Next Year with Jacob Norling

This week's top four is “biggest disappointments” of the major league season thus far as the guys vent about pine tar, extra innings, Rob Manfred, and Padres fans.

On this weeks episode of the detour, the guys are joined by Austin Stout and the boys discuss a three team trade in their fantasy baseball league. It's nerdy, but more fun than it sounds.

Jacob and Jimmy return with an opening day special where they reveal their top 4 predictions for the 2021 season and discuss their real life opportunities in the world of sports.

The guys discuss some of the recent movement of the offseason, detailing the Yankees and Dodgers transactions, and later touch on some of baseball's biggest plot lines of the coming season.

The guys return from their holiday hiatus to list 30 New Years Resolutions, one for each MLB team.

The guys celebrate thanksgiving late, by talking about how their childhood baseball experiences shaped the way they view it today. Jacob details his high school playing days, speaking about the coaches who extinguished his passion, and the one who encouraged him to embrace it; while Jimmy discusses his walk off outfield assists and the worst ten minutes of his life. 0:00-24:00 Jimmy's experiences. 24:00 Jacob's.

The guys sit down with hometown hero Matt Sauer and discuss his journey through baseball, from his times at Orcutt National Little League to his three first meetings with Yankees Legend, Reggie Jackson.

This week the guys take a look at all 30 MLB teams and give each fanbase one bit of good news and one bit of bad news regarding their franchises moving forward.

Following the Dodgers World Series victory, Jimmy and Jacob kick off the off-season in an extended episode, as they discuss the art of sports broadcasting. The top 4 this week is "Top 4 Major League Broadcasters".

On an episode 32 years in the making, Jacob describes what it was like to see the Dodgers finally win it all. Later on the guys discuss their 4 top moments of the 2020 postseason.

Before the climax and conclusion of the 2020 season the guys talk about the first 5 games of the World Series, focusing on the iconic Game 4 finish, and Clayton Kershaw's ability to rise above the narrative. This week's top 4 is "Top 4 Takeaways Regarding the State of Baseball."

On this week's episode, the guys talk about the Dodgers resilient comeback to win the National League Pennant, and Jacob's upcoming trip to Arlington, as he and his Dad will go to the World Series for the first time in their lives. This week's top 4 is "Top 4 Distractions from Baseball".

This week Jimmy and Jacob discuss the Dodgers sweep of the Padres, the Yankees falling to the Rays, and then countdown their top 4 most career defining moments for a player in the postseason.

On episode 2 the guys discuss the Wild Card round while looking forward to the Division Series', and also countdown their 4 most painful postseason memories.

"Next Year: The Detour" kicks off with new co-host Jimmy Friery joining Jacob Norling for the first time, as the two discuss MLB's 60 game season and look forward to the strangest postseason in baseball history. This week, the top 4 countdown is "Favorite moments from the 60 game season".

On the season finale of Next Year I reflect on the greatest experience of my life so far, getting to be a sports broadcaster at Westmont College. I touch upon my journey to Westmont, count down my five favorite broadcast memories, and talk about what comes next for me and my journey.

On Next Year's penultimate episode we sit down with Westmont Pastor Scott Lisea. Together we discuss the impact that sports can have on our relationship with God, and also with one another.

On Episode 18 we sit down with Coach Johnny Whallon to talk about his upcoming podcast, and his love for conversation, while also touching upon his relationship with soccer and Westmont College.

On Episode 17 we are pleased to give the floor to Westmont Basketball's Jordan Spaschak as he details his journey through life and basketball.

On Episode 16 we're joined by Bailey and Simon Reid as we reflect on their season as Westmont's most reliable battery. Together we discuss their journeys to Westmont, Bailey's future in the sport, and how the two of them came to fall in love with baseball.

As we head into the final episodes of the Next Year Podcast, we have our first remote guest experience as we call in with the captain, Tim Heiduk. With Tim, we discuss the ongoing COVID-19 Crisis, and the impact it has had on Westmont College, including Tim's work in the sports information office, and my senior year coming to a premature end.

(I changed podcast distributors and lost episode 1 so as I get used to my new distributor, here's a rerelease of our pilot episode, originally released on September 10, 2019.) With the captain, Tim Heiduk, we kick things off discussing his upbringing in Goleta, his path to Westmont, and his toughest trials and tribulations which have led to him becoming one of Westmont's greatest ambassadors.

On one of Next Year's most special episodes we sit down with the winningest Coach in Westmont College Baseball history as we discuss his personal journey along with the history of the program, and eventually how cultural sustainability has become a staple of the baseball community at Westmont.

On Episode 13 we sit down with Westmont Soccer Freshmen Sadie Hill and Griggs. Together we discuss their first season as Warriors, their experiences as roommates away from the field, and everyone's favorite intramural star.

Returning from hiatus with Episode 12 we sit down with Westmont Game 2 Starter Jamie Kruger as we discuss all things baseball from Jamie and his path to Westmont, to the Houston Astros cheating scandal.

We pick things up in the Spring Semester just in time for Opening Day as we sit down with Baseball captains Isaiah Leach and Taylor Garcia, the co-producers of the polarizing podcast, The Zay and Tay Show. With Zay and Tay we talk all things Zay and Tay, going over their favorite moments of their own podcast, and then later on we dive into talk about the Warriors upcoming 2020 season. 

In the fall finale of Next Year we end things how we started, as we sit down with Westmont renaissance man, Tim Heiduk. With Tim we talk about Westmont's athletic success as a whole this fall, breakdown the conclusion of his soccer career, and finally dive into the reasons why you can't help but be romantic about both sports and Westmont College.

With Coach Tony Cougoule on episode 9 we discuss his lifelong journey in baseball, detailing his experience during the past decade coaching at Westmont alongside his dear friend Coach Ruiz. We cap things off by talking about his life changing job offer that came out of blue, which has led him to accept a minor league coaching job with the Chicago Cubs. 

With Keilah Smith we talk about the Westmont Polo Team, first discussing what in the world Polo is. We then touch on Keilah's relationship with horses, her teammates, and overall what makes the passion of competition a shared language amongst all athletes.

Over Thanksgiving break we sit down with men's soccer leading scorer Tyler Young. With Tyler we discuss his multi-talented personality as we touch on his team's historic season, then focus in on the effect that music has had on not only his life, but those around him. 

As we pick things up in Episode 6, we sit down with fellow Westmont broadcaster Kiani Hildebrandt as we compare experiences through our favorite games, favorite athletes, and overall what getting to tell the story of Westmont athletes has meant to us.

On Episode 5, I sit down with one of my best friends, Midfielder Nick Ruiz. Together we discuss a little bit about soccer, but ultimately this episode highlights the impact that Nick that has had outside the lines, as the man has been an ambassador for Emerson Hall and events such as Spring Sing that have allowed him to showcase his natural ability as a leader, and how the domino effect of his actions have inspired those around him to feel a sense of belonging here at Westmont.

On episode 4 we sit down with Volleyball star Cassidy Rea, one of the faces of Women's athletics at Westmont College. Together we discuss her dominate career, her journey through college, and ultimately the way that Westmont is able to develop athletes not only as athletes, but as human beings.

We sit down with a few members of the inaugural Women's Swim Team as Ceili Smaw, Sam Allensworth, and Allison Gonzalez talk all things swim including their paths to the Westmont team, their goals for the upcoming season, and the culture they wish to create.

On episode 2 of Next Year we sit down with Westmont Right Fielder, Isaiah Leach. Together we discuss the magical 2018 season, the journey in understanding the role that baseball plays in life, and the moment that will forever tie him to this podcast and it's related endeavors.