West Ranch Baseball Coaches Call It Quits After 15 Years of Success

The coaching staff at West Ranch Baseball will resign following this season—some have been part of the team for as long as 15 years.

All the additional hours I have each day are dedicated to baseball," remarked Wildcats head coach Ryan Lindgren, "but I believe it's now important for me to use this time with my children and ensure they receive my complete focus. Besides, I can always return to coaching; baseball isn’t going away anytime soon.

Lindgreen, Casey Burrill, and Brady Burrill have led the Wildcats for 15 years, whereas Jim Wagner and Bob Cardamone have been part of the team for anywhere from 10 to 12 years. All these coaches bring either collegiate or pro playing backgrounds to their roles.

Lindgreen plans to stay on as a teacher at the school and anticipates taking over additional film and TV production courses at West Ranch.

The car rides to countless games and tournaments across the state have always featured conversations about life and plans the coaches had. This year, the topics became a little more tangible.

We genuinely had intense discussions about this marking the conclusion and how we envision it unfolding during our final year," Lindgreen stated. "I informed the team just prior to the season starting in February. I made sure they were aware that this would be it since I didn't want anyone caught off guard towards the end of the year.

Lindgren mentioned that the players were initially stunned by the announcement, yet the squad stayed concentrated and achieved success this campaign. The Wildcats secured their first Foothill League championship since 2016 and notched four shutout victories within the league matches.

There was a change in head coaches in 2020 when Lindgreen took over for Casey Burrill, but otherwise, the group and its standards have remained consistent.

"We consistently believed our lives were intertwined with baseball, and we hope the following generation feels the same," Lindgreen stated.

The depths of the West Ranch baseball website are vast and provides a thorough history of the program. The alphabetized list of alumni alone measures the success of players who have gone through the program — over half have gone on to play in college and seven have reached the professional ranks.

The Wildcats have now won four Foothill League titles since 2009 and were the league runner-up on nine other occasions.

West Ranch’s principal will handle the hiring of a new coach. Lindgreen said he has spoken with the school’s athletic directors and others in the baseball world to make sure that the high standard that’s been set is perpetuated.

“We want to make sure that we’re giving our kids the best product,” Lindgreen said. “We also know that we’re giving them life lessons and we want to make sure that they’re going to become amazing human beings. We’re hoping that baseball can teach a lot of those principles along with trying to win.”

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