By: EJ Sanchez
The idea of summer collegiate baseball is compelling. Year after year,
summer collegiate leagues and teams assemble rosters that come together for the better part of two months in hopes of adding a championship banner to small cities that get to embrace their version of “The Boys of Summer”. Seguin is no different. While 2024 may not have been another championship season for the River Monsters in the Texas Collegiate League, many players have transitioned back to their respective college programs and are making just as big of an impact as they did during their time in the Blue and Green. Let’s take a look:
Patrick McLellan, UTL, Southern Indiana University
Image Courtesy: Connor Specht
I would be remiss, if I didn’t start with the River Monsters lone representative on the 2024 ALL-TCL team. After exhibiting outstanding defense and 33 hits over the summer for the River Monsters, McLellan has headed back to the Midwest and been a key-cog in the Screaming Eagles lineup, making all 18 starts and carrying a .306 average into mid-March. McLellan’s versatility has also been on display as he has spent time at four different positions for USI.
Luke Carrell, P, Ohio State University
River Monsters fans enjoyed the success of the 6-2, California kid at Smokey Joe Williams Field this past summer. Leading the team in strikeouts and recording a 3.06 ERA. Carrell has brought that same firepower back to the Big 10. At the time of publishing, Carrell has gone scoreless in 4 of his last 5 outings. He’s also averaging over a strikeout per inning with 16 strikeouts in 11 innings pitched so far this season for the Buckeyes.
Evan Janner, OF, University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley
The River Monsters leading hitter from a year ago has gone back to South Texas and been apart one of the best stories in mid-major, Division 1 baseball. The Vaqueros are 14-3 and coming off of three-straight conference sweeps and Janner has been right in the middle of the latest run. He has recorded hits in 3 of his last 5 games for the Vaqueros. This is after a summer in which the Canyon High grad never spent more than one day batting below .295 after June 16th. Not bad, Evan. Not bad at all.
David DeHoyos, INF, Amarillo College
Proving you can find top-tier talent anywhere, DeHoyos has opened up his 2025 season for the Amarillo College Badgers exactly where he left off with the ‘Sters: swinging a hot bat. After a summer season in which he led the team in RBIs and finished 3rd in OBP, DeHoyos began his 2025 season batting .354 as a piece of one of the best offenses in NJCAA Region 5, one of the best in the country. River Monsters fans can also look forward to having the former Smithson Valley alum back at Smokey Joe Williams Field in 2025.
Juan Rivera, INF, University of North Carolina- Charlotte
Another Texas native, Rivera has found a home in Charlotte after a freshman season at UT-Rio Grande Valley and a breakout season at Dodge City Community College where the local infielder hit 11 doubles and batted .365. Time in the Hill Country atop Tony Perez’s lineup card continued the development of the athletic infielder. As of March 16th, the former River Monster is coming off of his best series at the Division 1 level, a 4 for 9 series performance against rival UNC-Wilmington.
Ryder Hernandez, INF, University of the Incarnate Word
In keeping with the running trend of south-central Texas players staying close to home, Ryder Hernandez used the summer of 2024 to maintain repetitions in the midst of his transfer from Texas State University to UIW. In his first season in San Antonio, Hernandez has turned in a .294 to go along with 4 doubles and a pair of home runs.
Ryan Beaird, RHP, Tarleton State University
To round out our list, we go to Stephenville to find the only River Monsters pitcher to eclipse more than 30 innings in 2024. A transfer from UT-San Antonio, Beaird has turned into one of the leading arms out of the bullpen for the Texan Riders. Heading into an in-state rivalry series with Stephen F. Austin, Beaird has more strikeouts (19) than any other reliever. He has also recorded multi-strikeout performances in 8 of his first 10 appearances, picking up right where he left off in Seguin.
Most of what we cherish about sports is the unknown. What we do know however, is talent is never far from Seguin. The River Monsters alumni continue to make the organization proud and there is no doubt the fans of the ‘Sters are eager to see the talent in store for 2025.
