Some Devil

How can Ryan Kreidler top his first two years at Davis? Blue Devils fans can’t wait to find out

  By THOMAS OIDE | Contributor

  Ryan Kreidler never shies away from the big moment.

  Take last year’s Sac-Joaquin Section Division I-North title game against Elk Grove, for example. With the Davis High baseball team holding onto a 3-2 lead late in the third game of the three-game series, the then-sophomore stepped up to the plate with a runner on first.

  In a situation where most young players battle nerves, Kreidler blasted a fastball to the warning track for an RBI double.

  On the next pitch after his double, Kreidler stole third. The pitch after that, Kreidler scored on a wild pitch to ice the game and send the Blue Devils to the SJS finals — which Davis won just weeks later.

  These are the types of plays Kreidler makes in every single game he plays. He’s a dynamic athlete with exceptional mental capacity.

  That is why longtime Blue Devils manager Dan Ariola said that Kreidler will “be the best we’ve ever had here,” which is high praise from a manager who has seen and coached high caliber players such as Ben Eckels, Cody Keefer and Matt Trask.

  “I just thought he had great makeup ever since he was a kid.He’s got a great work ethic,” Ariola said of his star shortstop. “I just knew that he was going to be a good ballplayer when he was young and he still continues to work. He continues to get better. And that’s really what it is. He’s already done some great things for us.”

  Kreidler’s reaction to those words was one of humility.

  “It’s definitely humbling because Ariola has been around baseball for around 25, 30 years now,” the junior said. “To be considered a good player in Davis High history is a lot within itself. But obviously, I still have two more full years to prove myself and get better. That’s a pretty lofty goal, but it’s definitely motivation for me to get there.”

  As an underclassman, Kreidler has already left his mark on the Blue Devil baseball program. He started at shortstop his freshman year, hitting .302 in the process. As a sophomore, Kreilder was the team’s leading hitter out of the no. 3 spot, batting .438 with 28 RBI.

  However, nothing topped the first half of Kreidler’s Davis career more than winning the 2014 section title. That’s because for Kreidler and six of his teammates, it was a journey  that was started together many years before.

  Seven players from the 2014 Blue Devils — Nate Curtis, Brett Bloomfield, Drew Gnos, Kreidler, John Ariola, Trey Golston and Josh Guerrero — won the Northern California title as 9-10-year-old Little League All-Stars. Kreidler was elated to win a section title with that same group of players.

  “We actually found a picture of us winning the NorCal championship, and we recreated that picture this year,” Kreidler said.

  “It kind of brought everything full circle: we had seven starters on the varsity team who won a section title while playing together for eight years, more or less.

  “It’s pretty remarkable because in most towns, you have more than one high school and more than one Little League. You don’t get a chance to bond with guys like that. By the end of it, we were so much better of a team.”

  After that section title victory and his stellar sophomore season, Kreidler was named first-team All-Metro by the Sacramento Bee, declared as one of the top sophomores in the country by MaxPreps, and earned an invitation to the renown Area Code Games baseball showcase in Long Beach. There, he was able to play in front of hundreds of scouts with some of the very best high school players from around the country. 

  That exposure helped Kreidler obtain several offers from Pac-12 universities. He narrowed the field to Stanford, Cal, USC and UCLA before orally committing to the Bruins in October.

  “I was pretty torn between the two L.A. schools,” Kreidler said. “But when it came down to it, UCLA was just the right fit overall. I wanted a big school with that football, basketball, baseball aspect to it, but at the same time, have a high-level baseball program with a great education.”

  The coaches at UCLA also factored into Kreidler’s college choice. T.J. Bruce, the Bruins’ infield coach, has coached Major League All-Star infielders Evan Longoria and Troy Tulowitski. John Savage, the Bruins’ head coach, mentored Pittsburgh Pirates young pitching standout Gerrit Cole and San Francisco Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford.

  With Division I baseball looming, Kreidler remains focused on the task at hand — which often boils down to what sport he’s playing. He averaged more than 10.5 points a game for the Davis High basketball team, a sport he thoroughly enjoys. As for baseball, Kreidler is prepared to do whatever he has to do to help the Blue Devils win and defend their section title.

  “I’m not one of those guys who tries to protect himself first, and only focuses on the summer things,” Kreidler said. “My whole thing is playing spring baseball with my team and representing this school.”

  But Davis won’t just be the Ryan Kreidler Show this season. Several players return from last year’s section championship squad, including third baseman Nate Curtis, outfielder Jared McNece, first baseman Drew Gnos and second baseman Quentin McCray.

  Ariola expects those players, all seniors, to be major contributors to this year’s team.

  “The guys that played last year — Gnos, McNece, Curtis, McCray — those guys first and foremost need to step up. I need production from the guys moving up in the lineup,” Ariola said.

  If there is a concern for the Blue Devils this year, it is on the mound. The Blue Devils lost three of their top pitchers — Trask, Bloomfield and Golston — to graduation. Kris Prince, the Blue Devils’ unlikely hero last year after winning the deciding game three in both the Div. I-North and SJS championship series, is undergoing rehab for an elbow injury.

  “The biggest thing is going to be the mound; that’s where the big question mark is because Kris isn’t ready to throw yet,” Ariola said. “Pitchers need to step up, it’s that simple. Right now, I need top-of-the-rotation guys, and I need to find those guys.”

  It should come as no surprise that his search may begin with his star shortstop.

  And of course, Kreidler is committed to doing whatever the team needs him to do in order to win games.

  “For me, it’s more about leading by example and having a great work ethic that rubs off on others,” Kreidler said. “We do have a lot of great talent coming up from the lower levels. I’ve been lucky enough to be around guys who respect me, and I respect them. I’m never going to be the pronounced leader, but I will be that guy who works hard and gets his team to work hard as well.”