GREEN BAY, Wis. (NBC 26) — Six Wisconsin natives get to spend a summer in their home state while playing for the Green Bay Booyah – and it's all part of new manager Tristan Toorie's plan.
The boys are in town and getting a workout in before tomorrow’s season opener at Fond Du Lac! pic.twitter.com/NsonVzJhSQ
— Green Bay Booyah (@booyahbaseball) May 30, 2021
"You know, you follow a kid from when he was in high school, maybe even before high school, all the way through college – and then they go off to college, and then they have a chance to come back and play in front of their hometown, and I think it's special for the kids as well," Toorie said of intentionally recruiting local players to his college summer baseball team. "Getting to sleep in their own bed where they grew up, and stuff like that."
At least two of the players are grateful that the game has brought them home, even if just for a summer.
"I had a lot of friends that reached out and said they're gonna come to the game, so that'll be really cool," De Pere alum Will Semb said. "All of my family's here so they'll also be at the games."
The new kids on the block have already been asking the locals for recommendations.
"I'm sure there's a lot of insight I could bring for a lot of guys, just me growing up here and stuff like that," Preble alum Ryan Stefiuk said. "I already had a couple of guys ask me what to do around here and stuff like that, them being stuck with host families and stuff. So yeah, I could definitely offer them some insight."
But even the locals have been shocked by the recent weather, unusual for summertime baseball.
"I'm learning that it doesn't matter what time of year it is," Toorie, an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Andersen University said. "It's always gonna be cold."
Toorie comes to Green Bay with previous experience in the Northwoods League. His coaching career began with the St. Cloud Rox.
"I'm gonna be a firey manager," Toorie said. "Going to let the guys play."
