It’s not everyday a professional baseball player approaches Gerald “Gee” Cassard, Loyola’s head baseball coach, about an opening on the coaching staff.

When the opportunity presented itself, the Wolfpack baseball team couldn’t pass up on the offer. Earlier this year, former Loyola student and baseball standout Brian Mason, A’08, spoke with Cassard about returning to the team, this time as an assistant coach.

Mason decided to come “home” to help out his former team when Jeffrey Leonard, the Reno Silver Sox’s skipper, told the players to condition themselves during the off-season and return to the team ready to play for spring training.

“I was training and working out down here during my off-season from the Sox, so I thought why not help out myself as well as my former teammates,” he said. “This way it’s a win-win situation.”

Mason, who signed with the Reno Silver Sox in August, joined the Wolfpack during the off-season to assist with outfielders, but is primarily the Wolfpack’s hitting coach.

“Brian has credibility,” Cassard said. “He is a guy with tremendous knowledge of swinging the baseball bat.”

His résumé includes setting the all-time career hit mark with 240 hits, a .345 career batting average, 150 runs scored and 114 RBIs over his tenure as a player here. Cassard feels Mason is a valuable tool on the coaching staff and is confident the players can learn from him.

Mason works with the entire team in the batting cages on their mechanics, their swings and what to look for when stepping into the batter’s box.  But it’s most of the younger guys and the freshmen that work one on one with Mason.

“When the younger guys have bad hitting sessions in the batting cages and have questions, they immediately talk to Mason to hear his advice and insights,” said Brien Delahoussaye, accounting freshman. “The older guys tend to try to figure out their own swinging problems themselves so they just refer to the people they are hitting with or work on it themselves.”

According to Delahoussaye, the younger guys work with Mason on a daily basis because they feel he has so much knowledge to share with them from his past experiences in high school, college and in a professional baseball league.

“We (freshmen) just want to play,” he said, “so we seek as much information from him as we can, hoping that we can gain any type of advantage over someone else, to compete for a spot on the field.” 

So far, Mason hasn’t encountered any problems adjusting from player to coach. Cassard believes it’s easier for Mason due to his experience helping other players during the time he was away from the team.

“You try to look at and follow players that do things the right way and figure out how they are doing it,” Cassard said. “Even when he was a player, he always helped other guys as well as himself.”

Mason, on the other hand, attributes his smooth transition to the players. “They handle constructive criticism well,” he said. “The younger guys use the advice I give them and apply it in practice or game situations which allows them to improve and get better.”

One of the players Mason has had hitting sessions with is Delahoussaye.

“He worked with me on my approach to the plate, my hand-eye coordination and what to look for at the plate in game situations,” he said.

According to Delahoussaye, he is making about 80 percent better contact and squaring up the baseball more since his hitting sessions.

“Before, I wasn’t swinging to the ball and when the pitch came outside, I didn’t properly follow through,” he said. “My swing has really improved now.”

Delahoussaye believes that this is only the beginning for him, there is much more knowledge he can acquire from Mason.

“I think I can learn tremendously from somebody who plays in the professional leagues for the simple fact that whatever he tells me, he has taken from what he’s learned throughout his entire career. That knowledge is coming from someone you know has to attain such a high baseball IQ to make it to where he is, the pros,” he said.

Mason hasn’t ruled out coaching baseball in the future, but wants to continue on with his education.

“It’s something I want to consider coming back to, but I would like to pursue accounting first. I had no interest in coaching ball at any level this early in my career, however, I’m glad that I am with the guys now because it is exciting,” Mason said.

Craig Malveaux can be reached at [email protected].

Former Loyola outfielder and Wolfpack’s all-time leading hitter, Brian Mason, bats against Spring Hill College. Mason is currently the Wolfpack’s hitting coach.