by James Dalpino
West Coast Preps

Serra senior Davis Minton has seen it all during his time as a Padre. From coaching changes to top talent graduating or transferring, Minton has been a constant for the Padres over the past three years. And even with all the change, there's no place he'd rather be.

Minton capped his Serra career with a Central Coast Section Division I championship last weekend, a moment that served as both validation and celebration for one of the Padres' most influential leaders.

A three-year varsity starter, Minton has been a key piece for the Padres since coming up as a sophomore. An all-WCAL selection all three years, Minton's two-way strengths–both with the bat in his hand and on the mound–have helped the Padres to a WCAL championship and the CCS Division 1 championship. 

Having a stellar senior season, Minton made his second first-team All-WCAL selection, not only hitting .340 with three home runs and 23 RBIs on the year, but also on the mound with a 1.26 ERA with 29 strikeouts in 33 innings pitched.

However, for Minton and his senior teammates' biggest impact made is through their leadership. Having a younger team filled with a lot of talent, Minton wants to be the guy his teammates could look to and lean on for anything, both on and off the field.

"Just trying to be the guy our younger teammates can look up to," Minton said. "We have a younger team this year, so it's always just trying to be that guy that they can look to for anything, baseball or non-baseball type of things. Just waking up and knowing that I've seen a lot throughout these last two, three years on varsity so just being a role model for my younger guys and my younger brother." 

One of these younger players is Davis' younger brother, Aaron Minton, who burst on the scene this season for Serra. In his first full year up on the varsity level as a sophomore, Aaron played a massive role in the Padres' lineup and was selected to the All-WCAL first team.

For Davis, playing with his younger brother in his senior season just means the world–as the two have only played together once in Little League. It's not just the stuff on the field that Davis said he's going to remember, but it's the little moments he's shared with his brother off the field this season as well.

"This year's been really special and being with him, he brings a lot of energy and it's really special," Davis Minton said. "The drives to practice, to and from school, I think it's brought us really close and it's been great to see his growth during the season."

Next season, Davis will be heading to Chapman University to continue both his athletic career and his academics. He sees Chapman as the perfect place for him, as it not only is a program dedicated to winning with a strong culture, but it's an academically strong college as well. Davis is going in undecided but said he's leaning towards going into something business related. Overall, it's a great place for him to continue to grow not just as an athlete, but as a person as well.

"They run a great program over there. Coach Laverty and all the guys over there do a great job," said Davis. "National title in 2019, and they're always competitive, so the baseball side of it was always appealing."

Nothing on this journey would be possible without Serra, as Davis notes. From the baseball program all the coaches who have pushed him to be his best and his teammates who have helped him get there–to the teachers and friends he sees in the classroom and in the hallways, there was no better choice than Serra.

Smiling while telling this story, Davis said that when he was a freshman, he and some of his teammates went to the CCS playoffs at Excite Park. Swept up in the moment, they talked about how exciting it would be to play in this game in the future–taking in the sights of fans screaming and the team storming the field after winning it all. This was the same moment he shared with his teammates Saturday after winning the CCS championship, a moment he will never forget.

 "When we get on varsity, we want to be in these games and play in front of all these fans," Davis said. "I think it's super special with this senior class, it's a really tight-knit group of seniors, and it was awesome seeing this group mesh together. I'm so happy I went to Serra, I think it's the best decision that I've made up to this point." 

Serra is looking to add another trophy, as the Padres are hosting Los Gatos at 4 p.m. Thursday for a spot in the NorCal Division 1.  Davis, who is focused on staying in a Padre uniform for as long as he can, will leave it all out on Serra's field for his teammates and a program that's meant so much.