Ready or Not: Raegan Ryan Places her name at the top

By Derrick Balinsky
Spectator Sports

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CANISTEO—Raegan Ryan denies sleeping in the Canisteo-Greenwood Intermediate School gymnasium despite the claims of one Steuben County coach during last season’s conference tournament. She tries not to get wrapped up in the hype something which began four years ago during her eighth grader when she was considered to be the area’s next high school basketball phenom. And she calls Wayland-Cohocton senior Alyssa Englert “a stud.”

Yet, Ryan appears to be following the in footsteps of Englert’s former teammate Leslie Havens—last year’s Spectator Great 8 Most Valuable Player.

Like Havens, who was recently named the Empire 8 Rookie of the Year after averaging 10.9 points per game, 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per gam, while shooting 43 percent from the field, 38 percent from 3-point range at RIT, Ryan says she wants to pursue a career in biomedical engineering.

“I don’t talk to Leslie all that often, but I know that’s what she wants to do,” Ryan said.

“My career choice has gone from a pediatrician to teaching to engineering. It’s really all over the place. So who knows?”

And while RIT isn’t currently on the list of schools the junior is looking at, at least two D-I institutions are.

“I’ve thought about it a lot, maybe more than I should,” Ryan said when asked about her college plans. “This fall I visited quite a few schools, including the Naval Academy, the University of Buffalo, Liberty University and American University. I’ve been to Cedarville, Messiah College and Bucknell.

“There are two (that are my favorite) and they are very different. Cedarville in Ohio is a smaller, rural kind of campus and I really connected with the players and fit in really well. It also meets my academic interest which is most important. Buffalo, I went there for camp with Rachel Bantelman (a senior at Olean which knocked Havens and theWayland-Cohocton Eagles out of the NYS Class B playoffs one year ago) who is going there next fall. I really like the coaching staff there. The campus is nice as well.”

The guard said playing Division I basketball hasn’t always been a dream.

“I don’t think it’s all about going D-I. My original dream was to go to Liberty and to play there. But things change. For me, it’s going to a college where I will have the best four years of my life and get the education I need to attain my dream job.”

Ryan went on to easily rattle off five other things someone might not know about her.

“I have twin brothers,” the junior said. “I played football when I was younger. I have two toes with no joints. I played Little league baseball. And I think I’m better with hand-eye (coordination), rather than foot-eye.”

Although she could have added her experience playing snow basketball to the list.

“My uncle Mark bought me one of those plastic, Little Tykes hoops when I was two,” she said. “That was probably one of the first times I played the game. Ever since then my brothers (Bryce and Brett) and I will play snow basketball out on our court. Even if it’s icy we’ll just go out and smear the crap out of each other. It’s fun.”

Ryan went on to talk about learning the game from Canisteo’s elder statesmen, including the daughter of former head coach Dan Peters.

“When I was in fourth grade Sam was a senior.We’d play all the time,” Ryan said. “Her, Laura Cone, Julie Bruce, Kayleigh Baker—all of those girls. They really kind of started my passion for the game. I saw them do so well and my love for it just continued to grow.

”She finished up by discussing the night she scored her 1,000th career point earlier this season in Avoca.

“It was a goal, because I saw those girls do it,” Ryan said. “It was pretty special. I wanted to do it, too, but it was never a priority. I want to help the team first. If my points come, they come. I’ve always wanted to be a team player.

“That game in particular, I knew I was close and my coach and I both just wanted to get it done and over with. It was just a really cool accomplishment that I wouldn’t have been able to do without my teammates.”