HEAD COACH - BEN MOORE
Ben grew up playing baseball in Canberra and was one of the youngest players ever to sign a baseball contract with the Australian Capital Territory Academy of Sports. Ben represented Australia for baseball in junior national teams and signed and played at Howard Junior College in Texas. Ben has a passion for seeing Australian baseball players develop and progress.
Ben has started the Downunder Travellers to allow him to use his own experiences of playing high level baseball in Australia and going on to live and play in the US, to help the next generation of Australian baseball players further their careers and make that next step to playing internationally.
Ben is also an International MLB Scout.
In the last 12 months he has been involved in the professional signing of:
- Kai-Noa Wynyard from Redcliffe, QLD
- Drew Anderson current Major League player from the Melbourne Aces
- Jarrod Walker from ABL team the Brisbane Bandits
- Josh Gessner from Sydney, NSW
PITCHING COACH - PHIL BRASSINGTON
Phil is an expert level baseball coach with a genuine love for the game and passion for helping players develop on an off the field. He has been playing and coaching baseball for over 40 years.
Phil has had a very successful baseball career both in Australia and internationally. His career highlights include:
Professional Baseball Player in U.S., Australia and Taiwan
Australian Sports Medal Award Winner
Australian National Team Member 1998-2009
5th Round Draft Pick to the Kansas City Royals
(Highest Australian Draft Pick in History)
Phil now lives in Orange County, California and is heavily involved with the DownUnder Travellers.
COACH - CRAIG WATTS
Craig has an extensive history with baseball, both as a player and a coach. He has a genuine interest in bringing his expertise to the game to help players of the future to reach their full potential.
Some of Craig’s highlights in baseball include:
ABL and Claxton Shield player with the Adelaide Giants from 1991-2009
Played professionally with the LA Dodgers from 1991-1995
Australian National Team 1997/98
ABL HR Champion 1997
3 time ABL All Star
Adelaide Bite Hitting Coach 2010-2012
Little League Team Australia Assistant Coach
The DownUnder Travellers are excited to have Craig on board!
COACH - phil overlack
Phil played in Junior Queensland teams and an Australian team as a catcher 1988 - 1991. He signed as a 17 year old with the Gold Coast Dolphins in the original ABL before he transitioned into an Outfielder 1990 - 1999 Phil has coached the Qld U23s for 4 years for 2 gold and 2 silver medals.
Phil has coached in numerous Queensland programs over the past 15 years, along with playing in over 800 A-Grade games for the Runcorn Indians and Redcliffe Padres.
He was the head A-Grade coach for the Runcorn Indians for 10 seasons and the Redcliffe Padres for the past 11 seasons and still current.
Phil has had the honor of having his jersey #20 retired at Runcorn Indians and is very passionate about passing on his extensive knowledge to the next generation and hopefully helping them get opportunities and fulfill their dreams to play at the next level whether it be collage ball , pro ball or ABL level.
“I am super pumped to be involved in the Downunder Travelers and work with Ben first hand” said Phil Overlack.
Tyler newman - Analytical coach with MLB experience
Tyler played 4 years of college baseball at Sauk Valley Community college, and 2 years at Calumet College of St. Joseph's, and played 2 seasons with Team USA in Italy, and Curacao. He has also worked with the New York Met's, Red Sox, and White Sox on the advance scouting side, player development side, and analytics side. With his past 5 years of pro ball experience he has touched every bit of tech in pro ball including; Yakkertech, Trackman, rapsodo, edgertronic cameras, blast sensors, diamond kinetic balls/sensors, force plate, kvest, BATS, and EXOS In 2017, he was sponsored by the New York Met's to go to Scout School. In the 2019-2020 season he was a 4th coach/developmental coach with the Auckland Tuatara involved with their first ever playoff birth. He is now working with Yakkertech on the research development, and support staff working with College and pro coaches with the analytics side.
Assistant COACH - lionel hARRIS
My name is Lionel Harris, I'm from the Western Suburbs of Sydney. I thank Ben for inviting me to be a part of the Downunder Travellers program as an Assistant Coach. I am looking forward to working with Ben and the coaching staff. The game provides great opportunities to make friendships around the world, many of which I still stay in contact. I started playing in baseball back in 1973 and made by first state team u15 NSW in (1975) and was named MVP of the National series. That’s where I fell in love the great of baseball. I played Claxton Shield for NSW from 1977 to 1988 winning 3 MVP for NSW, making the Australian All-Star team on 4 Occasions, and played for Senior Australia team for 9 years from (1978-1987) all around the world (Canada, Japan, Korea, USA). I won the Homerun king award at the 13 Asian Baseball Championship, selected to the World All-star team as Centerfield at the (1985) Intercontinental Cup, inducted into the Bankstown City Council Bicentennial (1788-1988), Sporting Hall of Fame in 1988, inducted into the Baseball Australia Hall of Fame in (2006) and Selected to the 75th Diamond Claxton Shield All-Star team for NSW and the Australia team in (2009).
I have coached for over 15 years, at Junior State and National level including: NSW U14s Hitting Coach (2008-2009). NSW U14s Head Coach in (2010). NSW U16s Head Coach in (2011). Australian, Assistant Coach for the Cal Ripken World Series in (2011) & (2012) in the USA. Head Coach NSW Central Team competing at the Dingo World Series (2015), The Country State hitting coach (2016). Travelled with the Aussie Expos to Hawaii and LA June-July 2016, Head coach Coffs Harbour u16 team Oct (2017). Assistant coach U18 NSW Baseball team - Silver Medalists (2017), NSW A/coach (2018). Assistant coach Aussie Expos (2016), (2017), (2019).
I have been an Associate Scout for the Tampa Bay Rays Organization, (Australia and New Zealand Region for the last 4 years).
I am looking forward to the first Tour with the Downunder Travellers in (2022) and working with Ben Moore and his staff.
COACH - tony hARRIS
Tony had a playing career spanning 22 years where he was mainly a catcher. He was proud to be selected in All State and Australian Junior and National teams throughout his playing career, including being named the inaugural Captain of the Adelaide Giants in ABL number one.
Tony received many individual awards from his playing days which would only be the start of his contribution to Baseball here in Australia and around the world. He went on to contribute significantly to the baseball community and used his skills and knowledge to support players in reaching their goals through :
Managing the Adelaide Giants in the ABL 1.0 team for 7 years
Managing the Adelaide Giants ABL 2.0 team for 4 years
Carrying out a role as Senior National Team Coach, Catching Coach, 3B Coach and Field Coordinator for 19 years
Managing the Junior National Team for 10 years
Managibng the U23 National Team for 4 years
Carrying out the role as MLBAAP Academy Program Field Coordinator/Catching Coach for 10 years
Working with the LA Dodgers over 13 years as coach, hitting coach and minor league manager
Managing the ABL Blue Sox 2.0 for 3 years
Being named as All Star Manager 3 times
Tony’s contribution to baseball has been well recognised over the years and he has won the Manager of the Year Award 3 times. In 2022, he was inducted into the Baseball SA Hall of Fame.
Tony was also Pacific Rim Scout with the New York Mets for 4 years and has spent 13 years (and is currently still in this role) as the International Scout/International Scouting Supervisor for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
We are extremely lucky to have Tony working with us, and his knowledge and passion of the sport will be of benefit to players wanting to further their baseball careers through the DownUnder Travellers.