With Dino guiding their way, Brady and Trey Ebel inch closer to a professional baseball future

New York Times

12-07-2025

With more than 30 years as a coach in both the minor and major leagues, Dino Ebel has played a role in the development of hundreds of professional baseball players.
He managed players such as Paul Konerko and Shane Victorino as minor leaguers, and coached Mike Trout and Howie Kendrick as young big leaguers. Last season, he won his second World Series title as the third base coach of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Yet, no role on or off the baseball field has been more important to Ebel than the role of dad to his two baseball-playing sons, Brady and Trey.
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On Sunday, Brady — ranked the No. 84 MLB Draft prospect by The Athletic's Keith Law — has the opportunity to join his dad in making professional baseball a career. Trey, a rising senior who is a well-regarded draft prospect for 2026, could make it a trio next July. Whenever the two do turn pro, it will seem like old hat for kids who grew up taking ground balls with the likes of Mookie Betts.
Dino played six seasons professionally, but he was already coaching even before he hung up his playing spikes officially. He spent three seasons as a player-coach before moving into full-time coaching in 1995. He's been teaching the game ever since, first as a minor-league coach and then as a member of the Angels and later Dodgers big-league coaching staffs.
Brady, 17, came along in 2007 when Dino was on Mike Scioscia's Angels staff, and Trey followed a year later. (They have an older sister, Destiny, as well.) The two have been a regular presence in Dino's big-league clubhouses ever since. Though Dino has been very involved in developing his boys' games away from the field, he lets the current big leaguers do the teaching when Brady and Trey come to his workplace.
'I don't coach them when they're on the field with the players because the players coach them,' Dino Ebel said at Oracle Park before the Dodgers took on the Giants on Friday night. 'In my mind, that's the best way to do it, to let the players teach my sons.
'Coming up with the Angels with Trout and (Albert) Pujols and all the other guys, Torii Hunter, and then (Corey) Seager and Mookie and Freddie (Freeman) and Shohei (Ohtani). They've been around the elite players and learned the process, and now they're putting it together.'
A post shared by Dino Ebel (@dnoebo91)
Both brothers played the last two seasons at Corona High School in Southern California, which has quickly turned into a powerhouse program. Brady is one of four legitimate draft prospects who suited up for the Panthers this year. Trey and others will have scouts continuing to flock to Corona games next year.
'I love being around them guys. I'm going to miss them,' Brady said of his Corona teammates. 'But a lot of us got bigger and better things about to happen.'
A strong senior season has put Brady in position to hear his name called on Day 1 of the MLB Draft, which begins Sunday night. A left-handed hitter, Brady hit .341 this season with a .504 OBP. A natural shortstop who played a lot of third base this season with fellow top draft prospect Billy Carlson next to him in the infield, Brady impressed scouts with his arm strength and athleticism, as well as his contact skills at the plate. If he doesn't turn pro, Brady has a scholarship offer to play for the defending NCAA champion LSU Tigers.
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For high school players, there is always a tough decision about whether to turn pro or go to college. Unlike most players in that position, Brady knows exactly what to expect from professional baseball life. What he doesn't know, he can learn from his dad.
'He's seen a lot of kids my age trying to work their way up,' Brady said at the MLB Draft Combine last month.
Dino believes the time Brady and Trey have spent hanging out with big leaguers has prepared them well for the next step in their careers. He says they are always asking questions and trying to get better.
'I look at it and go, 'That's pretty cool. Those are my two boys.' And they fit right in. They look like they're in the major leagues,' Dino said. 'It's a process. They're young. But it's special when I can kick back and, if I'm doing some outfield drills, and then I'll peek in and the other day just watching them field the ball and throw the ball, hitting with the major-league stars. It's pretty cool as a dad.'
Although his career took him away from home a lot, Dino was very involved in his sons' baseball development. His wife, Shannon, would film their at-bats, and they were constantly on FaceTime, talking over their games.
'They know it's part of what their dad has to do, and any time I can get out there and watch them, I never miss,' Dino said. 'Even in the wintertime, practicing, fall ball games, I never miss. I'm always there.'
Brady says his dad has had a huge role in making him the player he is today. He also credits his mom for selflessly taking him and his brother to every baseball event and keeping them grounded.
On Sunday night, Brady will be with his family at home watching the draft. Dino hopes to be back from the Dodgers' game in San Francisco in time to join them. If not, he will likely be watching on an airplane with some of the big leaguers who helped hone Brady's game during those infield drills and trips to the cage. Then on Monday, the whole family will fly to Atlanta for the All-Star Game. Just a typical family weekend for the Ebels.
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Whether Brady turns pro this year or after three years at LSU remains to be seen. Trey will face a similar choice with Texas A&M next year. Regardless of timing, though, it seems inevitable that the Ebel boys will be joining their dad in pro ball. It will truly be a family affair.
(Top photo of the Ebels during the Dodgers' World Series celebration parade: Kirby Lee / Imagn Images)