Meet Our Instructors
S.I. Elite » Meet Our InstructorsAn elite group of professionals with extensive professional experience.
Who Are Our Instructors?
Our instructors consist of a team of former players with extensive experience and a great love of the sport. Hone your techniques with former players, who can guide you with their on-field experience. They combine their extensive experience with advanced tech-insight to provide personalized training guides for our trainees.
Ralph Santana - General Manager & Pro
Ralph Santana is General Manager and Pro Instructor at SI Elite. Ralph, an Orlando, Florida native, was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2001, where he quickly became a prospect for the organization. Within the first few years, he was voted Rookie of the Year and Most Exciting Player in the Pioneer League. After completing four years with the Brewers, Ralph was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies organization in 2004 and played in the minor league with the Winnipeg Goldeyes and Sioux Falls Canaries.
In 2007, Ralph moved to Southern Illinois to be part of the Miners organization. From playing for the team to assuming roles as hitting coach and infield defense and baserunning instructor, Ralph was part of the organization in some capacity since the team’s inaugural season. Now, he will lead 2023 Prospect League Team as field manager at Rent One Park. Outside of his professional baseball career, Ralph has spent nearly a decade coaching youth throughout the region. He enjoys helping athletes reach their full potential.
Travis Hope - Pitching Pro
Travis Hope grew up playing baseball in Marion. After playing all positions of the game, Travis committed to pitching in high school. He went on to play baseball at Berry College, a NCAA Division III school, in Mount Berry, Georgia. After graduating, Travis played for several minor league teams including the New York Mets, Brooklyn Cyclones and St. Lucie Mets. In 2007, Travis returned home to Marion to play for the Southern Illinois Miners. After retiring from baseball in 2008, Travis continues to share his love of pitching with up-and-coming athletes at SI Elite.
Cierra "CC" Hutchinson
Cierra “CC” Hutchinson, a Johnston City native, joins SI Elite as a pitching instructor. She played softball at Johnston City High School where she broke countless school records including a 20 single season HR, .627 single season average record, 69 single season hits, 144 career RBI, 189 runs scored, and 54 home run career. CC continued playing softball at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and later transferred to Rend Lake College where she was a NJCAA DI All-Region 24 Team and selected to the All-GRAC Team. CC continues to share her love of softball with area youth. She has coached teams at Johnston City High School, Marion High School, and Illinois Force.
John Anderson
John (JT) Anderson is from Marion, Illinois but grew up playing baseball in Mesa, Arizona. At age 13, JT transitioned from middle infielder to catcher. At 15, JT moved back to Southern Illinois and played for Marion High School. During JT’s senior year, he suffered a knee injury. Still, after surgery and rehab, he was able to get back behind the plate and play for the National Adult Baseball Association during college before joining the United States Coast Guard.
During his tenure, JT played on the Coast Guard Baseball Team in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 2013 and 2017. He’s also assisted as a catching coach for Team IMPACT Southern Illinois, an all-inclusive travel ball organization that prepares student-athletes for the next step in their careers.
Sean Walsh
Sean Walsh started playing baseball as a young kid and has loved the game since day one. He continued playing in high school and was fortunate enough to continue his career in college. Sean moved back home to southern Illinois after college and started working at the Marion Fire Department where he has spent 20 years as a firefighter and currently serves as lieutenant. Once Sean’s son was old enough, he started a travel team and has coached that team for the last eight years. While Sean enjoys all aspects of the sport, he’s found joy helping area kids work on improving their hitting skills and seeing them have success in the game.
Terry Walsh
Terry Walsh, originally from Pittsburg, Illinois, started his coaching career in 1982 when he took over a local little league team. But his love for the game didn’t stop there. He has since went on to coach an independent softball league as well as the Murphysboro Junior High and High School Softball Teams. In addition to Terry’s coaching career, he has served the communities of Johnston City as Fire Chief and Marion as Fire Captain. Terry teaches all phases of the game at SI Elite with a focus on softball training. The most rewarding part of his job is watching hard working athletes improve their skills and achieve their goals.
Bobby Simpson
Bobby Simpson, a Harrisburg native, joins the SI Elite staff as a Hitting Instructor. Bobby brings with him decades of coaching experience. Before returning home to Southern Illinois in 2021, Bobby spent three years in Nashville, Tennessee working at Next Level Instructional Baseball, an indoor hitting/pitching facility. Prior to that, Bobby started two baseball and softball training facilities in Marion: Hit Repair and Future Swings where he helped produce 20 All-State baseball players and over 200 all-conference performers. In addition, Bobby has spent time coaching collegiate baseball teams at Rend Lake College, Berry College, and Southeastern Illinois College. He’s also coached camps at Vanderbilt University, Southern Illinois University, University of Illinois, and Blackburn College. Bobby is a graduate of the Major League Bureau Scout School. He is excited to be back home in Southern Illinois to help take young athletes to the next level.
Kenzi (Tate) Bennett
Kenzi (Tate) Bennett, a Mount Vernon native, joins the SI Elite staff as a Pitching Instructor.
Kenzi played high school ball at Mount Vernon where she left as the program’s all-time leader in most statistical categories including hits (157), doubles (43), home runs (22), RBIs (153), innings pitched (470), shutouts (28), strikeouts (689), wins (57) and ERA (.88). She continued her softball career at UT-Martin, where she started all four years for the Skyhawks and led the Ohio Valley Conference in batting average, home runs and RBIs while also going 20-6 as a pitcher. Bennett also holds the RBI record at UT-Martin (56) and finishes in the top five of ten single season and career records.
Most recently, Kenzi spent nearly 10 years with the Saluki Softball Team. She started as a Graduate Assistant in 2015 with the team’s Strength and Conditioning Staff and in 2017, was promoted to Assistant Softball Coach.
Kenzi earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Human and Health Performance from UT-Martin in 2015 and received her Master of Science in Education from SIU in 2017. Kenzi has been working in the private pitching sector for 10+ years.
Travis Hood
Travis Hood, a West Frankfort native, is a Hitting Instructor at SI Elite. Travis played baseball at West Frankfort Community High School where he was a two-time All River-to-River Conference Infielder. Travis played baseball at Shawnee Community College where he was voted Offensive Player of the Year in 2001. Travis continued his career at Blackburn College where he led the team in hits from 2003-2004, and currently co-holds the school record for hits in a single game. He was selected to the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) All Conference Team while leading Blackburn to its second conference championship and its first and only NCAA Regional Tournament win. In 2023, Travis and the 2004 Team were inducted into the Blackburn College Sports Hall of Fame.
Travis brings nearly 20 years of coaching experience to SI Elite. He’s spent time coaching collegiate baseball teams at Blackburn College and Rend Lake College. Most recently, he’s worked as a full-time hitting instructor, alongside Bobby Simpson, at Hit Repair where he helped over 75 kids move onto college baseball and softball programs. He’s also coached camps at Southern Illinois University, University of Illinois, Eastern Illinois University, Rend Lake College, and John A. Logan College.