Loaded Valley Christian ranks No. 1 in nation

Out of the recent group of long-tenured West Catholic Athletic League baseball coaches, John Diatte is the last one standing.

The 52-year-old, in his 29th season at Valley Christian, matched wits and lineup cards with the likes of Bill Hutton (Mitty, 648 wins, according to Cal-Hi-Sports record book), Chris Bradford (St. Francis, 644), Gary Cunningham (Bellarmine, 617) and Pete Jensen (Serra, 564), all of whom have retired over the past decade.

Diatte’s record is 610-235-7, but judging from his current team, he’ll pass all of his coaching contemporaries on the victory chart, perhaps by the end of next season.

He has six players who have committed to Division I college programs — including Vanderbilt-bound pitcher Patrick Wicklander — and two others have multiple offers.

Coming off a fabulous two weeks, which included a championship at the prestigious Hard 9 National Classic in Orange County, an 18-strikeout no-hitter by Wicklander against Riordan, and a 5-2 win over nationally ranked Bellarmine on Friday, the Warriors are 18-1-1 and No. 1 in the Max-Preps national computer rankings.

“Certainly, if things continue like they have, this could be the best team I’ve ever coached,” Diatte said. “It’s definitely the most talented I’ve ever had.”

It starts with Wicklander, a 6-foot-2 left-hander, who is 5-1, with an 0.98 ERA. In 422⁄3 innings, he has struck out 66 by utilizing a fastball with great movement that tops out at 92 mph, according to Diatte.

In his four years at Valley Christian, Wicklander is 24-9 with a 1.22 ERA. He’s the first Warriors pitcher to amass 300 career strikeouts (314). He’s expected to be drafted, but the round remains uncertain.

“His top attribute is that he’s a highly competitive kid with a very high baseball IQ,” the coach said.

Other Valley Christian players to commit to colleges are sophomore outfielder/pitcher Eddie Park (Stanford, .309 average, 2-0 on mound, 0.51 ERA), junior outfielder Coleman Brigman (Santa Clara, .358, 11 stolen bases), senior infielder Dawson Brigman (Santa Clara, .339), junior pitcher William Kempner (Gonzaga, 2-0, 1.17 ERA) and junior infielder Nick Marinconz (Cal Poly, .317, nine steals).

Junior utilityman Steven Zobac (.345, 1-0 and an 0.00 ERA in 17 innings) and freshman infielder/pitcher Jonathan Cymrot (.373, 2-0, 0.38) are other players with multiple college offers.

As good as the Warriors are now, they’ll return the majority of their squad, though replacing Wicklander and senior catcher Ryan Belluomini (.300) will be a challenge, Diatte said.

With a deep staff that has crafted an 0.68 ERA, the Warriors are looking good for at least another season.

Of course, all the focus is on 2018, and there’s no losing sight of the fact that they play in one of the toughest leagues in California.

Five of The Chronicle’s top eight teams are from the WCAL and Sacred Heart Cathedral (10-8) is an honorable mention.

“It’s good every year, but it’s really incredible how good the league is this season,” Diatte said. “We have seven more league games and then the playoffs. Pitching and defense has been a big part of what we’ve accomplished thus far.

“We have great pitching depth but we can’t pitch all of them at once. We’ve been better offensively than we have in the past. That will need to continue.”

As far as passing all those coaching greats in wins by the end of next season, Diatte said: “They were all mentors to me, and it was fun to coach against them. It’s fun coaching now. This is what I do. It’s my ministry, my job, my passion, and it’s cool I get paid to do it.

“Especially with this team.”