TJ Coats and Jackson Bell have been best friends for a long time. But, growing up in the same hometown and playing on the same team in high school is not the only thing the two have in common. They both also have dads who played major league baseball. 

TJ and Jackson grew up in Overland Park, Kansas where they attended Blue Valley Southwest High School. The two played on the baseball team together and ended up also winning the State Championship. 

TJ’s father, John Coats, played college baseball at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He played for the Cincinnati Reds up to their Double-A team. TJ says his dad, “has been a role model for [him] in more ways than [he] can describe and has always been there for [him] on and off the field.” His favorite baseball memory he shares with his dad was when he hit his first home run, which was a grand slam and his dad was his coach! TJ’s dad put a bat in his hands as soon as he could pick one up and he has been playing ever since. TJ says that there is some weight taken off his shoulders knowing baseball is in his blood and that it’s all about putting in enough time to give yourself the best opportunity to succeed. 

Jackson’s father, Matt Bell, got drafted out of high school and played up to the Single-A team for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Jackson’s favorite memory while his dad played was going to spring training with him a few years ago and getting to see all the MLB players. Jackson says that his father taught him everything he knows about the game since he started playing at the age of 5 years old. While Jackson says that his dad playing in the major leagues doesn’t put any added weight on his shoulders, it does motivate him to make it farther in the game than his dad did. 

This is both TJ and Jackson’s first year playing in the South Florida Collegiate Baseball League. They are now teammates once again on the Florida Pokers. They are both going to continue their baseball careers at the next level. TJ will be playing at Johnson County Community College in his hometown of Overland Park, Kansas. While Jackson will head to Indiana State University. They will both be freshmen this fall.