Orioles first-round draft pick Caden Bodine says being a multi-sport athlete helped his development in baseball.
Bodine was drafted 30th overall by the Orioles out of Coastal Carolina in the 2025 MLB Draft. In his junior season with the Chanticleers, the 5-foot-10, 200-pound switch-hitting catcher hit .318/.454/.461 with 24 extra-base hits and 42 RBIs in 67 games.
Growing up, Bodine played football and baseball and wrestled. Despite loving other sports, Bodine knew that baseball would always be his passion
“It just started from Wiffle ball,” Bodine said on Glenn Clark Radio July 24. “Having fun in the back yard and getting to know the sport, it just stemmed from that. Then I started catching when I was 12 and fell in love with it.”
Bodine believes growing up a multi-sport athlete helped him narrow his passions and made him a better ballplayer. Wrestling was especially helpful for Bodine in understanding his body.
“The biggest helper was wrestling,” Bodine said. “The accountability piece of it [and] understanding your body and how it moves, and that transitioned into baseball as well.”
Wrestling even helped Bodine become a strong defensive catcher.
“It develops a mobility piece that you never really would have thought of,” Bodine said. “You’re in positions, whether or not you like it or not, on the mat as well. Being flexible and learning how your body specifically moves has helped me directly with catching.”
Regarded as one of the top catching prospects in the draft, Bodine credits his time at Coastal Carolina for developing his receiving. Head coach Kevin Schnall doubles as the catching instructor for the Chanticleers.
“Working on being adjustable and short — one quick motion throughout every single pitch. It’s very hard to throw a pitch exactly where it’s supposed to be, so learning in practice and prep work, to earn to quote-unquote work on the mix-ups and the cross-ups,” Bodine said.
Bodine signed with the Orioles for about $3.1 million. He wants Orioles fans to know that they are getting an ambitious player with a winning mentality.
“Just attention to detail,” Bodine said. “Getting better every single day and looking forward to playing for the Orioles throughout the affiliates and ultimately making it to the big leagues one day. I’m just excited to be an Oriole.”
Coastal Carolina went 56-13 this spring but fell to LSU in the College World Series finals. Bodine takes great pride in the season the Chanticleers had.
“The group of guys are hard workers, they put their head down and take a day-to-day approach,” Bodine said. “It was just really cool to see because Coastal’s quote-unquote a mid-major. I don’t really agree with that. We’re in the top 25 every single year. We make it to regionals every single year. Maybe from the public view it’s a mid-major, but we know it’s not. It’s been a great program for a long time now. It was awesome.”
For more from Bodine, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Coastal Carolina Athletics