OUR COMPANY
BRIAN L. GUINN, President/CEO
Brian brings a wealth of collegiate and professional playing experience, and college coaching to his role as CEO and Director of Baseball Training at SSM Athletics. His professional career as a shortstop/middle infielder started in the minor league affiliates of the Oakland A’s and continued with the Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox. As an undergraduate at UC Berkeley in Sociology, Brian played varsity baseball and basketball (one year). In June 1983, he was drafted in the 5th round by the Oakland A’s (he had been drafted twice previously and not signed). Guinn’s minor league highlights included three All-Star team selections, a Caribbean League All-Star team selection (Dominican Republic), Topps Player of the Month, four Association Player of the Week honors, and three league championships.
In 1995, Guinn accepted a position with the expansion Arizona Diamondbacks as a Area Scouting Supervisor where he worked for 5 years evaluating amateur talent at over 250 high schools and colleges in Northern California and did pro coverage of minor league affiliates. He received his Masters Degree in Sports and Fitness Management from the University of San Francisco in 1996 and was subsequently hired as the Head Baseball Coach of Academy of Art University in 2009. During his five-year tenure at AAU, Brian had 5 players drafted to pro baseball. In 2015, Brian assumed the head coaching position at Contra Costa College. His leadership has enabled more than 20 of his players to land scholarships at four-year collegiate institutions. He also had one CCC player drafted to pro baseball. Brian is a current Board Member and past Vice President of Big C at Cal.
WENDY DRIVER-GUINN, Vice President/General Counsel
Wendy is a California attorney who actively practiced in the legal profession for over 20 years. She received her Juris Doctor from Golden Gate University Law School. Her expertise in employment and labor law, sports, business and real estate law has been honed over many years of professional experience in the public and private sector. Wendy worked as an attorney for the Social Security Administration (SSA) and Department of the Navy’s Offices of General Counsel. While at SSA, she was a senior personnel attorney-advisor for Region IX’s executive staff and regional component management supervising a workforce of 6000+ employees, and also chaired the General Litigation Team. She received numerous awards and recognitions, including the Regional Commissioner’s Citation and the Office of General Counsel’s Excellence in Leadership Award before entering the private sector and launching a statewide California civil litigation firm specializing in toxic tort (asbestos mesothelioma), personal injury and employment law.
A former professional tennis player, Wendy was a top ranked national junior player who garnered All-Conference honors as a collegian at UC Berkeley. She has worked with the City of Berkeley and the City of Richmond on youth tennis programs that incorporate United States Tennis Association development objectives and has trained several top juniors in the Bay Area. She is currently a Richmond Tennis Association Board Member and holds the title of Director of Instruction.
BRIAN GUINN JR., Chief Operations Officer
Brian, aka BJ, is Chief Operations Officer for Shortstop Management LLC. As COO, he manages both baseball and fitness operations, and is the lead fitness instructor and personal trainer for SSM Athletics.
Prior to assuming his current position with SSM, BJ played 7 years of professional baseball as a middle infielder. He was initially drafted out of Berkeley High School in 2007 in the 10th round of the MLB Draft to the Chicago White Sox, but chose to attend UC Berkeley on a full athletic scholarship. As an intercollegiate student-athlete, BJ studied Architecture/Urban Studies in the School of Environmental Design and played three years of varsity baseball before signing with the San Diego Padres in the 2010 MLB Draft (11th round). His achievements as a middle infielder for Cal Baseball were significant, as he was a Wallace Award Semifinalist (2009) and the only player in Cal history to receive the award for NCAA PAC 10 Defensive Player of the Year (2010).
As a professional, BJ played 5 years in the Padres organization, reaching Double A, before a significant injury to his quadriceps and subsequently a torn Achilles tendon caused him to miss two years as he rehabilitated. Upon return from his injuries, BJ played two years of independent baseball, with the Pittsburg Diamonds of the Pacific Association and the Sioux Falls Canaries of the American Association. His professional career highlights with the Padres include: Defensive Player of the Month, Dominican Instructional League invitee, three-time instructional league invitee, two-time strength camp invitee, and two-time early mini-camp invitee.
In May 2019, BJ was inducted into the Berkeley High School Athletic Hall of Fame. This recognition follows a decorated high school athletic career as a two-sport varsity letter in both baseball and basketball (4 years), ACCAL First Team All-League selections in baseball and basketball (3 years), and Contra Costa Times Top 100 Prep Athlete of the Year awardee (2 years).
BJ is currently completing his Bachelor of Science in Urban Studies, City and Regional Planning, at U.C. Berkeley and is a graduate student coach with the Cal Baseball program. He resides in the East Bay.
TRAE GUINN, Chief Financial Officer
Trae is the Chief Financial Officer at Shortstop Management LLC and provides management oversight and administrative support to all facets of SSM operations. He is employed full-time as a Financial Planning and Analysis Manager with Sandler Partners LLC, the nation’s fastest growing distributor of connectivity, cloud and IT services, located in Hermosa Beach, CA.
Trae graduated from the HAAS School of Business at UC Berkeley with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration in May 2015. While at HAAS, Trae served as both the Vice President of Human Resources and President of the HAAS Undergraduate Black Business Association. It was here that he would cultivate a growing interest in finance. Following his graduation, Trae was hired as a Commissions Assurance Specialist with Sandler Partners. He received three promotions during his tenure with the Commissions Assurance Team (Senior Commissions Assurance Specialist, Commissions Assurance Supervisor and Commissions Assurance Manager) before assuming his current position with the executive management team.
Trae has also been heavily involved in sports throughout his life. He played varsity basketball and baseball at Berkeley High School and competed on SSM’s summer baseball travel teams throughout junior high and high school. While in college, he coached SSM’s 13 & under summer baseball team.
Trae resides in the East Bay and enjoys outdoor recreational activities and puzzles.
JASMIN GUINN, Media Director/Fitness Instructor
Jasmin Guinn is the Media Director for Shortstop Management LLC and also brings a wealth of athletic experience to her role as a fitness instructor for SSM Athletics. As Media Director, Jasmin is responsible for all media related content, including photography, highlight and recruiting videos, graphic design, illustration and animation.
Jasmin currently works as a full-time Content Creator for Argonaut Inc, an advertising agency in San Francisco, CA. In May of 2017, she graduated from Academy of Art University‘s School of Animation and Visual Effects with a B.F.A. in 3D Animation and Visual Effects. Following her graduation, Jasmin accepted a position as an NCAA Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach with her alma mater for one year before realizing her passion for all things artistic and transitioning to advertising.
As a two-sport collegiate student-athlete in basketball and track and field, Jasmin’s gifted athletic talents led her to numerous recognitions and achievements including: three All PacWest First Team selections and two PacWest Defender of the Year selections in basketball, PacWest Long Jump Conference Champion and All PacWest First Team selection in Track & Field, Art U Female Athlete of the Year, Art U Women’s Basketball MVP (twice) and NCAA Woman of the Year nominee. In her senior year with Art U’s Women’s Basketball, Jasmin captained the winningest team in program history, ranked 4th in NCAA Division II in steals per game, and earned D2CCA All-West Region First Team while solidifying herself as Academy of Art’s all-time career leader in points, rebounds and steals. She was also a semi-finalist for the prestigious John Wooden Citizenship Cup Award in 2016, a four-time Academic All-PacWest honoree plus USTFCCCA Academic All American, the only student-athlete to be voted Art U’s Urban Knight of the Year twice (2014, 2016), and remains a top 3 all-time leader in scoring, steals and free throws in the PacWest Conference.
In January 2019, Jasmin competed as one of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s elite 64 contestants on Season 1 of NBC’s The Titan Games. She continues to maintain a rigorous physical fitness routine and trains private clients. In April 2019, she hosted her inaugural community fitness event “Get Fit With Jazzy”, and enjoys connecting with youth as an AAU basketball coach. Jasmin resides in the East Bay.