Mike Bocock grew up in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia in the town of Dayton. He attended Turner Ashby High School (TA) and played baseball for the legendary coach, Ray Lynn Heatwole. While at TA, Mike won 2 state championships.

After high school, Mike attended August Military Academy (AMA) and played for the post graduate football program. He went on to Chowan College and played quarterback for the football team. He was named a junior college All-American as a freshman. He then came home to the valley and enrolled at Bridgewater College where he participated on the football and baseball team. Mike was a member of the Eagles team that won the very first Old Dominion Athletic Conference championship in baseball.

After college graduation, Mike started his teaching and coaching career at Stonewall Jackson (now Moutain View) High School. Under the tutelage of Max Hutton, Mike started the baseball program that won more than 100 games, multiple district titles, and continues to this day.

Mike then moved to Florida and kept winning titles. His FL high school baseball win percentage was over .650. He parlayed that success into returning to one of his alma maters, Chowan, and won titles and racked up a .750 winning percentage.

From his time at Stonewall Jackson, through Florida, and currently, Mike has been involved with the Valley Baseball League (a college summer league). His VBL successes have spread through 5 different franchises with 7 league championships and 14 pennants. He was named VBL Coach of the Year in 2005, 2014, & 2022. He was also inducted with the inaugural class into the VBL Hall of Fame in 2016. To date, Mike has accrued more than 700 VBL victories. The VBL experience has allowed Mike to grow relationships with college players, college coaches, and professional baseball scouts and coaches. Many of his best players have gone on to successful professional baseball careers.

Mike’s baseball legacy is continued by his son, Tyler, who coaches baseball at Sarasota Christian Academy (FL) and his stepson, Andrew, who coached at Turner Ashby High School where he helped them win the 2017 VA State Championship. He is the loving husband to Martha and a very proud grandfather of 5.

Rick Croushore grew up in Alexandria, VA and attended Mount Vernon High School.  After high school, he left the state for Kansas and studied and played baseball at Hutchinson Community College.  As a highly recruited pitcher, Rick chose to come to the Valley and finish his college career at James Madison University.  While at JMU, he played for the Harrisonburg Turks of the Valley Baseball League during the summer of ’91 & ’92.

The St. Louis Cardinals signed Rick in 1993 after finishing at JMU.  He went on to 11 years in professional baseball with 8 different organizations.  That time included 2+ years of Major League service with the St. Louis Cardinals, Colorado Rockies, Boston Red Sox, and New York Mets.

Knowing he wanted to coach baseball after retiring from his playing career, Rick began coaching at Benton High School (AR) while still playing.  He spent 7 years with Benton and saw 27 players go on to college and/or professional baseball careers.

After retirement, Rick started coaching youth and high school showcase ball.  Croushore spent over 20 years coaching in Arkansas and became the “go to” pitching coach in the state.  His years as an AR coach were highlighted by his EM Majors winning the USSSA Elite World Series and being named National Champions in 2013.  Multiple Arkansas players credit Rick for their successes at college, minor league, and major league baseball.

In 2019, Rick decided to come back home to Virginia and accepted the job as Pitching Coach and Recruiting Coordinator at Shenandoah University in Winchester.  During his 3 years at SU, they stayed in the national Top 25 and won an ODAC title in 2022.

Along with Coach Bocock, Rick is the Associate Head Coach, Pitching, & Recruiting Coach for the new post-graduate program at Massanutten Military Academy starting Fall, 2023.

Rick is a very proud father of Jake and Kaylee and is an avid fisherman and golfer.

Aaron comes to the River Bandits with 28 years of coaching experience.

He started a long career in coaching in 1995 at various levels including one summer as an assistant coach under Coach Bocock for the Luray Wranglers of the Valley League in 2003.

He is currently the Head Coach at Ukiah High School where he lead them to the 2022 North Coast Section 2 Champions and the 2022 Northern California Regional State Championships,

Aaron recently stated:

“It is with great pleasure that I have another opportunity to be back in the Valley League for summer collegiate baseball! To be a part of the Woodstock River Bandits family and to be coaching alongside Mike Bocock is an honor and something I don’t take lightly. I’m looking forward to meeting new amazing people, working with the high-caliber roster, and creating lasting friendships. I’m excited to again experience the beauty of Virginia (and its ballparks) that I’ve missed since my first experience with Luray and the Wranglers organization.”

Married to Katherine Ford

Father of 3 Boys- Austin 19, Jacob 16, and Ryan 14

Mason Mitchell, native of Charlottesville VA played his high school baseball at The Covenant School. Where he was a four year captain on the Varsity Baseball Team. He went on to have a career average in high school of .401 and was all conference two years and all area two years. He went on to play Division one junior college baseball at West Virginia Potomac State College and his season was cut short due to COVID. After the 2019-2020 season he transferred to Bridgewater College, a Division 3 school in the ODAC conference. He went on to play two years there before his career was cut short due to injury.

During his tenure at Potomac State College and Bridgewater College he was predominantly an infielder and hitter. And had some stints where he played in the Outfield, he brings knowledge and experience in all positions on the diamond as his father was a former Major League pitcher with the Philadelphia Phillies and played collegiately at James Madison University. Mason comes off a year of coaching where he coaches at Spotswood High School in Penn Laird, VA.