College Baseball:

Garrett Patterson left Bonita in 2023 as both the Palomares League MVP and the Player of the Year for a local newspaper.

That season, Patterson batted .305 with 18 hits.

He scored nine runs, drove in 12, and tallied a pair of doubles.

On the mound, Patterson went 4-1 with a 1.48 ERA.

Patterson issued eight walks and registered 58 strikeouts in 47 1/3 innings.

Bonita went 18-5 overall, and they secured a Palomares League title after going 9-1 in league play.

During his senior campaign, Patterson tossed a no-hitter against Claremont, and he caught a no-hitter by BHS ace Justin Santiago versus Alta Loma.

He also boasted a 3.78 GPA.

All of the above factored into getting the opportunity to attend and play baseball at UCSD.

And while there was progress and memories made, just like a massive number of high school athletes that go directly to D-1 schools, Patterson has decided to reboot his baseball career at the junior college level.

He considered Fullerton, Rio Hondo, Mt. SAC, Riverside and Chaffey College.

Patterson said he chose Chaffey for one reason: Andy Smith.

The soon-to-be 34-year-old has built something special at Chaffey, including having gone 34-11-1 in 2025.

It was the seventh highest win total in the entire state, and they took the eventual state champs from MSAC to the wire at the Mt. SAC Super Regionals, including a 13-7 victory over the Mounties.

They also had wins over Cypress, Glendale, Fullerton and Cerritos.

Chaffey had a local beast named Ryder Young, who tore the cover off the ball for two consecutive seasons in Rancho Cucamonga, and he’ll be taking his talents to Spokane to play for Gonzaga in the spring of 2026.

“I had the privilege to talk to Andy one day and we just hit it off,” Patterson said. “He reminds me a lot of my coach at Bonita, Ryan Marcos. They are both quality men that have a strong faith, and I like being around people like that. Additionally, I am playing for (Chaffey assistant coach) Donald Brais this summer for the Port Angeles Lefties in Washington state. I also love the phrase “Just Chaffey.” To me, that means, “we’re the underdog,” because I’ve been an underdog in sports my entire life. I’ve had to work harder than most to have success. I also played with Ryder Young and his father was my coach. And Ryder had such a remarkable career at Chaffey. He became an all-American, and it made me think, Chaffey is developing all-Americans. I want to be part of that. I want to help continue the success they’ve built, and I look forward to playing with guys I played against in high school like Mike Moses, Joe Gilkeson and Evan Ellis from Glendora. I know their coaches will bring out the best out in me, and I just want to help in every way that I can.”

Patterson acknowledged, and Coach Smith confirmed that he’ll get the chance to pitch, catch and hit like he did at Bonita.

After his last final exam at UCSD on June 13th, Garrett will drive back home, sleep, and then head to Port Angeles that next morning.

Patterson said he had a lot of fun in San Diego.

He also got to play against (Glendora’s) Braydon Wooldridge at UC Davis, (Damien’s) JD Dunn at Loyola Marymount and former BHS teammates Luke Mistone and Tyler Holley when both were at Cal State Fullerton.

“I’m thankful for my time at UC San Diego. I had really good players ahead of me and I learned a lot,” Patterson said. “At the end of the day, I want something different. I failed a lot here in baseball. I didn’t think I could fail this much, but I did. It made me realize there are some really good players here. I got injured in November (dislocated kneecap) and I was out for two months. It was a freak accident. I was hitting in a scrimmage, and I swung, it went up the middle, and my whole body rotated except for my foot. My foot got stuck in the clay. That caused my knee to pop out. It took two months to heal. While I was here, we beat nationally ranked Cincy, UC Santa Barbara & Irvine. My most memorable game that I played in was last game. I only caught two innings, but it was on Mother’s Day at Triton Ballpark, and I got to catch in front of my mom.”

Quotable:

Chaffey coach, Andy Smith: “I remember watching Garrett play at Bonita and was always impressed by the energy and leadership he brought to the field. I was not surprised that he was a division 1 commit. I am thrilled to have him joining our program for the upcoming year. His competitiveness, desire to be great, and high character and leadership traits are all key intangibles we look for in players and want our players to embody. I have no doubt he will make great contributions as a talented two-way player for us this year, but more so the impact he will make amongst his teammates and the culture of our program.”

Former SDHS & Chaffey star, Ryder Young: “I think Garrett is a great player. He’s one of the best defensive catchers I’ve played with and is really good on the mound too. He is one of the most high-energy guys you will meet and would run through a wall for his team. I think he is going to excel at Chaffey. He is the perfect fit for that program. Andy loves guys like him.”

Bonita coach, Ryan Marcos: “My dad and I were on the varsity baseball field sitting in the red cart together, sometime before the COVID shutdown in 2020, watching batting practice when a young Garrett (Patty) Patterson came by and said hello after catching a bullpen. He shook our hands and introduced himself to Papa Marcos and carried a brief conversation. Immediately after Garrett left to head back up to the freshman field, my dad turned to me and said, “I like that kid, he’s going to help you guys at some point.” And he was right. The next year, he was up with us as a sophomore backup catcher to senior Ryan Kozma. Patty earned his stripes in round 1 of the state playoffs at La Costa Canyon where he caught Luke Mistone and Edrian Rangel for 7 innings. Ryan Kozma had to sit out after being ejected in a controversial call at home plate in the semifinal game against Thousand Oaks and Patty performed well in that pressure spot. We lost that day but Patty was one of the bright spots defensively. Patty put in the work at the Bonita weight room that summer and he came back with 10-15 pounds of muscle, which translated to arm strength and bat speed increases leading into his junior season. One of the greatest memories I can recall of that year is how Patty transformed into one of the most dominant pitchers in the valley after never pitching a game in his life. Luke Mistone, our No. 1 arm, was set to comeback as a senior and lead the way on another playoff run but he succumbed to elbow trouble early in the 2022 season, and we needed someone to step up in his place.

Without hesitation, Patty asked for the ball. We took a look at him in a intersquad matchup and figured he might give us a couple innings. The coaching staff decided to give Patty the ball the next game against Hillcrest. Patty pitched so well in that game we couldn’t take him out. He threw a complete game under 100 pitches, earned a few K’s, and allowed maybe one run if I remember correctly. That year, he was a solid two-way guy, catching and pitching as needed, and ended up with one of the best ERA’s in the valley at 0.76, and 40 K’s. He also batted over .300 and played shutdown defense behind the dish. His senior year we set up or schedule in 2022-23’ with tough competition and Patty helped lead us to another league championship, an overall record of 18-5, and another chance at D1 playoffs. We had both him and Justin Santiago on the mound and it was like watching two pitchers compete against who could be the best. Each of them tossed a no-hitter a piece and combined for multiple 1-2 hitters that year. Patty ended up earning the Palomares League MVP, SGV All-Valley Player of the Year, and solidified himself as one of the best players to come through Bonita. Patty is filled with grit and determination partly because he’s grown up the underdog his whole life and he knows how to outwork the competition. He’s one of the greatest leaders to come through Bonita and he raises the bar no matter where he goes by just being who he is and doing what he does. We all have nothing but love and respect for Patty.

Ayala coach, Brad McGuire: “It was easy to see Garrett was a leader on the field with Bonita. He was always very vocal and commanded the field very well.”

Garrett Patterson’s Career Stats at Bonita:
2023: .305, 18 hits, 9 runs, 12 RBIs & 2 doubles; 4-1, 1.48 ERA, 8 walks & 58 strikeouts in 47 1/3 IP
2022: .304, 24 hits, 14 runs, 12 RBIs & 4 doubles; 5-0, 0.76 ERA, 9 walks & 36 strikeouts in 36 2/3 IP
2021: .367, 11 hits, 7 runs, 3 RBIs & 1 double

Bonita Records w/ Garrett Patterson:
2023: 18-5, 9-1 (Palomares champs) & 1-1 in Division 1 playoffs
2022: 19-7, 13-2 (Palomares champs) & 1-1
2021: 17-7, 11-4 (second in Palomares) & 3-1
Totals: 54-19 overall, 33-7 in league & 5-3