A former varsity football and baseball player with Columbus Academy, Darren Bates is a committed student athlete who recently enrolled at Brandeis University, where he plans to play for the school's baseball team. In his final two years at Columbus Academy, Darren Bates was selected to play for Old World Baseball, a competitive European travel team.
Since 2011, Old World Baseball has provided life-changing experiences in conjunction with high-level baseball instruction as part of its high school trips for young baseball players. The organization was founded by Stephan Rapaglia and Tom Gillespie, both of whom have extensive playing and coaching experience in Europe.
A native of Iowa, Gillespie played college baseball at Macalester College and, upon graduation, moved to Europe to continue playing the game. In 2002, Gillespie played for the Bracknell Blazers of the Great Britain National League, where he recorded 17 hits in 42 plate appearances and scored 17 runs. From 2004 to 2007, he played for the Tuebingen Hawks of the German Bundesliga 1. He wrapped up his playing career in 2008 with Stockholm BSK.
Gillespie subsequently served as a director and coach with Great Britain Baseball and then began working as an international scout for the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball in the U.S. In 2012, he was hired as an international scout by the Pittsburgh Pirates. He's also the current head coach of Germany's under-18 national team.
