Hankins’ Bat Shines in Las Vegas Glitter

If you’re looking for a personality to rival the neon glare of Las Vegas, Ryan Hankins is not the man.

Hankins is a soft-spoken, understating freshman from Simi Valley High whose batting statistics for Nevada Las Vegas were so flashy this season, he grabbed national recognition.

Hankins learned Thursday he made Collegiate Baseball magazine’s freshman All-American team at third base.

He was a can’t-miss selection after leading the Rebels with a .383 batting average, 92 hits, 18 doubles, 49 runs batted in (tied), 240 at bats, 150 total bases and a .625 slugging percentage.

Hankins is anything but boastful.

“If I get an award, I get an award,” he said. “But this is a big award and I’m kind of happy.”

Hankins said his father, Terry Hankins--a former triple-A player in the Atlanta Braves’ system--is no more emotional about his son’s success, even though he has much to do with it.

“My dad said, ‘Good job,’ ” Ryan said. “My dad’s kind of a mellow guy. I’m like him.”

Offensive prowess is nothing new to Hankins, who batted .462 with 24 home runs and 109 RBIs in four varsity seasons at Simi Valley. But his transition to Division I pitching seemed almost too smooth.

“In high school, I probably saw one or two pitchers who could throw 85 to 90 miles per hour,” he said. “But in college you see it every day, with hard sliders and curve balls. You’ve got to adjust. I spent a lot of time in the cage.”

Hankins wasn’t given a starting position at the outset of the season, but that didn’t last long. By the third game, his strong hitting in practice prompted Coach Fred Dallimore to move Willie Mosher to second base and insert Hankins at third.

“I just earned the spot,” Hankins said. “I kind of set high goals for myself. I’m hard on myself.”

Every time Hankins goes into a slump or detects a flaw in his swing, he consults his father. Las Vegas is close enough for his parents to travel to games.

“In the middle of the season, I slacked off,” Hankins said. “I went down to about .320. For a lot of guys that’s good. But not for me. My dad came down and watched me play and told me what to do.”

Terry Hankins told his son that his elbows were too high and his arms weren’t relaxed. Ryan was also wiggling his bat too much, causing his swing to lose some quickness.

UNLV batting coach Rod Soesbe doesn’t mind the parental intervention because he agrees with most of Terry’s hitting philosophy. And Ryan has helped Soesbe break down the strokes of slumping teammates on more than one occasion.

“He’s a good hitting coach, don’t get me wrong,” Hankins said. “He’s taught me some things.”

No Rebel player has been better at making contact than Hankins, who struck out only 26 times in 240 at bats. Hankins believes he can get better and feels no pressure to live up to lofty standards he might have set this season.

“I think I could have done more this season, just because I’m hard on myself,” he said. “I think I could have had more RBIs. Hopefully, I can build on it.”

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Around the country: Sophomore shortstop Stacy Kleiner (Taft) batted .315 for UNLV with six home runs and 32 RBIs. A converted catcher, he had a .943 fielding percentage in 266 chances. . . Sophomore second baseman Andy Hall (Camarillo) led Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a .380 batting average and 71 hits. He also had a .976 fielding percentage in 143 chances. . . Junior pitcher John Mitchell (Camarillo/UCLA) has a 3-0 record and 48 strikeouts in 59 1/3 innings for Cal State Fullerton, currently playing in the South regional of the NCAA tournament. . . . Junior pitcher Jeff Naster (Thousand Oaks/Moorpark College) has a 3-0 record and 23 strikeouts in 26 innings for Fresno State, which lost its opening game in the West regional to Pepperdine.

In softball, Michigan State second baseman Keri Lemasters (Canyon) was chosen All-Big-Ten Conference for the second season in a row, becoming only the third Spartan player to do so. Lemasters (105 hits) is the first Michigan State player to reach 100 hits by her sophomore year. She batted .301 and led the Spartans in runs (31) and doubles (10). . . Senior third baseman Kelley Bannon (Camarillo) led Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a .384 batting average and 58 hits. She finished with a .943 fielding percentage in 140 chances. . . . Senior pitcher Kym Weil (Hart) has a 14-10 record, a 1.06 earned-run average and 158 strikeouts in 166 innings at Hawaii, where she was also named scholar-athlete of the year. . . Cyndee Bennett (Glendale), Jenifer Henry (Buena), Heather Medearis (Hart) and Melissa Thatcher (Agoura) ranked fourth, 10th, 13th and 14th in the Western Athletic Conference in batting. Medearis batted .307 at New Mexico and Thatcher batted .300 at Fresno State. . . . Bennett, a sophomore second baseman at Utah, finished at .392 and ranked second in the WAC in home runs (nine) and slugging percentage (.649), fourth in RBIs (38) and runs (32), and fifth in hits (58). . . . Henry, a junior center fielder at Fresno State, led the WAC in RBIs (43), tied for third in doubles (11) and triples (four) and was fourth in hits (61). Utah freshman Michelle Brown (Palmdale) was third in stolen bases with 12.

In basketball, forward Sara Wilson (Hart/Oregon) made two free throws with 30 seconds remaining to help Bro Basket of Orebro, Sweden, win its first Elite Women’s national championship in the Swedish professional league. Bro Basket swept the Stockholm Capitals in a three-game final series.