Former Kaua‘i baseball player drafted by Rays

Last week, Kalani Brackenridge experienced what very few young athletes are able to when he received a phone call.

Well, he didn’t actually experience it the first time.

“I had just gotten out of the shower that morning and noticed a missed call,” he said.

The missed call was from Major League Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays, who selected Brackenridge in the 44th round of the 2009 MLB amateur draft.

Kalani’s father Lyle, who played in the Minnesota Twins organization, was watching the picks live on MLB.com when he heard his son’s name called.

“He was also so excited, the phone rang just as he approached me,” Kalani said. “It was unbelievable. Everything happened so fast!”

When the phone call came, it was Casey Onaga, a scout for the Rays who delivered the good news.

Onaga, now in his third year of scouting the Hawaiian Islands for the Rays, said that he had been keeping an eye on Kalani since last spring.

Kalani and his family moved to Kaua‘i from California when he was 11 years old. His mother Irene grew up in Kalaheo and graduated from Kaua‘i High School. When they had the opportunity to bring their family business back to the island, a lifelong dream, they jumped at the chance.

Kalani played for the Lihu‘e PONY league team and then played at KHS. In his sophomore year, the Brackenridge family decided to move to O‘ahu to better accomodate his sister Brittany’s softball career. She has since graduated from Kapolei High School, received a full softball scholarship to Eastern Arizona College and is moving on to the University of Georgia in the fall.

His older brother, Tyron, is currently in the NFL as a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars. His other brother, Jaquwan, also plays professional football for an arena league team in Billings, Mont.

Growing up in such an athletic family was helpful for Kalani as he became a budding superstar.

“It was always challenging and exciting to constantly compete with each other but also with myself, wanting to beat my numbers and get better all the time,” he said.

Kalani credits his parents for being great inspirations for their children.

“I have seen my mom and dad build a successful business over the years,” he said. “They were great role models for all of us.

“They worked very hard and were always positive. They taught me to never settle for less and to always work at getting better all the time.”

Kalani’s pedigree certainly helped to boost his profile and he began garnering scouts’ attention at the age of 14. However, his selection this year ended up being a big surprise, due to the fact that he did not play any baseball his senior season because of a hamstring injury.

He managed to rehabilitate and get healthy towards the end of the season, but had to watch from the sidelines as his high school career came to a close.

Kalani said he was “shocked” that he was ultimately selected this year.

Onaga stated that the Rays made sure everything checked out as far as Kalani’s health and said that they based their decision mostly on private workouts he put Kalani through prior to his injury.

Kalani admits that the adversity he faced sometimes made it easier to think in a negative light, but he would remember that being positive is always more helpful.

“Life will always be full of adversities but we must continue to plow through,” he said.

His two years playing for Kapolei were both impressive, as Kalani was named to the All O‘ahu Interscholastic Association Team as a second baseman during his sophomore season, then as a shortstop in his junior season. He also decided to play football his junior season and immediately received attention from colleges.

His future is now uncertain, as he had signed a letter of intent to play baseball and football for the University of Hawaii this fall. He decided on UH because they were fine with his decision to play both sports.

“I will be discussing it with my family and weighing all the options,” he said. “I was very excited to have that opportunity (UH) and now another blessing. I’m still sorting everything out.”

It seems like what had once been a foregone conclusion became a very happy surprise for Kalani, as he now decides which direction he wishes to take his career.