Gila Ridge catcher to play at Barstow College
Gila Ridge High School senior catcher Ryan Hoskins will continue his education and baseball career at Barstow College this fall, the school announced Monday.
Hoskins, a three-year starter for the Hawks, recently finished his high school career with arguably his best individual season. Voted as the 4A Southwest Region Defensive Player of the Year, he was also voted First Team All-Region and was selected to the Arizona Baseball Coaches Association’s All-State first team and will participate in the 4A Conference Senior All-Star Game.
“I owe a lot of my success to my teammates. They really made my time here at Gila Ridge fun and enjoyable,” said Hoskins. “I am leaving here with a ton of great memories and I can’t wait to create some more at Barstow. When I visited I really liked the team and coaching staff and it seemed like a great fit for me not only on the baseball field but in the classroom, too.”
The Hawks will have big shoes to fill behind the plate with Hoskins graduation, but head coach James Kuzniak knows he will be very successful on his new team.
“Ryan was a great leader and teammate during his time on our team,” said Kuzniak, who completed his second season leading the Hawks with a state playoff berth. “He was selfless and always put the team first. He came to the field every single day and tried his personal best and that attitude and approach rubbed off on the other guys. He has definitely left his mark on this program for years to come and I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for him at Barstow. They are getting a great player.”
Hoskins finished high school with a .412 career batting average to go along with his 84 hits and 36 runs batted in. Behind the plate he was even better, throwing out 11 baserunners his senior season and picking off seven more at first base en route to the Defensive POY honors.
Barstow is a member of the Western State Conference in California. Their head coach is Ricky Walker. They finished with a record of 20-20 last season.