Brent Lillibridge
Brent grew up in the Mill Creek/Everett area. He played in South Everett Little League and graduated from Jackson High School in 2002. He attended the University of Washington, where he played baseball for three seasons. He began his career in Major League Baseball in 2005 with the Pittsburg Pirates. He also played for the Atlanta Braves, Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees until he retired in 2015.
He recently reflected on his career and life’s journey with us and shared that his approach was simple. He loved the game and worked tirelessly every day at it. Growing up, playing baseball was just one aspect of his life. He also played basketball, soccer, and participated in numerous youth group activities. Even while staying active with many youth sports, he still managed to keep balance in his school years, which gave him the capacity to pursue his passion - baseball.
Brent is now the co-owner of BASE By Pros, which is headquarter in Lynnwood, and has 3 other locations in Lake Stevens, Seattle, and Skagit. BASE by Pros STANDS FOR Baseball and Softball Excellence and is driven by Brent and two other former MLB players (Steven Souza and Aaron West). They specialize in elite youth baseball and softball training. Brent truly enjoys imparting his life lessons to families and children who pass through his facilities, reminding them not to fear exploring various interests at a young age.
Brent has been volunteering as a coach since his oldest son, Cohen, started playing with MCLL in 2019. He shares with us, that he is incredibly grateful for the league and what it represents for families in our area.
“Dream, Big” ~ B. Lillibridge
Travis Snider
Travis’ love for baseball began when he was 5 years old, when he played tee-ball with Mill Creek Little League. He played with the league for 8 seasons, and he was on the 1997 9/10u All-Star Team and the 1999 11/12u All-Star Team that won the Washington State Championship. Travis went on to play baseball at Jackson High School with many of his All-Star teammates. They were on the team that won the 2006 WA 4A State Championship.
Later in 2006, Travis was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays with the 14th overall pick in the first round of the MLB draft. He made his Major League Debut at the age of 20 years old in Old Yankee Stadium in August of 2008. He spent parts of 5 seasons with the Blue Jays before being traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2012. In Pittsburgh, he was fortunate to play in 3 consecutive NL Wild Card Games (2013-2015) across 4 seasons.
After the 2014 season, he was traded to Baltimore where he spent most of the season before being released. Upon being released, he signed back with the Pirates and was able make it up back up for the 2015 Wild Card Game, which was his last game in the MLB. Travis spent the next 6 years in AAA. During that time, he played for the Royals, Rangers, Long Island Ducks (independent), Diamondbacks, Marlins, and Braves organizations.
After 16 seasons of playing professionally, Travis decided to retire in 2022, and to focus on his family. He is married to Isabel, and has 3 children (7,4,2) (2024).
Travis shared with us, that his greatest baseball memories are from the days of playing for Mill Creek Little League. His father, Denne Snider, served as the MCLL President in 1999. Travis felt fortunate to have an incredible community of parents, coaches, and players that lead to a lot of success on the field but more importantly lifelong friendships and bonds.
Throughout his baseball career, he experienced many highs and lows, which fueled what he is involved in today. Travis co-founded a company called 3A Athletics (Awareness/Activation/Achievement), which is focused on improving the culture of youth sports. The mental health and identity development of kids motivated him to start 3A. He also speaks publicly about his struggles with mental health and will continue to use this platform and story to raise awareness and advocate for change in how we raise and coach children through the journey of youth sports (and life).
3A Athletics currently offer an interactive parent guidebook titled HERO, written by partner Seth Taylor. Seth is a Life Coach who works with current/former MLB and MLS players, as well as many parents and children in the youth sports space. The focus’ of the book are creating a deeper self-awareness to the challenges parents face parenting in youth sports; helping support their child in building a healthier relationship with the sports they play; and navigating the parent/coach relationship with more grace and understanding. Travis’s dream is that one day, every youth baseball parent will have read and experienced HERO, and every youth baseball coach will have read and experienced Coaching Revolution.
Travis’s advice to kids – “If you want to be great at anything, it takes hard work. Fall in love with working hard.”
