Vast Experience Shapes Retired MLB-er Gates Into 3-Time Finals-Winning Coach
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
August 1, 2023
If there is anything that Brent Gates knows for sure, it's that there is no single explanation for three MHSAA Finals baseball championships.
For starters, the Grand Rapids Christian coach credits the superior coaching he had as a youngster, especially for helping him make the Michigan High School Baseball Coaches Association Dream Team in 1988.
From there, Gates points to the experience gained as a former Big 10 Baseball Player of the Year, a seven-year major league playing career that saw him rubbing shoulders with such notables as Hall-of-Famer Tony LaRussa and Minnesota Twins manager Tom Kelly, and then landing at a high school where the critical support he received from players, community and administration was priceless.
Put it all together and that, at least in part, explains Gates becoming the first Grand Rapids-area baseball coach with three state titles on his resume.
The Eagles' 2-1 win over Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett in the June 17 Division 2 Final marked Gates' third title as a coach. His Grand Rapids Christian clubs had previously won back-to-back titles in 2012-13.
Gates passed former Grandville Calvin Christian coach Jay Milkamp as the Grand Rapids-area coach with the most state titles. Milkamp won in 1994 (Class C) and 1996 (Class B).
Gates, a member of three Halls of Fame, is quick to deflect the credit for three championships and two other championship game appearances. What he treasures most is being mentioned in the same breath as other legendary west-side coaches such as Jenison's Gary Cook, Ron Engels of Wyoming Park, Hudsonville's Dave Van Nord, East Grand Rapids' Chris LaMange, formerly Rockford and now Ada Forest Hills Eastern's Ian Hearn and Milkamp, most of whom Gates either played against while an all-stater at Grandville or through coaching at Grand Rapids Christian.
"I'm just a small piece of what has transpired in 11 years," he said. "Just to be mentioned with them and their success is an honor. (Three titles) is not an individual thing, but because of many people and what they can do working day in and day out together.
"I've always said the west side doesn't get the recognition it should in baseball. There are some great coaches here with great baseball talent, and I think you see that in the postseason."
If basketball can spawn what is affectionately known as "gym rats," then Gates is surely a classic example of the diamond's version of someone who has lived and breathed baseball his entire life. He was a two-time all-stater at Grandville who went on to a standout career at the University of Minnesota that included a lifetime .387 batting average. He was named the Big Ten Player of the Year in 1991 and consensus All-American. Gates played internationally with USA Baseball on the 18U team in 1988 and then the collegiate national team in 1989 and 1990. Over those two seasons on the collegiate team he appeared in 68 games, hitting a combined .363 with 49 runs scored and 54 RBIs.
He was drafted by the Oakland A's in the first round (26th overall) of the 1991 draft and went on to hit .264 in 685 major league games over seven seasons.
Upon his retirement, Gates founded the Frozen Ropes training facility in Grand Rapids, worked as a scout for the Tampa Bay Rays, became the West Michigan Whitecaps' second-ever manager in 2001, coached Byron Center for two years and has compiled a remarkable 298-89 record in two coaching stints at Grand Rapids Christian.
After virtually a lifetime in baseball, Gates said his coaching success can be spread in many directions. He said it began at Grandville, was influenced by such managers as John Anderson at Minnesota and LaRussa and Kelly at the major league level, and with brushing shoulders with many of Grand Rapids' most successful coaches.
The experience led him to a coaching philosophy that includes a priority on building relationships with players, providing a full explanation of his thinking to the players, a quiet but firm coaching of fundamentals, and, above all, communication. If there is anything that Gates does not do, it's relying on the "old-school" coaching method where coaches demand excellence in no uncertain terms.
"I've taken little bits and pieces from a lot of people," said Gates, a member of the Grandville, University of Minnesota and Grand Rapids Halls of Fame. "I want players to figure out who they can be. Whether it's Ken Griffey Jr. as a hitter, Randy Johnson as a pitcher or Terry Steinbach in catching, you don't just take one person and say who can I be? If you want to compete at a high level, you need to be better than anyone you go up against.
"Part of being a good coach, and it doesn't matter if it's a 9U program or high school, is about making players understand and be able to apply what they learn. Baseball is a hard game, one of failure where if you succeed three times out of 10, you're a star. You have to get players to understand failure."
Gates said all three Grand Rapids Christian champions were marked by different strong suits. The 2012 club, for example, breezed its way to a 36-5 record, while the 2013 club finished the regular season just 12-15 but put together a torrid seven-game winning streak during the tournament. This year's team was marked by a deep pitching staff and what Gates describes as a "group of gamers."
"All of them were different, but I firmly believe that pitching and defense win championships," Gates said. "But you also have to get hot at the right time."
It's not unusual for major leaguers to completely hang up the spikes once their playing days are over. They're tired of the pressure, the frustration of fading talent and losing the battle with Father Time, and the constant travel away from family. Gates faced all that and still found himself enthralled with the idea of coaching.
"I've loved the game since I was like 4 years old. There's nothing better than smelling pine tar or the look of manicured grass. The smells and sounds of baseball, that's what I love," he said.
One of his coaching goals is to impart the love of the game to his players. And it seems the message is getting across.
"It's awesome playing for him," said first baseman/pitcher Ty Uchman, who graduated this spring. "He gets us to focus on the little things. If there is something on our minds, we know we can go to him. He's an open book. I know he'll always talk to us, and that builds trust and a bond."
Another recent grad, infielder Kyle Remington, will follow Gates' footsteps to the University of Minnesota and said one particular trait sticks out to him about his coach.
"He's very patient," Remington said. "There are all levels of players in high school, and he treats them all the same. Doesn't matter if they're struggling; he never raises his voice. He's a very comfortable and relatable coach to play for.
"He knows baseball is a game of failure so if you don't understand a drill or an adjustment to have to make, he'll talk to you in a patient way."
Gates said he suspected even when he was a major leaguer that coaching was likely in his future.
"I did, and it was an easy decision. God has a plan, and I had a feeling I would stay in the game," he said. "Baseball has given me everything. I love the game, and I know I've been blessed. I want to take what I've learned and pass it along. That's always been a part of me."
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PHOTOS (Top) Brent Gates appears on the USA Baseball collegiate national team in 1989 and makes a pitching change during this spring’s Division 2 Final. (Middle) Gates makes a tag at second base while playing for the national team. (Below) Gates presents the championship trophy this season to his Grand Rapids Christian players. (National team photos courtesy of USA Baseball.)
Airport Graduate Villarreal Hoping to Receive Call on WPBL Draft Day
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
November 19, 2025
It hasn't always been the smoothest of paths for Bella Villarreal – but considering the trail-breaking nature of her quest, she refuses to second guess her choices.
Which is how it goes for someone trying to make the leap from a high school of fewer than 800 students to becoming the first Michigan native to play in the new Women's Professional Baseball League.
A graduate of Carleton Airport High School and presently a freshman at Eastern Michigan, Villarreal's journey includes overcoming her own doubts, ignoring skeptics, poking a hole in a sport universally reserved for males and traveling hundreds of miles to find suitable competition. It's a long and continuing fight she's hoping will culminate in her being among the players taken in the inaugural WPBL draft Thursday.
While Villarreal describes herself as a football fan and someone who could never get into softball, dabbled in basketball and pushed thoughts of playing volleyball to the back of her mind, her first love has always been baseball. It's been that way since before she stepped into her kindergarten classroom and peaked after shining in a WPBL tryout in Washington, D.C., in August.
"I've been drawn to baseball since I was a 4-year-old playing T-ball," Villarreal said. "I've always wanted to play baseball. It's inspirational to me and was always a goal for me to play. I never wanted to stop something that made me feel so good."
While she harbors a deep love of baseball, the sport, however, hasn't always returned that affection. After playing in local boys leagues growing up, Villarreal – a pitcher and second baseman – made the Detroit Bees boys travel team as a 9-year-old. From there she graduated to the Indians Baseball Club as an 11-year-old and then finally more travel ball with the Cubs club as a 15-year-old. She's played in three Baseball For All events, the largest girls baseball tournament in the country.
Along the way Villarreal has encountered support, but also a prevalent attitude that girls who favor a sport with a bat and ball should be playing softball, not baseball. By the time she was 16, Villarreal, by then long committed to a future on the baseball diamond, was having to travel all over the Midwest to find baseball tournaments.
What she found was scattered acceptance among some male teammates, but also a frustration with traveling around a half-dozen states to play the sport she loved.
One of the turning points of Villarreal's fledging baseball career came at Airport High School. After her extensive inclusion in travel leagues, Villarreal made the school's junior varsity baseball team as a freshman and sophomore. While there were bumps along the way, the foremost lesson Villarreal took from that school's baseball program was that she could indeed succeed playing against the boys. She also honed fundamentals and learned the value of everyone pulling in the same direction.
According to the National Federation of State High Schools Association (NFHS), there are no states with girls baseball as a sanctioned sport – but the organization counted 1,372 girls who played baseball on high school boys teams this spring. While Major League Baseball estimates 46 percent of all baseball fans are women, only nine women played on NCAA men's baseball teams in 2024.
None of which has deterred Villarreal's love of the game.
"I worked hard and wanted to be part of the team. I learned that there is no "I" in team," Villarreal said of her time at Airport. "And I think it also confirmed my ability. I knew if I did well in high school, I could do it any place."
Armed with the confidence that she could carve a space in the sport, Villarreal, now 19, has tried to improve her game with twice-a-week hitting workouts and four days of work designed to improve her strength and speed.
The work has paid off. She came away from the first WPBL tryout in Washington, D.C., with hopes of being taken in the draft. The tryout included players from 10 countries, including a dozen from Japan, which has the top-ranked women's team in the world by the World Baseball and Softball Federation. In all, the first day of tryouts included 600 players from across the country and as far away as Australia, Mexico, South Korea, the United Kingdom and France. Cuts were made after each of the four days, with Villarreal surviving all of them. That's a hopeful sign she will be taken in the draft by one of the league's four franchises.
Villarreal admits the tryouts, which concluded with inter-squad games, were high stress.
"Of course I was nervous," she said. "But I made some friends there who helped me stay motivated that I could get through it. It was serious, but everyone had fun, which was a big thing. There were jitters the first day, but then I was good at becoming myself. To make the second and third days, you knew you must be doing something right. I started becoming confident with the things I knew I could do."
Originally slated to include six teams, the league will start play in May with teams in New York, Boston, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Teams will have 15-player rosters which will play a seven-week regular season. It's not the first attempt at forming a professional women's baseball league. There have been four previous attempts beginning with the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League during World War II and the most recent with Ladies League Baseball in 1997-98.
Villarreal believes given time and enough resources, women's professional baseball can thrive. She would love to look back on her time as being among the trailblazers in that progress.
"Absolutely, there is interest," she said. "I know there have been attempts before, and some really haven't stuck. But I think we can build it up to a place where girls have more of an opportunity."
For those girls who would someday wish to join that quest, Villarreal has advice.
"You should know where you're supposed to be," she said. "Do what you love as a challenge, and just be who you are. It doesn't matter what sport you play – know that you are capable."
Editor's note: Villarreal was drafted in the fifth round of the WPBL Draft by Los Angeles, the 82nd pick overall of 120. She was selected as a second baseman, and was one of two Michigan players drafted. Jordan Eyster of Royal Oak, a 21-year-old outfielder, was selected in the fourth round by San Francisco.
PHOTOS (Top) Airport grad Bella Villarreal watches from the dugout during a USA Baseball Development Program event. (Middle) Villarreal steps to the plate as a member of Carleton Airport’s junior varsity baseball team. (Below) Villarreal takes a photo while pointing toward her mother Tonya. (Photos provided by the Villarreal family.)