Reds' RBI Senior Spotlight: Ryan Atkins

With the COVID-19 outbreak forcing the cancellation of all high school spring sports, local high seniors were forced to deal with the abrupt reality that their prep careers were over. A group of these student-athletes were members of the Cincinnati Reds RBI program, many of who were also regulars at the P&G Cincinnati MLB Youth Academy over the years. With our Senior Spotlight Series, the Reds want to recognize these players for their efforts and wish them well in their future endeavors, both on and off the field.

While he won’t get to finish up his high school career alongside his Western Hills Mustangs teammates, longtime P&G MLB Reds Youth Academy participant and Cincinnati RBI player Ryan Atkins will have the chance to advance his baseball career with the University of Northwestern Ohio.

Whether it was playing ball or volunteering and giving back, the Gilbert A. Dater High School senior has been involved at the Reds Youth Academy since becoming a teenager. The Academy is the perfect place for aspiring ballplayers to hone their skills, but also offers several other opportunities.

One of those opportunities is the Home Base program, a competitive, week-long camp for baseball and softball players that combines individualized athletic training with academic test preparation and life skills development. In conjunction with Major League Baseball, the Major League Baseball Players Association and the MLB Youth Development Foundation, the initiative for high school sophomores, juniors and seniors launched in 2018. The Reds Community Fund promptly rolled this out for local high school students that summer, with the student-athletes spending their days at the Academy and staying overnight at the University of Cincinnati.

Atkins learned about Home Base through his high school’s athletic director and submitted his application. He was one of the 48 players selected for the program’s inception and was lucky enough to be chosen again in 2019.

“Home Base was the best baseball camp that I’ve been to by far,” he said. “I met a lot of new people and was exposed to all different things. Not only did it improve my baseball skills, but it also helped me improve my life skills. I simply enjoyed myself learning all kinds of new things in the classroom and on the field.”

He also became a part of Cincinnati RBI after seeing tryout information on the Reds Community Fund’s Instagram page. He made the team and immediately took a liking to all his coaches and was looking forward to his second RBI season. Despite it being cut short, he looks back fondly on his time with RBI.

“With my coaching staff from last season, Dan (Guttridge), Jordan (Finley), Omar (Velazquez) and Nick (Philpot), there were a lot of great times and memories,” Atkins said. “Those guys were the best coaches I ever had. We weren't just in contact during the summer ball season. After the season was over, they were still checking up on me. Besides my Mom and Dad, they were the first people I called when I was offered the scholarship and told them my plans for the future. They were probably about as excited as me. Coach Dan and Coach Nick came to my signing day, it was a really great thing to see. These guys are the best coaches and it was an honor to play for them.”

In addition to his RBI memories, he also made some history with his high school team. Last spring, he accomplished something all pitchers dream of when he threw a no-hitter.

“We were playing Oyler and I wasn’t even supposed to pitch that game. It was a last second decision to have me pitch and I went out there and threw the pitches I knew how to throw and felt good. I didn’t even know it happened until the end of the game; my coach came up to me and told me. Then my teammates dumped water all over me and tackled me.”

His assistant coach at Western Hills, Steve Colyer, knows he is losing a special player.

“Ryan is a true baseball fanatic, he loves the game, every detail,” Colyer said. “He has been dedicated to the team since day one of his seventh-grade year. I was excited to watch him this upcoming season. After a great no-hitter last year, he was bound to have great games this season. It hurts that we cannot celebrate his success from the past six seasons here as a Mustang, but we are proud of him.”

With his time spent playing at the Academy, with RBI and for his school, it’s hard to believe that just four years ago Atkins seriously contemplated putting down his bat and ball for good.

In 2016, Atkins received devastating news that his stillborn nephew didn’t make it. It absolutely wrecked him. He was scheduled to pitch the next day but wanted no part of it and he even considered not playing baseball anymore. But after seeing that Reds pitcher Michael Lorenzen hit a home run in his first game following the passing of his father, it inspired Atkins.

“I ended up pitching and it was one of the best games I’ve thrown in my life,” Atkins said. “We won the game and I had 15 strikeouts. That’s why he is my role model on and off the field.”

Atkins was able to meet Lorenzen at Redsfest 2018, share his story and let him know what an inspiration he was. Now, four years after making that decision to keep playing, Atkins is just months away from officially becoming a college baseball player.

Note: Dater High School and Western Hills High School share sports teams. Students grades 7-8 play for the Dater Cougars and students grades 9-12 play for the Western Hills Mustangs.