Ryan Martinez will be playing collegiate baseball for Huston Tillotson University (Austin) next year. Martinez is a recent graduate of H.M. King High School and a twotime All-District 31-4A player; making the allstar roster in 2009 as a shortstop and in 2010 as a pitcher. Recent H.M. King High School Graduate Ryan Martinez just about has his suitcase packed as he will soon attend Huston Tillotson University, in Austin, where he will major in business and continue his baseball playing career.

Martinez - who signed with Huston a few weeks ago - is a two-time All-District 31-4A player having been selected for that team in 2009 as a shortstop and in 2010 as a pitcher.

In 2009, Martinez batted .345, belted four homeruns, hit seven doubles and batted in 16 runs. He also had a high fielding percentage from the shortstop position.

Martinez kept his season tallies consistent in 2010 batting .355, smacking three homeruns, hitting eight doubles and bringing in 24 runs. As a pitcher, Martinez went 4-0, had an earned run average of 2.88 and threw a no-hitter against Alice.

“As far as college ball, I always knew he could play at that level and hopefully he will continue working his way up,” Proud Father Oscar Martinez said. “He has a good chance of being a starter this year according to the coach there.”

Getting almost no collegiate attention during his senior year, the young Martinez literally picked up his bat and glove and took matters into his own hand.

“He (Ryan) really didn’t get a lot of attention from some colleges,” Mr. Martinez explained. “So what he did was tryout for numerous teams and this one (Huston) decided to give him a call and then sign him.”

It’s that same tenacity that helped Ryan successfully swap punches with some of the heaviest hitters in 4A.

“He did very well and held his own against teams like Corpus Christi Moody and Calallen especially during preseason tournaments,” Mr. Martinez went on. “He did awesome this past season, and even though we missed the playoffs by a game or two these last couple of years, he did very good as far as his stats and was selected as the team’s Most Valuable Player by Coach Ricky Soliz.”

You would think this would be another Like-Father-Like Son story, but you’d be wrong.

“I actually did not like baseball while growing up, but when I introduced him to the game very early on you could tell he was sort of a natural in it,” Mr. Martinez said. “He had a knack for the game and I tried to help him out as he grew up, but we also hired others to coach him with his hitting, and placed him on little league and traveling teams.”

Even as a little slugger, Ryan demonstrated proficient overall baseball skills.

“His fielding, throwing and hitting skills were all very god from the beginning,” Mr. Martinez said. “You could just tell the difference back then when you saw him play. But one thing people need to know is that we have plenty of talent here in Kingsville.”