EXCLUSIVE: Ryan Thompson Reveals Kenny Dillingham's Message to D-backs

The sidewinding reliever was candid about Dillingham's message.

Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Ryan Thompson during spring training practice at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in Scottsdale on Feb. 13, 2025. / Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Arizona Diamondbacks are a connected team. They're also a dangerous team. Such has been the moniker of manager Torey Lovullo's ball club for some time now, and it's no coincidence that the results have been tangible, to say the least.

That connectedness is intentional. It's been a staple of Lovullo's and general manager Mike Hazen's mindset when building and adding talent to this team.

As it turns out, that outlook isn't an uncommon one in the valley. On Monday, Arizona State football coach Kenny Dillingham visited the Diamondbacks' clubhouse as a guest speaker — something Lovullo likes to do for his squad regularly.

In an exclusive one-on-one interview with Diamondbacks On SI's Jack Sommers, D-backs right-handed reliever Ryan Thompson was candid about Dillingham's message to the club, and what the ASU coach's philosophy means for a team that is so already built on the principles of camaraderie.

"I thought it was awesome. ... it made a lot of sense to me that he would be a guy — just considering what his message was — that he would be a guy that would be a perfect fit for our type of dynamic here. And for me, the college atmosphere was always my favorite," Thompson said.

Thompson reflected on his own college experience at Campbell University — a small Division I university in North Carolina with an undergrad body of less than 3,000 students.

"I felt like my college at Campbell, my coaches did such a good job of wringing the most out of their players. Just every last drop, they would get out of us, and my life changed there," he said.

And that's an experience that's often somewhat unique to the college level of competition. The sidewinder noted the distinct difference between NCAA and professional baseball.

"It's just different in pro ball than it is in college. There's politics involved, there's individual gain, people are trying to move up the ladder, you're playing with your competition. There's a lot of money on the line, your agent's in your ear, you have the team-player dynamic," Thompson said.

But the reliever emphasized that his transition to the Diamondbacks in 2023 provided a perhaps-surprising level of camaraderie in the clubhouse — one that stood out during Arizona's unprecedented march to the Fall Classic two seasons ago.

"That was one of my favorite things coming to the Diamondbacks, was how much of a team camaraderie we had in 2023 when I first showed up, and it's something that the front office and Torey [Lovullo] really care about.

"Obviously, we want to make as much money [as we can], we want to be as successful as we can, but first and foremost, we care about winning.

"And so it's something that I've always just loved, being a part of this team, because... it reminds me a little bit of that college-type atmosphere, where we're here for each other, and we just have the same goal," Thompson said.

The righty described his experience in Arizona as "a breath of fresh air," and said Dillingham's clubhouse presentation was a "powerful" message to the team.

"Hearing his message today really fired me up, because he was saying a lot of truths, we compete with each other in here all the time, whether it's in the weight room or whether it's... Latin guys playing dominoes, they're in there yelling at each other all the time. It's awesome."

Thompson said Dillingham talked about that internal competition within a team, and how that can drive players to find their best results. But it goes even deeper than that, Thompson elaborated.

"His message was really, first and foremost, be a good person, care about those around you, be self-sacrificial, and come with an energy and a fire that we're all here for the same purpose. And he's talking about how at Arizona State, he encourages people to compete with each other all day long.

"He's got a golf simulator in there. He's got a ping pong table. He's got video games, all sorts of stuff," Thompson continued.

"You don't want anyone scrolling on their phones ever. He wants his guys interacting with his teammates and having that type of relationship, like he would with a brother or sister playing a board game at night. And it gets fiery sometimes, and that's what family does.

"And so you see it a little bit in this clubhouse. And I think today, it was kind of fun, his message was talking about having that dynamic, where you're competing all the time and you're talking trash with each other. And that's always a fun thing for teammates to do.

"So we've been kind of going around and giving each other crap today after that, which has been pretty cool," Thompson said.

Lovullo said the thing that stood out to him the most was Dillingham's authenticity.

"It's real. He brings it and it's real and you feel it. I know players feel that as well," Lovullo said.

It's not as if the Diamondbacks need lessons from ASU's head coach on how to connect with one another. But perhaps Dillingham's speech to the team can harmonize with their already-installed philosophy of interpersonal competition.

A connected team is a dangerous team, and the valley is a dangerous place.

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