WARDEN – Warden High School’s Anthony Gutierrez has signed his letter of intent to play baseball and pursue a major in Agriculture Business Management with Olympic College in Bremerton. 

“It reminded me a lot of Warden,” said Anthony. “It was for sure, I knew this was going to be the spot as soon as I got the offer.” 

Olympic College’s new head baseball coach, Shane Hanon, played a major role in his decision to sign with the college. Anthony had been part of a Pacific Northwest fall baseball team that played junior colleges and one of the teams he faced was Hanon’s team. 

“He took me aside after the game (and) he showed me around the school,” said Anthony. “We just connected really well in that first meeting together.” 

Hanon said he had just taken the job as head coach the previous August prior to their meeting. During the pregame batting practice, he noticed Anthony out making dives to catch the balls. 

“I’ve coached those fall ball teams before and very rarely do guys pay attention to BP (and) get after it in that way,” said Hanon. “To me it was it was just kind of a look of him being a hard-nosed baseball player really wanting it in an effort to move on.” 

During their game, Anthony continued to impress the coach to the point where he decided to take him on a tour of the school, he said. 

“I’m pretty excited for Anthony to come our way,” said the coach. “(He has a) good home system, good base and support, any conversation I have with the kid, (I’m) pretty blown away by his maturity.” 

Anthony’s parents said they are very happy and proud of their son getting to take this next step in his life. 

“We’ve worked a lot to get him where he wants to be, but I’m not ready to let go yet,” said his mother, Lizbeth Gutierrez. 

Growing up, Anthony had always dreamed of becoming a baseball player. As he went through life, he pursued that dream but also became a double-sport athlete playing both baseball and basketball in high school, said his father, Greg Gutierrez. 

“I know Olympic is kind of also throwing out little shots that they want him to play (basketball) as well,” he said. “We’ll see how that all works out, but for right now it’s going to be 100% baseball.” 

His girlfriend, Valerie Rodriguez, said Anthony has always been respectful and outgoing, pushing himself in whatever way possible to get where he wants to be. 

Many of Anthony’s coaches from throughout his life spoke about their time with Anthony. Jorge Reyes, who coached Anthony while he played for Reign in club ball and Ryan Redondo, another one of his mentors, both said they have continued to see Anthony’s skills and love for the game improve in the past few years they’ve worked with him 

“He’s a really high-character, high-competitor kid,” said Redondo. “To get where he’s at now, it’s just a testament to what he’s been working on his entire career and what he’s going to continue to do.” 

Anthony’s high school baseball career started when he was a freshman. Warden High School’s baseball head coach, Travis Visker, said he saw from the beginning that he was a good player and made an immediate impact on the team. 

Anthony is also the first player since 2019 to be a four-year all-league player for Warden High School’s baseball team, said the coach.  

“I can’t say enough about the work he puts in off the field, I think that’s what really separates him from everybody else,” said Visker. “It’s a commitment, he's not here by accident.” 

Warden Basketball coach Brent Erdmann spoke on Anthony’s basketball career. Erdmann said he coached Anthony the past three years, where he was a first-team, all-league player each year. 

“We’re in a really tough league in basketball and he was a battler,” said Erdmann. “He was a kid who came to work every day.” 

Erdmann said Anthony is the definition of a student athlete, where he was a student first, making sure he focused on his education just as hard as he did his athletic career. 

Anthony said he has plenty of memories from his time at Warden High School to look back on, including the baseball team going to state his freshman year. After his freshman year, he knew the dedication he needed to put into the game and that one day it would pay off. 

The future is in God’s hands as he looks to continue to move up to bigger and better things, said Anthony. 

“I want to thank my parents, my coaches, all my family, teammates, everybody who’s just supported me,” he said. “It really means a lot for me and just all the love and dedication I put into this game, all of it's going to pay off, I promise.” 

    Anthony Gutierrez stands with friends and teammates who came to congratulate him on his success.
  

    Anthony Gutierrez didn't just play for Warden High during his youth baseball career. He was also a member of the River Dogs baseball club which provided him another opportunity to hone his skills.