Coach Brant Cummings reaches 150th win with Walnut Creek in dominant win over Menlo Park

"Oh that's just the Crawdads."

That notion floated around the California Collegiate League for the greater part of a decade. After their introduction to the CCL when the North Division was created in 2014, the Crawdads won the division in its inaugural season.

After that, the team struggled to find their footing.

Then, coach Brant Cummings took over.

Now, the Crawdads are perennial contenders, and in 2026, are deep in a battle for the top seed in the division.

Since taking over, Cummings has seen a lot of Crawdads baseball. However, it's not only a lot of Crawdads baseball. It's a lot of good Crawdads baseball.

With Walnut Creek taking down Menlo Park 19-4 on Tuesday, Cummings reached his 150th win with the Crawdads.

Having played under him for four summers, senior all star Ryan Ellis has formed a deep connection with his coach. When he looks at what helps bring the team success, Ellis credits his coach's mindset.

"He lets us play free, and he's here to help," Ellis said. "He's not here to take anything away. He's only here to add. I wouldn't want another coach for summer ball other than him. I've played other places, and this is my favorite spot. That's why I keep coming back."

While players like Ellis have seen a majority of Cummings' time in Walnut Creek, his passion is still apparent to players who have spent just a few weeks with the Crawdads.

Junior pitcher Vance Haskins typically only sees Cummings on days he's scheduled to pitch. However, having spent just a handful of hours around him, Haskins can tell just how much his coach cares.

"His heart is really in it," Haskins said. "He really loves this team. He loves communicating. Loves hanging out with the players. As a person and a coach, that really makes him a really good one."

While the players were not aware of the milestone they could reach for their coach heading into Tuesday's game, they played like they were.

Off the back of a loss against Alameda before the all star break, the Crawdads were motivated, and got out to an early lead.

After a 6-run first inning, the game was already seemingly out of reach. By the time the second inning had ended, Walnut Creek led 14-0. 

The game found a rhythm from there, ending 19-4, but the early offense showcased the Cummings-lead Crawdad identity.

During the six-run first, the Crawdads did not hit a single extra base hit.

Walnut Creek walked four times, stole three bases and scored during a double play during the inning. Despite the high run total, the Crawdads only tallied three hits during the inning. 

The second inning was more of the same. While the seven hits tallied in the inning looked more like a typical style of offense, two runs scoring on wild pitches and two runs scoring on sacrifices highlighted the type of baseball Cummings likes to see.

Another Cummings classic is his messaging before games. Wanting to flip the script on the prior game's result, he kept his wording simple.

"I get in there and say 'do your job, and do it well,'" Cummings said. "If your job is to throw the ball over the white thing, then go do that. If it's to catch a ground ball, run down a fly ball, take good swings, have a competitive at bat, then that's what it is. It really wasn't much of a message."

After a strong opening to the game, Walnut Creek continued to play well with pressure off of its back. 

While the hitting made the largest impact, scoring their highest win total of 2026, the pitching kept it clean by combining for six hits, two earned runs and seven strikeouts.

One player who shined on Tuesday was behind the plate for the Crawdad staff in the first five innings of the game.

Sophomore catcher Brandon Clizbe, who is in his second season with Walnut Creek, didn't have an ideal start to 2026, but has picked it up in July. 

Against Menlo Park, he picked up three hits and an RBI.

After the game, Clizbe credited his coach for picking up his form in recent weeks.

"Coach has a great standard of baseball here," Clizbe said. "All the players get along very well because he lets us be free. He's there anytime we need him, but he never interferes."

Up next for the Crawdads is a road trip to Southern California. They start with two games at Arroyo Seco at 5:35 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, followed by a game at San Luis Obispo at 6:00 p.m.

Above all else for Cummings as a coach is the character of his players. While the team is finding success at a high level, the thing he is most proud of in 2026 is who the players are off the diamond.

"It's the best feeling on the planet," Cummings said. "I actually sleep well at night because it's one thing to have a bunch of guys that can play and are a bunch of s*** heads. Winning the games is cool, but these guys are good human beings, and I'm thankful for that."