Mustangs in the Pros Update: Rookie Edition
7/29/2026 1:30:00 PM | Baseball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Ryan Tayman, Cal Poly's catcher for its historic 2026 baseball season, sprinted out of the gate opening his professional career Tuesday night by hitting a two-run home run on his first swing of the bat.
Drafted in the ninth round by the New York Mets on July 12, the 270th overall selection, Tayman was assigned to the St. Lucie Mets from the Florida Complex League Mets on Tuesday and was slotted in the seventh spot in the batting order against the Dunedin Blue Jays.
With two outs in the second inning and Yovanny Rodriguez on first base, Tayman lined a pitch from Blake Purnell over the left-center field wall for a two-run home run and a 2-0 St. Lucie lead.
That wasn't all for the Arroyo Grande High School and former Cal catcher as the 20-year-old went on to single twice and double once in a 4-for-5 performance at the plate, scoring three times. St. Lucie won the game, 14-6.
"So awesome to see my friend Ryan Tayman doing well! He's the best!" Mustang relief pitcher Nick Bonn wrote on Instagram.
Tayman's blast had an exit velocity of 102.5 miles per hour with a launch angle of 22 degrees and traveled 415 feet.
On July 19, Tayman signed a one-year contract with the Mets for $204,700.
Tayman was one of seven Mustangs drafted on July 12 during Major League Baseball's All-Star Weekend in Philadelphia. All seven have signed pro contracts and the total was one shy of the program record of eight draftees set in 1979 and tied in 2008.
Also drafted on July 12 were Bonn (10th round, Cardinals), pitcher Carson Turnquist (seventh round, Diamondbacks), pitcher Josh Volmerding (eighth round, Red Sox), third baseman Alejandro Garza (15th round, Guardians), pitcher Griffin Naess (15th round, Cubs) and pitcher Chris Downs (19th round, Padres).
Bonn signed his $150,000 contract with St. Louis on July 17 and has been assigned to the FCL's Cardinals. The FCL schedule ran from May 2 through July 23 with the playoffs starting July 25. Bonn was activated Wednesday.
Turnquist inked a $270,000 contract with the Diamondbacks on July 20, was assigned to the Arizona Complex League Diamondbacks on the same day and activated on Wednesday. The ACL completed its 2026 season Tuesday.
Volmerding signed July 17 with the Red Sox for $155,000 and was assigned to the FCL Red Sox and activated Wednesday.
Garza has signed with Cleveland for $150,000 but has not been assigned to any team. Naess signed with the Cubs, also for $150,000, and was assigned to the FCL Cubs on July 17 and activated Wednesday. Downs signed with the Padres on Monday for $155,000 and was assigned to the ACL Padres. He was activated Wednesday.
Tayman was named Big West Field Player of the Year following a season that included a .357 batting average, 18 home runs, 19 doubles and 57 RBIs. He broke or tied school records for home runs in a season, including three grand slams, and 546 putouts en route to an NCBWA third-team All-America award and a spot on the ABCA All-West Region first team.
Named Cal Poly's Male Student-Athlete of the Year in June, Tayman hit .394 in the postseason, sparking the Mustangs to their second Big West regular season title, second successive conference tournament championship and first NCAA regional crown for a spot in the Super Regionals. Tayman hit .366 in 30 conference games and was a member of the Buster Posey National Catcher of the Year Midseason Watch List.
A graduate of Paso Robles High School who played one season at Oklahoma before transferring to Cal Poly, Turnquist missed the 2024 season following Tommy John surgery and made just four appearances on the mound in 2025.
The 2026 season was Turnquist's comeback year. Taking over as the Saturday starter when Volmerding was sidelined with an injury in early March, Turnquist earned wins in seven straight starts and finished 9-3 with a 4.01 ERA and 92 strikeouts over 76 1/3 innings en route to second-team All-Big West honors.
Likely best remembered in his Mustang career for eight scoreless and hitless innings at UC Davis in 2025 before giving up a leadoff single in the ninth, Volmerding also pitched six innings in Cal Poly's 5-2 triumph over Saint Mary's that clinched the program's first NCAA regional title at UCLA's Jackie Robinson Stadium in late May. Volmerding scattered five hits with two runs, one walk and a season-high seven strikeouts.
Volmerding, who missed six weeks of the 2026 season with a problematic knee, closed out his junior season at Cal Poly with an 8-6 career record and 5.05 ERA. He was 5-4 with a 5.09 ERA as the Mustangs' Saturday starter in 2025, his sophomore campaign.
Bonn led the nation and shattered Cal Poly's single-season saves record with 17 and also earned a victory against UC Irvine with three scoreless innings in relief, finishing the year with a 3.44 ERA. Eleven of his saves were in Big West games and Bonn earned three saves in the conference tournament and added two more in the Los Angeles Regional.
The Laguna Beach High School graduate played two seasons at Pepperdine and one at Dallas Baptist before transferring to Cal Poly, where he earned first-team All-Big West, second-team All-ABCA West Region and third-team NCBWA All-American awards.
Earning first-team All-Big West honors for the third consecutive year, Garza hit .318 with 50 RBIs, a Big West-leading 21 doubles (14th in the NCAA) and team highs with 91 hits and 28 multiple-hit games. Garza also was one of the toughest players to strike out, fanning just 19 times in 306 trips to the plate (17th in NCAA), and broke the school record for career hits, finishing with 254 in three seasons. Jimmy Allen had 252 hits in four years (2011-14).
Naess, a member of the Cal Poly weekend pitching rotation each of his three years as a Mustang, was 8-5 with a 4.63 ERA this spring, topping the squad with 97 strikeouts over 91 1/3 innings. His career numbers as a Mustang are a 22-8 win-loss record, including a 7-0 mark as a freshman, and a 3.89 ERA with 221 strikeouts over 259 1/3 innings, striking out a career-high 14 against Washington State as a junior.
Downs was 3-1 with a 5.71 ERA and a pair of saves in 2026. The Hart High School graduate also was 6-0 with three saves in 2025, including 6 1/3 innings for the win versus UC Irvine in the first of two championship games in the Big West tournament, and also pitched 6 1/3 innings in relief in Cal Poly's 11-inning 7-6 win over Utah Valley in the NCAA Eugene Regional.
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