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BEARDOWN: 2026 Grand Oaks Safety Griffin Tillis commits to Arizona
Yesterday, 2026 Grand Oaks (Texas) three-star Safety Griffin Tillis committed to Arizona after earning an offer from their camp and an official visit trip.
"I got the offer after going to the camp last Monday and then came back up for an official visit later in the week," Tillis said. "Coach Brennan, Coach Gonzales, and Coach Arce are all great people and really showed me it's really like a big family there which is why I wanted to commit.
The three-star safety left Tuscon with a new home playing in a Power 4 conference but also had a great story with an unlikely hype man that helped get him ready for the camp and eventual earning an offer and committing.
"So the crazy story is I flew to Tuscon for their prospects camp on Monday and I got picked up by an uber driver who took me to campus. The uber driver was talking to me on the drive about Tuscon hyping me up telling me I know I don't know you but I know you're going to do great and get that offer," he said. "After we got out of the uber he asked to take a picture with me so he could say I told you so once I got the offer and committed so I knew I had to go out there and compete the way I know I can and prove him right and I did."
With his commitment now out of the way ahead his upcoming senior year, Tillis is ready to help lead Grand Oaks to a playoff birth next fall.
"Our goal right now is to get to the playoffs this year, we've been working all season and know we have what it takes to get there," he said. "We're blessed to play for Coach McDowell and the other coaches on staff there and all I can say is we're on the way so stay tuned."
GRIZZLIES COUNTRY: Grand Oaks Will Rely On Strong Pitching Staff In 2025
The Grizzlies make their way back to the diamond on the heels of taking bronze within District 13-6A and producing an impressive 25-win season. Unfortunately, they were tasked with taking on the eventual State Champs Tomball in the second round of the playoffs, which led to their season ending sooner than anticipated.
Regardless, coach Lou Ferrell has fostered a winning culture within the Grand Oaks program since the school was established in 2018. Excluding the COVID year, there has yet to be a single period where they haven’t reached the postseason, and that’s unlikely to change this spring. Senior LHP Mason Kinchen (Texas Tech-commit) is the essential returner for the Grizzlies.
As the ace of pitching staff, Kinchen went 8-1 a year ago, while maintaining a pristine 1.01 ERA with 55 strikeouts, resulting in first-team, all-district honors. Meanwhile, juniors Sebastian Segura (second-team) and Braeden Sanches will be key contributors in the infield as well as in the batting order.
Furthermore, Callum Wilson (Jr. OF) and Collin Martin (Jr. C/1B) provide additional veteran leadership on a relatively young unit that will vie for a district title in the near future.