Ex-Tualatin standout Kyle Dernedde is living out his lifelong dream as the starting shortstop for the Oregon State Beavers
By Dan Brood
Hard work pays off.
Determination and persistence can be virtues.
And dreams can definitely come true.
In other words, welcome to Kyle Dernedde’s world.
Dernedde, a 2019 Tualatin High School graduate, and a football and baseball standout during his days with the Timberwolves, had wanted — for a long, long time — to play baseball at Oregon State University.
Now, he’s seeing those aspirations come true. Not only that, but he’s seen those aspirations come to life as the starting shortstop for the highly ranked Beavers — and Dernedde is cherishing every single moment.
“Looking back and seeing that I’m living my dream is just a great feeling. It really is a dream come true,” Dernedde said. “A lot of work went into getting here, and I’m loving every second of it.”
The start of all of that work, and those Oregon State aspirations, go way, way back — back when Dernedde was a young child, and he and his family had season tickets for Beavers football games.
“When I was growing up, Oregon State was a big thing for me,” Dernedde said. “My dad (Mark) went there. I grew up going to Oregon State football games. It felt like I was there my entire lifetime. It became a dream to play at Oregon State, and now that I’m here, it’s an amazing experience.”
The speedy, slick-fielding shortstop made no secret of his desire to attend Oregon State University, committing to the Beavers program following his sophomore baseball season at Tualatin. Dernedde made his long-awaited move to Oregon State official on Nov. 14, 2018, in a national letter of intent ceremony held at Tualatin High School.
Dernedde, after his senior baseball season with the Timberwolves, got to play in the 2019 Oregon All-Star Series, held at Goss Stadium on the OSU Campus in Corvallis — giving him a taste of where he would be playing college baseball in the future.
Dernedde got to enjoy a very special moment his first year at Oregon State — putting on an official Beavers jersey for the first time.
“It gave me chills, seeing my name on the back of the jersey, realizing the moment and what it meant,” Dernedde said. “It was really special. It’s special to represent my team, my school, the community and also represent where I came from.”
All-time Timberwolf
Where Dernedde came from, of course, is Tualatin. And, wow, did he ever leave his mark at Tualatin High School.
On the gridiron, Dernedde received varsity action all four years for the Timberwolves as a quarterback, kicker and punter.
But where Dernedde really shined at Tualatin was on the baseball diamond, where he started at shortstop all four years, earning all-Three Rivers League first-team honors all four years.
He might have saved his best for last with the Timberwolves, as, during his senior season, Dernedde hit for a .440 batting average, with 40 hits in 91 at-bats. He had 10 doubles, eight triples, two home runs, 31 runs and 21 RBIs from the leadoff spot, while also playing his usual sparkling defense at shortstop. Dernedde was a first-team Class 6A all-state selection for his play as a senior.
Maybe nobody appreciated Dernedde more than Tualatin head coach Jake Austin.
“Kyle was a pleasure to coach because he modeled exactly what you would want in a player and teammate,” Austin said. “It makes things easy when your best player is your hardest worker. His drive to achieve greatness pushed everyone around him, which made us all better.”
While Tualatin has a deep tradition of success on the baseball diamond — producing Division I talents such as Jacob Bennett, Karter Cook, Mark Lambson and Mitchell Lambson — there definitely could be a case made that Dernedde is the best baseball player the school has produced.
Dernedde ended his high school career as the school’s all-time leader in hits (124), single-season at-bats (98), career at-bats (339), career RBIs (72), career doubles (31), single-season triples (8), career triples (11), career walks (54), career fielding percentage (.918) and career runs (92).
Photo by Dan Brood
Those school standards didn’t just happen on their own — they were the result of a lot of hard work.
“Kyle has the rare diligence about him,” Austin said. “No matter how tedious or repetitive the work is, Kyle locks in and gets the most out of every rep. He takes a lot of pride in his preparation and never needed to be reminded to work hard.”
And, to listen to Dernedde, as much as he did for Tualatin, Tualatin did for him.
“Those days were really important to me,” he said. “I had an amazing time in high school. I love the Tualatin community and how everyone supports each other. It’s great to look back and see how it paved the way for me and where I am now.”
To no surprise, Dernedde also benefited from more than just the many accolades he picked up on the baseball diamond at Tualatin.
“It helped me, for sure,” he said. “I learned about the game, and how to handle failure and success.”
A different game
The learning continued for Dernedde, as he had to adjust from high school baseball to Division I baseball at Oregon State.
“It’s the same game, but everything is at a different speed,” he said. “I’ve had to make a lot of adjustments. You have to adjust to better pitchers, you have to adjust to the speed of the game on defense. How quick you can make those adjustments is important.”
For Dernedde, who started at OSU in the fall of 2019 — and for everyone else, for that matter — nothing that school year went as planned, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It was an interesting year,” Dernedde said. “I had a good fall season, but with COVID, our spring season got cut short.”
The Beavers’ 2020 spring season lasted just 14 games before the remainder of the schedule was canceled. The team’s final game was played March 8.
Dernedde didn’t play at all in what was supposed to be his freshman season. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t an important season for him. In fact, it turned out to be extremely important.
“It was a chance for me to take a step back and see what I had to do to compete and get on the field,” he said. “Not being able to play made me appreciate things more. I did a lot of reflecting, and I set some goals.”
Anyone who knows Dernedde, and the determination he possesses, knows he went to work right away with his sights set on those goals.
“You find ways to get better. All of us want to see each other get better,” he said. “The next year, I was ready.”
Getting a chance
In the 2021 season, which turned out to be his freshman season, Dernedde got to take the field.
He picked up his first official college baseball hit Feb. 20, when he singled against New Mexico. He got his first start for the Beavers on Feb. 27, playing at second base the entire game in a 9-2 win over Grand Canyon. Dernedde scored a run and drove in a run during that contest.
The Beavers went 37-24 in the 2021 season. Dernedde played in 16 games, starting nine.
“It was a great experience, but it was definitely challenging. It was even a bigger challenge than the year before,” he said. “I got a little taste of playing early in the season, then I didn’t see the field for a long time.”
Photo courtesy of Oregon State University
Dernedde started for the Beavers on March 14 in a game against Oregon. He didn’t play again until March 29, when he came off the bench against Washington.
Even in those games Dernedde wasn’t playing, he was still working — and working hard.
“I did whatever I could to get better, whether it was in practice, in pregame, watching film, studying — whatever it took. I made sure that I was going to be ready if my name was called,” Dernedde said. “Every day, I asked myself, ‘How am I going to get better today?’”
Dernedde didn’t start again until May 29, when he went 2 for 3 with two walks and three runs in a 9-1 win over Stanford. After that game, Dernedde started the final five games of the season.
He had a huge performance for the Beavers in a 10-5 must-win victory over McNeese State in a regional tournament game held in Fort Worth, Texas. In that contest, Dernedde hit two bases-loaded doubles, driving in six runs.
For the season, Dernedde hit for a .290 average, with nine hits in 31 at-bats. He had four doubles, six runs and nine RBIs. Dernedde also shined in the field, having just two errors in 55 chances (a .964 fielding percentage), while being part of nine double plays.
“I got to play a bit toward the end of the season, and that gave me some optimism going into this year,” Dernedde said. “It was absolutely motivation.”
Shining at shortstop
A motivated Kyle Dernedde is hard to stop.
That motivation has helped the 5-foot-8, 183-pound former Tualatin standout grab the starting shortstop spot for Oregon State this season.
Through games of May 3, the Beavers were an amazing 35-9 on the season. Dernedde had played in 41 of those 44 games, starting 39.
“It means a lot to me. It feels amazing to be in there every day, but I still have a lot to learn,” Dernedde said. “I’m making sure to stay humble and level-headed.”
As he’s out on the field for the Beavers, Dernedde has a strong fan base backing him.
“Getting to watch him live out his dream of playing at OSU has been a lot of fun,” Austin said. “The Tualatin community follows along closely and really pulls for him because they know how deserving he is.”
Dernedde is hitting for a .204 average, with 28 hits in 137 at-bats. He has two doubles, one triple, 25 runs and nine RBIs, and he is 3 for 3 in stolen base attempts.
“I’m playing good defense, but I have to pick it up a bit with the bat,” Dernedde said. “I know I can hit. I’ll keep working hard, and it will come around.”
Photo courtesy of Oregon State University
Dernedde does have one milestone with the bat this season. He hit his first college home run Feb. 25, a two-run shot over the fence in left field, coming in a 9-0 win over Xavier in a game played in Surprise, Ariz.
“It felt great,” Dernedde said. “I’ve never been a huge power guy, but I got a pitch I liked and got the barrel to it. I didn’t really show anything when I was running around the bases, but I was excited on the inside.”
As he’s working hard with the bat, there certainly has been nothing wrong with Dernedde’s glove, as he’s been playing some sparkling defense at shortstop.
He’s committed just three errors in 135 chances (a .978 fielding percentage), while being part of 20 double plays. He’s a big reason Oregon State leads the nation in fielding percentage at .989.
“I take a lot of pride with my defense,” Dernedde said.
Championship tradition
The Oregon State baseball team has won College World Series championships in 2006, 2007 and 2018, while also playing in the 2005, 2013 and 2017 College World Series.
“To be part of that tradition is pretty cool,” Dernedde said. “I remember growing up, seeing those teams, seeing that tradition, and see what it involves. It’s a big motivation to live up to that.”
It looks like the 2022 Oregon State squad has a chance to live up to prior Beavers teams’ successes.
“The ultimate goal since Day 1 has been to get to Omaha (Nebraska, site of the NCAA World Series),” Dernedde said. “That’s our goal every year. That’s our goal that we look at every single day. We work every day with that goal in mind.”
Through games of May 1, Oregon State held the No. 2 spot in the Division I rankings, behind Tennessee, according to D1baseball.com, Baseballamerica.com and the NCAA coaches poll.
“We’re taking things one game at a time,” Dernedde said. “But in the end, we want to be the team that’s raising that trophy.”
Off the diamond
In addition to success on the field, Dernedde, who is a sophomore in terms of baseball eligibility but a junior scholastically, is excelling off the field as well.
“Things are going real good,” said Dernedde, who is majoring in Finance and working toward a minor in French. “School has been great. I love Corvallis. I love the community.”
While Dernedde loves Corvallis, it’s also nice that Tualatin is just 72 miles to the north.
“It’s nice being close to home, but still far enough away,” he said. “I came home for Easter. That was the first time I’ve been home since Christmas break. It’s really nice that my parents (Mark and Mary Dernedde) can come down here a lot for games.”
But things aren’t totally perfect.
“I absolutely miss football,” Dernedde said with a laugh. “I think about that a lot.”
That might be so, but Dernedde knows that baseball is the big thing for him now — and, if he gets his way, for a long time.
“I think about it,” Dernedde said of his future in baseball. “I want to play baseball as long as I can. But I try not to think about it too much. I’m mainly just focusing on what’s going on right now. I’ll keep working hard, and hopefully things will fall into place.”
“Kyle has a bright future in whatever avenues he chooses,” Austin said. “His character and make-up have him prepared for any opportunity that comes his way. I would love to see him get an opportunity in baseball after his career at Oregon State. Whether that is playing professional baseball or getting into coaching, I think he has a lot to offer.”
For right now, however, the hard-working Dernedde is gladly taking things day by day.
“I’m just soaking in the moment right now,” he said.
That makes sense. After all, Kyle Dernedde is right in the middle of living a dream come true.
