Ryan Florio '18 Recruiting Profile

I consider myself a very good athlete but more importantly a better person. I know I can make your team and program better not just by my play but with my character and commitment to my coaches and teammates. My team's success has always been more important to me than personal stats. I believe if my team does well then I will do well too.

I am an extremely positive person not just on the baseball field but I live my life with great optimism and a never-quit attitude. I learned first-hand in September 2013 that being positive is the only way to live. My sister Katie was just a HS sophomore at the time she was diagnosed with a brain tumor. She was a star softball player and the captain of the cheerleading squad too. It was shocking, painful, confusing, and scary; I was only in the 8th grade. Katie handled it with such maturity and mental toughness that she immediately became my role model. I learned from her that if you think positive and have courage and believe in yourself that you can will yourself to amazing things. Three years later Katie is doing great, graduated at the top of her HS class, was student-body president, and she'll be going to Clemson University this fall. I have taken her attitude on to the field with me every day since and no matter how I am doing or my team is doing I know to stay positive and never give up. Baseball, like life, is about managing failure. Her experience has helped me grow tremendously as a player and a person and it's helped me earn a leadership role on my high school and showcase teams.