Arizona is out of the College World Series now, having gone 0-2 with losses to Vanderbilt and Stanford on Saturday and Sunday.
But it was quite a ride for the Wildcats and sophomore second baseman Kobe Kato, who hails from Aiea. Arizona won the Pac-12 championship, finished 45-18 overall, and advanced through the Tucson Regional and Tucson Super Regional before making it to the big show in Omaha, Neb.
In seven postseason games, Kato batted .343 (11-for-32) with two triples and six RBIs. In addition, the 10 runs he scored amounted to one-sixth of the Wildcats’ total of 60.
Aiea graduate Kobe Kato finished 2021 with a .350 batting average for the Arizona Wildcats.
Throughout the season, Kato started all 63 games, finishing fourth on the team with a .350 average (79-for-226) with 34 RBIs, 16 doubles, four triples and a home run.
Also, Kato was second on the team in walks (43) and stolen bases (6), third in runs (58) and his 186 assists were by far the highest on the team.
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In a May article on Wildcat.Arizona.edu — Kobe Kato Quietly One Of Arizona Baseball Team’s Most Consistent Hitters — Kato is described as one who exhibits selflessness.
In that story, Kato said, “You being in the starting lineup doesn’t make you better than someone else on the team. It is a collective agreement that everyone here has worked towards the same goal, and I’m going to do my best to help people that aren’t in the lineup and also are in the lineup, so we can all continue to get better. I’ll also take feedback from other people as well just so I can continue to keep working.”
And as head coach Jay Johnson tells it in that story, the Wildcats are fortunate to have Kato in the program: “I don’t think there is anybody that’s been as big a part of our team’s success this year as (Kato). He takes professional at-bats. He’s gotten a lot stronger in his time here, great runner and really hits mistakes well. He battles with two strikes, manages the zone, and he’s a very classic Arizona hitter. I think he’s a really balanced attack, as I would call it, type of hitter with speed, some power, solid hitting skills and really understands himself and understands what the team is looking for out of his at-bats. [He’s] probably as good as anyone on our team and has been a huge part of our success.”
According to his father, Aiea head coach Ryan Kato, Kobe Kato was given his first name in honor of Kobe Bryant.
(Image credit: ArizonaWildcats.com).
Kato played his high school baseball at Aiea (Class of 2017) under his dad, head coach Ryan Kato.
