The George Brown Huskies are excited to announce Josh Appel as the new Head Coach of the Men’s Baseball team, effective immediately.
“I was grateful and excited. I'm thankful for the opportunity and look forward to meeting the team, setting goals and getting to work in preparation for the Fall 2022 season,” he explained.
Coach Appel has robust experiences at various levels within the sport of baseball. He has spent the last five years working for the Toronto Blue Jays Baseball Club in a variety of roles. He recently worked in the Player Development department, where he actively supported minor league players in reaching their development goals throughout the season. Coach Appel was the pitching coach for the University of Toronto Varsity Blues baseball program for the last five years, having helped guide three different pitchers to ‘OUA Pitcher of the Year’ awards between 2017-2019. During his time, the staff also ranked amongst the league leaders in several pitching categories. He was part of two OUA Championship teams with the Varsity Blues, including when the team went undefeated this past fall. In addition to these positions, he contains ties with up and coming players as the head coach of the North Toronto 16U Elite Baseball program since 2020.
Coach Appel believes the experiences he’s gained so far with the Blue Jays, the University of Toronto and the North Toronto 16U Elite Baseball program will translate into success as a head coach in the OCAA.
“My time coaching in the OUA has given me a good understanding of the college/university baseball landscape within Ontario, and I know what the fall season grind feels like after a full season of summer ball. There is an immediate intensity that kicks in as soon as the fall season starts, the weather changes and it becomes a must-win mentality right from the get-go,” he stated. “Also, my time working with the Blue Jays has given me a lot of valuable information with regards to player development, strategy and incorporating analytics.”
The men's baseball team is coming off one of their most successful seasons. They made a playoff appearance at the Provincial Championships for the first time since the OCAA's inaugural men's baseball season in 2013. He wants to build off that season while also bringing his culture into the program.
“I hope to bring a culture where we set high expectations, play incredibly hard and compete to win every game, all while maintaining a positive environment where players enjoy being around each other and build strong bonds that will last long beyond the baseball field,” he said.
Coach Appel was a pitcher growing up and has used that experience to help him grow into the coach he is today. His resume also includes being the Co-founder and Pitching Director at Toronto Power Pitching, High Performance Pitching Instructor for the Baseball Development Group and Pitching Coach for York University.
“We are very excited to have Coach Appel join the GBC Husky family. I am confident his experience and coaching philosophy will strengthen our baseball program making us a contender for years to come,” said Manager of Athletics & Recreation, Joe Stapleton. “Most importantly, I appreciate his drive to support both the athletic and personal development of our student-athletes.”
Taking on a program comes with a massive learning curve and challenges, but Coach Appel has his goals set and will have the Huskies ready when the 2022 season begins in September.
“My short-term goals are to get to know all of the players and support them with their development as both ballplayers and as people. Once the season starts, we are going to approach every game prepared and competing to win,” he explained. “Long term, my goal is to continue to build off of the growth of the Huskies program and work towards being a championship contender year after year.”
For more information on George Brown Men's Baseball, contact Huskies Varsity Coordinator Mark Couch at mark.couch@georgebrown.ca. If you're interested in possibly joining the Men's Baseball team, fill out the prospective athlete form.
