athlete at R J Reynolds High School. He was awarded several scholarships in both football and baseball. He was offered a contract to play baseball for the L A Dodgers but chose to play at UNC Charlotte where he was a four year starter. He was the only player in 49er baseball history to play every position. Jeff’s senior year he led the team in hits, batting average, RBI’s and homeruns and was voted UNC Charlotte baseball’s Most Valuable Player. He was drafted in 1987 by the Pittsburgh Pirates and in 1988 by the Texas Rangers. He played in the Rangers organization from 1988 to 1990. Jeff played with players who later became MLB All-Star selections such as Ivan (Pudge) Rodriquez, Sammy Sosa, Juan Gonzales, Roger Pavlik, Wilson Alvarez, and Rob Nen. Jeff’s professional career was cut short due to an accident where he lost his vision in his right eye.
Jeff then went back to school to complete his education and volunteered as an assistant baseball coach at UNC Charlotte. In 1991 he received a Bachelor of Science degree majoring in Criminal Justice. He then began a 12 year career in the Banking and Finance industry while working a few baseball camps in his spare time. In 2004 Jeff decided to get back into baseball full-time and began coaching showcase teams and conducting individual and group baseball lessons. Jeff joined the Hurricanes in 2007. He currently is the hitting and catching instructor for the Hurricanes organization and is the coach of the 2015 Canes. Jeff is regarded as one of the best hitting and catching instructors in the southeast. Jeff lives in Charlotte with his wife Robin and his daughter Ashlyn.
Hitting Instructor: Rafael Mendez
Showcase Baseball Academy adds Rafael Mendez to their team of instructors. Rafael is a former catcher in Minor League Baseball who played his career in the Detroit Tigers organization.
Early Life: Rafael is a graduate of Notre Dame High School in Puerto Rico where he was Captain of his varsity baseball team for 4 years. He received the MVP award his Junior and Senior year.
Career: Mendez was drafted in 2002 by the Detroit Tigers in the 17th round. Mendez played 7 years with the Tigers earning a Gold Glove award in 2003 and 2004. He was invited to the “Big League Camp” in 2004 and 2005.
Current: Rafael will be the Head Coach of the Charlotte Hurricanes 2013 (16u) “white” team as well as an instructor in the Jeff Shore hitting/catching school.
Pitching Instructor: Tyler Sexton
Tyler Sexton, a former pitcher at Western Carolina, was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 31st round of the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft, and played within the club’s farm system through last season.
In his three-year career at WCU, the southpaw hurler threw 315.2 innings with 37 starts and amassed 20 wins, tied for eighth all-time in school history. His 217 career strikeouts also rank eighth in school history, while his 2.78 strikeout-to-walk ratio ranks fifth all-time.
Sexton played summer league baseball in Gastonia during his collegiate career in 2005. He led the Grizzlies in appearances (17), finishing with a 5-2 record and 2.83 ERA while helping the Grizzlies win the second-half division championship and reach the second round of the Coastal Plain League playoffs.
A two-time ESPN The Magazine All-District III selection, Sexton was named Western Carolina’s Male Scholar Athlete of the Year at the 2008 year-end awards banquet, boasting a cumulative GPA of 3.99 while majoring in Sport Management. He was also named to the Spring Academic All-Southern Conference team for a second-straight season.
Between stops within the Orioles farm system in Bluefield, W.Va., and Aberdeen, Md., Sexton appeared in 40 games over three seasons with a career ERA of 4.49.
Hitting Instructor: Brad Correll
Brad Correll grew up in the Charlotte Area, going to high school at Ashbrook High School in Gastonia. He graduated from there in 1999 and went on to play his collegiate career at Limestone College in Gaffney, South Carolina. Brad was selected in the 29th round by the Cincinnati REds in 2002, forgoing his senior year at Limestone to play professionally.
Throughout his 9 year career, Brad played for 6 different organizations: The Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox, Florida Marlins, Pittsburgh Pirates and Kansas City Royals. Some of his career highlights include being selected to multiple All-Star games and fan-favorite awards. In 2007, Brad set both league and franchise records with his 8 RBI, 4 HR game while playing for the Lancaster Jethawks.
Hitting/OF Instructor: Kenny Kelly
Former major baseball player who was rated one of the best prospects in the nation by Baseball America. Second-round selection by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 1997 MLB amateur draft, who played 11 minor league professional baseball seasons for Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Seattle Mariners, New York Mets, Cincinnati Reds, Washington Nationals, and Chicago White Sox. Played in the major leagues for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Cincinnati Reds, and Washington Nationals and also played quarterback for the University of Miami football team from 1997 thru 2000.
Kenny has played for managers such as Lou Piniella, Frank Roberson, and Larry Rothschild. Former teammates and roommates include superstars such as Josh Hamilton, Carl Crawford, and Ichiro Suzuki. While at Miami on football scholarship, some of my teammates included superstars such as Reggie Wayne, Santana Moss, and Ed Reed. Kenny has over 14 years of professional playing and instruction experience along with coaching college baseball. Baseball and Football Hall of Fame Inductee awarded by Tampa Catholic High School (2009); Inducted into National College Alpha Chi Honor Society (3.3) GPA, with a degree in Finance, Alabama State University (2010).
Josh McClure, M.Ed., CSCS, Owner/Founder, XPE/McClure Sports, Charlotte, NC
After returning home to Charlotte in 2010 and noticing the lack of high level athletic performance available to Charlotte area middle and high school athletes, Josh decided to bring the proven XPE Sports training program to his hometown and started XPE/McClure Sports in late 2010. After spending 3 years building SpeedToWin and SpeedTracs in Atlanta, Josh dedicated himself full-time to changing the landscape of youth athletic performance in Charlotte.
Since starting XPE/McClure Sports, Josh has been blessed to work with over 530 student-athletes in 2011 thru his partnerships with Porter Ridge & Weddington schools in Union County and Champions Baseball Academy in Pineville. Overall, McClure Sports has worked with elementary, middle & high school football, basketball, baseball, softball, hockey and volleyball. During the first year of training, Josh has been privileged to work with a number of programs that achieved a high level of success. Read full bio here.