Lansing rides Cobleskill comeback to award
2020 CCS grad overcomes two ACL injuries to become starting shortstop for Fighting Tigers
(Graphic and photo courtesy of SUNY Cobleskill Sports Information.)
Cooperstown Central School graduate Ryan Lansing had an unusual designation this spring for a 22-year old: college freshman.
Lansing, a class of 2020 CCS graduate who was a three-sport star for the Hawkeyes, just completed his freshman season for SUNY Cobleskill baseball, working his way up to starting shortstop and winning the school’s Comeback Athlete of the Year Award in May.
“Ryan was a player who we recruited heavily for the 2022 season and was projected to be an important contributor to our infield. But he suffered a pair of ACL injuries that sidelined him for over two years," Cobleskill Coach Austin Straub said in a media release. "He came back because his dedication is second to none and he was able to provide us with a boost that helped us win the division and reach the conference championship game.”
Lansing played in his first college game April 2, at Skidmore College, pitching in relief and striking out two batters to get the win. However, he spent most of the rest of the season starting at shortstop for Cobleskill, batting .280 in 11 games, with 10 runs scored and three RBI. He also played some second base.
Lansing sat down with Cooperstown Sports News at the Richfield Springs Community Food Co-op on June 27, to discuss his setbacks, his comeback and his future plans. He said his path has made him appreciate baseball more, and he was caught off guard by the award.
“It’s great to get recognition. I am honored to receive such an award at such a level,” he said, “but I have bigger goals and that is not the end goal for me. It is just something good along the way that’s happened, but I can’t think about it too much, because I still have a job to do. We have a conference championship to win. We have a tournament to get to. We have a program to change.”
Lansing was one of Cooperstown’s pandemic graduates, losing his senior spring to COVID. Starting school during an online era wasn’t any easier for him, he said. He was recruited to Herkimer County Community College, but left school following a rough fall semester.
“I lost that season because I wasn’t doing well academically at Herkimer, that first fall when I went there,” he said. “With the whole thing with online classes and still going through COVID at school, I was still struggling academically.
“I dropped out for the spring, got a job and went back that next fall. Proved myself in the classroom, on the field, and was earning that starting spot and then injured myself,” he said.
Lansing tore his ACL in his left knee twice over the next two years — first playing in a basketball league and then in training — losing a chance for redemption at Herkimer in 2022 and then a chance to play for Cobleskill in 2023.
“After that first one, I didn’t know what to think,” he said. “Having athletics be such a strong outlet for me growing up, and then the book closes and now you are an injured player. You can’t do anything. I was bed ridden. I couldn’t get out of bed. I was struggling walking. I was on crutches for months.
“Once I figured out everything in the classroom, everything kind of fell apart again, but that is life,” he said. “I have learned from my experiences. I have grown from my experiences. I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
Although he dropped out of Herkimer a second time to rehab, he stayed at Cobleskill and worked as a team manager for the 2023 Tigers during his second rehab.
“Being out of the game for so long ... that was a really nice way to get back into it,” he said. “I was using (my head) instead of my body.”
This spring, he finally got the opportunity to play college baseball for the first time, three years later than expected.
It started with the pitching win — “that was sweet!” — and only got better from there, Lansing said.
“Right about halfway through the year, when we got to conference play, I started playing, playing shortstop,” he said. “Being an everyday guy was incredible. The feeling I got the first time I returned to the field is something I will never be able to replicate again.”
Cobleskill ended the season 18-23, losing in the North Atlantic Conference Championship finals to Husson University, giving Lansing another comeback goal.
“It wasn’t the result we were looking for, but I would not have wanted it any other way with another group of guys,” he said. “The experiences I had and the relationships I developed, they were incredible.
“I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity, especially after two ACL tears,” he continued. “I mean, you’re the head coach of a baseball team. After two ACL tears, do you really bring a kid back in again? He believed in me and that is something I took to heart.”
(Lansing returned to the field April 2, at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs. His father, Roger Lansing, who works at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, took this picture. “I felt immaculate being out on the field, so I can only imagine how nice it was for him to be able to watch it,” Ryan said.)
Lansing said he knows he will have more competition next season.
“College baseball is a business,” he said. “(Coach) is recruiting kids at every position. He wants to find someone who is better. I truly believe, with the work I am putting in, he is not going to find anyone better.”
Despite losing a chance at a state title in baseball in 2020, Lansing had as accomplished a career as anyone in CCS history: he made the state meet in cross country in 2017, finishing 10th in Class D, was a key player on the Class C state championship basketball team in 2019, and helped the Hawkeyes go to two Final Fours in baseball, losing in the Class C title game in 2019.
Since then, like most successful college athletes, Lansing has transformed physically. His speed is still a big asset but his days in the weight room have changed him from slender runner to bulked-up batter. He has been working out this summer at Accelerate Sports Complex in Whitesboro, training in the batting cage and in the field, while continuing to work on his conditioning and weight regiment.
Lansing will turn 23 in November and be a mature sophomore — credit wise, he is a junior, and will likely graduate with eligibility left. Cobleskill does not have a post-graduate program, so Lansing would have to find a path to continue playing in a couple of years.
“I want to continue to play baseball as long as I can,” he said. “The end goal is always professional. I just continue to work every day on my craft. If it is hitting, fielding, running, conditionings, whatever it is, I am willing to do the work.
“I think that my position here, when I go back to Cobleskill, is to be more of a leader,” he continued. “I am ready for that role. I have been waiting for that role. I think it is a role I belong in and I can really thrive in.”
(Lansing accepts his award in May. Photo courtesy of SUNY Cobleskill Sports Information.)
Lansing is a culinary arts major. He said he likes the hands-on environment more than a traditional classroom, but he said he hasn’t thought much about a career post school or post baseball. It is possible he might have another calling someday, as a baseball coach.
“People tell me that,” he said. “All these things have happened to me and I have learned so much. It is really about me getting that information out and spreading it to the younger players.”
Before that, Lansing said he is ready for a full season at Cobleskill.
“I can’t wait to go out there and prove to myself the things I have always wanted for myself,” he said. “All the work I have put in and all the effort I have made to overcome things, I can’t wait for my first full season when I am 100% ready to go.
“God willing, it is going to be great,” he said.
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