Video of Riley Pint from the 2014 17u WWBA National Championship: Video 1 | Video 2

This is the way baseball parents everywhere write-up the perfect game-plan for their kid, although the most reasonable among them knows it will be a challenge leaving nothing to chance.

The plan, in its most basic form, is to instill in their child a love for the game at an early age, begin to provide guidance and support with each advancing step and then turn their young ballplayer – and their trust – over to coaches and mentors that will provide additional guidance and support.

The most determined of the youngsters, those willing to put in the time and effort – the hard work – will excel following this game-plan. It’s not foolproof by any means and other kids will take divergent avenues to the same destination. But if a young ballplayer is athletically equipped and possesses equal measures of a solid work ethic and strong character, this plan can be the best one followed.

Riley Pint, a 6-foot-5, 195-pound, 17-year-old, right-handed pitcher and corner-infielder from Lenexa, Kan., is walking the path step by incremental step. It’s winding and there are no shortcuts, but it’s leading to more recognition than the junior at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Overland Park, Kan., could have ever imagined.

With the guidance of and the support from his parents Neil and Missy, Riley Pint – armed with a fastball that regularly touches 96 mph and a perplexingly efficient knuckle-curve – rocketed to the No. 1 spot in Perfect Game’s class of 2016 high school prospect rankings following a lights-out performance at last summer’s PG WWBA 17u National Championship.

The ascension was meteoric – he was ranked No. 160 in February 2014 – and even the family admits that the amount of attention Riley has received since last July has arrived in their community in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area with the force of a twister rolling in off the Kansas plains.

“At times it can be a lot for somebody that is 17 years old – 16 at the time it really took off – but we just really enjoy being part of it; we’ve always enjoyed watching him play sports,” his mom, Missy, told PG in a recent telephone conversation in which Riley and Neil also participated. “We’re happy that it’s continuing on and there’s the potential that it could continue on even further. That’s kind of where we’re at right now.”

A lot has happened in the 10 months since Riley Pint made his Perfect Game debut at PG Park South at LakePoint in Emerson, Ga. In addition to rising to the top spot in the 2016 national prospect rankings, Riley accepted a scholarship offer from No. 1-ranked Louisiana State, completed another season as a standout on the St. Thomas Aquinas basketball team and is hoping to help the Saints win a second straight Kansas Class 5A baseball state championship later this month.

“Our team is doing really good right now and we’re just looking forward to the next couple of weeks with regional and state (tournaments),” Riley told PG. “My arm has been feeling really good this spring and everything feels just really comfortable when I’m out there on the mound.”

Pay close attention to that final statement because it is as rare as it is truthful. This is a young pitcher who was 8-0 with a 2.58 ERA and 59 strikeouts in 57 innings as a sophomore and who made an indelible impression on college recruiters and pro scouts during 14 innings of work last summer, but also one who cringes when somebody asks him to talk about himself.

“I think Riley’s best attribute is how humble he is,” his dad, Neil, said. “Sometimes people will ask him how he’s doing and he always reverts it back to the team; he never brags about himself. I remember when he was little I told him to let his play do the talking. I did try to instill in him that people don’t like it when you talk about yourself.”

Riley Pint has let his play do most of the talking and besides, there are plenty of other people out there willing to put in a good word on his behalf. Lorne Parks has been the head coach at Aquinas for more than 30 years and enjoys talking about his elite right-hander.

“He’s the kind of kid who is going to work as hard as he can to be the best no matter what he’s playing,” Parks told Randy Rosetta from NOLA.com/Times-Picayune in an article published Jan. 15. “He’s a great athlete to begin with, but his work ethic makes him different than most other guys. He’s also great in the classroom – just a classy kid to have in your program.”

NEIL PINT IS ORIGINALLY FROM OSAGE, IOWA, AND MOST OF HIS extended family is spread out through north-central Iowa, southern Minnesota and eastern Wisconsin. Riley – along with his sister, Lexi, a senior at Aquinas – was born and raised in Lenexa, a true son of the Sunflower State.

Neil, a right-handed pitcher like his son, played baseball at both Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Iowa State University in Ames, and stayed involved with the game as an umpire at various levels after his playing days were over. Missy Pint played basketball and volleyball at both Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College and Kansas State in Manhattan.

At one point early in Riley’s life, Neil worked as a manager at an athletic club – Missy was employed at the same club – and Riley spent a lot of his time there after his half-day of preschool concluded.

“We were always playing catch, always hitting, always shooting baskets,” Neil said. “I think that’s why he’s never been one to play video games because he was always playing some kind of sport (physically). I remember throwing him passes (with a football) and he was doing down-and-outs at 4-years-old and catching them.”

By the time Neil took Riley to his first T-ball practice, the dad could already sense his son was a little ahead of the curve – he was among the few kids who could actually catch, throw and field the ball. “You don’t really know how good your kid is until you compare them to kids their own age, so it was pretty cool,” Neil said.

Neil worked with Riley when he was a youngster mostly just to set him on the right track and the work wasn’t real extensive. As far as his pitching, Neil would tell Riley to keep it simple with his mechanics, and Riley just took it from there.

“I pretty much have to give all the credit to him,” Riley said of his father. “From a young age until now, he’s always instructed me and given me all the things that I know. He’s always made sure I never threw too many pitches and he’s always been on top of everything. He’s really helped me become what I am today.”

By his own account, Neil Pint didn’t do it alone. Riley has benefitted greatly from his association with Mac-N-Seitz, a Kansas City, Mo.-based baseball and softball developmental organization founded in 1996 by former big-leaguers Mike Mcfarlane and Kevin Seitzer.

Riley Pint credits Mcfarlane – a former catcher – for helping him develop his batter-baffling knuckle-curve, a pitch PG National Scouting Coordinator Jheremy Brown called Pint’s “put-away pitch” and one that shows “late depth and sharp life at 84 mph; when it is put in play the pitch was pounded into the ground.”

Brown saw Riley Pint pitch for Mac-N-Seitz-Foster at last summer’s PG WWBA 17u National Championship. Pint was named to the event’s all-tournament team after going 1-0 with a 2.00 ERA, allowing four earned runs on seven hits, striking out 16, walking four and hitting four in 14 innings of work; his fastball sat consistently in the mid-90s. At the conclusion of the tournament, PG’s Brown wrote:

“To say that right-handed pitcher Riley Pint made the most of his first Perfect Game event may be an understatement. With the large contingent of recruiting coordinators and a handful of area scouts … Pint went out on the mound and did his thing, showing everybody what they wanted to see.”

“Specifically, with pitching, I love to be in control of the game and just dictate the speed of it,” Riley said. “When you’ve got the ball in your hand you can pretty much do anything and it’s a game that’s just awesome to play; I just love to play it.”

To Neil Pint’s way of thinking, Riley has been blessed to have had responsible coaches throughout his young career, including Coach Parks at St. Thomas Aquinas and the entire staff at Mac-N-Seitz, led by 17u/18u head coach Jeff Foster.

“Not only did he get to travel and go places, but (Mac-N-Seitz) always had a lot of pitching,” Neil said. “It’s not like he was from a little town or on a team that he was the only pitcher they had to rely on. That was one of the benefits of being on a good travel team.”

Riley will play in several PG tournaments with Mac-N-Seitz this summer and will also join the multi-PG national champion EvoShield Canes at the 17u Perfect Game World Series in Goodyear, Ariz., in late July. He has also accepted an invitation to the PG National Showcase in Fort Myers, Fla., in mid-June.

IT SEEMS AS IF NO ONE HAS EVER HAD A DISPARAGING WORD when it comes to Riley Pint. The people that know him best speak highly of his character and his demeanor both on and off the field. It’s Riley’s makeup that has allowed him to move so seamlessly down the path he’s currently on.

“If Riley’s up 10 runs or down 10 runs, you can’t tell,” his dad said. “You can’t tell if he’s getting lit up or he’s throwing a no-hitter; he stays pretty level, no matter what. … Nothing really gets to him; nothing really fazes him, so as far as his development, that’s what I like to see the most. He just hasn’t given us any trouble. He’s just really a pretty good kid.”

Perfect Game President Jerry Ford received a glowing report on Riley Pint from PG National Scouting Director Greg Sabers after Riley had pitched in Georgia. Based on what he was told by Sabers and on information he had heard from other knowledgeable folks, Ford decided to drive down to Kansas City from PG Headquarters in Cedar Rapids two weeks ago to watch the young man in action.

He wasn’t at all surprised with what he saw on the mound – a performance that was loose and effortless with Riley showing a very fast arm that was producing 94-96 mph live fastballs with a plus breaking ball that at times looked unhittable.

“So there was the young Pint kid on the mound and he was everything I had heard about,” Ford said. “The thing I really liked the most was his demeanor on the mound and his obvious competitiveness.”

Ford spent a few minutes talking with Neil while the two watched Riley pitch, and he came away from that conversation more surprised than with anything he saw Riley do on the mound: “Neil Pint is not your average dad of a talented baseball prospect. In fact, he spent most of the time telling me about the many other top prospects in the Kansas City area. … He did leak out that he was more proud of Riley the young man than Riley the baseball player.”

Riley Pint’s many positive character traits are undoubtedly what the coaching staff at LSU took note of when they offered the then-16-year-old Riley a scholarship, making him the jewel of the Tigers’ 2016 recruiting class.

The hard-throwing right-hander from the Kansas City area had always wanted to one day pitch for the Bayou Bengals and now he will have that opportunity – depending, of course, how his standing in the 2016 MLB June Amateur Draft plays out.

“It’s always been a dream for me,” Riley said. “I went down there this past September and right when I got that there I just kind of fell in love with the school. I visited a couple of schools that weekend – made a big road-trip – and LSU just never left my mind. It was the clear front-runner and once I got back home I just knew I wanted to be part of that tradition and part of that school.”

Missy Pint accompanied Riley when he made his visit to LSU and sensed immediately on the ride back home that her son was going to be headed to Baton Rouge for his college years. That stop was only one of many during that “big road-trip” Riley spoke of, and while Missy said they were impressed with a couple of the other schools they visited, at one point Riley turned to her and said of LSU, “Mom, that’s where I want to be.”

As a lifelong athlete herself, Missy Pint knows firsthand how beneficial being involved in sports can be. Sports teach the value of both hard work and teamwork, and the meaning of commitment. She was speaking with PG last Sunday on Mother’s Day, and she talked openly about this path her son is on, the game-plan that has brought so much attention and achievement his way.

“I’ve always told him that it wouldn’t matter how many baskets he scored or if he struck people out or hit a home run, I really just care about his character and who he is,” the proud mom said. “I tell him that if he never played another sport again I think he’s going to be the most successful kid … and that’s because of who he is as a person.

“His values are there, he’s a hard worker, he’s a sincere kid; he’s good to people. As a mom – and I really, truly mean this – none of that other stuff really matters to me. I just want to keep him being the person that I know he is … and it’s my job right now to focus on building his character and keeping him grounded.”

LAST YEAR, RILEY PINT TOOK PART IN A LONG-TOSS PROGRAM conducted by Will Gordon, the head coach at Bishop Miege High School in Shawnee Mission, Kan. It’s an eight-week program Gordon runs every year September through October that helps pitchers stretch out and build up their arm strength.

Bishop Miege HS, also in the KC Metro Area, plays in the Eastern Kansas Baseball League with Aquinas, so Gordon’s squad has faced Pint repeatedly over the past three years.

“Obviously the velocity is there, but the ease with which it comes is probably what I see being the best part of his delivery,” Gordon told PG over the telephone early this week. “It doesn’t seem like he ever has to really reach back – he seems pretty consistent – and it’s a pretty heavy ball. I can tell that from my hitter’s swings and from watching him throw and get long.”

The Kansas side of the KC Metro Area is brimming with young talent, especially in the high school class of 2016. Riley Pint leads a parade of prospects in which 14 of the top-15 Kansas high school juniors have already committed to D-I schools and 11 are from the KC Metro Area.

There is right-hander Tyler Benninghoff, an Arkansas commit from Overland Park (ranked No. 2 in Kansas/No. 71 nationally) and left-hander/first baseman Joey Wentz, a Virginia commit from Leawood (Nos. 3/215) who is a teammate of Pint’s on Mac-N-Seitz.

Other top juniors from the Kansas City, Kan., area – all ranked in the top-500 nationally – include right-hander Nathan Wiles from Overland Park (Oklahoma), shortstop Tanner Fox from Leawood (Kansas State) and left-hander Blake Lillis from Overland Park (Arkansas). Top-1,000 shortstop prospect James Cosentino is a Kansas commit from Leawood and teammate of Pint’s at Aquinas.

Additionally, uncommitted shortstop Nolan “Nonie” Williams from Kansas City, Kan., was the No. 4-ranked national prospect in the class of 2017 before announcing last week he was reclassifying to the class of 2016.

“It’s pretty obvious the pitching is pretty dominant in the Kansas City area, and it’s been that way for a couple of years,” Bishop Miege’s Gordon said. “Now there’s this handful of juniors all the way across the Metro area, and it’s kind of a special class, I can tell you that. The hitter’s don’t like it (because) in our league, (we’re facing) a Division I pitcher every week.”

That’s the stuff the coaches see, the details the scouts and college recruiters fill their notebooks with. Moms, on the other hand, want to make sure their sons stay focused and function on an even-keel – at least as much as that is possible with a teenager.

“What I’ve learned with Riley and with all of us is, we just stay present; every new day is all we focus on,” Missy Pint said. “I’m sure Riley definitely has goals and he has a time frame and I know he’s working hard, but what’s most important for us as parents is to try to keep him present. We keep him 17, we keep him just enjoying being a teenager and that’s really all we’re trying to do.”

Riley seems to be handling the mix of being a teenager who enjoys high school life – he carries a 3.5 GPA – while also being one of the top high school pitching prospects in the country. He’s happy and he’s humble, and he’s one of those young men everyone likes to be around.

“Riley is just a great kid,” Gordon said. “He’s easy to talk to and he’s very responsible; I know that for a fact. I just don’t have anything but good things to say about Riley Pint.”

PG’s Ford is definitely reading from that same page. After meeting with Riley during his Kansas City visit two weeks ago, Ford spoke about how polite and unassuming the kid is. He noted that once a young prospect shows the scouting community his extreme talent the focus immediately shifts to what scouts refer to as a player’s “makeup.”

“Many very talented players have failed because they lacked in that area,” Ford said. “I truly believe as scouts start to scrutinize the makeup and the character of Riley Pint, they will be grading him very high. The kid has championship makeup written all over him. For him, it’s OK to be a nice person; the apple didn’t fall very far from the tree.”

Just don’t expect the humble Pint to say anything about himself that might be interpreted as boastful. It’s just not in his genes.

“I don’t want people thinking that I’m full of myself or cocky or any of that stuff,” he said. “I just like to keep to myself and not really talk about myself that much; I actually get kind of nervous when I have to talk about myself. That’s just something that my parents have always built into me and it’s going pretty good right now.”