Wolfeboro is a small town in New Hampshire, known as one of America’s best lake towns. It’s also in the heart of New England and Red Sox Nation.
Ryder Garnsey was a diehard Boston Red Sox fan. He was 9 years old watching from the family’s finished basement, surrounded by family and friends – all Red Sox fans – when Boston beat the St. Louis Cardinals in 2004 to break the “Curse of the Bambino.”
“I was aware that I hadn’t seen them win. It didn’t occur to me that it was ten of my lifetimes since they had won and my dad had never seen them win,” Garnsey quipped.
His all-time favorite Red Sox player debuted a couple years later. There were a number of reasons Garnsey gravitated towards Dustin Pedroia. One was that Pedroia was a smaller athlete, standing 5-foot-9, the same as Garnsey’s listed height. Pedroia was also confident and didn’t let disappointing performances hold him back.
What Garnsey admired and loved most, however, was how he never had to worry about his favorite player donning another uniform.
“There’s something in seeing through what you started,” Garnsey said. “Dustin Pedroia stayed with the Red Sox his whole career. There was never any, ‘I wonder if this guy is going to re-sign.’ Every time he had the chance, he re-signed. There was no nonsense.”
It’s a sentiment Garnsey was familiar with growing up. Whether it was video games or playing in the backyard, quitting was “a cardinal sin” in his house, he said.
So, when Garnsey’s contract expired after the 2025 PLL season, he knew who he wanted to play for in 2026. After seven years of wearing the California Redwoods’ green uniforms, Garnsey wanted to continue what he started and stay with the only professional team he’s ever known.
That goal was realized when he signed a new three-year contract with the Redwoods.
“I feel great. The only thing I was looking to get [out of contract negotiations] was a new contract with the Redwoods,” Garnsey said. “It meant I could still contribute to our team. It was great from the jump. All the conversations we had were pointed towards they wanted me back. I wanted to be back, so it was pretty easy.”
To Redwoods head coach Anthony Kelly, that dedication and determination only make Garnsey’s presence in the locker room more valuable to the culture he is trying to build.
“He is a guy that wants to be a part of this organization for life,” said Kelly, who is entering his second season with the team. “As this thing continues to grow and build, to have somebody like that, it’s amazing for our locker room. It’s great for our young guys to see somebody that’s been a part of this for a long time, and ultimately, that’s what we’re trying to build. We’re trying to build an organization where guys want to be a part of, stay a part of, and other guys say I want to be a part of that organization.”
“The fact he wanted to sign a three-year deal, it says a lot about where we’re going,” Kelly added.
California general manager Joe Spallina said re-signing the lefty attackman was a priority for the team. He and Kelly shared the view that Garnsey wasn’t just important to the offense on the field, but that his leadership and experience also were important to help mentor the young players on the roster, like his close friend and last year’s Rookie of the Year, Chris Kavanagh.
“For us, Ryder has done everything we’ve asked,” Spallina said. “He’s been a great leader with those younger guys. Also, the communication with the coaching staff has been great.”
When Garnsey made his Redwoods debut in 2019, he did so alongside some of the most respected and iconic veterans in the game, such as Greg Gurenlian, Joe Walters and Kyle Harrison.
Garnsey remembered how they took him under their wings, and it’s been a great privilege for him to now be able to do the same for others.
“It feels like it was the blink of an eye when I was in the other shoes,” Garnsey said. “It’s been really fun. That’s the best part of this, the relationships you build with these people. Having guys on our team that I’ve coached, if anything, it allows you to already have a certain level of trust so you can effectively communicate better.”
Since his rookie season, Garnsey has been a consistent and reliable presence on the Redwoods offense. He’s played in all but two games over his seven-year career, and he played all 10 regular-season games in each of the past four seasons. He’s also tallied more than 20 points in five of his seven seasons, including each of the last four.
What makes Garnsey special, though, isn’t just how many goals he scores; it’s also how he scores those goals.
Garnsey highlight videos have circulated on the internet since his post-graduate year at Phillips Academy Andover in 2015, and they’ve only become more spectacular during his time in the PLL. Whether he’s scoring off a toe-drag, a dive or a shovel shot, Garnsey makes spectacular goals seem routine.
He notched arguably the biggest goal of his career last summer when he scored off a one-handed shot against the Boston Cannons in the regular-season finale. The goal won the game and punched California’s ticket into the playoffs.
“I’m not really thinking about how much time is left, what the score is,” he said. “You’re thinking, ‘OK, I’m catching the ball with a short stick approaching me. This is probably a good time to probe a little bit and see what I’ve got.’”
“‘I’m not really thinking, ‘Let me throw this one-handed,’” he added. “It’s just like, ‘OK, I’m getting a little closer to the goal. I’ve got my hands free for a little bit if I keep it in one hand. This is, for better or worse, who I am. This is what I practice.’”
