2 SLO County baseball stars shine atop all-league selections. Here’s what’s next for them

Arroyo Grande High School baseball coach Steve Tolley has watched two local standouts grow into excellent college-level baseball players — but he’s even more proud of how they’ve matured and aspired to better themselves in all aspects of the game.

Recent Arroyo Grande High graduate Ryan Tayman, a catcher who will play baseball at Cal on a scholarship as a freshman, and utility infielder/outfielder Jake Hixenbaugh, a recent Atascadero High graduate, shined at the high school level and are playing summer baseball as they embark on their college careers.

Tayman and Hixenbaugh both were among the players listed as first-team selections in their respective leagues (see full list below) — Tayman in the Mountain League and Hixenbaugh in the Ocean League.

“What they have in common is they’re both really, really good baseball players,” said Tolley, who’s also an assistant coach for the San Luis Obispo Blues. “They’re both just good, solid young men. Both have great work ethic, and they’re good teammates. They provide leadership. They’re different players, but they have those qualities in common.”

Tayman, a 6-foot-3, 223-pound catcher who bulked up significantly from his junior year to his senior campaign, batted .453 over the course of the 28-game senior season with 6 home runs, 20 RBIs and 20 runs, all team highs. Tayman was tied with fellow Eagles Luke Plaza in RBIs and James Bishop in runs. The Eagles finished 16-12 overall (8-6 Mountain).

Tayman improved his average more than .150 points from his junior season, when he hit seven home runs, one more than this season.

And Tayman attracted attention from pro scouts, despite his commitment to play college ball in Berkeley next season, Tolley said.

“There was a lot of interest and at least four or five teams that came out to watch him,” Tolley said. “The Yankees, Red Sox and A’s and some others were definitely interested in him. And that’s because he’s intelligent, he’s strong and willing to work. And he’s an extremely gifted player.”

Growth as a player

Tayman said his development over the past year has included building confidence and maturity.

“In my senior year I was comfortable with who I was as a player and didn’t let things affect me as much,” he said. “My first two or three weeks as a senior, I kind of struggled and that was similar to last year as a junior. But I didn’t let it take over my season this year. I bounced back a lot quicker.”

Tayman said that he doesn’t want to over-complicate hitting, and he seeks to hit the ball hard to all fields without trying to launch home runs on every pitch. He prides himself more on getting on base and making hard contact.

But hard contact resulted in three home runs during a hot stretch in a spring tournament held at Arroyo Grande High.

“I want to get on base and not just be solely a power hitter,” Tayman said. “From my junior to senior year, I cut my strikeouts in half, which is a big thing, just putting the ball in play and being consistent. You’re not really helping yourself or your team by striking out.”

This summer, Tayman is playing with the Utah Marshalls, a baseball academy consisting of four teams of college players that face off against each other regularly and travel to play other teams, including a recent trip to San Diego. In August, he’ll start his collegiate baseball career at Cal, the school he committed to as a junior.

“My sophomore summer going in my junior year (of high school), I played for an organization in the summer called Alpha Baseball and I played some tournaments up in Stockton,” Tayman said. “(Cal) saw me play, and then a few weeks later, I had two or three calls with them.”

Deciding on Cal

After seeing him perform well over the course of four or five games and chatting a few times on the phone, Cal offered him a scholarship.

Tayman attended camps at Cal before he committed, saying ultimately it was “the right fit for me with the opportunities I have there too.”

“I didn’t want to rush the process because obviously it’s a big decision in my life, but I knew it was a timing thing,” Tayman said. “They said they’re going to be looking for similar players like me, so you’re obviously taking a risk if you wait longer on it.”

Tayman said he’s ready to face some flamethrowers at the next level, with high-quality pitching in the Pac-12 Conference, playing against traditional powerhouses such as USC, UCLA, Oregon State and Stanford.

“You have to be fully committed every single pitch because once you hesitate, you’re screwed,” Tayman said about preparing for Pac-12 pitching. “You’re gonna be chasing, you’re just going to be looking at pitches. So I think being very relaxed and confident in your approach is the main thing.”

Tolley said that Tayman is willing to work constantly to get better, and the results have come.

“When you watch Tayman’s batting practice, it’s just different,” Tolley said. “You’re going to notice him right away. It looks different and sounds different.”

Hixenbaugh stars as senior

Jake Hixenbaugh was part of a squad at Atascadero High that went 21-8 and posted a 11-3 record in the Ocean League, splitting their contests with Cabrillo, which also finished 11-3 and tied with the Greyhounds atop the league.

Hixenbaugh led the team in average (.543), runs (47), doubles (17) and on-base percentage (.615), while adding two home runs and 47 RBIs.

“I was constantly spending hours and hours in the batting cage and in the weight room, and just trusting myself and trusting my body to do what I know how to do,” Hixenbaugh said. “As part of a team that had guys up and down the lineup having a tremendous amount of success, we had a lot of fun.”

Other formidable hitters for the Greyhounds included Johnnie Debrum, who led the team with five home runs and 50 runs batted in, while posting a .458 batting average; Drew Cappel contributed four home runs and a .436 average. Debrum and Cappel also were first-team Mountain League honorees.

In limited action playing for the San Luis Obispo Blues this summer, Hixenbaugh was batting .500 through July 2.

“I want to get to a four-year program as quick as I can,” Hixenbaugh said. “So we’ll see what comes out of that. And hopefully this helps out with the Blues.”

The 6-foot-1, lefty hitter and right-handed thrower will attend Monterey Pensinsula College next year, a community college.

Hixenbaugh said that Monterey Peninsula Coach Daniel Phillips is “really excited to have me up there and I’m really excited to get up there.”

He can play infield and outfield, which he has done for the Blues and during his career at Atascadero, mixing in time at third base, left field, centerfield and wherever the coach may want him otherwise.

“I can play any position on the field,” Hixenbaugh said. ”Just give me a heads up for the game, so I get some work in.”

Tolley said that for the Blues he recently “made three or four plays at third base” in a recent game.

“He was making next-level plays for a kid right out of high school,” Tolley said. “He was making Division 1 level defensive plays on a field (Sinsheimer) that has a lot of bad hops, a field and that’s not easy to play defense on.”

Tolley said that he has known “Jake since he was born and and he’s definitely put the work in and I’m super proud of him too.”

Tolley said, “A lot of players are now taught to hit doubles and home runs and not have the approach to go opposite field and Jake is willing to do whatever it takes to get on base. He has a very mechanically sound swing.”

Overall, the local coach said the quality of baseball in SLO County has risen over the past decade with standouts like Brooks Lee (Minnesota Twins organization, SLO High and Cal Poly), Dylan Beavers (Baltimore Orioles organization, Mission Prep), Cooper Benson (Toronto Blue Jays organization, SLO High), Spencer Howard (Texas Rangers, Templeton High), Carson Turnquist (University of Oklahoma, Paso Robles High), Justin Trimble (UCSB, Arroyo Grande High), Jakob Wright (Cal Poly, Paso Robles) and others from the Central Coast playing high-level baseball.

“My gut tells me that Tayman and Trimble both will get drafted,” Tolley said. “From a county that’s not very big, it says a lot about the level of baseball here over the last 10 years, which continues to get better and better. And the county’s reputation around the state is continuing to grow because there are some really good high school programs around the county.”

All-League honorees

Mountain League Baseball

MVP: Brodie Miller, Righetti

Pitcher of the Year: Alex Robles, Righetti

First Team

Ryan Tayman, Arroyo Grande

Mathew Kovach, Lompoc

Ricky Smith, Righetti

Tobin Thomas, Righetti

Ben Munoz, Righetti

Caden Cuccia, Righetti

Omar Reynoso, St. Joseph

Erik Furness, St. Joseph

Tyler Stephens, San Luis Obispo

Ethan Meyers, Templeton

Second Team

Ty Scrudato, Arroyo Grande

Rudy Elizondo, Lompoc

Zane Canaday, Paso Robles

Marcus Garcia, Paso Robles

Jacob McMillan, Righetti

Niko Peinado, St. Joseph

Jayson Rodriguez, St. Joseph

Alek Naran, San Luis Obispo

Caleb Cassidy, Santa Ynez

Ty Brown, Templeton

Honorable Mention

Luke Plaza, Arroyo Grande

Evan Chavez, Lompoc

Kyle Van Horbek, Paso Robles

J.J. Ughoc, Righetti

A.J. Stollberg, St. Joseph

Daniel Bush, San Luis Obispo

Dallas DeForest, Santa Ynez

Quincy Winkler, Templeton

Ocean League

MVP: Josue Garcia, Pioneer Valley

Pitcher of the Year: Gage Mattis, Cabrillo

First Team

Jake Hixenbaugh, Atascadero

Johnnie Debrum, Atascadero

Drew Cappel, Atascadero

Carson Heath, Cabrillo

Blake Grefory, Cabrillo

Spencer Gallimore, Cabrillo

Nick Bender, Mission Prep

Estevan Fonseca, Pioneer Valley

Andrew Sandoval, Pioneer Valley

Andrew Angulo, Pioneer Valley

Second Team

Chase Viale, Atascadero

Gabe Barraza, Cabrillo

David Luera, Mission Prep

Myles Wilson, Morro Bay

Isaiah Weichinger, Orcutt Academy

Austin Jones, Nipomo

Aden Willis, Nipomo

Cesar Garcia, Pioneer Valley

Julius Medina, Santa Maria

Honorable Mention

Donavan Kerr, Atascadero

Landan Mabery, Cabrillo

Thomas Glenn, Mission Prep

Caleb Calhoun, Morro Bay

Griffin Groshart, Nipomo

Mason Rohwedder, Orcutt Academy

Elias Giddings, Pioneer Valley

Ruben Guzman, Santa Maria