Mike Orchard - President

Mike brings his wealth of knowledge in college baseball and college baseball recruiting to help lead the College Athlete Advantage team. He has personally mentored more than 400 athletes that have gone on to play at the collegiate level.

Mike has more than 16 years of coaching and recruiting experience, most notably as the Recruiting Coordinator and Pitching Coach at Central Arizona College (2009-2014), an annual Top 10, nationally-ranked contender in the NJCAA. During Mike’s six years at Central Arizona, 24 pitchers went on to pitch at a four-year level, including 15 at the NCAA Division 1 level, as well as 12 pitchers being drafted in the Major League draft.

Along with coaching experience in the prestigious summer Cape Cod League, Mike was named to the All Decade Team as Manager of Mankato in the Northwoods Summer Collegiate League. During his six years (2009-2014) as Manager, Mankato won divisional titles four times and more than 100 of his players to date have gone on to play professional baseball. Having established himself as an experienced player evaluator, Mike also currently serves as an Associate Scout for the Arizona Diamondbacks, assisting with player evaluations.

Robert Rodebaugh - Regional Advisor

Growing up in Marietta, Georgia, I played for East Cobb Baseball, representing the Ringors and Astros as an amateur, and earned All-Region and Georgia State team honors in high school. I had the benefit of playing alongside countless future college players, professionals, and several Major League players from the area. After a successful high school career, I signed with Presbyterian College on a baseball scholarship, where I batted .410 as a freshman and earned Rookie of the Year honors. During my sophomore season, I hit 9 home runs and batted .370 with 24 doubles before transferring to Elon University. My time at Elon earned me accolades such as All-Region by the American Baseball Coaches Association, First Team All-Southern Conference, and All-State by the North Carolina Collegiate Sports Information Association. I helped lead Elon to a top-25 finish and a 2-seed at the Clemson regional in the NCAA tournament. As the 2006 team MVP, I hit .340 with 11 home runs and 60 RBIs. I was named to the watch list for the Brooks Wallace Award, given annually to the top collegiate player in the nation by the College Baseball Foundation. I was also selected to the First Team Preseason All-America team by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. I had the good fortune to play two seasons for the Mankato Moondogs in the Northwoods League, one of the finest collegiate summer leagues.

I come from a baseball family—my father played for the University of Toledo, my brother Ryan played professionally for 6+ years, reaching AAA with the Texas Rangers, and my nephew Tyler Tolve is a rising prospect in the Atlanta Braves system. I have also coached and instructed players at various amateur levels, including several years of high school travel ball. My own family recruitment experience, deep coaching network connections, and passion for the game are all exciting assets I can leverage while helping student-athletes and their families navigate the ever changing and unique college recruitment process.

Ryan Ruiz - Regional Supervisor

Ryan Ruiz comes to College Athlete Advantage after serving six seasons as an assistant coach for Grand Canyon University and Central Arizona College. During his time on GCU staff (2011-2013), he served as the hitting and outfield coach and helped GCU to the Division II World Series in 2013. Previous to GCU, he spent four years at Central Arizona College (2008-2011). The Vaqueros went to the JUCO World Series two times in his four years. Ryan assisted many of the players he worked with at CAC onto four-year schools.

Ruiz also coached two summers in premier collegiate wood bat leagues. One summer with the Santa Maria Indians of the California Collegiate League and another summer with the Rochester Honkers of the Northwoods League. Ryan managed the Honkers to the championship series in 2010.

He played professionally for eight seasons with the Saint Paul Saints and Sioux City Explorers of the Independent League. His best year came in 2004 where he hit .310 with 22 doubles and 35 stolen bases, earning him a spot on the North All-Star team. During his eight years, he compiled a .288 batting average with 141 stolen bases.

His collegiate playing career was spent with Texas Tech University, where he helped the Red Raiders to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 1998 and 1999. He was a second-team all-conference selection in 1998 and 1999. He led Texas Tech both years in hitting with a .388 and .376 batting average.

Most recently Ruiz served as a left-handed batting practice specialist for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Ruiz is a native of El Toro, California who brings a professional baseball outlook to help college level players and help them find their right fit.

Rainel Caranto - Regional Supervisor

Rainel is a native of Southern California growing up in the Santa Clarita Valley. Rainel graduated from college with a bachelor's degree in Business Administrations. He is the owner of ASAP Baseball Academy, established in 2007 where many of his athletes have gone on to play college baseball, USA Baseball, and professional baseball.

He has earned appearances in the Dominican Republic 2014, '15, '16 and '18 coaching with Big League Edge representing a USA national team in the Latin American Baseball Classic. Rainel has been coaching baseball for more than 30 years at the youth, high school and collegiate levels. His years of experience helped him develop the four core principles that he hands down to his student athletes: athleticism, self-esteem, attitude, and perseverance.

Rainel began his collegiate career at College of the Canyons, but he left after being offered an athletic scholarship to play at the Universidad de Santo Tomás (Philippines) where he studied Business Administrations. He was named Rookie of the Year his freshman year and voted co-MVP his final year at UST. In 1989 he was selected to play for the Philippine National Baseball Team. He competed in the Asian Baseball Championship Series in Seoul, South Korea. From 1990- '93, he played in the International Baseball Association in Taipei, Taiwan.

Rainel is affiliated with Prospect United, a national organization that has been recognized by Baseball Youth magazine as a Top 100 baseball organization in the country. Prospect United SoCal has developed a special opportunity for high school athletes where he requires his athletes to commit and compete at the highest level.

Peter Maris III - Regional Supervisor

I am a recently retired infielder, playing professionally for 9 years. My journey in baseball began at U.C. Santa Barbara, followed by a professional career with the Tampa Bay Rays and the San Francisco Giants, reaching the AAA level. I have won a total of three championships, with one of them being with the Giants at the AAA level. Additionally, I competed in the Mexican Baseball League (LMB), contributing to my diverse experience in the sport. For over five years, I've provided private coaching to athletes aged 10 to 23, alongside serving as an infield and batting coach at Occidental College in Los Angeles, California.

Chris Matzner - Regional Supervisor

Chris Matzner is a native Southern Californian who recently relocated to Columbus, Ohio after spending his last five years in Arizona.

In California, Chris coached many top level club baseball teams as well as coached at his alma mater Valencia High School for eight years.

In Arizona, Chris continued to coach for five years working exclusively with the Scottsdale Dirtbags. With the Dirtbags, he he ran many youth teams and he helped coach and run the high school program. He also coached at Pinnacle High School for four seasons where he taught as a special education teacher.

Chris played high school baseball at Valencia High School in Southern California where he was a three year starter on varsity and has been inducted into the Valencia Baseball Hall of Fame. After his senior year, he earned a scholarship to play baseball at Cal State Los Angeles, a division 2 school in East Los Angeles. At CSULA, Chris was a four year starter at third base where he earned all conference all academic honors for four years. He also won team MVP his junior season.

Chris has a had a passion for the game of baseball from a young age and continues to stay involved in the game through coaching and recruiting to help players reach their fullest potential.

Derek Amicone - Regional Supervisor

Derek Amicone comes to College Athlete Advantage after serving on four division 1 coaching staff’s including Utah, Oregon, Utah Valley and Grand Canyon. He has served as a recruiting coordinator, infield coach and various on-field responsibilities and off-field responsibilities.

At Utah, he assisted the Utes in their joining of the PAC-12 conference and spent time in the summer as a coaching assistant with the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees. With the Bees, Amicone worked hand in hand with former Angels hitting coach Jim Eppard. While at Oregon, Amicone worked for ABCA hall of fame inductee and National Champion winner George Horton. The Ducks fell in the Nashville regional to the eventual National Champion Vanderbilt and multiple Ducks are currently playing in Major League Baseball. At Utah Valley, the Wolverines won a WAC championship and competed in the LSU Regional. Amicone signed the school’s highest rated recruiting classes and set program records in fielding percentage, double plays and coached multiple all-conference players and professional players. At Grand Canyon, Amicone assisted the Lopes as they claimed a WAC championship and several Lopes were selected in the MLB draft. Amicone worked under former Major Leaguer Andy Stankiewicz

Amicone played collegiately at Utah Valley as an infielder and won multiple conference championships while having a career batting average over .310. Amicone has also served as a private hitting and infield instructor for multiple years. Amicone served under 3 team USA head coaches, has coached multiple all-conference players and draft picks. He also served as a liaison with major league scouts on multiple coaching staff’s. The Salt Lake City, Utah native comes from a baseball family as his father is the president and general manager of the Salt Lake Bees, his mother is the head softball coach at Weber State and his brother coaches in the New York Yankees organization.

Derek has used College Athlete Advantage as a division 1 recruiting coordinator and knows how valuable the organization is for players and families. Derek is looking forward to assisting players and families navigate the recruiting process and help them find the best fit.

Matt Schirm - Regional Advisor

Matt Schirm joins College Athlete Advantage after serving as the head baseball coach at Central College (Iowa), where he won more than 100 games in six seasons. Prior to Central, Matt coached at Wartburg College (Iowa), University of the Cumberlands (Kentucky), and Anamosa High School (Iowa). He also spent three years as a professional instructor and assistant director at the North Carolina Baseball Academy.

Matt played college baseball at Coe College (Iowa) where he was a two-year starter and all-conference performer as a senior. Matt has an exceptional track record as a college recruiter and brings a wealth of experience and knowledge about the recruiting process to the College Athlete Advantage team.

Robert Paller - Regional Advisor

Robert Paller joins College Athlete Advantage as a professional baseball player from Brooklyn, NY. He went to the Berkeley Carroll School where he won a high school state championship while being coached by his father, Walter Paller.

Robert was a starting Outfielder for the Israeli Olympic Team during the Tokyo 2020 Games. He played four years of Division 1 baseball at Columbia University from 2012 to 2016. Paller's professional baseball career spanned eight years, including stints in various leagues such as the CanAm League, Frontier League, United Shore League, Pecos League, Pioneer League, and participation in international competitions.

In addition to his playing career, Robert Paller contributed to the sport through seven years of private instruction and coaching high school travel baseball programs. He also has experience working college recruiting camps and helping the athletes he has trained to advance and play at the next level.

His notable achievements include representing Israel in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, earning a Silver Medal at the 2021 European Championships, and being recognized as a Pecos League & USPBL All-Star.

Paller was a two time Captain of the Columbia University baseball team and won multiple All-Ivy League honors including Academic All-Ivy. He was a member of 4 championship teams in college and professional baseball. Paller played his college summer ball in the Hamptons ACBL, Northwoods, and Cape Cod League.

Bryan Rice - Regional Advisor

Bryan comes to College Athlete Advantage with the unique experience of having two sons go through the program and knows firsthand how important it is to have a good advisor that can help with the college recruiting process.

He graduated from Saguaro High School and was named Athlete of the Year playing football, basketball, and baseball. After high school, he played baseball at Scottsdale Community College and was named to the All-American team his sophomore year. He finished his college career at Grand Canyon University.

Bryan just completed his 34th year of coaching high school sports, including football, basketball, softball, and baseball. He is currently the assistant head coach at Red Mountain High School and runs a collegiate team for AZ Sandlot.

Bryan has experience on many different levels of play from youth to the College level. While he was the head coach at Desert Mountain HS, he made the state playoffs every year and was named Region Coach of the Year four times. In his 12 years as head coach, he had three Region Championships in 2003, 2009, 2011, four Final Four appearances in 2000, 2003, 2004, 2008, and two State Finalists in 2007, and 2010. In the 17 years he coached at Desert Mountain, he sent 52 players to college, 11 to pro baseball, had 19 All-State players, and 4 All-Americans.

In 2018 he started coaching the 2021 AZ Sandlot team and in 2 years they were ranked #1 in the West and finished 3rd nationally in the WWBA national tournament losing to the #1 ranked team in extra innings. From that team 19 players played Division 1 baseball and 1 signed professionally.

He has coached 3 summers in the AZ Collegiate College baseball league with AZ Sandlot. The first year he took a team of mostly players going into their senior year of high school and made it all the way to the championship. The next year they won the championship. Last year’s team became the 1st team in the league’s 20-year existence to go through the league undefeated and won the championship again. This summer he is coaching another team in the new Copper State Collegiate League.

At the youth level he started a club baseball team named the Scottsdale DirtBags and in 2010 his 12U team won the Winter National tournament and was ranked #1 nationally, and in the spring of 2011, they won the state championship and finished third at the World Series.