Central Arizona Community College

4 CAC alums playing in Major Leagues

Baseball fans in Arizona have it better than any state in the country.

From the Diamondbacks and the Cactus League, to the minor leagues and great NCAA college baseball, to outstanding high school programs, just about every level of the sport is only a short drive away.

Maricopa and Pinal County have a hidden gem in their midst that offers glimpses of future stars — and the best part is it can be watched for free. It’s the Vaqueros of Central Arizona College in Coolidge.

How many realize that four former Central players are currently active in the major leagues? Or that there were six last season and a total of 13 over the years?

Sixth-year CAC head coach Jon Wente presides over a program that is one of the best in the nation on the junior college level.

But don’t be fooled by the “JC” tag. This is a top brand of baseball.

“Arizona baseball, at the junior college level, is outstanding” says Wente, whose team has dominated the state. “Each year we have three or four teams that are capable of winning a national championship.”

But it is CAC that is usually the top dog. The team has won the 14-team Arizona Community College Athletic Conference title five years in a row, and 10 times in the last 13 seasons.

When you have players headed for the majors, it’s no wonder.

Perhaps the best-known CAC alumnus is Ian Kinsler, a two-time all-star now in his sixth year with the Texas Rangers. He was a major reason for the Rangers’ surprise push to the World Series last year, hitting .296 with three home runs in the post season.

Dan Haren is in his ninth major league season, currently pitching for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He was an all-star each year from 2007-09, two with the Diamondbacks, before being traded to the Angels.

Rich Harden has spent eight seasons in the majors and is currently with the Oakland A’s, although he has been on the disabled list all season.

Scott Hairston is playing with the New York Mets and is in his eighth season in the big leagues.

In addition, two other CAC grads played in the majors last year, but are currently in AAA, Matt Pagnozzi with the Giants’ organization and Doug Mathis with the Indians. Hairston, Harden and Pagnozzi all played for Wente when he was the Vaqueros’ assistant coach, and all maintain close ties to the program.

“Ian Kinsler Skyped with the whole team this spring,” Wente says. “Scott Hairston always comes to our alumni weekend and golf tournament and Matt Pagnozzi practiced with us for the whole month of January. It was great for our catchers to get to work with a big leaguer every day.

[NEWS RELEASE] Central Arizona College offering ... - Rose Law Group

One example is a collaboration with Hispanic-Serving Institutions Assisting Communities (HSIAC) Green Construction, CBJT 3-Solar Installation, and CAC’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC) to develop a Solar Entrepreneur – entrepreneurial coursework based on the four-module Kauffman Model – aimed at preparing students to operate their own solar installation business. Forty percent of those who have expressed interest in the program come from the Apache Junction area. While this might seem problematic due to the program’s location, the CBJT grant, according to Combs, allows for students’ transportation, if necessary. With that said, students should not let distance deter them from an up and coming program that may prove integral to the community in the future. These grants are used to increase the capacity of community colleges to provide training in a local high-growth, high-demand industry through activities such as the development of training curricula with local industry, hiring qualified faculty, arranging on-the-job experiences with industry, and using up-to-date equipment; and train new and experienced workers in identified high growth, high demand industries, with the aim of employing and/or increasing the retention and earnings of trained workers, while meeting the skill needs of businesses within targeted industries.

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