By Kody Acevedo Photos for Wrangler News by Nicole Vasquez
Nick Marciano was always a little envious of Colby Woodmansee. Not because he wanted to be like him, but because he knew he was simply the best baseball player his age.
“This guy was the real deal,” Marciano said. “I always would hate to admit it because he was the competition.”
The two grew up together. They attended the same elementary and middle schools and played on the Ahwatukee Little League All-Stars together before going their separate ways for high school, with Marciano going to Corona del Sol and Woodmansee going to Desert Vista.
Marciano, now a senior at Arizona State University, played baseball at Corona four years before hanging up the spikes to attend college.
Woodmansee stayed his course. He committed to play baseball at ASU after high school and earned himself the starting shortstop position his freshman year.
Three years later, Woodmansee was selected by the New York Mets as the 160th overall pick in the 2016 MLB draft, and Marciano is right there cheering him on.
“I’m super excited for him. Just from his time at Ahwatukee Little League to now, I think it’s cool to have a hometown guy there,” Marciano said.
Woodmansee was born and raised in the Valley. He was a captain of the baseball team at Desert Vista, where he earned four varsity letters and numerous awards for his performances on the field.
At ASU, he was the starting shortstop during his three years on the team, becoming the everyday shortstop his sophomore year. But as Marciano tells it, Woodmansee was known for having a big bat.
“He almost hit a grand slam off of us at Chase Field my senior year,” Marciano recalls. “He was bigger than everybody else and basically better than everyone else, too.”
That reputation stayed with him during his days in the maroon and gold. This past season, Woodmansee hit .265 with 15 doubles, 8 home runs and 44 RBIs with a .438 slugging percentage.
“He was always nonchalant about it,” Marciano said. “He always kind of knew he was one of the better players on the team, but he wasn’t super cocky.”
Brian Malone, who played with Woodmansee at Desert Vista, agreed.
“He was a really quiet teammate who let his playing do most of the talking,” Malone said.
That he did. During his senior year in 2013, Woodmansee put up a .369 batting average with eight home runs and 39 RBIs.
Those numbers paralleled his time at ASU. Woodmansee became one of the most important bats in the Sun Devils’ lineup, delivered during clutch moments. Many remember his walk-off home run during the first game at Phoenix Municipal Stadium in 2015.
“That’s why I think he’s different than a lot of shortstops, particularly in college where it’s more of a defensive position,” Arizona State coach Tracy Smith told Baseball America. “He can do that, but he can also beat you with a home run.”
Marciano said he was never sure if Woodmansee was ASU-bound during their high school days, but he credits the Sun Devil baseball program for making him into the player he is today.
“Like every other high school-to-college player, they realize this is the real deal and they have to work really hard at it. I feel like that’s when he became the player he is now, because ASU whipped him into shape,” Marciano said.
The Mets must have agreed. Woodmansee is currently in Brooklyn, N.Y., beginning his Minor League career as a member of the Brooklyn Cyclones.
While Marciano is proud of where his friend is today, he would like to one day see Woodmansee return to the desert.
“Hopefully he’ll make his way to the D-backs.”
