After the summer of 2000 playing baseball in Vienna, Austria, Canadian baseball player Nick DeForest decided to forgo his final two years of college baseball eligibility and make Vienna his home. Twenty years later, Nick sits down to tell his story on the IBC podcast...
In this episode, we hear the story of two corner infielders/ power-hitters from two different corners of the U.S. who first met in 2019 on a softball field in Austria as import players, leading their new team to the Austrian Softball League Championships. Brittany...
New York native Ryan Rupp did not play college baseball but took advantage of his dual citizenship with Austria to get his foot in the door in second division Austria in 2013. From there, he worked hard on his craft and in 2017 he won the Best Pitcher award and his...
In this episode of the International Baseball Community Podcast, I hop on a call with club representatives from around Europe to discuss the current status of the Coronavirus in their country, the effect it has had on their baseball seasons thus far, and any further...
After a lustrous career as an international import player and coach, Owen Reid decided to go to work for himself as an International Baseball Consultant and Mobile baseball coach. Now settled and based in Singapore, Owen has now traveled to five different continents...
Eric Brenk photo credit: Thomas Schönenborn Podcast sponsors: Llerandi Custom Gloves Hakusoh Bat (Spark Slugger) American born and Wofford College alum, Eric Brenk, has been living and playing baseball in Germany since obtaining his dual citizenship in 2014, only 4...
There are a large number of baseball players overseas these days looking to take their career overseas with a large variety of backgrounds. Those who may not have the strongest of backgrounds or the strongest of stats, may have to take matters into their own hands to...
This episode of the IBC Podcast provides content relevant to any player at any stage in their career who is considering Australia as a winter option, whether a college grad, released professional or current professional. The Australian Baseball League has made huge...
Jimmy Jensen went from cut from his high school baseball team, to NAIA All-American, to men’s league baseball before he decided to give overseas a try. Little did he know that signing his first overseas contract in 2015 would change his life forever in multiple...
Baseball New Zealand CEO Ryan Flynn returns for the third time, this time to provide an update on the exciting times going on in the world of Baseball New Zealand, in particular the new Australian Baseball League professional franchise team that will based in Auckland...
After being released from pro baseball, former AA pitcher Arik Sikula started the regular 9-to-5 and fell into the rat-race that all pro ball players dread. It didn’t take long before this former Blue Jay prospect laced up the cleats again, starting with state...
Three years ago on IBC Podcast Episode #26, I interviewed Zak Colby who was fresh off of his first season playing independent professional baseball in Japan in the Shikoku Island League. Zak has continued to play there working his way into a foreign recruitment role...
Recently, one of the top pitchers in independent professional baseball decided to give up the lifestyle that comes with playing pro baseball in the U.S., which he said he loves, in order to play club baseball in the Czech Republic which play mostly on weekends. Sound...
Daniel Catalan had a successful college career playing with Holy Name University where hit a very respectable .282 and a very nice OBP in his senior year of .410. He also led HNU in triples in both his seasons there and did not commit a single error in the outfield....
Overseas professional import pitcher Jimmy Jensen tells his story how he made his way up from cut from his high school baseball team travelling the world playing baseball. This first episode is the story of his constant struggles with being underestimated and how his...
Josh Wyant grew up playing baseball in North Carolina and was never the standout player but always had a passion for the game and worked hard at getting better. He was a three sport athlete between cross country, baseball and swimming and as college grew closer, he...
In 1995 Ryan Schurman was a 10th round draft pick of the Atlanta Braves. Twenty years later he is married with a baby boy and living in Germany and coaches cricket. Ryan is another remarkable story of how playing baseball overseas can not only be a way of extending a...
In 2012, Tanner Leighton, the #4 ranked NAIA prospect in the country from The Masters College in California, was one of many players in the independent ball system who had been in contact with scouts during his college tenure, yet had no luck come June. After a season...
Will Thorp grew up playing baseball in British Columbia, Canada where he also started his college career at a local junior college. After a successful freshman year, he earned a chance to play at Lewis-Clark State College, one of the top NAIA baseball programs. In...
This podcast interview is with Graham Vickers who is the president of the Ainslie Bears, a club who have utilized the website to import players over the past couple of seasons. Here is an earlier interview from 2015 with Andrew Medeiros, an IBC member and former...
A former import player myself, I started this website in late 2012 to help others do the same.
As a father of two, I am grounded (in Austria) and use this blog to live vicariously through our members. I hope you enjoy their adventures and stories as well.
