A year ago, League City (Texas) Post 554 was looking to make history as no team from the state had ever won an American Legion World Series title.
After Post 554 narrowly defeated Lincoln (Neb.) Post 3 1-0 to win the 2023 title, the goal for this season is pretty clear: repeat.
Veteran coach Ronnie Oliver’s club has already joined this year’s Post-70 Troy (Alabama) team as the tenth and eleventh teams in history to compete in the ALWS three times in a row.
Now League City will try to join Oakland (Calif.) Post 337 in 1949–50, Cincinnati Post 50 in 1957–58, West Covina (Calif.) Post 790 in 1970–71, Rio Piedras (PR) Post 146 in 1973–74, Brooklawn (NJ) Post 72 in 2013–14 and Idaho Falls (Idaho) Post 56 in 2019 and 2021 (no season in 2020) as back-to-back ALWS champions.
“It’s just a great experience,” Oliver said. “We have returning players and some new kids, and that’s what it’s all about. We’re excited to be back here.”
Erik Anchondo, Tyler Austin, Braden Castle, Jackson Higgins, Alexander Kudler, Tyler Robinson, Logan Sanders, Gavin Shuttlesworth and Brice Smith return from last year’s team that finished with a record of 27-4.
This season, regional MVP Tyler Ryden has led the team to a 27-3 record entering the ALWS.
These include Texas’ 17th state title, a new national record, after a win over Texarkana in the state tournament final and a 5-0 run at the Western Regional in Fairfield, California.
Ryden struck out 12 in five innings and allowed one hit in a 7-0 win over Reno, Nevada, in the regional opener. He then threw a two-hitter with 13 strikeouts in a 7-1 win over Wellsville Hyrum, Utah, Post 47 in the tournament final.
The undefeated regional record was only threatened by a 13-12 victory on the fourth day against the host Fairfield Expos. The 3 1/2 hour contest ended with Sanders’ walkoff home run in the bottom of the seventh inning.
“It went pretty smoothly,” Ryden said. “I wouldn’t say it was easy because we had some tough games.”
Ryden, a graduate of Clear Springs High School, had witnessed League City’s title game a year ago and was eager to seize the opportunity to help Post 554 chase another championship.
“I had a lot of friends on the team and they told me it was a great experience and I wanted to play,” Ryden said. “We’re trying to take it one win at a time. We’re all ready and it means a lot to us.”
