Love of baseball connects two friends who played on Warriors’ team that reached CIF finals

Aharon Modlin (left) and Towns King, shown in front of the Ryan Lemmon statue at Ryan Lemmon Stadium, were on the Warriors 2016 team that went to the CIF finals. (Photo Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone)

Two former Woodbridge High baseball players who were part of the Warriors team that made it to the CIF finals in 2016, have remained close friends as they continue their careers in college while lending a hand to some younger players too.

Aharon Modlin, who was a senior on the 2016 team and Towns King, who was a junior, have remained close friends and they’re working together at the Chapman Baseball Compound in Irvine this summer.

The two were teammates on the Warrior team in 2016 that lost to Redondo Union 2-1 in the CIF Division 3 championship game. Modlin, a shortstop, was named all-CIF Division 3 and also earned all-county first team honors.

Modlin is going into his senior year at Pepperdine University while King, who played second base and shortstop, is getting ready for his second year at Samford University in Birmingham, Ala.

“I’m excited to get back on the campus and start working with the team again and preparing for next season,” said Modlin, who graduated from Woodbridge in 2016. “I’m planning, if all goes well hopefully getting drafted at some point and continuing playing, if not for the MLB, maybe overseas.

“I’ve been fortunate to play a lot. My freshman year I started at shortstop and the past years I’ve been playing a lot of third base contributing a lot to the team. It’s (the league Pepperdine plays) the West Coast Conference with a lot of good teams and really good competition and a lot of guys getting drafted out of there each year.”

Modlin is majoring in economics with a minor in marketing.

Modlin said he had a batting average of about .275 this past year with the Waves. He upped those numbers this summer playing for the OC Legends, hitting six home runs and a team leading .350 batting average.

Modlin said he has fond memories of his playing days at Woodbridge.

“It was awesome, we won league my senior year and made it to the championship,” Modlin said. “I love the guys I played with and Coach (Tim) Murray was great, I learned a lot from him and all the other assistant coaches and teammates. I miss those days.”

King, a 2017 graduate of Woodbridge, returned to his former home in Alabama for college and is attending the school where his parents went too.

“It’s been great, I love going back to the South since that’s kind of where I’m from,” said King. “I redshirted my freshman year. This past year I played in 27 games and hit .333 and kind of came in here and there. We had a great squad, we won our conference the past two years so we definitely accomplished a lot the past two years. Next year hopefully I get to contribute some more because we had a couple guys leave for the draft.”

King has been a utility player, playing first base, other infield positions and in the outfield.

He also has fond memories of his days at Woodbridge.

“It was awesome being able to play with the guys older than me like Aharon, Jake (Larson) and Zak (Baayoun),” he said. “I learned a lot from them, just learning how to work hard and knowing what I’m able to do and knowing my strengths and what I can bring to the table.”

The Warriors’ trip to the CIF finals in his junior year stood out.

“It was definitely something you will never forget: the atmosphere and the desire to win that everybody had,” he said. “Unfortunately we came up short but it was still an amazing experience.”

King was also part of the 2017 Woodbridge team that advanced into the second round of the CIF playoffs, losing to St. John Bosco.

Both players had similar goals and interests and when they got to Woodbridge, the friendship grew and remains stronger than ever as they continue their careers.

“That’s when I got to know Towns, we used to train together in the weight room. We’ve been really close, we hang out all the time still,” Modlin said.

“It (the friendship) honestly began from working hard together,” King said. “We both desired the same thing. We wanted to continue to play baseball for as long as we can. That’s why friends become friends, they have the same desires and wants in life.”

Now the two are working at the Chapman Baseball Compound in Irvine, where they have also been training and preparing for the next college baseball season.

“It’s a baseball compound in Irvine where a lot of the high schoolers and local travel ball players come and train with lifting and hitting,” King said.

“I started my freshman year in college,” Modlin said. “I was actually starting to train there with Chad Jacobs when he was still playing and we would go every day of every week in the summer and train with Ryan Chapman, who owns the place. Now, we’re starting to learn the business side and helping out wherever they need us, whether it’s throwing BP or helping the younger kids with their mechanics or in the weight room. We’re the young interns.”

“It’s awesome to see the kids’ desires to want to be the best baseball players that they can be is encouragement for us as well to want to do well and grow ourselves as players as well as help them,” King added.

Both players also competed on the OC Legends summer collegiate league in the Sunset Baseball League.

“It was great, we made it to the playoffs, we lost in the quarterfinals, but we had a great team,” Modlin said. “We played some great teams in California. We went to San Diego, Palm Springs and played the Power, a team that was 28-0. It was a great experience there with a big crowd. It was a lot of fun.”

Both players will head back to college this month in different parts of the country to continue to play the game they love.

-Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com