Oakdale national pitching recruit is Modesto Bee Baseball Player of the Year
It’s the moment every high school baseball player dreams of.
Oakdale’s Landon Schutte stepped into the batter’s box in the fifth inning of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV quarterfinals against East Union with one out, a runner on first base and his team trailing 5-3. He had seen East Union’s pitcher, ace Joe Alvarez, before when the Mustangs and Lancers, two Valley Oak League teams, faced each other three times during league play.
Schutte was 1-for-2 entering the fifth inning with a base hit and a strikeout. But all he was focused on was that at-bat.
If he was playing the baseball video game “MLB The Show,” he would have been presented with a “Dynamic Challenge” and his controller would be vibrating to simulate the pressure of the moment.
When his team needed him most, Schutte answered.
The junior, already committed to the University of Georgia, sent a towering fly ball over the center-field fence for a two-run home run that tied the game at 5-5.
“I’ve hit a few of those where you can just feel it off the bat, and I knew it,” he said after the game.
It gave the Mustangs the momentum they needed to power through the inning and regain the lead they gave up in the third inning. The team loaded the bases and scored three more runs in the inning, securing an 8-5 win.
“It was cool to be put in that situation and then God allowed me to do what I did and it was awesome,” Schutte said. “It kept us alive in the playoffs against a VOL rival. It was pretty cool.”
Schutte was one of the best baseball players in the Sac-Joaquin Section this season. He finished fifth in the section in home runs, 11th in RBI and 12th in strikeouts. He was also fifth among all section Division IV pitchers in strikeouts and sixth in wins.
A two-way star, he finished the season with a .293 batting average, 27 hits, six doubles, seven home runs and 18 runs scored. On the mound, he logged 52.2 innings pitched, posted a 0.80 ERA and tied his career-high seven wins (7-1), struck out 78 batters, allowed just earned runs all season and nine total runs against.
After being named the VOL MVP, finishing top 15 in the Sac-Joaquin Section in home runs, RBI and ERA and playing a key role in Oakdale reaching their second straight section semifinals appearance, Schutte is The Bee’s Baseball Player of the Year.
He grew up around the game
Schutte says as soon as he could walk, he was playing baseball.
The oldest of four siblings, Schutte remembers his dad putting the bat and ball in his hands, and Landon never put them down. He is a Giants fan to this day because of his dad, who Schutte said grew up going to Candlestick Park and watching the great Barry Bonds launch home runs into San Francisco Bay.
“Ever since I could, he put a bat in my hands and wanted me to play,” Schutte said. “I kind of fell in love with it that way, always watching it on TV and having him right there to play catch with me or hit or anything I needed to do.”
Schutte grew up a first baseman, so, naturally, he was a fan of Bryce Harper. One of his earliest memories is seeing the now eight-time all-star and 14-year veteran make his MLB debut with the Washington Nationals at Dodger Stadium.
“Ever since he’s touched the MLB, I’ve just loved his game. He plays with a ton of energy and I think I try to model how I handle myself on the field after him,” he said.
When Schutte started pitching around 13, he began watching Jacob deGrom. He got his first taste of what it was like to take the mound in a big game as a freshman, starting in the first round of the playoffs against Del Campo. He threw a complete game with six strikeouts. He gave up three earned runs and five hits. He also collected two hits and an RBI. The 8-4 win was also head coach Joey Machado’s first playoff victory.
“I just remember warming up in the bull pen and watching them take pregame in and out and was like ‘Wow, this team is really good. I’m gonna have to be on my stuff today,’” Schutte said. “I ended up throwing a good game and that was coach Machado’s first playoff win so that one was pretty special.”
On the mound this season, he started strong. Schutte earned wins in his first three starts and threw a 98 mph pitch at an early season tournament in Clovis. His offense started slower, but took a positive turn during a midseason league series against Mountain House. He went 7-for-8 with three doubles, a home run and eight RBI.
“I got caught up in it for a second, just stressing,” Schutte said of the early-season offensive struggles. “Just wondering when it was going to be my turn. And then it finally happened and I didn’t look back from there.
“I’ve had the same swing for a long time and it always worked out. But I tried to get into this mode of changing and trying to figure out what was wrong when in reality, I should have just had confidence in myself.”
Next season’s standard is high
Schutte will have a busy offseason before his senior campaign.
He recently was named one of the players on the Athletics’ team in the 2025 Area Code Games, one of the premier baseball summer showcase events in the country. He will compete with and against some of the best prospects in the nation and will learn from pro coaches and scouts. He will compete in Long Beach at Blair Field from Aug. 1-11.
Schutte has been a VOL champion, made the section semifinals in two of his first three seasons and cemented himself as one of the most prized recruits on the West Coast. He says he’s heard from a few pro scouts, but usually that kind of attention picks up during a prospect’s senior season.
He’s had a successful three varsity seasons, but says there’s more he wants to accomplish.
“I’d love to bring home a section title,” he said. “I think that’s the main goal. We came up short this year but I think the guys we’re returning and bringing up, I think it’s gonna be a pretty good year.”
Fan Vote Player of the Year
For the Central Valley High School baseball team to be successful, Chris Garcia had to be one of the players at the top of his game. Lucky for the Hawks, the Stanislaus State-bound senior didn’t have many off days.
Garcia’s senior season was one of the best in school history, setting career school records in plate appearances, times hit by pitch and ERA and single-season records in ERA, earned runs, strikeouts in a game and times hit by pitch. He has a four-year varsity career record of 64-50. This season, he helped the team to its first league title (14-0 in Western Athletic Conference play) and a program record 21 wins.
A two-way star, Garcia is a left-handed pitcher, first baseman and outfielder who was third in the Sac-Joaquin Section in ERA (0.55), had a 7-2 record and struck out a team-high 94 batters. At the plate, he hit .306 with 22 hits, 14 RBI, a double and a triple and scored 26 runs to lead the Hawks to the Division I playoffs. In their playoff opener against Franklin, Garcia pitched a complete game, striking out 11 batters and allowing just two earned runs in the Hawks’ 8-3 win.
The fans rewarded him for his season-long production, voting him The Bee’s Fan Vote Player of the Year. Garcia won the poll, earning 68% of the more than 43,100 votes. He finished ahead of Turlock infielder Josh Ramirez and Hughson first baseman Carlos Guizar Jr., who came in second and third, respectively.
2025 All-District Baseball Teams
First Team
P: Chris Garcia — Central Valley, Senior
P: Dutch Lawrence — Turlock, Senior
P: Kayden McHenry — Central Catholic, Junior
INF: Josh Ramirez — Turlock, Senior
INF: Broden Thomas — Central Catholic, Junior
INF: Griffin Costa — Oakdale, Junior
INF: Cooper Pacheco — Turlock, Junior
INF: Beau Blake — Hughson, Senior
INF: Izaia Perez — Gregori, Senior
INF: Carlos Guizar Jr. — Hughson, Senior
C: Caden Reeve — Enochs, Senior
C: JC Lupercio — Hughson, Senior
OF: Chase Perino — Central Catholic, Junior
OF: Eric Velasquez — Oakdale, Senior
OF: Davian Garcia — Enochs, Senior
OF: Erick Rosas — Gregori, Senior
UTIL: Max Medina — Patterson, Junior
UTIL: Jordan Haver — Oakdale, Junior
UTIL: Andrew Sevilla — Turlock, Senior
UTIL: Ryne Moore — Downey, Senior
Second Team
P: Cole Medina — Freshman, Patterson
P: Nick Dominguez — Senior, Central Valley
P: Max Mankins — Senior, Hughson
P: Kaden Prine — Senior, Denair
P: Vincent Castrejon — Ceres, Senior
INF: Guy Allard — Patterson, Senior
INF: Andrew Fisher — Hughson, Senior
INF: Jaron Rocha — Turlock, Senior
INF: Mason Hackler — Turlock, Junior
INF: Avyn Redoble — Gregori, Senior
INF: Mason Whitworth — Junior, Central Valley
INF: John Labno — Hilmar, Senior
C: Jacob Kiesel — Junior, Central Catholic
C: Nathan Cervantes — Pitman, Senior
OF: Kaleb Amaya — Hilmar, Senior
OF: Logan Ariza — Davis, Senior
OF: Caden Mendonca — Central Valley, Junior
OF: Bas Stice — Oakdale, Junior
UTIL: Bryce McDaniel — Hughson, Junior
UTIL: Ashton Urena — Ceres, Junior
UTIL: Lawson Aviles — Hughson, Junior
UTIL: Noah Cozart — Patterson, Senior
Honorable Mention: Beyer: Matt Correia, Jordan Harlan, Izaiah Ishihara; Big Valley Christian: Jackson Howell, Brady Heinrich; Central Catholic: Marcus Davenport, Joe Farinha, AJ Miligi, Hudson Walker; Central Valley: Fernando Dominguez, Carter Hernandez; Ceres: Aiden Maines, Anthony Trevino; Davis: Tanner Bland, Landon McCay; Denair: Noah Ludquist, Lincoln Hart; Downey: Isaac Doornewaard, Elijah Ortega, Jayceon Sloan; Enochs: Bryan Delgado, Parker Johnson; Escalon: Brody Abbott, Ian Burk, Josh Fiori, Lorenzo Texeira; Gregori: Azzan Mendoza, Erick Winchester; Hilmar: Bradle Chipponeri, Marlin Kindberg, John Lopez; Hughson: Isaac Lupercio, Benji Ocegueda; Johansen: Josh Moreno; Modesto: Gio Lunardi, David Robinson; Modesto Christian: Teegan Davis, Mike Martinez; Oakdale: Ayden Ardis, Peyton Wallace; Orestimba: Kevin Moreno; Patterson: Caden Lozano; Pitman: Noah Cervantes, Alberto Salazar; Ripon: Isaiah martinez; Ripon Christian: Stadtler Postma, Max Anderson, Jordan Luisi; Riverbank: Anthony Rios, Esteban Ruiz; Turlock: Cameron Henard, Jadon Boyer; Turlock Christian: Winston York, Michael Miller; Waterford: Matthew Bailey
▪ How the teams were selected: The Bee’s All-District teams were picked through observation and coach nominations with an emphasis on team playoff success. Players not on these lists were not nominated.
This story was originally published June 29, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
