Riptide head coach Bryan Evans talks to his team during a mound visit in a game against the Arroyo Seco Saints Saturday night. (Photos courtesy Joey Gray, OC Riptide).
When team owner Craig Russell took over the Orange County Riptide – a wood-bat collegiate summer baseball team – at the beginning of the 2024 summer, he knew it would take some time before the team’s gameday atmosphere matched his lofty vision.
Across the organization, the goal is clear: to create an experience that mirrors that of minor league baseball.
“I want this to be like minor league baseball,” Russell said. “I want 1,000 people to come here. I want this to be an event here at the Great Park.”
However, Russell understands that his dream for the organization entails a multi-year process of fundraising, marketing and planning. In the second year under his ownership, increased attendance and revenue are signs that he’s heading in the right direction.
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From the business decisions the team makes to the way it treats its players, Russell and general manager David Lamm aim to operate the organization like a minor league team. Mixing this aspect of professionalism with the laid-back culture of summer baseball creates a unique environment that’s proven to be attractive to many players.
It’s one of the reasons junior Cornell infielder Luke Johnson opted to return to the team for a second-straight summer.
“The coaches always say they’re going to treat this like a minor league baseball team,” Johnson said. “With six games a week and various long bus rides, it’s great practice for hopefully [when] I play on a minor league team one day.”
After serving as the team’s pitching coach for the past two seasons, Bryan Evans took over the head coaching role this past offseason. To Evans, who spent a decade in minor league baseball, development remains of the utmost importance. With his wealth of knowledge and experience, he aspires to help his players in their journey toward playing professional baseball.
“It’s [about] developing relationships with these kids and helping them along in their career path, and trying to get them to a place where we’ve (the coaching staff) have been,” Evans said. “I had a great time playing minor league baseball, and I want that for these kids.”
The approach translated to success on the field this season, with the Riptide currently nestled among the top teams in the California Collegiate League standings with a 23-14 record and slated as the No. 2 seed in the league’s Southern Division playoff bracket. The Riptide will welcome the Arroyo Seco Saints to the Great Park in Irvine on Tuesday for a first-round wild card playoff game at 7 p.m.
And, with the South granted home field advantage for the CCL championship – a three-game series against the champion from the Northern Division – the team could host up to four playoff games at home this post season.
It’s a possibility that Russell hopes will come to fruition.
“I really want to host the state championship because I want to invite the entire league out here,” Russell said. “I’d love for other members of the league to come out here and see what we can do and how we can host.
“I’d love to be the place that hosts the championship game every year. They’ve done it in the past … so showing it [the stadium] off a little bit for the state championship would be nice.”
The squad, mostly composed of Orange County natives, unites collegiate baseball players from across the country to play its 40-game schedule.
The chance to play close to home and in front of family appealed to many on the Riptide’s roster, including sophomore utility player Carter Danz, who grew up in Orange County and played for Corona del Mar but attends school far away at Northwestern University.
“My family tries to make all the games that they can up at Northwestern in Chicago, but they’re able to make almost every game here,” Danz said. “It’s great seeing them here in the stands. I love playing in front of them, especially my parents.”
Danz was one of five Riptide players featured in the league’s all-star showcase game this summer. With a formidable lineup and the team seemingly peaking at the end of the season, the squad enters the playoffs with confidence.
“I think we’re better [than last year],” Johnson, the infielder, said. “We’re hot right now. We’re having a great time and are looking to keep it going.”
Nonetheless, regardless of how the team fares in the playoffs – although he hopes it performs well – Russell views the season as a resounding success.
“I’m very happy with year two,” he said. “It was a step forward, and we’ll see if we can make a bigger step forward in year three.”
And for Russell, who always hoped to one day be working in sports, the growth only further fuels the passion he has for his organization.
“For me personally, this is like going full circle,” Russell said. “When I was a kid, I wanted to be in sports … This is what I want to keep on doing after I’m done being an attorney because it’s a lot of fun. I look forward to coming to the ballpark. I look forward to June and July, and I really enjoy this.”
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