THIS IS THE SPORTS SPECTRUM PODCAST
WITH JASON ROMANO, FEATURING MITCH CANHAM
Mitch Canham is the head baseball coach for Oregon State. In 2021, he led the Beavers to a 37-24 record and reached the NCAA Regionals.
As a player, Canham was a member of the back-to-back College World Series-champion teams for Oregon State in 2006 and 2007. He was selected with the 57th overall pick in the 2007 MLB Draft by the San Diego Padres, and played nine seasons of minor-league baseball, reaching as high as Triple-A.
Canham has also overcome multiple seasons of tragedy — losing his mom to a drug overdose while he was a freshman in college, and a few years later losing his brother, Dustin, who was killed while serving in the U.S. Marine Corps in 2008.
Today on the podcast, we talk to Canham about coaching at his alma mater, coming to faith in Jesus, and trusting in God amidst tragedy.
"Praying someone falls in love w/ Jesus today!" Just read that, and love that quote.
THIS IS THE SPORTS SPECTRUM PODCAST, FEATURING JOSH LINDBLOM & SCOTT LINEBRINK
Today on the Sports Spectrum Podcast, former MLB pitchers Scott Linebrink and Josh Lindblom discuss the topic of fear and anxiety in sports, but from a Biblical perspective.
Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer, Sept. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
The Dallas Cowboys have a new word to describe their mindset on and off the field each week: “Godfidence.” It’s a word head coach Brian Schottenheimer brought into the team’s vocabulary as he looks to build a culture of faith, purpose and brotherhood.
For Schottenheimer, his faith in Jesus isn’t merely a motivational tool that he pulls out when things are going well. It’s at the center of how he views his life and his work, and it’s something he’s made clear is the most important thing to him since he took over as head coach in January 2025.
“That’s who he is,” quarterback Dak Prescott said during his press conference after Sunday’s 34-30 win over Houston. “That’s who I am, and that’s who a lot of our guys on our team are. Just trying to be contagious, understanding that we’re all here because of God and we’re all here to serve a greater purpose.”
Prescott has been with the Cowboys for 11 seasons and played under three different head coaches. He said there’s a noticeable difference in the culture under Schottenheimer, especially as it pertains to players feeling more comfortable in expressing and being vocal about their faith.
There usually aren’t many empty seats at team chapels, which Prescott said is also a credit to team chaplain Jonathan Evans and his father, Dr. Tony Evans.
“I’ve been through so much in my life. God’s always been the reason and Who I fall back on and my refuge,” Prescott said. “I can’t thank Him enough and never will be able to thank Him enough. So just to see that transcend throughout our team, starting with our head coach, is special. It’s something we take pride in, but at the end of the day, it’s about giving Him the glory.”
The Cowboys are 2-2 and enter a primetime game on “Thursday Night Football” against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Dallas is averaging 30.5 points per game, which is tied for second in the NFL, with Schottenheimer in his second year as head coach and primary playcaller after serving as the offensive coordinator under Mike McCarthy from 2023 to 2024.
Schottenheimer’s message on the field so far this season has been about consistency and finishing. And connecting it all is the idea that they’re one family. Schottenheimer makes no apologies for what fuels him.
“God is the center of everything that I do — as a husband, father, football coach, whatever,” he said in his press conference Monday. “I think it’s very strong among our team.”
He displays that faith with his action, but also publicly on his body. He has five tattoos that he says remind him of his “whys.” On his left forearm is “Jireh” which is Hebrew for “The Lord will provide.” Near that one are three nails in the form of a cross.
When McCarthy and the Cowboys agreed to part ways, there was always a risk that coordinators like Schottenheimer would also be left out of a job if the new head coach wanted to bring in their own hires. At 51 years old, Schottenheimer had put together a lengthy resume as a position coach and coordinator, so he’d likely be able to find work on another staff. But the thought of having to move and start over again elsewhere crossed his and his wife Gemmi’s minds.
Their faith kept them grounded, she recently said.
“If we didn’t have our faith, I think we could’ve crumbled many times,” Gemmi said this summer on the “Twins Take Podcast.” “This is such an unstable life that we live and you never know what’s next. It’s really year-to-year and it’s a lot of uncertainty. But I think we’ve always had this solid foundation of knowing that the Lord’s never going to leave us and He’s never going to guide us in the wrong direction. We may not like it, but I think we know that what we’re doing is exactly what we’re supposed to be doing.”
Whatever his next path looked like, Schottenheimer still hoped that being a head coach would be part of his resume one day. And as it turned out, he didn’t have to move, and his chance to become a head coach also came. Instead of hiring an external candidate, owner and general manager Jerry Jones elevated Schottenheimer to head coach ahead of the 2025 season.
“We were really just obedient in that regard and we were just like, ‘Whatever You have in store for us is what’s meant to be,’ and then it happened,” Gemmi said. “You have to just trust that whatever path you’re on, that’s exactly where God has you and you’re supposed to be there. You never know when something is going to happen.”
Among his many stops, Schottenheimer recalled being a quarterbacks coach under his father, longtime NFL coach Marty Schottenheimer, for the San Diego Chargers in 2003. Team chaplain Shawn Mitchell made a profound impact on him and his faith, and the younger Schottenheimer felt led to start a coach’s Bible study. He was just 28 years old and it was about six months before he found out he had thyroid cancer. Meanwhile, Gemmi was three months pregnant with their son, Sutton.
Brian credits that season of life to helping him get much more connected with God personally, and it also helped strengthen his and Gemmi’s marriage and faith walks.
“Some of the things that we’ve been through are bigger than football,” he said on the podcast. “Football is our job. It’s not our life. We love it. It’s what we do, but it all starts with God.”
Atlanta Braves outfielder Brewer Hicklen celebrates a double, July 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
It was always Brewer Hicklen’s dream to play for the Atlanta Braves. After somewhat of a journeyman major league career, the Huntsville, Alabama, native is getting to live that out.
The Braves signed him last November, and after spending much of the season in Triple-A, the 30-year-old outfielder was recalled to the major league squad July 12. He made a career-high 20 MLB appearances this season and is now a reserve outfielder getting his first taste of the MLB playoffs. He’s appeared in three postseason games, coming in each time as a pinch runner and defensive replacement, and made his first plate appearance in Tuesday’s 3-1 Game 3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
He doesn’t have the biggest role on the team by any stretch, but he’s arguably one of the most vocal about his faith in Jesus. Ahead of Monday’s Game 2, he recorded a video inside Dodger Stadium reflecting on the moment of being in the postseason with his childhood team while also trying to remind himself and anyone watching to keep such things in their proper perspective.
He had just read 1 John 2:17, which says, “The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”
“I can’t help but to think that as a man who’s, in the worldly view, I’m living the dream,” he said. “It’s so important for me to remain steady and make sure my pursuit of my dream never misaligns with the purpose that God has given me, and that’s to love God, to love people and to have fun doing so. And to let everybody know how incredible it is to walk with Christ.
“So don’t forget today to go make a difference in your inner circle. What has God done in your life lately that you can share with others and impact them?”
Hicklen logged 10 hits in his 20 regular-season appearances this year, including five doubles, and drove in three runs. But his calling card throughout his career has been his speed. In nine pro seasons across all levels, he’s racked up 287 stolen bases. His career high was 44 in 2024 for the Triple-A Nashville Sounds, and he also logged 40 steals in 2021 for the Double-A Northwest Arkansas Naturals. He had 30 steals this season for Triple-A Gwinnett before the Braves called him up.
That speed is where the Braves have found the most value for him on the roster — especially as pinch runner. Perhaps his most impactful moment this season was scoring a game-tying run on Sept. 11 against the Philadelphia Phillies in the bottom of the 10th inning. The Braves ended up winning in the 11th to earn a big late-season win against their division rivals.
“Whatever they need, I want to do the best that I can,” he said after that game. “To be able to call my name in that opportunity was really special … to be in that position was incredible.”
Hicklen posted earlier that week about how he hopes to use any opportunities he gets in baseball to point people back to Christ.
“So grateful to live out this dream alongside my family,” he wrote. “After years of obedience, I’m blown away by the doors He has opened and the opportunities He’s given me. Since I know tomorrow is not guaranteed, I’ve held onto this verse: ‘This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.’ My prayer has been to use every opportunity to share the Gospel, spread His love, and point others back to Him.”
During his baseball journey, he was able to baptize several of his teammates in 2024 and 2025. Drafted by the Kansas City Royals in 2017, Hicklen made his major league debut on May 26, 2022, and spent six games with the Royals before being traded to the Phillies organization in August 2023. He then signed with the Brewers organization in November 2023 and said in 2024 that God placed him in Nashville for such a time as this, referring to the opportunity to baptize and witness to teammates.
“I just asked God, ‘Place me somewhere where You feel like I could have some influence and have some opportunity to make eternal connections with some teammates,’” Hicklen told Sports Spectrum in 2024.
He’s now hoping this extended stay with the Braves that has lasted into the postseason is the start of more regular time in the majors, but either way he hopes to use his platform to point people to Christ. On Sept. 20, ahead of a game against the Houston Astros, he shared some thoughts from 1 Peter 2:1-3.
“I think God knows a lot of people are a Christian when it’s convenient,” Hicklen said in the video. “But He’s challenging us to be desperate at all times — to seek after and want to grow in our faith. Like a baby, they can’t grow without milk and the nutrients that it provides. And with the metaphor of milk, like a believer you cannot grow without the Word of God speaking to you and God penetrating your heart.”
He then challenged anyone watching with a question: “Are you a Christian when it’s convenient, or are you in desperation of learning more about the One who uniquely created you for a specific purpose?”
Hicklen and the Braves take the field at 6 p.m. ET on Wednesday in a win-or-go-home Game 4 against the Dodgers in Atlanta.
THIS IS THE SPORTS SPECTRUM PODCAST, FEATURING ANNABELLE HASSELBECK, JOSH LINDBLOM & SCOTT LINEBRINK
Today on the Sports Spectrum Podcast, former MLB pitchers Scott Linebrink and Josh Lindblom are joined by “What’s Up” podcast host Annabelle Hasselbeck to talk about the state of youth sports and navigating the balance of young people in athletics and growing in a relationship with Christ.
NEW PODCAST: Brad Mann uses youth basketball as a way to share the Gospel with kids by intersecting his love of basketball with his love of God. Brad's an overcomer, having beat cancer twice and his story is inspiring. Take a listen 👇https://t.co/5YDEbSDzYC
