Editor's note: NNUSports.com will be running Senior Spotlights on all the spring sports seniors who have elected not to come back for another year of eligibility.
 
Senior spotlight: Ryan Berry
Baseball, outfielder from Phoenix, Ariz.
Major: Applied Studies
 
Ryan Berry had a good feeling about this year's Northwest Nazarene baseball team.

He thought his lifelong quest for a championship was going to come to an end this spring.

Instead, the COVID-19 pandemic ended his career and his hopes of a title.

"It's super disappointing," he said. "I have been in that situation so many times where we are so close to a ring and we didn't get it. I knew we were going to get a ring this year and we were going to win the GNAC."

Berry was on the 2015-16 NJCAA national runner-up team at Gateway Community College in Arizona. He and his Nighthawks teammates were off to a 7-1 start in GNAC play this season and were set to host the conference tournament in May. The winner of that would have earned an automatic berth into the national tournament.

"I really believed in this team a lot," he said. "It sucks that something out of our control ended it."

Berry came to NNU because he liked the community around it and because of the conference the Nighthawks played in. He knew it was a tough league that could challenge him as a hitter.

"I just knew the team structure was well set up," he said. "Also, I didn't have a locker room at my JuCo. I know it is silly, but seeing that was huge for me. Especially how nice it is."

Berry turned down the opportunity to come back to NNU next year after the NCAA ruled that all spring sports seniors have the option of an extra year of eligibility.
Instead, he hopes to eventually go after his Master's in Business Administration and eventually start his own business. His family has a history in the music industry and he may pursue a similar path.

"I don't have anything too specific yet," he said. "I just know I want to start something up. Create something."

And when he does, he'll finally have that championship feeling he's been chasing.
 
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