Illinois softball received great news this offseason when Kelly Ryono decided to return and play one more year. Getting the outfielder back in Champaign as a graduate student is a big boost for the Illini as Ryono leads them on and off the field.

Her love for the game comes from her father, who grew up on baseball. He started his kids young, putting Ryono and her twin sister Megan into T-ball. Ryono was scared to play at first and showed up in tears on the first day. However, her dad wouldn’t take no for an answer, and the future Illini took off from there.

Both girls played together in Huntington Beach, California, for the first 18 years of their lives, and didn’t just play softball. The twins also played basketball, volleyball and track together, growing up as an inseparable duo. While she enjoyed this relationship in high school, Ryono acknowledged that when the sisters began looking at colleges, they wanted to pursue their own identities and grow individually.

“We never really wanted to go to college together,” she said. “It’s so cool. Now, when we come back home together, I have my own stories to tell, and she has her own stories to tell. I’d say our relationship has grown exponentially stronger when we both went away for school.”

Neither girl cared much about distance for school, as Kelly was the closest of the twins to their home about 40 miles south of Los Angeles. Megan wound up in New York and played softball at Columbia University for four years, but will not return for a fifth like her sister.

For Ryono, Illinois was always home. Her love began during recruitment and she remembers her connection with Head Coach Tyra Perry as a high schooler. Ryono said one of her favorite pre-college memories was calling head coach Perry during a tournament in Colorado, informing her that one of her top recruits would be playing on ESPN3. Her connection with Perry and the University lasted all four years, making her decision to return one of the easiest she’s ever made.

“I have great softball, an amazing institution, amazing coaches and great friends,” Ryono said. “There was literally no reason for me to leave, and I couldn’t be more happy with my decision.”

Splitting time between right field and designated hitter, Ryono has improved statistically in each of her four years thus far. If she stays true to that theme, the Illini will have quite the slugger on their hands in 2024. Ryono finished 16th in the Big Ten last season with a .352 AVG while tied for fifth with 48 RBI. Still, a quality bat is not all Ryono brings to the table.

“Doing well in school has always kind of been drilled into me,” she said. “Academics was really big for my parents, and then as I got older, it became something that was really important to me too … We’re student-athletes, not athlete-students.”

Ryono mentions education as one of the factors that brought her to Champaign. After consecutive seasons earning All-Academic Big Ten, she appreciates the recognition but understands people noticing her hard work is far from the most important goal on her list.

“It’s just a plus,” Ryono said. “I’m getting my degree from one of the best institutions in the world, so that’s the real thing I’m striving for.”

The right fielder was also named an Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar in 2023 — one of 10 female athletes to receive the award. The scholars are student-athletes of color with a GPA of at least 3.5 who make a difference in their communities. Ryono is a force in the classroom, but last season, her work in Selma and Montgomery, Alabama, elevated her above others.

The Big Ten conference launched the Big Life Series in 2022, hosting a conference of athletes yearning to learn about the Civil Rights Movement. Ryono went down with coach Perry, football’s Tarique Barnes and women’s track and field’s Madison Hardamon to attend the conference and visit many historic landmarks.

“I’m just so grateful that I got to see and experience something so impactful,” she said. “Having a Black female as my head coach, knowing it was something that was so important to her. Especially since we got to go and experience it together.”

Ryono learned a lot during her time in Alabama. In between visiting museums and talks from local speakers, she made connections with other athletes, leading to friendships over social media and at Big Ten events.

“For us to experience something so powerful together and then grow through the experience together was so fun,” Ryono said. “I’m very blessed that I got the opportunity to go, especially since I’ll be able to go back when we play Auburn this year.”

Ryono prides herself on being outgoing, even when it’s uncomfortable. As the longest-tenured player on the Illini softball team, the graduate student is now focused on utilizing her off-the-field leadership on the diamond.

The fifth-year plans to go out on a high note, surrounded by everyone she loves, especially her dad. He introduced her to the sport, and she repeatedly mentioned how he had been with her every step of the way.

“He always tells me he regrets not trying to play baseball in college,” she said. “I feel like I get to give him his own college experience … He has become an Illinois super fan.”

They will get one final ride together in what is likely the final softball season of her career. Ryono knows her parents are the reason she got here today — from starting her in T-ball and enforcing grades so many years ago to now visiting and letting her know they care.

They are even a part of her pre-game traditions, Ryono said. “My dad always texts me some kind of inspiration before every single game, so I’m always waiting for it.”

At least 55 more texts will hit Ryono’s phone before games this year — and hopefully more than that as the Illini look to advance in the Big Ten tournament and return to the NCAA tournament. No matter what happens, though, Ryono wants people to know her for the person she was during her time in Champaign.

“I just really hope people remember that everything I did, I did with intent,” she said. “I did it with kindness and thoughtfulness, and that hopefully, I pushed everyone around me to be a better version of themselves.”

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