Now with Lobos, Rio Rancho's Rede ready for final chapter of college baseball journey

ALBUQUERQUE — Rio Rancho’s Garrett Rede was the hero for Lobos baseball on Saturday night, delivering a two-out single in the bottom of the ninth to drive in the winning run against the University of St. Thomas.

Rede was the unlikely man of the hour for the University of New Mexico, getting a spot start in the second game of a doubleheader, but the fact that the former Ram is now donning cherry red is even more unbelievable.

“I'd always wanted to play for the Lobos,” Rede said. “But the opportunities weren't always there. I kind of had to start my way from the bottom.”

A member of Rio Rancho High School’s 2021 class, playing for one of the last Ron Murphy-led teams, Rede set off for Arizona Western Junior College in Yuma, Arizona, after graduation.

Dreams of playing at Santa Ana Star Field felt nothing but distant, surrounded by nothing but fields of crops in the Arizona border city. “The Sunniest City on Earth” left the young outfielder stuck in a fog.

“Junior college is a grind; you're kind of in the middle of nowhere with not a lot of resources and really on your own,’ Rede said. “You have to show up to the field every day with the right mindset, knowing that you want to be the best.”

That mindset allowed Rede to move to Lamar Community College, another junior college in Colorado, while still eyeing a chance to play at the Division I level.

Rede finished his lone sophomore season for Lamar with a .350 batting average and 56 RBI in 56 games, but it would not be enough to secure a ticket back home.

“I reached out to UNM, and again, they weren't super interested,” Rede said. “They were looking at the transfer portal, mostly.”

From Lamar, Rede would stay in the Rocky Mountains to join Regis University, a member of Division II, making his introduction to NCAA play.

With his goals still hovering over the Sandia Mountain-shaped horizon, his journey started to weigh on him.

“You can often get lost in statistics and how well you're doing, and I honestly struggled with that a little bit my first two years, because I had dreams. I wanted to play at the Division I level,” Rede said. “So whenever I went through those lumps, it was taking a toll on me mentally. So the transition for me was taking the focus off myself and just ultimately believing that God has a plan for me, and I'm just going to trust in the preparation, the work that I put in for myself.”

The work would show in two strong seasons with the Rangers, but by spending his junior and senior seasons in Colorado, it looked like Rede’s collegiate career was coming to a close, at least to his knowledge. 

Lucky for him, what he calls the “Diego Pavia” ruling gave him a new lease on his baseball life.

Just like the former Volcano Vista High School and New Mexico State quarterback, Rede’s time in junior college allowed him to gain an extra year of eligibility in the NCAA to extend his college career.

For his fifth and final season, Rede made one last call.

“With the new 'Diego Pavia' ruling, I was granted one more year, and with that opportunity, I reached out to UNM once again,” Rede said. “They had kind of heard about me, seeing me through the transfer portal, but I told them, ‘I want to play for the Lobos,’ and they gave me a shot.”

Shot delivered and shot not wasted. Coming into the season as a depth piece for the Lobos, Rede has made the most of his playing time. He opened the season with a grand slam against Fordham, going on to deliver a four-hit, one-homer weekend against the Tommies.

In seven games played, he holds a .368 batting average to pair with 10 RBI. His .737 slugging percentage, while a small sample size, is on pace to be the highest mark of his playing tenure.

Rede has harped on capitalizing on his opportunities, but after a career of working toward this shot, he is not forgetting to enjoy it.

“I've worked so hard to get to this point, and I've really done all I can to reach the highest level,” Rede said. “So it's just about coming to the ballpark every day and being a good teammate, enjoying the relationships with my teammates, because that's what people remember the most once you're done playing. Stats come and go, but at the end of the day, it's about the relationships you make with the team.”

Lobo baseball will look to seize more opportunities when they head down to Las Cruces, set for a midweek rivalry matchup against the Aggies. UNM will then return home for a weekend series against Tarleton State before beginning conference play.