About Us

Ask a boy what he wants to be when he grows up and chances are you’ll hear him say something like “firefighter,” “astronaut,” or “baseball player.”
Youngsters dream big dreams, and those dreams need nurturing so they can come true. Athletes have to start somewhere, in order to get somewhere else, and that’s what The St. Louis Pirates’ college development program does-- prepares them for their future.
Started by baseball scout Rick Strickland, known for his work with The New York Mets, The St. Louis Pirates trains and develops young baseball players (14U to 18U) to help them be ready for competitive baseball games in their future. For those who aspire to play college baseball--and eventually make it into the major leagues--The St. Louis Pirates is the organization to be a part of to turn those dreams into reality. 

With devoted coaches and well-organized baseball games, The St. Louis Pirates go above and beyond expectations, connecting kids (and their families) with school placement and helping them during the recruiting process.

Since 1998, The. St. Louis Pirates have a proven track record of guiding baseball players on to greatness at schools like Ole Miss, Iowa, Arkansas State, Florida State, Missouri State, Clemson, Dartmouth, Columbia, Duke and Yale. Countless professionals, including Major League Baseball players Cody Asche, Jake Odorizzi, and Johnny Hellweg, came through The St. Louis Pirates program and achieved their dreams. 

The St. Louis Pirates college development program builds complete players who learn to focus on performing at their personal best as well as contributing to their team’s ability to function at its best. Tryouts, practices, showcases and other events are typically held at facilities on the campus of Lindenwood University and at The Sandlot, conveniently located in the St. Louis, Missouri metropolitan region.

The Pirates do hold traditional “Tryouts.”  But we build our rosters slowly and deliberately.  Our 14U team is our “Entering Class” each year.  We select our new 14s largely from our 13U Academy teams; Our objective for 10u- 13U Academy Baseball is to provide players with a “taste” of the Pirates experience.  Our full staffs of coaches are involved during the selection process in Fall and Winter.  Roster decisions are organizational and are not made solely by the decision of a specific team coach.  Coaches at all levels work together.  We consider graduation class as well as age, positional roles, and the ability for each player to contribute to a given roster.  Generally, the “senior” College Prospect roster is for rising seniors (For the summer of 2015 it is the HS Class of 2016).  The 16U College Prospect roster is comprised primarily of rising juniors and some younger rising seniors.  Accordingly, our 15s are mostly sophomores and younger juniors.   It is best for new candidates to participate in our Fall Baseball program (outside) or our Winter Workouts, which are by invitation only.  The Winter Workouts are repetition-oriented sessions held indoors at The Sandlot.  Our network of professional scouts, high school, and college coaches also provide recommendations for players who may benefit from the Pirates experience.  New 13U Candidates are encouraged to participate in Fall Baseball.  Attendance at all the sessions is not required; we only ask that young players wishing to join the program make an effort to get involved as much as they can.  We add players each year to a core of returners at each level.  We have rosters of ample size to compete.  Our College Development rosters may have as many as 20 (including players who only pitch).  Expectations are clearly laid out upon enrollment.  Our younger rosters of  14u have between 11 and 13 players

The Pirates program fields teams at 13U, 14U, 15U, 16U and 17/18U, also known as the “Senior” team.  There is absolutely no parent coaching in The Pirates Development baseball program. There are no roles for parents in the dugouts at all.  This is a College Development Program and the staff works hard to coach, travel, and develop players in a manner consistent with what is expected at the collegiate level.  Although we continue to use age designations for our teams, our program is really divided into two developmental components:  14U provides the foundation for development and matriculation to high school baseball.  The 15U through “Seniors” part of the program is for College Development.  In the College Development phase, our rosters are organized largely by high school graduation class and age.  There are usually 2 coaches (and sometimes three) coaches assigned to each team.  Pitching coaches with credentialed pitching backgrounds work with our pitchers.  Dedicated pitching coaches and catching coaches work with our teams to ensure that pitchers and battery mates are prepared and coached.