CINCINNATI — It’s not often you have two kids from the same high school baseball team go on to play in the Big Leagues.

It’s even less common for those players end up on the same team. But for two Reds players, that’s exactly what’s happened. 

What You Need To Know

Austin Wynns and Connor Joe both played baseball at Poway High School

Joe was traded to the Reds earlier this month and finally joined the same team as his former high school teammate 

The two say it’s been fun being able to reconnect and play for the same club

Baseball can be a small world, especially when your high school teammate becomes your MLB teammate over a decade later.

“I absolutely loved it,” said Austin Wynns, a catcher for the Cincinnati Reds. “Shot him a text right away and was like ‘Let’s go!’”

Austin Wynns and Connor Joe have known each other for 15 years.

Wynns (left) and Joe as Poway Titans 15 years ago (Courtesy of Austin Wynns)

“When I first met him, I was two years older than him, I was the captain of the team and he was the next guy,” Wynns said. “Like he had all the tools. He worked his butt off.”

Joe remembers Wynns as the leader of the Poway High School baseball team in California and said all these years later nothing has changed.

“He took me under his wing and kind of showed me through ropes in high school,” Joe said. “And right away when he reached out to me he sent me the schedule, the lineup for the next day, told me if I need anything to let him know.”

Connor Joe takes batting practice before a Reds game (Spectrum News 1/Katie Kapusta)

Joe was traded to the Reds earlier this month, bringing the two San Diego natives back together.

“It doesn’t happen a lot,” Wynns said. “And like, talking to him and catching up with him, all we do is just talk about high school and the good times and how we came up. We’ve learned so much. We’ve grown so much as humans.”

Wynns smiles as he warms up before a game (Spectrum News 1/Katie Kapusta)

The good old days getting a resurgence at Great American Ballpark.

“To be in the same clubhouse in the big leagues looking back when we’re in the same clubhouse in high school it’s really cool,” Joe said. “And as you take a step back, obviously, we have a job to do here, but if you take a step back and really think about the chances and two kids from the same town and being in the big leagues together is really, really special, really cool.”

While the two are living out their baseball dreams together, it’s not lost on them on where they came from and who they represent.

“It’s a good team,” Wynns said of his high school program. “And then we also had really good coaches along the way too that definitely molded those players.”

“We were able to be teammates in high school,” Joe said. “I’ve followed him, he’s followed me and we’ve been in contact. Really cool, small world.”