Joey Kiesau '17 Recruiting Profile

My name is Joey Kiesau.  My dream has always been to play baseball at the college level. While I’ve always been the smallest kid on the team, I have the biggest heart (and I am the fastest).

I have been playing baseball ever since I was 4, hitting wiffle balls thrown by my Dad. I began tournament travel ball at age 9 with the Grand Chute Grasshoppers, sort of an all-star team.  I had a lot of fun and gained more knowledge from playing with them for four years. During middle school, I was wrestling as well and considered dropping baseball. My Dad heard about tryouts for a more advanced travel team, The Appleton Panthers. I made the team and began realizing I had potential to be a really good baseball player. Playing for the Panthers for three years was a lot of fun. One of the more exciting moments in the first year was playing against a Dominican Republic team; it was very tough but a really good experience.  During a tournament in Illinois in my second year with the Panthers I was awarded Midwest MVP from one of the opposing coaches. I was invited to a tournament with other players who earned an MVP, however, I didn't attend as I was also invited to play for Team Wisconsin that same weekend in Jacksonville, Illinois. That was another stand-out experience in my life of baseball. I was able to meet  a lot of new teammates that have become my close friends, and also was able to meet other players from other states.

When I was a freshman trying out for Appleton North High School baseball, I was one of the few who were asked to play up with JV. My sophomore year I worked hard and practiced with my current club team, Rhino Wisconsin in the off-season and made the Junior Varsity team again, starting every single game, and was lead-off batter all but the first game.

I am planning to work really hard during the off-season so I can start on the Varsity team next spring. I've set a goal for myself to play at the next level of baseball, the collegiate level. I am a good student in school and work part time as well. I am willing to work hard to get a chance to fulfill my dream.