He is reaching the end of his last high school baseball season, but he’s not completely done yet. Banister is committed to Taft College in Taft, California, to continue his baseball career as a pitcher and continue growing as a player. 

Rouna-Banister first started playing baseball when he was five years old. Playing after high school has been the natural next step.

“It’s always been a goal of mine,” Rouna-Banister stated. 

Junior year was when he really thought about the future after having an amazing season, and started reaching out to schools and watching their games. When watching one of Taft’s games, the pitching coach at the time, Steven Gee, brought Rouna-Banister to the dugout and introduced him to the players. Rouna-Banister easily felt welcome and enjoyed the culture of the team.

“They seemed to respect me even though I was younger, so that was kinda big for me.” Rouna-Banister expressed.

When he first started playing high school ball, he was on the smaller side, but he never stopped working hard and pushed himself to grow. Taking the extra reps, going to summer and winter workouts, and putting in the work all helped him reach his goal and set him up for where he is now. 

Coach Brooks Dyer spoke nothing but highly of Rouna-Banister and how he is as a player and teammate.

“He is one of the hardest workers I’ve ever coached,” Dyer said.

Rouna-Banister is the varsity captain this year. He is a big leader and helps guide his teammates. He is always going the extra step and showing why he was chosen as captain. 

“He’s the hardest worker, always shows up, always gives it his all, and holds his teammates accountable,” Dyer said.

A highlight pointed out by head coach Chase Franks was when Rouna-Banister threw a shutout against them in his junior year. Grant is known as one of their biggest rivals so beating them was a huge accomplishment for him.

“Grant took second in the state, and he went out and completely shut them down offensively,” Franks stated.

Rouna-Banister is getting ready for the next step of his career and is looking forward to continuing to play baseball for as long as he can and someday hopes to coach the sport he loves. 

“I’m just proud of him,” Franks said. 

Ruona-Banister wants to continue developing as a player in hopes of moving on to the next level.