It is indeed the Year of the Tiger, and come next season, the Tigers of Occidental College will have a star of the South Bay on their roster.
Bishop Montgomery High School senior Kyle Sugimoto has committed to attend Oxy this fall and will join a program that currently includes Ethan Akimoto and Preston Chong, both from Hawaii.
Sugimoto is a four-year varsity letterman for Bishop Montgomery and has had an outstanding career. Last year as a junior, he helped the Knights to a league title and into the second round of the playoffs. He was named 1st Team All-Camino Real League and 2nd Team All-CIF.
His father, Eric, reports that Kyle has played baseball all his life, including club teams, showcases and camps to help him achieve his dream of playing in college.
Kyle has also played basketball – with the Tigers, appropriately – his whole life and still does if he can somehow squeeze it in.
Eric Sugimoto hopes highlighting his son’s hard work and success will serve as encouragement to other young athletes to stick to a sport they love, as that can help open the doors to college and beyond.