DANVILLE, Calif. — With the conclusion of the NCAA Super Regionals, the field is set for the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. The eight teams that make up the bracket have taken different paths to get there, and the players who make up those teams have unique journeys of their own. For two players, those journeys include a stop in Walnut Creek. 

Oregon State junior first baseman Jacob Krieg and Arkansas sophomore catcher Ryder Helfrick donned a Walnut Creek Crawdads jersey in 2022 and 2023, respectively. Both players played with the Crawdads following their senior years of high school, before they even made their NCAA debuts. Now, they’re both key performers on their World Series-bound teams. 

Krieg and Helfrick’s journeys started in the same place, and it wasn’t Walnut Creek. Both of them played under coach Casey Coakley at Clayton Valley Charter High School in Concord, California. Their time as Ugly Eagles earned them their DI offers and set the stage for their summers with the Crawdads. 

“They were gifted with a lot of good tools and they maximized them,” Coakley said. “They hit the weight room really hard. They really practiced hard. They were receptive to coaching. As freshmen we knew these kids were a little different and they’re going to have the opportunity to play at a high level.” 

Krieg was the first of the two to play for the Crawdads. He suited up for Walnut Creek at just 17 years old and just weeks after wrapping up his senior season where he helped lead Clayton Valley to a 21-5 record, hitting .339 along the way. His production didn’t carry over to the Crawdads the way he surely would’ve liked, hitting just .216 across 13 games, but his six-foot-three, 200-pound frame showed that there was potential.  

Krieg parlayed his first chance to see collegiate pitching into a freshman season where he excelled in limited opportunities. Now, as a junior, he’s a fixture in the Beavers’ lineup at first base. 

The first baseman is slashing .251/.358/.503 as his team continues its march toward the ultimate goal. Krieg has also smacked 13 home runs on the year, which puts him third on the team. 

The junior has also provided heroics. On Sunday, he delivered what’s arguably Oregon State’s biggest hit of the year, singling to left field to break a 2-2 tie in the Beavers’ 14-10 win over Florida State to send them to Omaha.

His former high school teammate and friend, Helfrick, has had just as much success, if not more. The backstop was ranked by Perfect Game as the No. 33 prospect in the 2023 class and had just wrapped up a monster senior season when he joined the Crawdads. Helfrick hit .510 with five home runs for Clayton Valley — earning him a spot on the MaxPreps California All-State First Team — and he carried the success over into the summer season. 

Helfrick, who Crawdads head coach Brant Cummings described as a “specimen,” displayed a well-rounded game while splitting catching duties with Nico Button, Owen Firestone and Sam Gilliam. The catcher hit .377 with one home run, walked as much as he struck out (10) and stole seven bases. 

The catcher struggled in his freshman season against tough SEC competition, but has broken out in his sophomore year. Helfrick is slashing .320/.440/.640 with 14 home runs, which, similar to Krieg, ties him for third on the team. 

Helfrick has been invaluable to the Razorbacks on the road to Omaha. The cleanup hitter went 6-for-11 and hit three home runs during the Fayetteville Regional, winning the MVP. Helfrick’s power didn’t disappear after the regional; he blasted a two-run shot to left field to give Arkansas the lead in game one of its Super Regional against SEC rival Tennessee. 

Oregon State and Arkansas are on opposite sides of the College World Series bracket, meaning that both schools would have to make the final for the former Crawdads to face off. While that might be a long shot, people who are familiar with the two aren’t shocked to see them beat the odds that they’ve already overcome. They flashed their potential in Walnut Creek, and now they can put it on display on college baseball’s biggest stage. 

“Those guys are demonstrating the tools they had two or three years ago,” Cummings said. “I’m not surprised and I’m happy for both those guys.”

By Ethan Ignatovsky