St. Thomas Aquinas senior pitcher Riley Pint is used to a lot of attention these days. The current LSU commit is heavily sought after by many Major League Baseball scouts and coaches. Why not? Riley has been stellar for practically all of his high school baseball career.
While the honors keep piling up for Riley, he can add another one to his list. He's the Hy-Vee 41 Five-Star Athlete of the Week. Saints Baseball Head Coach Lorne Parks knows hard hard he's worked to get to where he is today.
"Over the past four years, he's done what he's needed to do, in season, out of season," says Parks. "During our workouts, he's always present and always trying to take that next step to make himself better."
Not only is Pint an outstanding pitcher, he's a great hitter as well. He hadn't allowed a run in his first two starts, both of which were wins. During that same stretch, he had 21 strikeouts and only gave up three hits in 11 innings.
In his third start of the season against Blue Valley, he pitched in front of nearly 70 MLB Scouts including Milwaukee Brewers General Manager David Stearns. The pressure didn't deter him from pitching another shutout. Of course, the pressure is nothing new for Riley.
"I don't really get nervous I say. I just think that's a great accomplishment. you know, I'm just gonna continue to work hard and you know hopefully [remain] healthy," Pint said.
"At the beginning, it was kind of tough for both of us," Coach Parks said in regards to all of the attention. "We've learned to adjust to it. You know, he...throughout the time, he's just...he's been Riley. I don't think he's ever gonna change."
Riley is largely considered the top baseball prospect in the Kansas City area and one of the top overall prospects in the country. In a recent 2016 MLB Mock Draft conducted by mlb.com, Riley was slated to be selected fourth overall. But, he says he can't take all the credit for his success.
"You know, it's really special just because we've got ten Seniors on the team and they're all really good friends of mine. And, you know, it's just really fun to be here and just be playing with all of them," Pint said.
NOTE: The Hy-Vee 41 Five Star Athlete of the Week segment airs Thursday night during the 10 p.m. sportscast.
