MOUNT PLEASANT — His belief in both are unshakeable.
Why not combine them?
“I still enjoy teaching the game, I still enjoy being around kids. And as you know, I still hate to lose,” chuckled Joe Hudak, the memories of 31 years as a college baseball coach as fresh as the ideas for his new venture. “What’s even more exciting to me at this point is of being part of these young men’s spiritual development.”
Baseball and faith have always intertwined in his life, represented by a bracelet on his wrist featuring two hardballs flanking a cross. Hudak won 866 games in his career, 660 during 19 seasons at Winthrop, but when his tenure with the Eagles ended in 2010, he was looking for the next opportunity.
That’s where the seed for Kingsmen Baseball Academy, a full-time baseball development institution for high-school players, sprouted. Headquartered at Mount Pleasant’s Shipyard Park, it’s recruiting players for its first school year, which will begin in August.
A wave of baseball academies has crested with the creation of schools from southern Virginia to Florida, including Lexington’s P27 Academy. The idea is to take players who are planning to play in college — the Kingsmen are already talking to recruits who are committed to college programs for the 2025 season — and give them a baseball experience much more than the standard high-school season. They’ll practice three to four hours per day, do their academic work online and live within five miles of the field.
“We’re talking to a young man right now from Minnesota, who’s committed to Creighton,” Hudak said. “And it’s like we’ve told him — ‘You can stay home, where you’re going to play 20 games in high school, maybe, and the weather is horrible. Or you can come here, where the average temperature from November to February is 64 and a half degrees, play 60-70 games and get on the fast track to be successful in college, not just go to college.’
“And we’ll help them with what it really means to be a Christian. It’s not a list of dos and don’ts, it’s having a personal relationship with Christ. We want them to understand what it is so they can decide if they want to pursue that ideal. We won’t force it on them, but it is who we are.”
The Kingsmen will practice year-round and play in the spring against those other Southeast academies. They’ll take a mission trip to the Dominican Republic every year, where they’ll also play against local teams, with Bible study and church a regular part of their everyday stateside routine.
Tuition that covers travel, housing and all other aspects is $25,000 per year, with limited scholarship opportunities available. It’s open to sophomores, juniors and seniors although rising freshmen could be given a chance, if they meet certain requirements.
The goal is to get 48 players for the first year, enough for two teams. If the Kingsmen can get double that, they will get a year’s head start on their next venture: A branch program located in Gastonia, N.C., for a Charlotte-based team, currently set to start in August 2025.
“We have lodging at two apartment complexes in Charleston nine minutes away from Shipyard, and the players and parents will sign a contract about our expectations,” Hudak said. “We’ll run a really tight ship — they’re high-school kids — and monitor their academics and nutrition. They’ll be on their own at night so we’ll be prepping them for college, even if they don’t play.”
Hudak surrounded himself with a top staff. Charleston Southern alum and former big-leaguer Tyler Thornburg is handling the pitchers and one of his Winthrop products, ninth-round draft pick and Stratford High alum John Murrian, is coaching hitters and catchers. Former CSU baseball coach Jason Murray is a part-time assistant and Coastal Carolina coach Gary Gilmore will also help part-time, after he retires from CCU following this season.
“I wanted to start a baseball academy but wanted it to be faith-based,” Hudak said. “We’ve sent 1,200 flyers around the country to recruits in the Class of 2025, and will do the same for 2026.”
Hudak worked with the Piedmont Fellowship of Christian Athletes from 2010-16, interested in coaching again but not wishing to uproot his children, in high school at the time, from Rock Hill. While coaching his son’s travel-ball team — his son is Preston Hudak, who played at North Carolina before chronic shoulder problems ended his career — the elder Hudak created a summer college-league team that was also faith-based.
The Piedmont Pride would eventually morph into the Kingsmen and their lion’s-head logo. Hudak dreamed of building the academy in York County but the project never really got off the ground, which is when Charleston and Mount Pleasant entered the picture.
Now his vision is nearly reality. Starting in August, the ol’ skipper will once again don the uniform, lace his cleats and lead another team.
“The ability to go to practice every day and play 60 or 70 games is really exciting to me,” said Hudak, who stressed the message of a favorite book of his: “Halftime,” where the message is to have success in life, then transition to significance.
“Our goal is to help them with baseball and their faith.”
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