Kyle Blakeney '16 Recruiting Profile

My name is Kyle Blakeney, Class of 2016, from J.W. Mitchell High School in New Port Richey, Florida. I have been a starter both my varsity and travel teams. I played  for FTB for four seasons. I have a very strong work ethic.  The main focuses in my life are God, my family, school, and baseball.  I believe it is important to be a good friend and teammate.  To go as far as I can in baseball has been my dream since I was 3 years old when I first developed my love of the game.  My college dream is to study at a good school and to play college baseball. I am dedicated and work every day to become a better baseball player. Whether in the classroom, in the gym, on the field or in the off season, I challenge myself to become better every day.  Middle infield is my primary position and outfield is my secondary position.  In the last year I have played shortstop, second base, third base, and outfield for both my high school and travel teams.  I am a strong defensive player with good speed, quickness, hands and arm strength.  I have great lateral speed/ range and can cover a lot of ground.  My athleticism and agility have helped me to be versatile and excel in all these positions.  Additionally, I am a dominant right handed pitcher with a strong arm with a good arsenal of pitches (placed fast ball, slider, curve, and change up).   As a pitcher, I led my high school varsity team going 8-1 with a 2.10 ERA through the 2014 season. I was the starting pitcher in the district championship game and went 4 strong innings helping to bring the championship to my school. I not only lettered, I was named to the all-North Suncoast baseball second team. 

I am a consistent batter and have a high on base percentage.  I am a lefty batter that utilizes my speed as a threat. I can lay down bunts, put the balls on the ground, and hit line drives to get on base. I finished the 2015 regular high school season batting .363 with 16 RBI's and 6 doubles. . I have batted above .500 in all but one tournament this fall.  I was recently named to the Perfect Game All-Tournament Team for the WWBA Qualifier batting .500; with an on base percentage of .571 (http://perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=11881). 

I am a hard worker both on and off the field. I continue to train and work hard to further increase my speed, strength and throwing/pitching velocity.  Recently, at an Under Armour Event, I was selected for the National team and my outfield throwing velocity was recorded at 88mph. In the last year, I have worked with experts in baseball strength and conditioning to not only gain strength, but improve every area physically. I am a quick learner and respectful to my coaches and teachers and look forward to their assistance to help me become a better player, student, and person.

I was selected out of my high school to be part of a special leadership program and am evolving as a leader.  In 2015, I had the honor of receiving the highest leadership award for my high school, Male Wrangler of the Year. I consider myself a good teammate as I encourage others to strive for greatness as well as to work together to accomplish our goals.

Baseball is my passion. I love playing the game. I want to play at the highest level possible and will keep working hard to reach my goals. Please contact my primary coach reference George Gonzalez, FTB General Manager at (407) 484-4941 or by email at [email protected] or [email protected].  You may also contact my FTB Travel Coach Luis Arzeno at 407-864-0742 or by email at [email protected] for a reference. 

Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read my personal statement.     

"I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me"  Philippians 4:13