College World Series bound & draft pick of the Cardinals- A crazy path for La Quinta’s Taylor Bryant

FULLERTON, Calif.-

In the 33rd round of the MLB Draft, the St. Louis Cardinals selected Taylor Bryant of Cal State Fullerton. What a ride it has been for the former La Quinta standout, not only drafted this week but also headed to Omaha for the College World Series. From the high of the high, to the low of the low, Bryant kept pushing on.

In 2015 La Quinta graduate Taylor Bryant as just a sophomore helped lead Cal State Fullerton to the College World Series. Life was pretty good for Bryant, and he had two more years left to leave a lasting legacy in the Titans uniform. In January of 2016 tragedy struck, and that was just the beginning of his life altering year ahead.

“Didn’t go the way anyone planned, got hit in the head and got in a severe car accident and was lucky to come out in one piece.” Taylor Bryant said.

So concussions from the baseball to the head and the car accident forced Bryant to take his junior year off, but here they are again.

ESPN announcer– Cal State Fullerton advances to the College World Series for the 18th time!

“Most grateful thing is to be able to come back and play the game I love. Last year was not a fun year for me but I learned a lot. More leadership roles being able to be on the bench and not focusing on playing. I learned a lot from watching to be able to have a great year this year.” Bryant said.

“Played super well, and now he is one of two guys that have played every game this year. He is the silent assassin .” Manager of CS-Fullerton Rick Vanderhook said.

One more practice for Cal State Fullerton and then it is wings up to Omaha. The College World Series with a tough task on hand, the number one ranked Oregon State.

“That is where we want to be, no expectations playing with house money. That’s all we can expect and go out and play our game to see what happens.” Bryant added.

Now almost 4-years removed from the Blackhawks uniform, La Quinta baseball will always hold a special place.

“Humbling being able to start there for 4-years as a freshman to have the starting job at 2nd base, and 3-years at short. Played with some unbelievable players and great coaches and was able to beat Palm Desert my senior year we beat them in our last home game so that was a pretty good experience. Just the experience I got and the people that I was around is what made my four years at La Quinta so special.” said Bryant about his time at La Quinta

So Saturday look out for the beard!

“You could spot it as a freshman, from the little kid out of the desert to Papa Smurf of the team.”