Derek is a native of Mt. Juliet, TN. He grew up with a passion for baseball…..and that passion remains today.
Derek attended Mt. Juliet High School, where he was a 3-year starting pitcher and 3rd baseman, collecting such honors as All-District and All-MidState in both his junior and senior years.
As a pitcher at Mt. Juliet, Derek compiled a career E.R.A under 1.70 and a winning percentage over .800. Derek’s success in high school led to a Division I scholarship to Tennessee Tech University.
Derek quickly made his mark at TTU by becoming the only freshman starting pitcher in the rotation for Ohio Valley Conference games……a spot he would hold for the remainder of his 4-yr career.
While at Tech, Derek led the team in appearances as a freshman, most wins in a season, was voted senior-captain, and also achieved multiple Academic All-OVC honors. Derek is still listed in the top 10 all-time at TTU in six different pitching categories.
After graduating from Tech with a degree in finance, Derek moved back to Mt. Juliet and began coaching and working with area youth to help them realize their baseball potential.
Has coached multiple competitive teams of various ages for the past 18-years, and founded the Wilson Vols program in 2006. The Wilson Vols program is one of the most successful travel baseball programs in Middle Tennessee. The original Vols team from 2006 has seen several players reach their goal of playing college baseball. Under the development of Derek and other Vol coaches, 5 members of the original Vols team are now playing within several college divisions, including D1 (SEC), D2, NAIA and JuCo.
