A year ago, Scott Meylan had to watch his teammates play from the dugout. Fast-forward a year later, he is one of the best performing pitchers on the roster.

Straight out of high school, instead being excited about college and playing the following semester, Meylan was facing a pitcher’s worst nightmare. Meylan was forced to undergo a Tommy John surgery to replace a torn ligament in his elbow instead of doing what he loves the most.

“Tommy John was rough to say the least. It was one of the darkest time periods of my life,” said Meylan.

Many players with such an intense injury often decide to no longer pursue the sport and hang up the glove. Meylan is not like many players.

“What motivated me to get back into the game was the fact that my parents dropped serious bank on the surgery and I didn’t want to disappoint them,” said Meylan. “I also knew that most people who come off of this surgery come back stronger and throw harder. That fired me up a little bit.”

The 6 feet 4 inches tall pitcher had a scholarship to San Francisco State University fresh out of high school, but was unable to attend due to his elbow injury. In stepped in Los Medanos College baseball coach Anthony D’Albora, who offered Meylan use of LMC facilities while he recovered. Soon after, Meylan decided to join the Mustangs’ baseball program.

“The deciding factor for me to go to LMC was Coach D,” said Meylan. “He welcomed me to the program with open arms and has given all the opportunities to get healthy and get better at the game.”

D’Albora simply wanted to help Meylan recover and improve.

“When he got hurt and needed an opportunity to get healthy and work to get the best four year opportunity available, we knew we could help push him towards that goal,” said D’Albora.

This season, the pitcher has played 13 games with 35 innings of work for the Mustangs, striking out 41 batters along the way and only allowing 14 hits to his name.

“He’s made a ton of progress,” said D’Albora. “He’s got a long ways to go to keep getting better and stronger each and every day, but he has to put himself in the right position to continue to be successful as he continues to put the work in.”

America’s pastime runs through Meylan’s blood. His mother, Debra Meylan, played softball at Saint Mary’s College and was his coach throughout his and his brother’s Little League years. His brother, Grant Meylan, plays Division One baseball at Santa Clara University. According to Meylan, his mom is the reason that he is at the level that he is at now.

Currently, Meylan is majoring in business at LMC but says he may switch to communications later on in his educational career. Despite this, Meylan believes his future lies in baseball.

“My goal for baseball is to ride this rollercoaster for as long as possible,” said Meylan. “Going D1 out of LMC would probably be at the top of my list right now. Being on the same level as my brother would be awesome, so he and I would have more in common than most brothers.”

Playing a sport is a wild roller coaster and Meylan is in for the ride.