Islander wins national player of the year honor

By Adrienne Downing

Shortstop Ryan Morris directs a play during Sunday’s playoff game against Bishop Hendricken. Photo by David Zapatka
Until two months ago, unless someone was involved with North Kingstown High School athletics or on one of the teams that played the Skippers, they were not familiar with islander Ryan Morris. But, in the last month, all of that has changed for the soft-spoken football and baseball player when he was named both the baseball Gatorade Player of the Year for Rhode Island and a finalist in the Cox Sports Awards.

The baseball Gatorade Player of the Year award is given annually to the best baseball player in Rhode Island and Morris is the first player from NK to win the honor sinceRyan does not get the accolades that he deserves because he is such a quiet leader,” Gormley said.

Morris started playing baseball when he was 3 years old and his father, Dave, was a coach at the University of Rhode Island. “My dad was the one who put baseball into my life. I would hang out at the field with him and he would let me play catch with the players and just be around the game constantly,” Morris said. “He really taught me about something that I love to do.”

Morris played in Jamestown in his early years and then moved to Little League in North Kingstown where he first met up with D’Errico and Normand.

After catching, pitching and playing third base for the Lawn Avenue School team in