Kenny McCarty begins his 19th year as the primary Certified Athletic Trainer for the Arizona State University baseball program. McCarty is responsible for the daily prevention, evaluation, treatment, and rehabilitation of the Sun Devil baseball players' injuries. McCarty coordinates the overall healthcare of the Sun Devil baseball players utilizing team physicians, orthopedic physicians, optometrists, nutritionists, sport psychologists, as well as various other specialists. McCarty also implements a year-round program for the Sun Devil pitchers.
A part of each practice is set aside to do specific arm care exercises. Each pitcher is also evaluated and provided with a Corrective Exercise Program which addresses specific muscular weakness, flexibility, and core strength issues. Injury prevention is the primary goal of the program. An extremely valuable resource for the baseball program with his extensive knowledge of baseball-related injuries, McCarty has successfully rehabilitated multiple pitchers from Tommy John surgery as well as position players. This includes former Sun Devil pitcher Mike Esposito, who made his Major League debut in 2005 with the Colorado Rockies, and former ASU catcher/first baseman Nate Causey, who was taken by the Rockies in the 2014 MLB Draft.
McCarty also was responsible for the rehabilitation of former Sun Devil shortstop Andrew Romine. Romine underwent a first rib resection in January 2006 after suffering a blood clot in his throwing arm. He was able to return to the field three and a half months post surgery and went to be a 5th round draft pick of Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in 2007, making his Major League debut in 2010.
McCarty presented "Special Conditioning and Rehabilitation Concepts for the Collegiate Pitcher" at the 2001 ASMI Injuries in Baseball Course in Phoenix hosted by notable baseball orthopedist Dr. James Andrews. He was also a secondary author of the NCAA's Injury Surveillance System on the Descriptive Epidemiology of Collegiate Men's Baseball Injuries from 1988-2004. This article was published in the Journal of Athletic Training in July of 2007. The article provided injury type and rate data analysis as well as recommendations for injury prevention in collegiate baseball. McCarty graduated in 1996 from Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN with a B.A. in Athletic Training. He also earned a M.S. in Exercise Science & Health Promotion from the California University of Pennsylvania in the summer of 2007.
A native of Fremont, Ind., McCarty is a member of the National Athletic Trainers Association, Rocky Mountain Athletic Trainers Association, and Arizona Athletic Trainers Association and is also a NASM certified Corrective Exercise Specialist. McCarty enjoys fishing and outdoor activities and is a huge fan of NASCAR and the Detroit Tigers. McCarty is single and resides in Chandler.