Anyone who has seen Garret Kelly run the basepaths knows he’s got some serious wheels.
The San Benito High senior has run the 60-yard dash in 6.7 seconds, and he’s gone four seconds flat from home to first base. Why is this important? Because when you combine those times, that’s about the time it took him to accept a scholarship to play baseball at UC Davis.
OK, so Kelly didn’t make his decision that quickly—every player talks things over with their parents first before making a final decision—but it speaks to Kelly’s eagerness to play at a school that had been on his radar for quite a while.
The Aggies made their offer to Kelly last Saturday night, and he gave them his verbal commitment two days later (Kelly can sign his official letter of intent on Nov. 12). Kelly, a 6-foot-1, 170-pound center fielder, was actually in a hotel room with his father, Mike, when UC Davis assistant coach/recruiting coordinator Tony Schifano made the call to offer him a scholarship.
All three were in Peoria, Ariz., last weekend for the Arizona Senior Fall Classic, one of the biggest amateur baseball showcase events on the West Coast. Schifano was there to watch some of the best high school seniors on the West Coast, including Kelly, who played for Trosky Baseball.
“When coach Schifano called and made the offer, it felt amazing,” Kelly said. “I was just trying to stay calm and professional, but once I hung up the phone, I got so excited, oh my God. I’ve put in so much time and effort over the years, and it’s been my dream since I was 4 years old to play in college. This is just one more step.”
Kelly’s verbal comes just three weeks after fellow San Benito senior Zack Moeller made a commitment to play for the University of Utah.
In the last two years alone, 14 players from the Haybalers baseball program are either playing or committed to playing at four-year schools.
“We’ve been very fortunate because we’ve had so many kids in the last few years come here and end up playing at Division I programs,” Balers coach Billy Aviles said. “Davis is a perfect fit for Garret because he’s great in the classroom as well.”
Indeed, Kelly has a cumulative GPA of 3.95 through his first three years of high school.
“That’s why I’m so excited to go to Davis, because it’s one of the top public academic schools in the country,” Kelly said. “Academics and school have always been the first priority, then school.”
Mike and Cheryl Davis ingrained the importance of academics into their son from an early age, so it’s no surprise Kelly has excelled in the classroom. When Kelly got the first B-grade of his life in his freshman year, his anger in that moment could rival any of the most disappointing moments he’s had on the field.
That’s the type of pride Kelly has for school and sports, and a big reason why he’s been successful in both.
“I’m so lucky to have the parents I have,” Kelly said. “They’ve been 100 percent supportive in everything I’ve done, helping me stay confident on the mental side. My dad was a good athlete back in the day, so I can go to him whenever I need help on something.”
Kelly excelled in baseball at an early age, but his career really took off during his freshman year, when he was called up to the varsity team midway through the season.
Kelly’s call-up was particularly striking because few—if any—freshmen for a perennially strong program like San Benito earn a spot on the varsity. However, once Kelly was promoted, he appeared in almost every game, mainly as a pinch runner.
More importantly, Kelly developed confidence, allowing him to take his game to another level. For the first time in his career, Kelly went into every game telling himself he was the best player on the field—whether he was or not is immaterial because every player has to have that type of mentality if he wants to continually improve.
“Baseball is a game of failure, and if you’re cutting down on yourself with negative comments, you’re not going to last very long,” Kelly said. “So I started telling myself I was the best guy on the field until I believed it.”
Although Kelly didn’t always have confidence in his abilities, he said it served a useful purpose: “Growing up I didn’t know how good I was and always felt guys were better than me. But because of that, I felt like I had to work harder than everyone to get better.”
At the Senior Fall Classic, Kelly said he played well in front of 150 scouts. The event was held at the spring training facility of the Seattle Mariners and San Diego Padres, and despite the setting and scouts in attendance, Kelly felt at ease.
“I wasn’t nervous at all actually,” he said. “I thought about it (the magnitude of the moment) once, and knew I had to clear my mind and focus on the game. I had been preparing for something like this forever, so I just let all the hard work I’ve put in take over. I was really confident going into it.”
Last season, Kelly hit .353 from the leadoff spot, slugged .500 and had an OPS of .938. He also committed just one error and led the team in stolen bases, as he was successful on 9-of-10 attempts. Long before the Aggies made their offer, Kelly was eyeing the program as a premier destination.
“I was already interested because I had gone to one of their prospects camp,” he said. “I felt like it was the right fit for me, so it didn’t take me long to decide that’s where I wanted to be.”
