Junior outfielder Grant Desme put on an offensive display for the ages this spring for the Cal Poly Mustangs of the Big West Conference. Unfortunately, Grant’s magical season was cut short due to injury a weekend ago vs. UC Davis. He finished hitting .405 with 15 HR and 53 RBI. He leads Cal Poly in 12 offensive categories and as of May 17 was leading the Big West in average, homeruns and RBI. A sure-fire All-Big West pick, Desme now waits for the June 7-8 MLB draft where he could likely be selected in the first few rounds.

Grant started simmering last summer with the Bend Elks of the WCCBL. An All-Big West honorable mention selection in 2006, Desme blossomed as an Elk, leading the league in hits (50) and total bases (77). He earned first-team All-WCCBL honors and proceeded to destroy Big West pitching this spring.

We recently caught up with the strapping lad from Bakersfield, California shortly after his season-ending injury. He was kind enough to be interviewed online by wccbl.com. It’s a good one. Thank you, Grant. And best wishes with the draft.

wccbl.com: You are tearing up the Big West, how does it feel?

Desme: This year I have really been blessed. It would have been nice to have our season go better though. We lost a few games that we could have won and put ourselves in a better position to make a regional.

wccbl.com: Who was the toughest pitcher you faced last summer?

Desme: The toughest pitcher that I faced last summer was probably Zach Bird of the Aloha Knights.

wccbl.com: How did you like Bend, Oregon?

Desme: I really enjoyed my summer in Bend. It is a great city that really supported our team. It was a blast.

wccbl.com: What did you work on last summer?

Desme: I had two goals coming into the summer. One was to fine tune my approach and get better plate discipline and the second was to work on my arm strength.

wccbl.com: What was your impression of the WCCBL?

Desme: The WCCBL is a newer league that is really trying to do things the right way to make itself one of the premier summer leagues.

wccbl.com: Who is your baseball mentor?

Desme: My baseball mentor is Matt Dehner. I have been working with him since my sophomore year in high school. He has taught me pretty much everything I know about the game.

wccbl.com: Have you stayed in touch with any of your Elks friends this spring?

Desme: I have stayed in touch with quite a few of my Elk teammates. I was actually lucky enough to play some of them this year so we got to hang out and talk about how much fun we had in Bend.

wccbl.com: Name the Cal Poly SLO underclassman that reminds you of Grant Desme and why?

Desme: A Cal Poly underclassman that reminds me of myself would probably be Kyle Smith, our freshman shortstop. He is a student of the game and really approaches the game the right way.