Hattiesburg, Miss.- Former Carey pitcher JC Sanner recently accepted a coaching position within the Chicago White Sox organization. Sanner was a First-Team All-SSAC selection for the Crusaders in 2019.
 
The White Sox organization, in an effort to shore up pitching development, hired Sanner who had served as the pitching coach for the College of Central Florida for the last two seasons. Before coaching at Central Florida, a community college in Ocala, Sanner was the Director of Player Development at division one Davidson College. Prior to his entry into the college baseball scene, Sanner spent two years working in player development with the Minnesota Twins and Philadelphia Phillies organizations.
 
An Oak Grove native, Sanner arrived at William Carey in the fall of 2018 after having spent two years at Pearl River Community College and one season at Northwestern State. Sanner led the Crusader pitching staff in 2019 with a 2.75 ERA. He served most of the season in the Friday night starting role and also led the team in strikeouts.
 
"My journey's been a little different," says Sanner. "I always wanted to play professionally, but I realized I wasn't nearly good enough but wanted to stay close to the game. I found my way in through the analytical side. Getting that opportunity gave me a new perspective and taught me a lot about how the game works beneath the surface," he added.
 
In his final season with Central Florida, Sanner helped lead the team to a 39-18 record falling just one game short of reaching the NJCAA Division I World Series. The Patriots had two pitchers selected in the Major League Baseball Draft under the direction of Sanner.
 
"While I learned so much (in analytics), I felt I had a greater purpose than to sit and look at a computer screen all day," says Sanner. "I'd grown to miss the hands-on, relationship driven part of baseball, so I felt led to get into coaching."
 
Sanner will likely work in a player development capacity under Brian Bannister's pitching infrastructure, most likely at the Arizona complex. The hire adds to the continued rebuild of the White Sox minor league coaching staff. With Kannapolis losing its pitching coach this offseason, internal promotions remain possible, leaving Sanner in a position to take on a key developmental role in the lower levels.
 
"I'm grateful for the opportunity to be part of this organization and to the people who have helped me along the way, especially my dad," said Sanner. "Now, it's about just continuing to be open minded and learning how to put my best foot forward each day," he added.