Coastal dreams do come true

In 2016, as Coastal Carolina shocked the baseball world by winning the College World Series in its first-ever trip to Omaha, a dream was born halfway across the country.

"I knew right then that's where I wanted to play," said Ty Barrango, who was 12 years old at the time, still years away from his freshman year at Aragon High, and several seasons from earning all-Northern California honors at the College of San Mateo.

He never wavered on that goal. That dream.

So, when CSM coach Doug Williams asked him midway through the 2023 season where he would transfer if given the choice of going anywhere, Barrango didn't hesitate. Coastal Carolina, he said.

"It surprised me, too," said Williams, who put the transfer in motion with a phone call to Coastal Carolina's athletic department.

Since 2013, CSM has had six players get to the major leagues. Not one of them had a Division I scholarship offer out of high school. And neither did Barrango. That illustrates the power of junior college athletics, which allows student-athletes to work on their sport of choice – improve their games – and eventually draw the attention of the big-time college programs as well as the pro scouts.

Even fewer former Bulldogs have played in the College World Series in that span. And now Barrango, a 21-year-old redshirt junior shortstop, is hoping that history repeats itself this week when Coastal Carolina makes its return to the College World Series, which begins on Friday in Omaha.

The Chanticleers (that's a rooster, for those wondering) swept two straight road games from No. 4 Auburn over the weekend – winning the opener 7-6 in 10 innings and a series-clinching 4-1 game on Saturday – in the NCAA Super Regionals to punch their ticket to Omaha.

"Our coaches are telling us this is going to be the best experience of our lives," Barrango said by phone from Conway, South Carolina on Sunday night. "It's just an amazing event and we're going to have a great time, they're telling us."

No. 13 Coastal Carolina (53-11), which has won 23 straight games – the longest winning streak for a team entering the College World Series since 1999 – and hasn't lost since Tax Day, has plans of sticking around more than two games. It seems only fitting that they'll open with Arizona (44-19), the team they beat to win the 2016 CWS.

"We have a real good shot of making a deep run," said Barrango, who has family, including his parents – Molly and Chris – making the trek to Middle America. "I'd put us up against anyone in the country right now."

The starting rotation of Jacob Morrison (11-0, 2.19 earned-run average, 89 strikeouts), Riley Eikoff (6-2, 2.90 earned-run average, 63 strikeouts) and Cameron Flukey (7-1, 3.24 earned-run average, 106 strikeouts) is solid, Barrango said.

Barrango has been rotating between shortstop and first base this year. At the Super Regional he was in the lineup as the designated hitter. Whatever it takes this time of year, he says.

"My job is to be ready at any point of the game," he says. "Whatever I can do to help us win is really all that matters."

In Saturday's 4-1 win over Auburn, Barrango, who brings a .234 batting average with two homers and 19 RBI to Omaha, walked twice, singled and lined out in his four trips to the plate.

"As a DH, you have to be ready to hit," he said. "You have to go to the plate confident in yourself that you can win at bats, that you can help your team."

He's got one year of eligibility remaining and has already gotten his undergraduate degree in interdisciplinary studies with a focus on criminal justice and said he will work hard in the summer and fall to earn a starting job next spring.

It's been a journey. After having his junior year at Aragon cut short by COVID, he helped Don Hahn's Dons get to the CCS tournament in his senior year. He caught the eye of CSM but tweaked his knee during fall ball and got mononucleosis early in 2022, causing him to redshirt his freshman year.

"That was the best decision for me," he said. "I lifted weights, got bigger and stronger, and worked on my game. It gave me a push in the right direction."

He came back the in 2023 – a redshirt freshman – and stepped into CSM's starting lineup as a shortstop. He hit .321 and had an on-base percentage of .424 with 23 stolen bases.

"He's a mellow guy with a high intensity and a great work ethic," Williams said. "He plays under control but has a motor. There aren't a lot of guys like that. ... He doesn't get too high and doesn't get too low. I know it sounds cliche, but he just doesn't get rattled."

Landing at Coastal Carolina became easier after Williams called Kevin Schnall, who was the associate head coach at the time and is completing his first year in the head position. They had networked before, but the CSM had never sent a player there.

That phone call drew immediate interest from Coastal Carolina. Barrango, who played summer ball in North Carolina a month later, proceeded directly to South Carolina for the start of the fall 2024 semester.

"I'd always wanted to experience the South," he said. "It was hot, but I like the humidity. I'd take that any day instead of playing in 46 degrees."

What he quickly found is that while there is "good talent everywhere," standing in against hard-throwing pitching is something that does require some adjustments.

"I'd never seen a pitcher throw more than 93 or 94 (mph) before," he said. "Then I stood in at our practice against guys like Morrison and Flukey and they're throwing 97, 98 and 99 (mph). The jump from junior college to NCAA-Division I is such a big one."