Callahan recently finished off a great college summer league season for the Horseheads (NY) Hitmen and will begin his second year with Slippery Rock in the fall, while Adams will join Callahan in the PSAC and play at Mansfield. 

Brought had previously committed to Alfred with the intention of playing football, but after conversations with the Saxons’ baseball coaches, the incoming freshman decided to play both sports. 

“I was very impressed with everything I heard from the coach,” says Brought, “and with next spring being the inaugural season of baseball at Alfred .. which is two years earlier than they planned .. I knew it was an opportunity I couldn't pass up.”

Even if Brought had decided to play just football at college, its still a pretty remarkable outcome that three kids .. who literally have played hundreds of games together over the course of 12 years .. are each fulfilling childhood dreams of being a college athlete.

It’s remarkable, but not unexpected, says longtime Wellsboro varsity baseball and basketball coach Steve Adams. He built a 6U travel baseball team around son Conner and friends Cameron and Darryn, and enlisted each’s Dad .. Ron Brought and Sean Callahan .. to help coach the team, dubbed the Wellsboro Hustlers.

“My goal was to get kids playing a lot of baseball through the summer,” says Adams about creating a travel ball team from scratch, “and to teach them and their parents the value of practice. I also knew Conner, Cam and Darryn wanted to be ballplayers at a high level someday, and my goal was to try to help create that chance. Secretly I had a goal of them all playing college baseball.”

“We always talked about playing college and pro ball,” says the younger Adams about he and his buddies, “and I’ll be rooting for Darryn and Cam to get to the highest level possible with baseball and I hope I can do the same.”

“It was so great to play with two guys who were and still are very good friends of mine,” adds Brought, “and that we can each follow that dream of playing at the next level is awesome.”

Sean and Darryn Callahan were away and unable to share their thoughts for this story, but Ron and Steve remember that Sean was immediately on-board with the plan.

“When Coach Adams sent Sean and I the original e-mail about creating the Hustlers,” recalls Ron Brought, “he had outlined a plan for putting our sons in a position to experience a high level of success in baseball.”

Adams’ plan outlined things such as working with the players in the grades above and below their own boys, establishing the Hustlers and, most importantly according to Brought, have the team consist of only players from Wellsboro.  

“We wanted Wellsboro to have success,” says Brought, “and refrain from developing players we would ultimately end up facing as the boys grew older.”

The Hustlers had a somewhat slow start, but it didn’t take long for the future Hornets to start winning.

 

“Our first tournament was a machine-pitch tournament in St. Mary’s Pa.,” says Adams, “We didn’t win any games in that tournament, but we played against quality competition that showed us where we needed to be if we wanted to compete. The following year, we went to a few more tournaments and won our first championship at a Curwensville 8U machine-pitch tournament, and the next year we won that St. Mary’s tournament .. which was significant because we always looked at that tournament as a gauge of how the boys measured up with quality players.”

The three young ball players and their Dad’s would embark on a multi-year baseball journey, improving to the point that when the Hustlers didn’t win it was considered an upset.

‘The Plan’ and the Hustlers’ success led to a PA District 15 Little League championship both when the boys were nine and again when they were 12. They also reached the district finals as 10 year olds. 

“We played in tournaments in New York, Maryland and Pennsylvania with the Hustlers,” says Coach Adams, “all while competing in our local Little League. We would also play in winter leagues at the Liberty Arena and at the Edge in New York. I would guess we played in over 125 baseball games between the ages of six to 12.”

The boys have similar memories of that time, and echo Conner’s appreciation towards their all-paternal coaching staff.

“We were at the fields 24/7,” says Conner, “and our Dads had a lot of experience on the travel circuit and knew what we needed to improve. Having Dads that worked just as hard as us was a big part of our success.”

“We were lucky to have our Dads as coaches,” says Cameron, “It was a lot of work for them, but they always acted like there was nothing they'd rather be doing. The consistency was great for all of us in developing our skills, our understanding of the game and our love of the game. We owe them a ton of thanks for teaching us everything we know about baseball.”

Dads/Coaches Steve, Sean and Ron wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Brought recalls an example of just how tight the boys were with each other during these early years of the Hustlers. The story also reveals the ultra-competitiveness that the boys possessed .. as well as a very loose interpretation of actual baseball rules!

“Each of the boys had an older sister that all played on the same softball team during this time,” relays Brought, “so Cameron, Conner and Darryn tagged along to a softball tournament in Painted Post that their sisters were playing in. They were off on an adjacent field playing ball and they hooked up with some other boys. The next thing we know, Cam, Con and Darryn came back all sweaty and really happy that they had just 10-runned the other kids .. they put 10 runs on the other boys in the top of the 1st and called it a game without even letting the other team bat! They didn’t care when we explained that the other kids should’ve been given the chance to hit. They were bragging all day how they “crushed” those kids!”

After the boys continued into and out of junior high baseball .. and a lost season due to Covid .. Steve, Ron and Sean would not only get the chance to once again coach their sons, but also to see if their long ago instituted plan resulted in success for not just their boys, but also for Wellsboro baseball.

“The varsity position came open when Conner and Cam were sophomores .. Darryn was a junior,” explains Adams, “so when I got the job the first thing I did was reach out to Ron, Sean and Brett (Hamblin) .. to see if we could get the band back together.”

Adams’ and company hit the field running that first varsity season and led the Hornets to an NTL Large School title.

“Once we could play again (post-Covid) we all jumped right back into things,” Steve Adams continues, “Just like when they were younger, they experienced a lot of success .. including winning an NTL championship in 2021.”

Helping his friends coach at the varsity level and once again spending time coaching his son and his son’s friends was a no-brainer for Ron Brought.

“It was an easy decision,” says Brought, “because the boys worked hard and were very coachable.”

During that NTL title-winning season, junior Callahan and sophomores Brought and Adams combined for 77 base hits, 82 runs scored, 57 RBI, 46 walks and hit .400 as a trio for the Hornets. Callahan was named the All-Tioga County Offensive and overall Player of the Year and joined Adams and Brought on the first-team, while Brought was also named the Newcomer of the Year.

The boys’ early success was no surprise to the elders Adams, Callahan and Brought.

“Since they were six years old, the boys all had a willingness to play beyond practice,” says Brought. “They were always willing to go to the field .. take additional BP .. even just playing catch in the yard.”    

“It wasn’t uncommon to see Ron and Cam, Sean and Darryn and Conner and myself at the fields way after the season was over .. still practicing baseball,” adds Adams, “ and this carries true today .. you’ll see the same thing on any given evening if you drive past the High School field.”

While there wouldn’t be any more varsity titles for the Hornets, the former Hustlers improved their performances in Callahan’s senior season, as the trio combined to hit .432 with 82 base hits and 72 RBI between them. Callahan was once again the NTWSR All-Tioga County Player of the Year, Brought was the Offensive Player of the Year and Adams joined them both on the All-Tioga County first team. 

A grade ahead, Callahan would be the first to make good on he and his buddies’ aspirations to become college athletes by attending and playing Division 2 baseball for Slippery Rock. The true freshman started seven games and appeared in 14 for The Rock, and recently completed a phenomenal college summer league season with the Horseheads (NY) Hitmen.

In 31 games for the Hitmen, Callahan hit .420 with 47 base hits .. including 10 doubles, 11 home runs and an .804 slugging percentage .. 29 runs scored, 30 RBI and a .476 on-base-percentage.

“Darryn can flat out hit,” says Steve Adams of his former third baseman, “and he can hit the ball far and hard. And he always has! I still remember him hitting baseballs way over the lights at the Little League fields.”

Back in Wellsboro, Cam and Conner concluded their senior baseball seasons with Adams being named the All-Tioga County Defensive Player of the Year and Brought taking the titles of both the Offensive and overall Player of the Year. 

Brought finished his Hornet career with 96 base hits .. an astounding total in just three seasons .. and added 84 RBI, 68 runs scored, 19 doubles and a .482 career batting average, while Adams collected 75 base hits, 77 runs scored, 39 walks and a Wellsboro-record 56 stolen bases in his three seasons as the Hornets’ shortstop. 

“Cameron is extremely strong and he’s dedicated to always getting better,” says Adams, “I always depended on Cameron and knew he would be there competing and giving his all.”

“Conner is very athletic and a fierce competitor,” Steve says of his son, “He never takes a play off. His sports IQ has allowed him to be in position and make plays that most players can’t. I’m not surprised that they boys have made it this far because I saw what they and their families put into them becoming college ballplayers. Many sacrifices were made but they did it. I am so proud of those three and can’t wait to watch them continue to compete.”

The three young athletes developed into very different types of players, but their dedication and drive was universal and applied to all three sports that each played every year .. which itself is a notable rarity these days.

“I think playing multiple sports definitely helped each of the boys,” says Steve Adams, “It allowed them to compete all year long .. which helped them not only athletically but helped them mentally as they had to apply different strategies in multiple sports.”

Ron Brought, who also served as the Wellsboro varsity softball coach for a number of years, whole-heartily endorses each boy’s decision to be three-sport athletes.

“As both a parent and a coach, I highly encourage being a multi-sport athlete,” says Brought, “I’ve found that skills you acquire in one sport will carry over and help you excel at another. My personal experience in softball .. the athletes that played multiple sports were less injury prone and entered the season with a high level of excitement to start something new. As far as the boys, being a three-sport athlete was another form of bonding and building trust for them. They enjoyed being teammates and competing together and for each other.”

Cam Brought makes a succinct point as to why it was never really a question if one of them was going to not play any given season, saying, “Playing multiple sports makes you a better athlete in all of them.”

That’s a hard point to argue considering each of the boys were perennial all-stars in football and basketball, as well as in baseball, throughout their high school careers.

“By playing together for so many years .. in all three sports .. they knew they could count on each other,” says Ron Brought, “and when it was game time, these boys were never intimidated by the moment. They were exposed to pressure situations and high stakes situations from a young age .. and each wanted to be the one in the batter’s box with the opportunity to get the walk-off hit to win the game for their team.”    

With the much-appreciated help from so many, Steve Adams’ plan worked.

“To see all three of them as college athletes is special,” says Adams, “We accomplished the goal. It’s not easy to become a college athlete and to have three players out of a program do it is incredible. It takes a lot of blood, sweat and tears over many years and it’s not something you can do by yourself. For me to share in this journey with Ron, Sean, Darryn, Cameron and Conner .. it has truly been a blessing. Baseball is a family game, and we all became part of each other’s families.”

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