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Coastal Carolina Catcher Caden Bodine Reveals How He Got So Good At Turning Balls Into Strikes With Framing

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Caden Bodine Coastal Carolina Catcher Framing Balls Strikes
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Whichever MLB organization decides to draft Caden Bodine will get the best catcher prospect in college baseball since Adley Rutschman. He turns an insane amount of balls into strikes for Coastal Carolina and propelled the Chanticleers to the College World Series finals.

His eventual successors, Brice Estep and Domenico Tozzi, are already taking notes!

Bodine ranked as the 13th-best prospect at his position in the college baseball recruiting Class of 2022 so it was not a secret that Coastal was getting a stud. However, he has far outperformed the other athletes who were ranked ahead of him over the last three seasons with the Chanticleers.

First and foremost, Bodine is hitting over .320 for the third-straight year with 42 RBIs and 55 runs scored in 239 at-bats over 65 games. Those numbers actually took a dip in 2025 because pitchers refused to throw the ball near the plate!

Although Caden Bodine can hit, it is his defense that really sets him apart. He is just one throw out behind former Coastal catcher Matt Beaird’s record for most caught stealings in a career with at least two games remaining. His ability to frame pitches is remarkable.

The Chanticleers’ pitching staff is impressive but their catcher turned an absurd amount of balls into strikes throughout the regular season and postseason. It is one of the most discussed storylines of the College World Series. Bodine is 16% better than the average for Division-I baseball.

Here is his secret to success:

The process is not as easy as it sounds. Bodine runs through a very specific set of drills every single day to get to this point. His receiving progression starts with an Indian club. He then transitions to short hops (with a mini mitt), uses weighted balls and closes out with a machine.

Coastal’s catcher legacy goes all of the way back to Coach Schnall and Randy McGarvey in the early years. Dock Doyle and Jose Iglesias followed closely behind. Matt Beaird, Derek Bender and now Caden Bodine are the most recent generation. Estep and Tozzi are up next.

Should the Chanticleers go on to defeat the mighty LSU Tigers in Geauxmaha (again), Caden Bodine will be the difference maker behind the plate. His ability to frame pitches is unmatched in college baseball!