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T.J. Bruce – Head Coach University of Nevada
Resilient. That would be the best word to describe T.J. Bruce. After his playing career ended, he decided he wanted to get into coaching. When he first started coaching junior college baseball he was making 5k while supporting his wife who was still in school.
He was passed over three times while he was a volunteer assistant at Long Beach State for the paid position. He never gave up. After he became the head coach at the University of Nevada, he had a player pass away, and then two weeks later, his dad passed away. He held it all together and became a stronger man.
He did all of this while becoming known as one of the best college recruiters in the country, won a national championship, and have a family.
[1:49] Why did you decide then to transfer to Long Beach State?
[3:27] When you say the style of play, what do you mean?
[5:58] So you're a graduate assistant when you came back and then did you transition into just a full-time assistant coach?
[9:17] During those four years was there ever a point where like I need to get a real job?
[13:19] Do you have a game plan of like what you want to do?
[15:08] Do you have to go out and watch just as many games as a mid-major school or can you just go to the big tournaments and just kind of pick and choose the best ones because it is UCLA?
[18:01] What was your recruiting pitch to someone who was drafted pretty high but obviously, still wanted to go to school with you?
[19:27] What do you think makes you a good recruiter?
[21:21] Why did you end up taking that big instead of staying at UCLA?
[24:28] How do you balance having a family with four kids and a wife plus being the head coach of a Division one baseball program?
[25:53] What was one thing that was unexpected that you found whether it be a good or bad thing about being a head coach that you didn't know you would kind of feel or figure out?
[28:08] How were you able to kind of hold everything together and just keep it going?
[29:36] When you got there what did you put in a completely new, system-like philosophies for offense and pitching and everything, Or how do you kind of go about changing the baseball culture?
[31:35] Do you man pretty much the offense?
[34:13] Have you implemented anything in terms of helping guys with their mental game?
[39:19] How do you decide how much an incoming recruit gets?
[41:49] What do you make of that of those bigger schools sometimes recruiting players and I've seen it even in the fall the guys coming in the fall and they don't play well They're on a big seller ship in the spring there at a junior college?
[43:50] Do you look at junior college players?
[44:16] If I'm a recruit right now listening to you what are some of the best things that you can kind of describe about going to the University of Nevada and playing baseball there?
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