Josh Auger is an ASU Walter Cronkite School of Journalism student covering Corona del Sol High School for AzPreps365.com

Cooper Clouser and Ryan Caruso have been playing baseball together for nearly a decade. The current pitcher/catcher duo at Corona del Sol now have both committed to being teammates for at least four more years at their hometown school, Arizona State University. 

Throughout the past eight to nine years they have been teammates in Little League, middle school, club ball, high school and both were selected to the Area Codes team last summer representing the Cincinnati Reds.

“Knowing that he will catch me in college, at the school we both had as our No. 1 is awesome,” Caruso said. Both he and Clouser get to carry on tradition in their family when they go to ASU. For Caruso, he grew up going to Sun Devil games and his dad and most of his dad’s siblings also attended ASU. “It will also be such a blessing to stay home, and play close to where most of my family, friends can come out and continue to support me,” Caruso added.

For Clouser, his grandpa played baseball at ASU in a career which included winning a national championship in 1967.

“It's really always been a dream of mine to continue his legacy and play there. Being able to stay close to home and close to my family was also a big thing for me during recruiting,” Clouser said.

“[They’re] great baseball players and fantastic humans,” says Corona head baseball coach Dave Webb of the two juniors. The duo has made a lasting impression on their coach and the Corona program as a whole. Both of them came in as transfers from Desert Vista and Webb adds “These two have fit in as well as any transfers we have ever had.”

Getting to this point has taken a ton of hard work and dedication. Clouser views the off-season as his time to really focus on gaining strength and power while also working on his hitting daily. In season he takes a more moderate approach to the lifting and emphasizes a lot of stretching and mobility to keep his body ready for games. He is a fan of modeling his game San Diego Padres young phenom prospect Ethan Salas, as they are both left-handed hitting catchers and are similar in age.

As a pitcher, Caruso prioritizes the lifting side of things as well but also puts a lot of time into film analysis with his pitching coach in an effort to maximize his potential and absorb as much knowledge as he can. He points to Spencer Strider of the Atlanta Braves as a pitcher in the big leagues he likes to model his game after.

“I have no doubt they will succeed,” Webb said of his players' future.

Through their dedication and work ethic Clouser and Caruso have earned the opportunity to continue their baseball journey together at ASU and look to lead the Aztecs to the 6A Conference playoffs.