Las Animas standout Braydon Ortiz named Santa Fe League player of the year

Braydon Ortiz turned a season built on two-way production into the kind of league-wide recognition that small-town baseball communities remember. The Las Animas standout was named the Santa Fe League Player of the Year with the release of the 2026 All-Conference Baseball Team, a fitting cap on a spring that made his name hard to miss across Class 2A.

Ortiz’s case was built on more than one big day. On May 5 against Burlington, he threw four shutout innings, allowed two hits and struck out seven while going 3-for-4 at the plate with three doubles and two RBI, a performance that MaxPreps described as a new career-high for doubles. A month earlier, in a 6-5 loss to Crowley County, he struck out 11 batters over six innings and still managed to help himself offensively, going 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a stolen base.

That blend of pitching and hitting helped explain why Ortiz drew attention well before the postseason awards were announced. A March 18 stat-leader roundup listed him at .648 at the plate among Class 2A returnees, a number that stands out anywhere in Colorado, but especially in a county where school sports carry so much of the public spotlight. MaxPreps lists Ortiz as a junior in the Class of 2027, a 6-foot-4, 200-pound athlete who also plays football and wrestling for Las Animas High School, with college interest from Colorado State University Pueblo and Otero College.

Ortiz’s award also says something about the health of the Las Animas baseball program. By May 12, Las Animas had climbed to 16-4 after a 15-0 win over Burlington and had won 12 straight home games dating back to last season, scoring an average of 10.1 runs during that stretch. That kind of consistency does not happen by accident. It points to a lineup that has supported Ortiz, a pitching staff that has kept games within reach and a home field that has become a real advantage.

The broader Santa Fe League picture included the Fowler Falcons, who were league champions, but Ortiz’s honor gave Las Animas County its own headline. For younger players in Las Animas, the lesson is concrete: one athlete can stand out in a small county by doing the everyday things well, then delivering when the games matter most.