Incoming senior pitcher gives verbal commitment to San Luis
Obispo college
HOLLISTER
When Bryan Granger visited San Luis Obispo last month, Cal Poly pitching coach Jason Kelly, having seen Granger toss before, was interested in seeing the San Benito High product throw just one more time.
It never happened, though. It didn’t need to happen.
Unable to throw for Cal Poly at the time of his unofficial visit, as he was resting from a strained ligament in his elbow, Granger received an unexpected call from Kelly while returning from a camping vacation shortly after visiting San Luis Obispo.
The Division I college had made up its mind.
“He said I’m the guy he wants and it’s not gonna make a difference if he sees me throw again,” said Granger, who made a verbal commitment to Cal Poly on Monday, Aug. 2.
The incoming senior at San Benito High School must have impressed the Mustangs’ coaching staff during previous showcases.
Kelly had seen the hard-throwing righty toss before, beginning last year at the Fall Classic showcase in Arizona, while earlier this summer Granger shined at the Bay Area World Series in Santa Clara, where he fanned four batters in just two innings, as well as at the Rawlings NorCal World Series in Stockton, where the SBHS senior struck out seven in three innings of work. He was named all-tournament at both showcases.
Along with his 6-2 record and 1.52 earned run average for the Balers this past season, Cal Poly had apparently seen enough.
“I was pumped,” Granger said when he received the call from Kelly. “I was driving home from camping, so I was pretty pumped up to get that call.”
This past season for the Balers, Granger tossed 45 innings and struck out 53 batters, allowing just 10 earned runs on 25 hits and 20 walks. In the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs, Granger threw a three-hit shutout during a 10-0 victory over Milpitas.
While he won’t be able to sign with the school until November, Granger said his choice of the Central Coast college was an easy one, despite receiving serious looks from San Jose State, Santa Clara, UC Davis, Sac State, UC Santa Barbara and Cal Berkeley.
“I pretty much made up my mind,” Granger said. “That was the school I’ve always wanted to go to.”
The nearby location (“It’s close to home”), good education (“I’m thinking about going into business or agriculture”), and strong coaching staff (“They’re really good guys and really knowledgeable”) were all factors in Granger’s decision. He plans on making an official visit to the school in the upcoming months.
“If that’s the school I want to go to, why wait?” he said.
Granger said it was hard to learn of the departure of San Benito manager Michael Luna, though, who stepped down last week after six seasons at the helm for the Balers. Granger feels none of what he’s accomplished would have been possible without Luna, who will be taking over a coaching position at Mission College in Santa Clara next season.
“I would never have been able to get to Cal Poly if it weren’t for him,” Granger said.
“I’m very proud of him,” Luna said of Granger last weekend, noting the pitcher’s composure and makeup atop the mound. “I know how much he’s worked at it to get a scholarship. He continues to impress every year, works hard every year.”
Luna recalled watching Granger throw as a 13-year-old, and believed then that he had what it took to reach the next level.
“I still think there’s a lot of upside with him,” added Luna, who has never had two players commit to Division I colleges in the same year; incoming senior Darin Gillies verbally committed to Arizona State in April.
“You’re gonna be hearing a lot more things from him once he gets to the college level,” Luna said of Granger. “He hasn’t really reached his potential yet, which is great.”
Granger plans on signing his letter of intent in November alongside Gillies. The two are expected to anchor the San Benito pitching staff next spring.
“It’s a weight lifted off your shoulders,” Granger said of the commitment. “You don’t have to look in the stands to see whose looking at you. You can just go out and play and have fun.”
