Central Catholic power hitter is The Modesto Bee’s Baseball Player of the Year
Braxton Thomas is not your normal leadoff hitter.
While he does everything coaches want their No. 1 batter to do – get on base at a high percentage and put the ball in play while rarely striking out – he adds one major aspect that makes him the ultimate threat: Power.
“His on-base percentage is higher than anybody else’s,” Central Catholic baseball coach Danny Ayala said after the Raiders’ final Valley Oak League game against Manteca High. “If you’re going to throw him a pitch to hit, he can do damage and we can be up a run right away. If you don’t throw him pitches, he can get on base and he can score some runs.”
In his senior season, Thomas led one of the Sac-Joaquin Section’s top teams in batting average, hits, RBIs, doubles, home runs, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS and finished tied for team highs in triples and runs scored.
“The power is real,” Ayala said. “But there’s also the patience, the discipline and really understanding how to hit. He’s a big bat in our lineup so he’s a big impact guy. Pitchers have to bear down on every pitch, you can’t make a mistake. Him knowing that and him leading the way is why he’s in the leadoff spot.”
Thomas helped lead the Raiders to finish 12-3 in VOL games to clinch the league title. Ten days later, he hit a leadoff solo home run in the Division III section championship against Pioneer, helping the team secure its section-best 12th blue banner. A little more than a week later, he walked twice and scored a run as the Raiders won the program’s first NorCal Regional championship.
“It hasn’t even hit me yet to be honest,” Thomas said of the team’s success. “There wasn’t that emotion of being sad because we won and I was happy.”
After leading Central Catholic to three titles, leading the state in home runs and finishing top 5 in the section in slugging percentage and runs batted in, Braxton Thomas is The Bee’s Baseball Player of the Year.
He was good as a junior but great as a senior.
It was all part of the Cal Poly signee’s plan.
“I was hoping that I hit at least 10 home runs this year and at least bat .400,” he said of his goals entering the season. “Once I got to 10 (home runs), I looked at the leaderboard, and I really wanted to be number one.”
Thomas not only raised his batting average from .459 to .495, he also finished with more hits, RBIs and doubles. He also more than tripled his home run production, going from four to 14.
For Thomas, hitting is a science. The increased production was a result of a change in mindset and approach.
He knew that if he was more patient in the box and let the ball travel through the strike zone, he could have more success. In previous seasons, the lefty mainly pulled the ball to right field, but this year, he made a point to use every area of the field.
“I hit the weight room a lot over the summer and then I started letting the ball travel because I realized if I started pulling the ball, it wouldn’t be home a run, it would most likely be fly outs, doubles or triples,” Thomas said. “I started using left field more — I think I hit six or seven of my home runs that way before I even had any to the right side.”
He also improved defensively. Primarily a first baseman, Thomas played in the outfield every game except one this year. He will likely return to the infield at Cal Poly.
“I got comfortable quickly because my instincts were good and I could read fly balls,” he said. “TP (Wentworth) helped me a lot because he’s a really good outfielder, and I picked his brain a little bit.”
Thomas’ family is a big reason why he plays baseball. He started as a 2-year-old hitting the ball off a tee, trying to be like older cousin Colton Evans, a Pitman High graduate who played in 104 games from 2017-2021 at UC Davis. His grandfather, Mike Evans, is also a big reason why he plays the game. Mike Evans, a devoted baseball fan, began working at 13 years old and was not able to pursue a career in the game.
“I feel like I should play as long as possible for him.” Thomas said.
He credits his dad for helping him reach his goals this season.
“My dad had me get a notebook and write my goals, and then every time I’d get it, I crossed it off,” Thomas said. “It helps a lot because it feels good when you cross it off … and it’s done.”
After a career that got off to a slow start when the 2023 class missed most of their first two seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Thomas made the most of his junior and senior years, constantly finding ways to improve while leading Central Catholic to a historic season.
“I have no regrets,” he said, “so that means I guess I kind of went out with a bang.”
Modesto Bee 2023 All-District Baseball Teams
How the teams were selected: The Bee’s All-District teams were picked through observation with an emphasis on coach nominations and team playoff success.
First Team
Andrew Balentine - Pitman, Sr., P
Paul Gutierrez-Contreras - Gregori, Sr., OF/P
Gavin Farinha - Turlock Christian, Sr., P
Adrian Garcia - Central Catholic, Jr., P
Alex Jones - Oakdale, Jr., C
Joel Roberts - Central Catholic, Sr., 1B/OF
Nick Rubio - Downey, Sr., OF
Camden Rush - Downey, Sr., INF
Landon Schutte - Oakdale, Fr., P/INF
Kannon Sharpe - Enochs, Jr., P
Grant Sonke - Ripon Christian, Jr., C
Drew Walker - Pitman, Sr., P
TP Wentworth - Central Catholic, Jr., P/OF
Second Team
Fernando Alaniz - Central Catholic, Jr., C
Felix Daclan - Gregori, Sr., P
Dawson Downs - Ripon, Jr., P/INF
Payton Hawkinson - Turlock, Sr., P
Dustin Hoekstra - Ripon Christian, Jr., P
Christian Jacinto - Pitman, Sr., INF
Donovan Johnson - Oakdale, Sr., OF
J.C. Lupercio - Hughson, Soph., OF
Robert McDaniel - Hughson, Soph., P/INF
Peyton Montecinos - Patterson, Sr., INF
Kaden Prine - Denair, Soph., P
Josh Ramirez - Turlock, Soph., INF
Eli Terpsma - Ripon Christian, Sr., P/INF
Rob York - Turlock Christian, Sr., P
Honorable Mention
Big Valley Christian: Logan Butler; Central Catholic: Seth Van Dyk; Central Valley: Ryan Estermann; Ceres: Joshua Prestidge; Davis: Daniel Castro; Downey: Jaxen Rowland, Ethen Rowland; Enochs: Vincent Gates; Escalon: Nico Franzia, Jackson Runnels; Gregori: Landon Stone, Ethan Macias; Hilmar: John Labno, Max Hittesdorf; Hughson: Caleb Wilson, Gavin Stone; Johansen: Jordan Vaka; Modesto: Heston Blom; Modesto Christian: Nate Moore; Oakdale: Carlo Antinetti, Cade Galuppi; Orestimba: Pedro Barrajas; Patterson: Brady McCleery, Max Medina; Pitman: Aidan Garcia; Riverbank: Fernando Rangel; Turlock: Carter Crivelli, Carson Gonzales; Ripon: Isaac Sandoval, Jojo Brizuela; Ripon Christian: Micah English; Turlock Christian: Beau Blake; Waterford: Caleb Hilton
