Unlike most prep baseball players who are juniors, Lyons’ Blake Ragsdale knows where he’s going to college.
And the wild thing is, he’s known for three years.
The Lions’ shortstop and leadoff hitter committed to perennial power Texas Christian in 2023 — when he was still in eighth grade.
That spring, Ragsdale went to some college camps, “and TCU was one of the places that I’d say I loved the most,” he said after the Lions’ 7-0 road win against Morton on April 3.
He showed well and clicked with the Horned Frogs’ coaches. Around that time, the NCAA instituted a rule prohibiting contact between colleges and prep players till August of a player’s junior year. That put Ragsdale on the clock, to a degree.
“I had a couple days left to choose, to decide whether I wanted to go to TCU or keep my recruitment open,” he said.
“And I mean, they were all in and I was all in, too. So that was the decision I made (to commit). They have a great campus, obviously (are) a Top 25 team every year and they’re looking to keep going.
“So I’m looking to get there and make an impact.”
But in the meantime, Ragsdale is fully committed to continuing to grow as a player at Lyons.
It hasn’t always been easy.
While he was glad to have his college choice made, the decision brought plenty of attention. Not all of it was positive.
“Because I had that college commitment … everyone else was looking at me to do something,” Ragsdale said. “Me being 14 years old, committing to TCU, it was a little bit hard. I had a lot of guys that hated on me, saying that I shouldn’t have gone there.
“But it’s like this for me: I know if I go out there and play my game, no one else is going to be able to stop me.”
That freshman season was tough at times.
“I batted .224 and had about 20 errors at shortstop,” Ragsdale said. “I can say that my game has turned around tremendously (since then).
“I’d say it was less of a skill thing and more of a mental adjustment — just being able to let go of the bad at-bats and let go of the errors, and realize at the end of the day, we’re still playing a kids’ game.”
Lyons coach Kevin Diete tried to ease Ragsdale’s transition to high-school ball by having him hit eighth or ninth.
But last spring, Ragsdale moved to the leadoff spot and has been a fixture there ever since. Against Morton, he was 2-for-4 with a run and three stolen bases.
“He’s getting on base and he’s lethal on the bases,” Diete said.
The Lions, who were 6-0 through last week, also had productive days from Nicholas Hines (1-for-2, hit by pitch, two runs), Brady Koren (1-for-2, triple, run, two RBIs) and Abraham Caseres (1-for-2, two RBIs). Owen Cypress, Charlie Danaher and Aidan Webster combined to throw a seven-hitter with seven strikeouts.
Nathan Rubio went 3-for-3 for Morton, which ended the week at 3-5.
‘We’re just still trying to play consistent baseball — throw strikes, pick up the ball,” Mustangs coach Mike Casey said. “We’re starting to swing the bats better, so that’s good to see.”