Airport High School baseball coach Casey Bradwell’s life has always been about baseball, and he is looking to spread his knowledge to the next generation at his alma mater.

Bradwell has been the head coach at Airport since 2021 but had been on the coaching staff before that as an assistant. He also played baseball at the school, graduating in 2006.

“I didn’t know anything but baseball. I’ve been playing since I was four years old,” Bradwell said. “When you aren’t good enough to play anymore, you still want to stay in the game. It’s kind of a way of life.”

Since becoming the head coach, Bradwell has led the team to two conference titles, including an undefeated 2024 region season. He credited part of his success to his predecessor, Tim Perry.

Perry was the coach at Airport for nine years, and with Bradwell by his side, he led the Eagles to two state title appearances. He departed the program in 2021 to take a job at Coastal Carolina. He is now an assistant coach at Winthrop University.

“Most of the philosophy, most of the day-to-day stuff, most of the baseball stuff … that’s the guy that I’ve learned how things should be done, and most of the baseball stuff, coaching-wise, is from him,” Bradwell said. “ He gave me an opportunity to come back and help him.”

When Perry decided to go to Coastal, Bradwell made his pitch to be head coach. He was an assistant for the team for almost a decade and was leading the group in offseason workouts.

“I went in and said, ‘Hey, man, if you want to make this thing seamless and just keep doing what we’re doing, I’m your guy,” Bradwell said. “It ended up working out and got the job. To be honest, we haven’t changed a whole lot. The expectation is to make the playoffs and win your last game. And that doesn’t change.”

Bradwell’s coaching philosophy revolves around consistency. He wants his players to work hard every day and take pride in that.

“You can’t get anywhere without being consistent. It’s got to be a daily thing. It’s got to be every day. You got to do something,” Bradwell said. “It translates to the real world.”

Despite being mostly a continuation of Perry’s program, Bradwell does do some things differently and has his own ideas shaped by his baseball journey.

After graduating from Airport in 2006, Bradwell walked on to the Winthrop baseball team. An injury cut his collegiate career short, and he immediately jumped into coaching.

His first job was at South Pointe High School, where he stayed for over two years.

He moved back home in late 2010 to help run the family heating and air company after his dad had to have heart surgery. At the same time, Perry was starting his new job at Airport.

“We had a rough first year together,” Bradwell said. “But once the expectations were set, the kids bought in. And now these kids don’t know any different.”

Airport has won 20 games twice in the past four seasons to go along with its region championships. This past year, the Eagles went 20-9 and 12-0 in region.

While the season didn’t end the way the team wanted it to, Bradwell said it was a good season the team can build on.

“I don’t really get caught up in all the wins and losses,” Bradwell said. “It’s more about the development. The relationships.”

Last season’s team was full of homegrown kids developed in Bradwell’s system. Some kids had never played but had been on the team for years.

“They all grew up together. So everybody got along. There was no bickering. There was no fighting. There was no animosity,” Bradwell said. “It was a good atmosphere. We won 20 games. Anytime you can win 20 games, it’s a good year.”

Bradwell said the Eagles are moving in the right direction but still have the opportunity to get better. With the evolving technology available to be utilized and the advancement of analytics, there is room not just for physical improvements but for systematic ones as well.

“I think we’ve done some things the last few years technology-wise … we’ve got all the tools to make you a better player,” Bradwell said. “I think we’ve got the support from the administration, Coach Fidler, our AD, he supports us 100%. We’ve got a really beautiful indoor hit facility that hardly anybody has in the state. We’re making some changes on the field here in the next few years. It’s a really great place to play and become a better person, a better player.”