Ryan Horstman selected for Mariners roster

After years of hard work and dedication, an amazing opportunity came for SHHS alumnus Ryan Horstman, as he was signed with the Seattle Mariners Major League baseball team.

When he played for South Hadley’s baseball team he was an extremely valuable player. In 2010, Horstman led South Hadley victoriously in the Western Massachusetts Division 2 Tournament, a first for SHHS. He was also Louisville Slugger All-American in his freshman year of college at St. Johns University. Former assistant baseball coach, Eric Castonguay, said that Ryan “[was] a very driven player, he was the kind of person that would help his own teammates all the time, to make the team better as a whole. He also did things on his own time and during off seasons to better himself as a player.”

Horstman was 117th overall and was selected in the fourth round of the First Year Player Draft, for the Seattle Mariners baseball team. It’s fairly rare that someone from such a small town can make this huge of an accomplishment.

Castonguay says, “I think this shows that for a relatively smaller town, year in and year out we really produce strong athletes. The coaches are great and student athletes are put in a position where they can really succeed.” This is 100% true and shows that no matter where you come from, you can make great accomplishments. Horstman did just that as he trained for baseball day in and day out, even during off seasons. This led him to be signed with the Mariners as a freshman in college. The Mariners scouting director, Tom McNamara told MLB.com, “we went in there late and he’s got a good delivery, good arm action. We look at him as at 20 years old, he’s a draft-eligible freshman, it’s almost like taking a junior college guy or an older high school guy.”