If he was a secret before, he definitely was not a secret following his 16-strikeout, no-hitter over Suffolk CC last month. Suffolk Head Coach Brian Klammer called him the “best pitcher we’ve seen all year, hands-down”. He was siting 88-90 and touching 92 MPH with pinpoint command. And he’s available to any college that’s interested.
Queensborough CC ace Ryan Sandberg went on to be named CUNYAC Pitcher of the Year after recording 90 strikeouts over 46 innings just a year removed from Tommy John Surgery. He led the nation in strikeouts, K/9 and was top five in complete games.
His pitching coach Alex Pangourelias described him as a “bonafide ace that took the mound overtime and gave his team a chance to win”.
Following his lights-out season, he has garnered interest from Div-I schools all over the country from St. John’s to Georgia.
He spoke with Vinny Messana and here’s what he had to say…
I’ve heard you come from an athletic family and your sister is quite a softball player, can you tell us about that?
Yes my family is very athletic. My father grew up playing baseball and hockey all his life and my mother was very athletic to. Growing up she ran track and played volleyball and was able to receive an offer to play volleyball at Hofstra University. My sister is a big-time softball player and is currently playing professional softball in the National Pro Fastpitch League (NPF). She had played softball at the University of Georgia where she then got drafted.
Who are some pitchers who enjoy watching in the big leagues?
The pitchers I enjoy watching on television are Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom and Luis Severino. Out of those three, my favorite is Noah Syndergaard. I enjoy watching these pitchers because they all throw very hard and have been able to succeed in the bigs at a very young age.
Describe that no-hitter against Suffolk; what was working, how were you feeling and what was that feeling like when you got the final out?
The no-hitter against Suffolk Community College was something special to me. Going into the the last inning I was very calm. I knew what the situation was that I had going, but I knew I couldn’t let that get to me, that I still needed to throw my game. The thing that worked best for me i that game was keeping the hitters off balanced. I mixed up my fastball, curveball and change up and made sure that I didn’t throw the same pitches over and over. The strike 3 call to end the game was the most exciting pitch of that day. It was my first no-hitter that I had thrown in my career. The feeling of throwing that no-hitter against Suffolk was very special.
What are your plans as far as the next step in your baseball career?
My plan for next year is to find a four-year school that’s right for me. The thing that I am looking into is which school is going to help me become a better pitches. I’m looking for a school to develop me as a pitcher and finish developing all my pitches. As of now, I have not committed to play anywhere yet but I have interest from several Division-I schools.
Was your process back from Tommy John a relatively smooth one? How were you able to regain all your velocity?
Coming back from Tommy John surgery was a challenge. Although I had no problems and the rehab went well, it was still a long process to recover. The problem that I had with it was that it was a very slow process and that it felt like it was taking forever for me to be able to throw again. There were days where I felt great and felt that I was ready to start throwing again and my doctor had told me that I was still a long ways from being able to throw again. At the time, it was a little depressing, bit I knew that I had to follow the program if I wanted to come back right. I think that the weight lifting program and the throwing program was a big reason in getting my velocity back. The weight lifting program really focused on strengthening my shoulders and the throwing program focused on building up shoulder strength through long tossing. With this process I came back throwing harder than I had before the surgery.
