Despite injury, Kamiakin grad begins work on St. Louis Cardinals dream job

Kamiakin High graduate Payton Graham knows he has a lot of work ahead of him, and he’s ready to do it.

The right-handed pitcher who played for Gonzaga was drafted in last month’s MLB Draft, going in the seventh round to the St. Louis Cardinals.

The key here is Graham pitched in one game this spring for GU. It was the season opener, and he tore the ulnar collateral ligament of his pitching elbow.

That ended Graham’s season.

He had Tommy John surgery not long after, and he had planned to take a medical redshirt year for the Bulldogs.

But last summer, he had opened some professional scouts’ eyes by hitting 98 mph on his fastball in Northwoods League play in the Midwest.

Despite his injury, many major-league clubs were interested in drafting him and then help him with his rehab.

It turned out the Cardinals got to Graham first, and gave Graham “a good deal.” Reports have him signing for a $280,800 bonus.

“I really wasn’t sure this was gonna happen. But it was awesome,” said Graham. “I knew when I was 5 years old I wanted to play professional baseball. I always wanted to be a Seattle Mariner.”

It was that 98 mph fastball that opened Graham’s eyes last summer.

“When I started throwing hard like that, things looked legit,” he said.

Graham leaves GU with bittersweet feelings.

“Especially knowing there was a full year of missed opportunity,” he said. “The timeline I was on (with Gonzaga) was we were planning to get back to throwing around February-ish.”

But the Cardinals will make that decision now.

He jumped on a plane out of Pasco three days after the draft, on July 17, and headed to the Cardinals’ spring training complex in Jupiter, Fla.

Cardinals team doctors and trainers gave him a physical, and then they set up a new timeline for Graham.

The fact that the team invested big money on the 21-year-old reveals that he is worth the wait.

“I throw more of a riding fastball,” said Graham. “Right now, I’m throwing a cutter, which is a little bit slower. My slider is in the low 80s, changeup is mid-80s. And I was just starting to add a curveball.”

Let the work begin.

College signing

Recent Columbia-Burbank High graduate Quincy Scott will be heading to Western Colorado University this fall, when he’ll play for the men’s basketball team.

Scott led the Coyotes to the State 2B championship this past spring.

MCC track and field

Kamiakin dominated the all-conference track and field team, as well as winning the Class 4A state team title in late May.

Braves coach Kyle Schauble was named the 4A boys state track and field coach of the year, and he shared the MCC coach of the year honors with Kennewick’s Ty Cronenwett.

The MCC Track Athlete of the Year went to Kamiakin senior Devin Crews, who is headed this fall to Provo, Utah, to compete for Brigham Young University.

Crews was first-team MCC in the 200 meters and the 110 high hurdles as well as the 300 hurdles. Crews was also part of the Kamiakin relay teams that were first-team All-MCC: He shared the 4x100 relay honors with Mario Duarte, Mason Severson and JaRae Long; he ran the 4x400 relay with Gunner Smith, Camden Clark, and Ezra Teeples.

Teeples was also first team in the 1600 meters. He will compete this fall for the Boise State University cross country team.

Kamiakin’s Long was also first-team MCC in the 100 meters.

Senior Jahmad Skinner was the top choice in the triple jump.

Kennewick’s Tanner Larson was named the MCC Field Athlete of the Year, despite not being named first-team MCC in any event. However, Larson was among the best and most consistent in the discus, javelin and shot put events.

Kennewick had first-teamers in the discus, with sophomore Peter Smith, and the high jump, as senior Shaun Youngblood shared the honors with Hanford senior Reece Rheinschmidt.

Hermiston had two first-team athletes. Senior Jaysen Rodriguez was the best in the 800 meters and 3200 meters. Rodriguez will compete for the University of Idaho.

His teammate, junior Angel Ordaz Garcia, was on the list in the shot put.

Chiawana senior Braxton Feldmann, who will play football this fall for Central Washington University, was first team in the javelin; while teammate and junior Angel Colon made it in the 400 meters.

Others on the first team were Hanford freshman Jonathan Allen (pole vault) and Southridge senior Jackson Williams (long jump).

Chiawana’s Emma Gis, Kamiakin’s Aubrey Herrin, and Walla Walla’s Eric Hisaw were the major award winners in May when the Mid-Columbia Conference girls track and field all-conference teams were announced.

Gis, a senior, was MCC Track Athlete of the Year, and also named to the first team in the 800 and 1600 meters.

Herrin, also a senior, was named the MCC Field Athlete of the Year and named to the first team in the high jump, long jump, and triple jump. She will play women’s basketball at the University of Portland this coming school year.

Hisaw was named the MCC Coach of the Year.

Richland High had the most first-team entries, with junior Naly Khamlue-Pratt leading the way in the 100 and 200 meters. She was also part of two Bombers relay teams: the 4x100 and 4x200.

Joining Khamlue-Pratt on the 4x100 unit is Isabella Arroyo, Kearyn Elfering, and Embry Law.

Joining her on the 4x200 squad is Lillie Mann, Elfering and Law.

Gis also joined her teammates in the 4x400 relay first team. They are Macey Smith, Sawyer Chubb, and Ayla Harden.

Also named to the first team are: Walla Walla senior Adisyn Andrews (javelin); Richland senior Brooke Bird (300 hurdles); Kamiakin senior Louesa Gledhill (100 hurdles); Pasco senior Valerie Siebol-DeRuyter (3200); Southridge sophomore Alexia Vaughn (400); Walla Walla senior Lillian White (discus, shot put); and Hanford senior Katelyn Wolfert (pole vault).

Jeff Morrow is former sports editor for the Tri-City Herald.