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This is the eighth story in our series spotlighting members of Arkansas baseball's highly touted 2020 signing class, which is ranked third nationally by Perfect Game and Baseball America. Links to previous profiles can be found below.
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Three days into his freshman year at Sacramento City C.C., Ryan Costeiu sat down with his coaches to hammer out a plan of attack to get recruited by Division I schools.
His list of potential future destinations factored in things he was looking for from a baseball and academic perspective. Wake Forest, with an emerging star pitching coach in Matt Hobbs, checked all of his boxes, so the Demon Deacons were among the schools Costeiu targeted.
It was several months before Arkansas - which wasn’t on his original list - ever popped up on his radar. The connection happened by chance after Hobbs replaced Wes Johnson on the Razorbacks’ staff and was recruiting another California junior college player.
“Hobbs had actually called our coaching staff to cross-check Chet Allison before he flew to California to see him play,” Costeiu said. “He was like, ‘Hey, you guys don’t by chance have anybody I’d be interested in?’ Then my name got dropped.”
When he flew out to see Allison at Fresno City C.C. last spring, the Arkansas pitching coach also stopped by Sacramento to see Costeiu pitch. The trip’s immediate payoff might end up paling in comparison to the long-term payoff.
Although Allison quickly committed to the Razorbacks, he never made it to campus because he got drafted and signed with the Dodgers. Meanwhile, Costeiu had to wait until the following fall to get an offer, but now the right-hander is set to join the team for 2021.
Playing at Baum-Walker Stadium next season will be culmination of his rapid rise as a prospect.
Despite putting up solid numbers - 10-0, 1.12 ERA - and earning numerous accolades as a senior, Costeiu was not heavily recruited coming out of De La Salle, a high school in Concord, Calif., known for its powerful football program.
At 5-foot-11 and “skinny as a stick,” his fastball was just 83-85 miles per hour and his Division I opportunities were limited to being a walk-on at St. Mary’s in the WCC or UC-Riverside in the Big West. His only scholarship offers were to several junior colleges, which he found appealing.
“I had the grades to really go anywhere I wanted, but at the same time, I trust myself and trust my own personal development,” Costeiu said. “I thought going to junior college for a year or two would be an awesome opportunity, so I jumped on it.”
Because he was a full academic qualifier coming out of high school, the plan for Costeiu was originally to play at Sacramento City C.C. for just one year before moving on to a four-year school.
However, that’s not how it played out. His velocity increased and he had good stuff, as evidenced by his 87 strikeouts in 75 2/3 innings, but he also walked 38 batters and posted a 4.64 ERA.
When Hobbs saw him pitch, he told Costeiu what several other big-time schools had already said: We like it, but it’s not quite as polished as we’d like. Some smaller DI schools on the west coast were willing to take him, but he turned them down to play one more year in JUCO.
