How Kory DeHaan is Reinventing Player Development

A New Era in Baseball Training

Baseball development in America has never been more competitive—or more fragmented. Travel organizations promise exposure, private instructors chase quick fixes, and parents spend evenings shuttling kids from lesson to lesson in search of something that actually works. In the middle of that whirlwind, one former big leaguer has carved out a different path. In Palmetto, Florida, Kory DeHaan is quietly building something unusual: a training culture rooted not just in reps and metrics, but in mentorship, family values, and real human development. Through HitLab, PitchLab, and the growing Omnia Sports Academy, DeHaan has created a system that challenges the traditional model of youth baseball while giving families a more intentional way to pursue their child’s athletic goals.

Kory DeHaan: A Journey of Resilience

When Kory DeHaan looks back on his playing career, it’s easy to imagine an alternate version of his story—one where he stays healthy, patrolling a big-league outfield into his thirties and riding off into retirement. But fate had other plans. That detour, built on a freak injury and a series of setbacks, is exactly what pushed him toward his life’s real calling: developing young athletes, shaping better people, and helping families navigate the often chaotic world of player development.

Today, DeHaan is the mind behind HitLab, PitchLab, and Omnia Sports Academy, while also serving as the head baseball coach at Palmetto (FL) High School. His work has turned Manatee County, Florida, into a hub for player development built on intentionality, character, and community. The path that led him here started long before the facilities, long before the programs, and long before he ever imagined building something like this.

DeHaan’s playing career ended far earlier than anyone expected.

In college, a violent outfield collision fractured his orbital bone and left him with lingering double vision that even surgery couldn’t fully fix. He could see clearly straight ahead, but any quick upward glance caused the images to split. “I tried to hide it,” he says. “You don’t want to be the guy who says, ‘Hey, my eyes don’t work like they used to.’ You just grind and hope nobody notices.” He pushed through it, performing well enough to climb the Padres’ system and even reach the major leagues in 2000 through the Rule 5 Draft.

The full video of the in-person interview with Kory DeHaan

But the vision problems never truly went away. In Triple-A a few years later, he misread a routine fly ball because his eyes couldn’t adjust quickly enough. Dropping it was a gut punch, and he knew it wasn’t a fluke. “That was the moment I realized the game was telling me something,” he says. “I could either fight that forever or figure out how to stay in baseball another way.” He bounced between organizations, battled shoulder issues, rehabbed, and fought for roster spots. By his mid-twenties, an age when many players are just breaking through, his playing career was effectively over.

The Transition to Coaching

But baseball wasn’t done with him yet.

Unable to shake his love for the game, DeHaan moved quickly into coaching. He began in independent ball, managed a little, then returned to the Padres’ system as a hitting coach in 2010. In Fort Wayne, he worked with players hungry to climb the ladder, and those years became a launching pad.

He had kept in touch with some friends from his playing time with the Pirates organization. More than one reached out to him prior to 2012. He recalls, “They said, 'Hey, we're doing something pretty cool over here. Clint Hurdle's here setting a new culture, a new tone, some cool things are happening. We're trying to change the city, we're trying to change the whole aspect of losing baseball for almost 30 years with the Pirates.'"

"And I took the chance, grabbed my wife and said, 'Hey, we're leaving Arizona, we're going to Florida." She thankfully was okay with it. The Pirates continued to build and grow behind McCutchen, around Gerrit Cole, Jameson Taillon, Josh Bell, and just all these young, good young players."

Eventually, though, shifts in leadership and changing philosophies shook things up, and DeHaan was among many who moved on after the pandemic. "We were making a difference, things were happening. But, things started going a little sideways and the communication, the clarity of the young players weren't as good. Our higher ups got let go. I got let go at the end of COVID."

His next stop was IMG Academy, reconnecting with friends like Dave Turgeon and Dan Simonds. The environment was world-class, filled with elite amateur talent and incredible resources. But even then, DeHaan couldn’t shake the feeling he was meant to build something more personal. “I loved IMG,” he says. “But I kept feeling this pull like I was supposed to create something that didn’t exist yet.”

That spark became HitLab.

The Birth of HitLab

HitLab wasn’t meant to be just another baseball facility. It grew out of conversations with families who were overwhelmed by the travel-ball grind and hungry for real teaching. “Parents were saying, ‘We’re playing 80 games a year, and my kid is not getting any better.’ I heard that over and over,” DeHaan explains. HitLab’s mission was simple: focus on development, not just games. He wanted a place where athletes learned baseball IQ, movement patterns, decision-making, and consistency. A place where reps were intentional and players actually understood what they were working on.

DeHaan wanted to challenge the culture of endless tournaments. “If you want confidence on the field, you need preparation,” he says. “And you don’t get preparation by just playing more games.” HitLab became a haven for clarity and purpose, a place where mechanics were explained instead of glossed over and where athletes learned how to train, not just how to swing.

Expanding Impact: Palmetto High School and Omnia Sports Academy

As HitLab grew, DeHaan stepped into another opportunity: leading the baseball program at Palmetto High School. It expanded his impact and allowed him to extend HitLab principles into a traditional team environment. One of his biggest goals was shifting the mindset of today’s athletes. “Everyone wants to be the star on Instagram,” he says. “But baseball is about being a good teammate. If we can teach that, we win no matter what the scoreboard says.”

The high school setting also shined a light on a challenge: kids were stretched thin. School, practice, homework, lessons, travel ball - it was unsustainable. That’s when the idea for Omnia Sports Academy took shape. Omnia is a homeschool-based academic and training program designed to streamline life for student-athletes. “I kept seeing kids who were exhausted,” DeHaan says. “We wanted to help families be more efficient with their time,” DeHaan explains. “Kids are up at six, home at ten at night. How can we help them train better, go to school better, and still have time for the things that matter, like family dinner or church or a second sport?”

Comprehensive Training at Omnia

The training at Omnia blends everything DeHaan learned across a lifetime in baseball. Strength and conditioning is individualized. Arm-care routines emphasize durability. Hitting and pitching instruction is grounded in clarity and measurable goals. Nutrition, recovery, and mental habits are taught with the same importance as swing mechanics. MLB umpires, scouts, and former pros visit regularly, giving students firsthand insight. “They need to hear from people who’ve lived it,” he says. “Not just me.”

Enrollment is intentionally small. Five students train full-time, with the goal of expanding to ten as the program scales. “Quality over quantity,” DeHaan says. “I don’t want to be the biggest. I want to be the best at developing kids the right way.” A retired teacher manages academics, ensuring students receive a high-quality education, not just a shortcut.

Omnia offers two pathways:

1. Full Academy Enrollment - Academic program + full training schedule + daily development sessions.

2. Training-Only Enrollment - For athletes doing their schooling at home or through Florida Virtual School.

   
   

Tuition remains intentionally accessible. “We know parents are spending a lot of money already,” DeHaan says. Omnia accepts state scholarship funds and works with families to ensure finances aren’t the barrier for a motivated athlete.

Balancing HitLab, PitchLab, Omnia, and Palmetto High School is a lot, but DeHaan credits his team. “Good people make everything work,” he says. “Communication, trust, clarity - that’s what keeps us moving forward.” Families invest heavily in their kids’ development, and DeHaan takes that seriously. “Parents are trusting me with their most important thing: their child. I never forget that.”

The Philosophy Behind the Programs

What ties everything together is DeHaan’s belief that baseball is a tool for life, not just a sport. “The game will humble you,” he says. “It’ll teach you how to fail, how to respond, how to show up for others. Those are lessons kids carry forever.” Whether he’s working with high school athletes, aspiring pros, or middle schoolers learning routines, his message stays the same: be accountable, be prepared, and be a great teammate.

“My playing career ended earlier than I wanted,” DeHaan reflects, “but God had a different plan for me. And honestly? This is better. Helping kids grow, on the field and off it, that’s the real reward.”

In a baseball landscape crowded with tournaments, private trainers, and highlight reels, HitLab and Omnia Sports Academy offer something refreshingly grounded: real development, real purpose, and a culture built on doing things the right way. It’s more than a training model. It’s a community, a mission, and a new standard for what youth baseball development can be.

If baseball is a sport built on adjustments, then Kory DeHaan has made the most important one of his life, and generations of players will benefit from it.

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I want to extend a heartfelt thank-you to Kory DeHaan for his time, generosity, and openness throughout this project. Kory welcomed me into his facilities and traded countless messages with me before and after our interview, ensuring every detail of this story was accurate and meaningful. While this piece focuses on HitLab, Omnia Sports Academy, and the innovative work he’s building, there is an equally compelling story about the man behind it all. I look forward to sitting down with him again soon to share more about Kory DeHaan—the exceptional person.

The Full Interview with Kory DeHaan