The baseball program at GateWay Community College has only been in existence for 12 years, but has quickly turned into a success story, with players winning Rawlings Gold Glove Awards every year since 2013. Only nine NJCAA Division II players win this award each year, and the division represents community colleges from all over the country.
Through it all has been head coach Rob Shabansky, who started as an assistant when the program began in Fall 2005. During his time at GateWay, the team has competed in countless playoff games and two national championship titles, and the four Gold Glove Awards are a testament to the team’s talent and drive – and Shabansky’s ability to spot ability and hone players’ skills.
The team’s success is a culmination of various strengths, but above all, its “us against the world” mentality allowed the team to reach new heights, according to Shabansky.
“We had guys that all believed in the same thing,” Shabansky said. “We were the only school that didn’t have a field on campus. We didn’t have a weight room on campus. It was something completely different than everybody else, and I believe our players started to embrace that quite a bit.”
Shabansky, who is originally from Las Vegas, played college baseball at the University of Arizona before signing with the Diamondbacks. About a year after he retired from the game, he met for lunch with GateWay’s head coach at the time, Victor Solis, who was launching a baseball program at the college.
It was then that Shabansky started his journey as an assistant coach, and two and a half years later, he took on the head coach position when Solis left to coach at Paradise Valley Community College.
He quickly stepped into the role of head coach, helping students succeed on and off the field.
“I really started to enjoy helping the players through their college classes and schedules and setting them up to transfer,” he said.
As a “players’ coach,” Shabansky is a firm believer in always keeping his door open and maintaining open lines of communication between the coaching staff and players.
“I’m trying to relate with them through either my experiences or experiences I’ve seen in the past with players,” he said. “Every year we’re trying to figure out a way to be better and relate better.”
The success of the team is also credited to a star-studded coaching staff coming from backgrounds in playing and coaching in professional baseball, according to Shabansky.
The excellent coaching staff is one of the reasons GateWay sophomore Seth Bradley joined the team.
“I chose to come to GateWay mostly because of the coaches,” he said. “It’s the best coaching staff I’ve ever had, period.”
Now, Seth is gearing up to transfer to Grand Canyon University in the fall with a full-ride scholarship thanks to the guidance he received at GateWay.
“It had everything to do with the coaching staff,” he said. “At first, I didn’t really have a lot of opportunities, and now I am heading to a Division 1 school.”
Aaron Siple, Gecko baseball alum and 2013 recipient of the Rawlings Gold Glove Award, is back at GateWay as an assistant coach and said that Shabansky’s knowledge of the game and care for the players is unlike anything else out there.
“The program that Rob runs is different from what you’ll find anywhere else in the country,” he said. “He’s one of the most honest and loving coaches I’ve ever had.”
For more information about the team, visit www.gatewaycc.edu/mens-baseball