By RICHIE HALL
Tyler Galyean, soon to be a senior at University, will be playing one more baseball season in Trailblazers blue.
Then, he will be switching to red – for the RedHawks.
Galyean has committed to play baseball for Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Galyean, a 6-foot-4 left-handed pitcher, said that Miami was one his top schools “from the get go.”
“The day I called saying that I wanted to be a RedHawk, I was able to go and see the campus, look at the field from the outside and just tour it by ourselves, me and my dad,” said Galyean. “And that sealed the deal for me. I fell in love with the campus, it’s beautiful and that just sealed the deal.”
It wasn’t just baseball that caught Galyean’s interest; the school also had what he wanted in the academics category. Galyean wants to study to be a pediatric physician’s assistant, and Miami has a program for that in its medical school. Galyean said his inspiration for wanting to pursue that career came from visits to his doctor when he was younger.
“There’s always that stereotype that it’s scary to go the doctor and the dentist, but my doctor was always funny,” said Galyean. That made an implant in his memory.
“It influenced me to do the same thing and the doctor not scary and just make people laugh,” said Galyean.
After making it official, Galyean became the second UHS player in recent years to commit to a Division I school. (Reese Sharp, a 2019 University graduate, signed with Indiana University.) Trailblazers coach Chris Estep said he always thought Galyean would be playing at the next level.
“He’s a natural born leader,” said Estep. “He has a very strong work ethic. You add those two things together and you’re going to get a pretty good player. The fact that he’s 6-4, left-handed, throws a lot of strikes, can throw a breaking ball, that makes him a tremendous commodity.”
“He’s a tremendous kid from a great family,” said Estep. “He’s a great, great kid.”
Galyean has been an impact player for the Trailblazers ever since his first games as a freshman. As a ninth-grader, Galyean was part of a University team that went all the way to the Class 1A state championship game in 2018.
“That was really, really cool,” he said.
The ‘Blazers lost that game, so when Galyean’s sophomore season came around, he said he knew “that I was going to have to step it up a little bit” in order to help the team get back to state, and win it.
University did just that in 2019, winning the school’s first-ever state title in any sport by beating Washington Township 4-1. Galyean hit 3-for-4 in that game, batting in one run.
“You’re not going to forget something like that. It’s really cool going back-to-back,” said Galyean.
It’s just as special for Estep, who said he has known Galyean “since the day he was born.”
“Other than your own children, the fact that you get to see a kid from the time he was born to the time that he graduates and goes off to college, it’s a true blessing,” said Estep.
Unfortunately, Galyean lost his junior season after IHSAA sports were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It was really sad when we got the news,” said Galyean. Aside from the fact that the Trailblazers were favored to have another strong season, Galyean said some of the things he missed included the team trips and interacting with his teammates, “because we have good chemistry.”
“You make your best friends during baseball,” he said.
As for the upcoming year, Galyean said the Trailblazers plan to keep that chemistry going and continue to build their winning tradition.
“We have a lot of seniors on the team this next year, eight seniors, and that’s going to be a lot of fun,” said Galyean. “I think we’ll be very good as a whole, and I want to leave and impact on the incoming freshmen and keep that winning tradition there.”
Estep believes that Galyean will continue to challenge himself and his teammates as they try to win another state championship for University.
The fact that he’s committed, he’s going to continue to work harder and harder and harder,” said Estep. So when he walks into Miami of Ohio, he’s going to look to make an impact as a freshman. I don’t think he’s going to rest on his laurels by any stretch. That’s just not his style.”
Galyean stands in front of Hayden Park, the home of the Miami University baseball team. Galyean visited the campus with his father and said that seeing it sealed the deal for him to commit to the RedHawks. (Photo provided)