Evan Thomas Returns to Baseball With a Bang After Redshirt Season

(Photo by Alyssa Garcia)

By Dillon Zamperin

When Evan Thomas graduated from high school in June 2025, he was already a bona fide star, a record-breaker, and by far one of the greatest athletes ever to come out of Fallbrook High School.

Now, a year and nearly two months later, Thomas still shines as bright as ever, but this time, with the Springfield Drifters.

“This has been a great experience, especially because this is really the first summer ball experience I’ve had, going away from home,” Thomas said. “I don’t think I could have asked for a better team to be on, and just to experience this is really cool.”

Thomas is not only the perfect build for a baseball player but an athlete in general. Standing at 6-foot-4 and weighing 195 pounds, the 19-year-old is built differently — literally and figuratively.

He instantly became a star the second he set foot on Fallbrook’s campus in August 2021. In his freshman year, Thomas joined both the varsity football and baseball teams, finding success on the diamond right away.

At the plate in his first year, he hit .326 with 15 RBIs in 34 games. Thomas was not only a two-sport varsity star at the time but also a two-way player in baseball. In 12 innings on the mound, he managed a 1.17 ERA while striking out a third of the batters he faced.

“I was a smaller freshman, so it was definitely a lot to handle, but I handled it well. Having my brother was nice,” Thomas said.

On the gridiron, he was the backup quarterback his freshman year, before taking on the starting role during his sophomore year. Once again, he quickly rose to prominence, throwing 1181 yards with nine passing touchdowns and three rushing touchdowns. He led his squad to a 9-4 record that season while tallying over 1,220 total yards.

In the following spring, Thomas became even better at the ballpark. He recorded a .361 average and a .408 on-base percentage on 43 hits. On the bump across 41 innings, Thomas held a 2.73 ERA and a 3-2 record with 39 strikeouts in 11 appearances.

That year was extra special for Thomas as he helped lead his team to the CIF San Diego Section Division 3 Championship alongside his brother Anthony. Together, the Thomases brought Fallbrook its first-ever baseball CIF Championship to send Evan’s brother out as a champion.

“Everything went right for our team,” Thomas said. “We got hot towards the end of the year and then red hot throughout the playoffs.”

That year only continued to become more special for Evan. In September 2023, Thomas announced he was committing to UC Santa Barbara for baseball, cementing a lifelong dream of his.

“I committed kind of early for 2025 because I had only talked to one other school, and then I met one of the coaches at Santa Barbara over the summer my sophomore year,” Thomas said. “I got the call and got an offer, and I’m not really going to find a better spot in California.”

That was all in the midst of another good football season. Despite having nearly the same stat line as the previous year, including over 1100 passing yards and more than 10 total touchdowns, his team finished 5-7, missing the playoffs.

Nonetheless, in the winter, Thomas made varsity for his third sport: basketball. In 21 games, he averaged just under five points, three rebounds and one steal as a small forward. While the Warriors finished one game under .500, Thomas’s work was not done yet for the 2023-24 school year.

Baseball was next in line for the three-sport star, but unfortunately, it was not as successful as he had hoped to see. Thomas recorded just 19 hits in 27 games while owning a 4.20 ERA.

After a tough end to his junior season, he wanted to bounce back for his senior year, and bounce back he did in all three sports.

On the football field, the captain of the team had a career-high 1226 total yards during his senior season. His key to success was his legs as he totaled nearly 500 rushing yards and four touchdowns. That season, he surpassed Fallbrook’s record in games played, setting a new high with 40.

During the winter, Thomas became the captain for his squad on the court. He put up 10.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.5 steals in 21 games and led his team to a winning record of 18-11.

Despite the great success in the previous two sports that year, Thomas wanted his final high school baseball season to be his best. And it was.

Thomas hit .418 with 13 doubles, three triples and two home runs along with 22 RBIs and 30 runs scored. On the rubber, he had a 5-1 record with a 1.80 ERA. He also had one complete game and one save in a comeback season for the ages.

He finished his time at Fallbrook with 10 varsity letters, along with records set in baseball games played with 123 and career hits with 132. He was also named the Male Athlete of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year in his final year with the Warriors.

“I loved my time at Fallbrook,” Thomas said. “It was different because as a freshman and sophomore, my older brother and all my friends were older than me. It felt like my junior and senior years were when I matured a lot and did stuff on my own. It was definitely a lot of fun.”

Even with records set and a wonderful four-year journey in high school, his college experience has not yet been as magical as it was at Fallbrook. Thomas did not see the field during the 2026 season with UCSB and instead chose to redshirt the season. Ultimately, it was the right choice for him.

“It was the perfect team, and it was a great experience,” Thomas said. “It was definitely one of the better times I’ve had in my life and in baseball.”

Now, after nearly a full year off, Thomas is back on the diamond and this time for Springfield. Since his arrival on June 18, he has been on a heater, capped off with a massive grand slam against the Walla Walla Sweets on June 25.

His only hiccup of the summer came on July 2, when he tweaked his hamstring, missing the next two weeks. However, since then, Thomas regained his touch. In the seven games since his return, he’s hitting .333 with six RBIs, six walks and three doubles.

On the season, he has one home run, 12 RBIs, 10 runs scored, 17 hits, 10 walks and a .433 on-base-percentage in 18 games.

The success Thomas has had throughout his entire playing career could lead Springfield to the playoffs and give the Drifters and himself a year no one will forget.