Ryan Kono '16 Recruiting Profile

i feel I have grit and the ability to persist and work through anything.   I started varsity ball my freshman year and suffered with a shoulder  injury.  I worked through that. My sophomore year at a different school I suffered a bad sprain and concussion at the start of the season. I worked hard to recover and could play by the state championships.  I am the starter DH this year as I work on strengthening my arm.

I would like to make a roster spot on a team I can be a contributor towards a great season.  I want to find a school I can stay at for 4 years and graduate with a degree in business.   I plan on continuing towards a graduate degree.

I started playing baseball just before I made 5 years old and have played year around since. I've been in the Central Oahu Youth Baseball League for 6 years, Waipio Baseball League and played with Cal Ripken leagues for 4 years, then my intermediate season for two years. Summer of 2012 I played in the American Legion for the 17U and 19U teams. My hopes is to continue to play baseball through college. I'm 14 years old and entering my high school years at Hawaii Baptist School, a small private school in Honolulu. I'm 5'7" tall weighing in at 130. I'm fast, agile and getting faster. Short stop is my primary position and i played there all my life but I also second base. I love fielding and continue to learn more each year. I communicate well with other players, am a team player and love the camaraderie on the team. I love to watch, learn and play baseball. I observe and learn from older, more experienced boys and/or players. My family supports my academic endeavors and my sports goals. We talk about various college opportunities and potential careers that would fit with my lifestyle. They have taken me around the world and to over 17 of the 50 states. They come out to every game, take me to the UH Baseball games to observe and learn, keep statistics and review them with me, spend endless hours at the batting cages, etc. They believe in me and I don't intend to let them down.

Update 2014.

In 2013 I was a freshman at Hawaii Baptist Academy and was asked to join the Pac5 Varsity team by Coach Dennis Fukunaga.  While I did have a chance to start in LF, I experienced a rotator cuff inflammation from my first year bowling as a team sport that past winter and elected to rest my arm.  I did rehab with a physical therapist and was ready to play in summer American Legion with Pac5.

In 2013-2014 I moved to Mililani High School and played in the American Legion fall/winter season -playing short stop or 2nd base. In the spring of 2014 I made the MHS Varsity baseball team. February I experienced my first real injury with a severe right ankle sprain during try outs and have been rehabilitated for 6 weeks and am back to playing.