The Missoula Impact Baseball Club has partnered with The Hitting Barn to oversee its baseball operations. The Hitting Barn was founded and is operated by Colton Little, a four-year starter at Colorado Mesa University, a Division II college baseball powerhouse in Grand Junction, Colorado. In 2013, Little was First-Team All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference as a senior, hitting .343 and leading the juggernaut Colorado Mesa team to a 35-3 conference record, an RMAC championship, and a berth in the NCAA Division II South Central Regional Baseball Championships. As a junior, Little hit .344, was Second Team All-RMAC, and was named American Baseball Coaches Association All-Central Region Gold Glove 2nd Team. Colorado Mesa has long been one of the Nation’s premier NCAA Division II programs, finishing as College World Series runner-up in 2014 and 2019.

Little then spent the last decade coaching elite high school club baseball for the Slammers North club in Denver, Colorado. He also served as a scout team coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Little brings a wealth of knowledge, instructional skill, and opportunities from the years of playing college baseball and coaching at the highest level of prep baseball in the Mountain West. In 2022, as head coach of the Slammers North 17U team, Little coached Walker Martin who became the 52nd overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, a second-round selection of the San Francisco Giants that signed an over-slot $3 million signing bonus. Dozens of Little’s former players are now playing college baseball and/or in line to be future MLB draft picks.

Little’s hitting-focused instructional coaching skill set is off the charts. He possesses a deep understanding of the mechanics of hitting and has a proven track record of being able to teach advanced hitting principles to high school kids. The Hitting Barn opened its doors earlier this year in the Potomac Valley and quickly established a growing list of athletes, both baseball and softball players, in the Missoula area. The Hitting Barn offers baseball and softball hitting lessons and defensive work for all ages. Missoula Impact is proud to partner with the Hitting Barn in this unique instructional coaching arrangement.

Ryan Roche, Manager, leads the Missoula Impact Baseball Club’s in-game coaching and supports Colton Little, Director of Baseball Operations, in executing all aspects of baseball skill development for the organization.

Roche was a prep standout at Chatsworth Charter High School in southern California, one of the Nation’s premier high school baseball programs. Chatsworth was a perennial powerhouse in the early 2000s, including a 35-0 campaign and #1 national ranking by USA Today and Baseball America in 2004. Chatsworth’s storied baseball program produced dozens of professional baseball players, including Mike Moustakas, a 13-year MLB veteran, who starred for the Kansas City Royals and Milwaukee Brewers and Matt Dominguez who spent five years with the Houston Astros, Florida Marlins, and Toronto Blue Jays.

During his junior season in 2016, Roche went 9-1 with an 0.86 ERA and was named First-Team All-West Valley League and conference Pitcher of the Year. Roche led Chatsworth to a Los Angeles Section City title clash and was the starting pitcher in the championship game at Dodger Stadium. Roche was recruited heavily out of high school and committed to Montana State University–Billings as a pitcher and utility player on a baseball scholarship. In 2018, as a redshirt freshman, Roche set an MSU-Billings school record with six hits in a game and went on to have a stellar campaign, hitting .347 for the season. Roche played four seasons at MSU-Billings before recently relocating to Missoula.

Roche’s understanding of the game was shaped by some of the best coaches in the West, including long-time Chatsworth head coach Tom Meusborn, who recently replaced former MLB player Jerry Roster as head coach at Sierra Canyon, one of the Nation’s premier athletic high schools. Roche also played for former MSU-Billings head coach Aaron Sutton, who moved on to manage the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels, the Minnesota Twins High-A affiliate, and now coaches the Boise Hawks in the Pioneer League. Roche is particularly valuable as a pitching and defensive coach because he played every position, including serving as a two-way pitcher and position player at the NCAA Division II level.

Mark Simon, the 2021 Pioneer League Pitcher of the Year with the Missoula Paddleheads, is back for a second stint as a Missoula Impact Baseball Club pitching coach.

Simon, a Houston native, emerged as one of the top prep pitchers in Houston his senior year in high school and went on to play college baseball at New Mexico Junior College and Oklahoma City University. He then spent two seasons playing alongside former MLB players at the AAA level of the Mexican League. In 2022, Simon signed with the Toronto Blue Jays and pitched for the Blue Jays High-A minor league affiliate, Vancouver Canadians. He returned to Missoula last winter, helped coach Impact Baseball, and then notched another solid campaign with the Paddleheads this summer, recording 12.9 strikeouts per 9 innings pitched.

Simon’s vast experience brings another impressive dynamic to the accomplished Impact coaching staff led by Colton Little, Director of Baseball Operations, and Ryan Roche, Manager. Simon recently signed with the Milwaukee Milkmen of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball Leagues and will continue his professional baseball career in 2024 in one of the Nation’s most storied baseball leagues. Simon is living in Missoula this winter and is contributing his time, knowledge, and energy to bullpen work with the Impact pitchers and throwing mechanics drills with position players.

Austin Pray serves as an Assistant Coach specifically focused on working with catchers and the pitching staff, and helping players develop leadership skills.

Pray was a standout prep catcher in the baseball talent-rich Denver suburbs, Broomfield and Westminster, Colorado. He played at Legacy High School in Broomfield where he was a teammate with Colton Little, current Impact Director of Baseball Operations, then finished his high school career at Broomfield High School.

In 2009, Pray was a Colorado 4A All-State catcher and caught the championship game. He continued his playing career at Colorado State University, where he was a member of the Rams’ powerhouse teams that dominated the National Club Baseball Association. Pray was CSU’s starting catcher on the 2010 NCBA Division 1 National Championship team and runner-up in the 2012 NCBA World Series. During his four years of high-level college club baseball, Pray competed against countless collegiate baseball teams at the JUCO and Division 3 levels.

Austin’s fearlessness, grit, and love of the game of baseball adds an important dynamic to the talented Impact coaching staff.

Austin Erler serves as an Assistant Coach specifically focused on working with Impact’s infielders.

Erler brings a host of national, collegiate, Legion, and club baseball experience to the coaching staff. Erler played summer travel ball as part of a prestigious club team in Missouri and was a 16U Missouri State Champion. He played Legion ball for the Bitterroot Bucs and was named all-conference three times. As a highly skilled shortstop and second baseman, Erler gained national exposure playing fall and winter club baseball on the national stage for elite teams including Northwest Baseball’s Eastern Washington/Northern Idaho and Montana/Wyoming Scout Teams. Erler rose to prominence playing for the USA Baseball team that competed in the 2008 Puerto Rico Winter Classic in Roberto Clemente Stadium. Erler was twice named to the Under Armor national team. He played a year of college baseball at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington, before moving on to study abroad in Australia. As a junior in college, he formed the first-ever baseball team for the University of Newcastle and his team took second place in the Australian Uni Games; he was named to the Australian national college baseball team.

Erler was a key member of the 2022 Missoula Impact Baseball Club coaching staff in the club’s successful inaugural campaign. We’re excited to have Austin back in a focused instructional role for the 2024 team, fully utilizing his advanced skill set as an infielder.