‘Every journey is different': New Olentangy baseball team taking old approach after championship season
Tuesday, April 21, 2026
By Michael Rich
mrichnotwealthy@gmail.com
Senior Rocco Bucci pitches and plays the outfield for Olentangy. The Virginia Tech commit was a key part of the Braves’ state title championship last season. Photo: Kevin Rouch
Hanging on the back of the press box of the baseball field at Olentangy High School is a large photo commemorating the program’s first state championship.
It’s a large photo of the team on the field holding the Division I state championship trophy and wearing the medals around their necks after a 2-1 win over Springboro at Akron’s Canal Park last June.
It’s not the only new piece of signage adorning the facility. The Braves renamed the dugout in honor of the late Jeff Riley, who led the program from 1987-2001.
But it’s some of the photos adorning the office of coach Ryan Lucas that may have contributed to the program’s current success.
And while Olentangy is off to a strong start to this season at 9-4 overall and leaders of the OCC-Cardinal Division at 5-1, Lucas is avoiding words like, ‘Repeat’ or phrases like, ‘Let’s run it back.’
At the same time, he’s not shying away from last year’s achievement.
“We’re always going to celebrate the ’25 team,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if we won state or not – whatever new team we coach, our mindset is how we can reach our full potential with the team we’re coaching now. Last year’s team obviously reached its full potential because we won the state championship. But every team is different. Every journey is different.”
As an experienced returnee, junior shortstop Ty Walburn (5) plays a key role for the Braves this season. Photo: Kevin Rouch
Olentangy, which lost 9-4 at Hilliard Darby April 20 to snap a four-game winning streak, travels to Dublin Jerome on April 22. The Braves, who are seventh in the latest state coaches’ poll, are trying for the first league title since 2022 and 10th OCC crown overall.
“I think you put a lot of pressure and create a lot of anxiety when you say things like, ‘You’re going to go back-to-back,’ or ‘You gotta win.’ Well, the kids sometimes can’t handle that,” Lucas said. “What we’ve tried to do is how can we reach our full potential this year in terms of getting better every day? Can we just focus on where our feet are today?”
Perhaps the biggest part of winning the state title last year wasn’t the signage or even the memories. It was the self-confidence gained by his current players.
Olentangy, which was state runner-up in 2006 after winning its only other regional title, returns just two players that saw significant action last year.
The Braves graduated 11 players, losing another to injury for the season in Luke Chilicki (shoulder) and another to early graduation in Kaden Gebhardt, who is now at Ohio State.
“We’re almost using each game as momentum for the next,” said junior two-way player Rocco Bucci, a Virginia Tech commit. “Let’s keep building and building and building for when it gets to tournament time. That was something we did really well last year. We just kept stacking wins and when we got to the tournament, we had all the confidence in the world.”
Bucci was a key to Olentangy’s success last season as both a pitcher and an outfielder, earning second-team all-state honors. He’s been a starter since his freshman season.
Senior Colton Shultz is hitting .345 for Olentangy this season, as the Braves look to make another tournament run. Photo: Kevin Rouch
He grew up wrestling and playing football. But baseball became his passion. He gained confidence when he made the Canes Midwest National team out of Indiana.
“I was always a bat boy for my older brother (Sutton’s) team during travel ball,” Bucci said. “And then I got into travel ball myself, starting with (Olentangy) Stix here locally until 10U. Then I made an All-Star team in Indiana and I ended up playing really good. The coaching was amazing and I really started to love baseball.”
Bucci dropped 10 pounds and moved from left field to center this season. He is batting .324 with seven RBIs, seven runs and six stolen bases and a team-best 13 walks. On the mound, Bucci is 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA and 24 strikeouts over 16 innings in four games.
“My big thing was getting faster,” Bucci said. “Making the transition to center field, you’ve got to cover more ground, which is one thing. I wanted to steal more bags (because) we’re losing some speed guys from last year.”
Bucci and junior shortstop Ty Walburn (11 RBIs, 10 runs, five stolen bases) are the only two returners that played significantly last year.
Seniors Austin Metcalf (UTIL), Colton Shultz (OF) and Connor Newbery (P/1B/OF) are all making an impact in their first season as regulars.
Metcalf leads the team with a .371 batting average with eight runs and five RBIs and Connor Shultz is hitting .345 with six runs and six RBIs and, while Newbery is 2-1 with a 4.41 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 12 2/3 innings on the mound.
Senior Austin Metcalf (14) is getting his first major action for the Braves this season and is leading the team with a .371 batting average. Photo: Kevin Rouch
Juniors Will Andel (P/UTIL), Beau Mannino (C/1B/3B/P), Matias Rhoades (C/P/3B) and sophomores Ty Gebhart and Sutton Mullins (1B/3B/OF/P) are also key newcomers.
Andel is hitting .361 and leads with three doubles, Gebhardt leads with 14 runs and 10 stolen bases.
“I didn’t get to play much last year on the state championship team,” Metcalf said. “But just being a part of it was great. It helped me grow as a player and I learned a lot. A lot of what Lucas said last year and a lot from the older players last year, I took into this season and it really helped shape myself as a player. It helped me build confidence.”
Metcalf is getting the most out of his final season as a ballplayer. He plans on attending Ohio University next year to seek out an entrepreneurship degree.
“My ultimate goal is to run my own business,” he said.
Lucas, who took over the Braves before the 2013 season, pointed to players like Metcalf as the reason he got into coaching.
“We have a collection of seniors that didn’t get to play much as juniors,” Lucas said. “They’re playing to their full potential and it’s fun to watch. I love watching guys who work hard for four years. (Metcalf) is a player that’s not going to play college baseball. He just loves baseball.”
Olentangy head coach Ryan Lucas directs baserunners during the Braves’ home win over Marysville earlier this month. Photo: Kevin Rouch