The Tribune names all-county baseball team, Player of the Year
In a standout year for Arroyo Grande High baseball that included a CIF Central Section Division 2 runner-up result, 25 wins and an upset of one of the highest-ranked teams in program history, Ruben Servin was a key contributor in fueling the Eagles’ success.
The 6-foot-2 junior shortstop led the Eagles with a .456 batting average, 16 doubles and 35 RBIs. And he tallied five home runs to add some pop to a potent Arroyo Grande offensive that launched 33 home runs on the season.
Servin, a Loyola Marymount commit, is the 2026 Tribune San Luis Obispo County baseball Player of the Year.
“Ruben is a great teammate,” said Steve Tolley, his Arroyo Grande coach. “He puts the team first ahead of himself. He has an incredibly high baseball IQ. He knows how to prepare pre-pitch. He’s always in the right position, and he’s incredibly talented. Left-handed hitting shortstops with his talent are pretty rare, and he just does everything well on both sides of the ball.”
Servin transferred to Arroyo Grande High from St. Joseph in Santa Maria in his sophomore season (2025), sitting out half of the season due to CIF transfer rules. But during that time and over the summer leading into his junior year, he grew stronger and honed his batting technique as a left-handed hitter.
Servin prioritizes getting on base and maintaining a strong batting average, and his added power this season was a bonus. Arroyo Grande coaches also picked up on pitchers targeting him with breaking balls this season, and he made early-season adjustments.
“The more opportunities you have, the more you are able to score,” Servin said. “I mean, home runs are great, triples are great, but if I’m on base for my team, that’s all that really matters for me.”
A season to remember
Servin said the reward of the season — playing under Tolley, who will join Cuesta College’s baseball coaching staff next season — came from the camaraderie developed through good coaching, friendships and a tight-knit team.
Arroyo Grande coaches helped him improve his strength, including Coach Andy Warwick, whom Servin said “really dialed us in in the weight room.”
“Ruben is definitely clutch; he’s consistent, and he knows how to react to different situations,” Tolley said. “He doesn’t overreact; he stays very calm. That’s why his potential at the next level is extremely high.”
The Eagles finished 25-10 on the season, losing to Bakersfield Christian 4-3 in a nine-frame extra inning thriller in the CIF-Central Section Division 2 title game, almost overcoming the power pitching of University of Mississippi-bound McCoy Silicz, whose fastball tops out in the 90s. Servin smashed an RBI double off Silicz in the game.
“I’ve been playing with my class, my group of guys, since I was about 8 years old, so it was really cool for us all to be together at the varsity level, and then making it to the CIF championship,” Servin said. “That was a great experience getting to play at Valley Strong Stadium (the home of the Single-A minor league team Visalia Rawhide).”
The Eagles went on to upset Loyola, the No. 1-ranked team in the Division 2 SoCal bracket in CIF state playoffs on the road in Los Angeles, in a 4-3 contest that went eight innings, before falling again 5-0 to Bakersfield Christian the next day.
“We were excited because it was the highest ranked team AG ever played,” Servin said of the Loyola win. “And we were definitely the underdogs, which we kind of liked because it was a win-win scenario. If you won, it was a huge upset. If we lost, it was expected, but we were super excited going into it. It was a great game.”
Servin said this year’s Eagles team had juniors who hope to get redemption if they play Bakersfield Christian again next season. Overall, the star shortstop has confidence they can put together another successful season.
“We have a pretty big junior class coming back,” Servin said. “We have some good sophomores coming up too, and a freshman (Brock Paz), so it should be another really good year next year.”
A bright future
Servin has been playing summer ball with the Los Angeles Dodgers Scout Team, managed by Thomas Myers, an official Dodgers scout. The program helps train and develop high school players and offers exposure to collegiate and professional baseball opportunities.
“The Dodger Scout team is a high school team, and we play scout games, so it’s not like normal baseball, where it’s three outs and you switch,” Servin said. “It’s five batters, no matter what, you can get three outs, but you still finish your five batters, and we play all around at places like Pepperdine and Cal Lutheran University, and it’s to get eyes on the players.”
Servin played with the program last year, which “really helped me with my recruiting.”
Loyola Marymount University, based in Los Angeles, has recruited Servin as a shortstop. He said coaches in the program were able to see him play a couple of games this year.
“He will have a very good college career,” Tolley said. “He’s a great student, and what colleges are looking for is a great leader. He’s an outstanding student and leader and so he checks all the boxes before he even gets on the field. On the field, he definitely excels.”
Servin said footwork is critical to playing shortstop well, along with developing strength in hitting.
“If I stay sharp with my feet, I can control my lower half and that’s definitely a big part of it for me,” Servin said. “Our coaching staff at AG does a great job at working on that. ...Just getting stronger and being able to hit the ball harder and farther definitely helped me elevate my game this year in my junior season.”
A good model for success at the collegiate level is Ryan Tayman, Cal Poly’s star catcher and a former Arroyo Grande star who had a breakout year, leading the Mustangs with a .357 batting average, 18 home runs and 57 RBIs.
“I talked to him a little bit,” Servin said. “(Tayman) comes back to AG usually in the fall every now and then to come hit. So it’s nice to talk to him and just talk baseball.”
For future summers, Servin said the LMU coaches have discussed the possibility of Servin joining the (player development team) Utah Marshalls or playing in the Coastal Collegiate League, where he could join the San Luis Obispo Blues or Conejo Oaks based out of Thousand Oaks.
“Nothing is confirmed yet,” Servin said. “That is just as of right now. That’s where they would want me to play.”
Tribune All-SLO County Team
Player of the Year: Ruben Servin
Pitcher of the Year: Grady Pope, Arroyo Grande
All-Purpose Player of the Year: Marcus Garcia, Paso Robles
Catcher of the year: Luke Stetz, Templeton
First Team:
Blayne Lowry, Paso Robles
Jaden Taylor, San Luis Obispo
Quentin Crotts, Morro Bay
Eli Brown, Morro Bay
Tane Kurth, Arroyo Grande
Hunter Drake, Mission Prep
Talen Freitas, Paso Robles
Ethan Rendon, Paso Robles
Jones Stumph, Arroyo Grande
Jacob Riley, San Luis Obispo
Second Team:
Tanner Gray, Morro Bay
Beau Hageman, Nipomo
Weston Witt, Atascadero
Damon Mitchell, Atascadero
Colby Sims, Templeton
Ty Bernal, Mission Prep
Tanner Bournonville, Arroyo Grande
Colton White, Morro Bay
Griffin Groshart, Nipomo
Leo Rivera, Templeton
Honorable Mention: Landon Drenckpohl, SLO; Brock Paz, Arroyo Grande; Logan Hobbs, Nipomo; Ethan Silveira, Nipomo; Rocco Engle, Mission Prep; Wyatt Litten, Atascadero; Parker Wyatt, SLO; Jacob Kreowski, Arroyo Grande; Cruz Wilkinson, Morro Bay; Nate Contreras, Paso Robles; Thomas Winterberg, Arroyo Grande; Tyler Blaney, SLO; Anders Winter, Arroyo Grande; Tyler Blaney, SLO; Zack Johnston, Arroyo Grande.
This story was originally published June 21, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
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