Irvine Valley sophomore baseball player Branden Williams has signed with Division 1 UC Riverside.
Williams was a two-year starter at catcher for the Lasers.
Known for his prowess on defense behind the plate, Williams also batted .255 with six doubles and 15 RBI for the Lasers this season. Williams drove in 28 runs in his two-year IVC career.
He had 11 multi-hit games and drove in four runs in Irvine Valley's 6-2 victory at El Camino-Compton.
Williams caught 12 runners trying to steal this year and had a .989 fielding percentage. He recorded 141 putouts.
Irvine Valley had a record of 17-19 overall and a 8-13 record in conference this season.
Williams helped lead IVC to one of its best-ever seasons in 2015. The Lasers won their final six games to end the regular season and made the Southern California Regional Playoffs.
IVC, seeded 17th, won a single elimination playoff play-in game at LA Mission, 16-6. The team trailed, 6-0, but scored the final 16 runs of the game.
Irvine Valley then turned around and swept a pair of games at No. 2-seeded Oxnard to move to the Super Regionals.
The team finished with a record of 23-18 overall.
UC Riverside has a record of 20-21 overall and is 7-5 in the Big West Conference.
The team plays a three-game series against Cal State Fullerton in Fullerton this weekend.
Williams came to Irvine Valley from Huntington Beach High.
Click here to view the full gallery of Irvine Valley baseball's signing day.
